isaacsk8sfino

I have an AMB personal transponder that isnt checking in at the track. the light comes on and its plugged in the aux of my spectum reciever in the right direction. it only has a couple of seasons of racing on it. has any one heard of these going bad?

mfishel

Hard for one of these to go bad, but possible. Probably it's a voltage problem. Spektrum offers a 'Spektrum Voltage Protector' part #SPM1600 that should cure the problem. Additionally it could be the actual loop in the track. There is a small diode in the wire, and they eventually go bad. When this happens reception will become inconsistent, and for some reason it seems to 'pick on' certain cars over others. Now your track manager is going to be p****d at me because anybody that has a problem will blame his equipment. So check everything out. Placement can be crucial in your vehicle.

trashedmaxx

iTrader: (10)

I had a problem similar to this with my PT about a year ago. I use the same transponder I all my cars using velcro. The light would light up but would miss a lap here and there. I found the plug was slowly starting to wear out. Put a new plug on, all was fixed. So as a test try moving the PT around and see if the led stays light.

isaacsk8sfino

thank you for your help!

Fabulous

iTrader: (42)

I had simular problems. Instead of buying a new one I sent the bad to MRT to get it 'cloned'. Now I have three PT with the same number, one for each of my cars. You can order any color you want with any color led light you want and it's 20$ cheaper than AMB.

Paradoxmaker

Impacts and vibration of the car/truck as it runs could also be physically damaging the wires going. It may not seem like much, but 1-2mm of movement won't hurt most things, but repeat that constantly over the course of several years and the wires could start to break.

Andyg01

there is a UK guy who can fix them and convert it to I-PT.

see, bottom of page

http://www.team-mrt.com/

mguebert69

Also be sure to orient them flat on the chassis or other component. If you lay them on their side you are much more likely to have problems with intermittent loss of laps. The signal from the PT radiates from the top and bottom with much more strength.

RC Scoring Pro

There is no diode in the loop. Some older loops have a resistor. I have never seen a loop that likes certain cars more than others. If this were true my car would never get scored.

Things to check:
Plug into the Steering servo slot in the receiver and push the car over the loop
Never use the 'BATT' slot, this is for battery IN, not out
Place the transponder flat, not vertical
Don't put the transponder near electronics - like on the servo

Try putting on a new connector
Try somebody elses transponder in your car to see if it is the receiver

Last resort - Send the transponder in and get it fixed!

sagino

some say cars dont count with old transponder on new decoder type ambrc3?

here is the one http://www.rctech.net/forum/showpost...7&postcount=10

mfishel

Sorry Doug, but I beg to differ. I just had to purchase one from AMB. The mile of yellow cable has a little black box in the center of it. I was informed that they get damaged. If they were BS'n me it was to the tune of about 80 bucks. Also I quit having reception problems after I replaced it.

Mr.Maim

iTrader: (36)

I've replaced old transponder receiver loops at two different tracks with standard RG-59/U Coaxial cable. No diode or resistor, and they both work fine. Interestingly, check out the link below: AMB-it's online shop shows their cable with a 470ohm resistor:

http://www.amb-it.com/shop/amer/cata...0fe420773de30d



Interesting, considering the two installations I helped in, were standard "low-grade" coax, and they both work great!

Mr.Maim

nitroracer20

iTrader: (5)

while on the subject...should the p.t's be installed under light colors on the body or does it make no difference. I assume it is no difference.
Thanks

glassdoctor

iTrader: (4)

Body color makes no difference at all... if the siganl goes through the chassis I think a little paint won't hurt anything.

I assume you have a loop tower over the track?

RC Scoring Pro

How about posting the Radio Shack Part #'s required ? I have a zillion people who want to make their own loop.