JR XS3 radio. JUNK, not for Boat use at all!!

[David Villiard]

After speaking with 3 JR representatives about this new JR XS3 synthesised receiver, I have gotten no where, and basicly wasted over $200 on this radio system. Apparently, according to JR reps, this receiver can not come in contact with ANY amount of moisture, or humidity. I flipped my boat (as I've done several times in the past few years of r/c boat racing), and the second this boat was retreived, this radio completely quit. No glitching, nothing at all. I bypassed the switch, and tried several battery packs, and still nothing. Any other receiver will usually withstand a certain amount of moisture, and once properly cared for, and dried, will run flawlessly. Not this one. GET IT WET, AND IT'S DONE, KAPUT!!! What does JR have to say about this.... well, they would be glad to SELL me another one, but REFUSE to warranty this product, even though it is brand new technology. They Advertise it in RC Boat Modeller magazine, yet tell me it cannot withstand humidity. Go Figure. Please be warned, and let my lesson be made for all of you. Stay away from this Radio like the Plague if you are running boats. As a matter of fact, they just lost my business completely for boats, cars and planes!!!! Poor judgement on their part I think.

>

Dave.

 

[Ron Olson]

Rush to your LHS, get a bottle of Aeroplate, Corrosion X, The Stuph or whjatever else that they have and spray down the inside of the reciever! I had one that went bad after a dunking, it sat for about 2 weeks before I Aeroplated it and it came back to life! I looked at the contents of the bottle and I noticed that one of the main ingredients is Mineral oil! I wonder if that is worth a shot? I would be a lot cheaper if it worked.

 

[missbudpilot55]

David,

I do not have any experience with JR Radio systems, but I use Aeroplate, exclusively in all of my radio components in all of my model boats. In my 1/8th scale hydro's I have several servos that I use outside of a waterproof box and they work flawlessly. I tested Aeroplate and Corrosion-X by using an old AM radio that I had retired several years ago, after treating with both of the products, I filled the test box with water and had my daughter ride her bike down the street and operate the trigger and wheel on the radio, effective for over 200 yards before anything began to twitch. The end of last season I stuffed my 60 Mono as we run in a shallow pond it stuck in the mud and after being submerged for over 6 hours and having the waterproof compartment breahed my system still worked without any problems after connecting to a fresh battery. ....Now nothing goes into any of my boats without being first treated with "Aeroplate", I found it to be less in price compared to the Corrosion-X.

Bill D.

 

[waterbug]

CRC 2-26 a excellent waterproofer and corrosion inhibiter for 4.96 a 11 oz can. I did the dunk test and everything worked fine under water. I also vasalined the gears and output shaft to be safe. You can also put a o-ring under the servo wheel .

 

[Ray]

I have been using JR RX3 radios for over 4 years for boat racing. Won two NAMBA Nationals in that time. I have never had a problem with any of the JR products. Have also been flying them for over 15 years, almost weekly, and have never had a problem. However, I have not used the newest synthesised (sp) unit and cannot speak for that.

I don't know about the service or warranty policy because out of the 8 JR radios I own I have never need any service on them. Only a lithium battery replacement (memory protection)

I have seen plenty of failures of other brand radios at the races and fun flys I have attended, so I would suspect that this is an individual unit problem or that the particular new system has some kind of glitch. Just my personal experience.

 

[[email protected]]

Well David it sounds like you know have a good excuse to work on your driving skills! LOL

I've received excellant and great satisfaction from JR over the years and have always honored my warranties. Since you got the receiver wet did it say in your directions or under the warranty that any water would nill and void the coverage? If it's not in writing you have a foot to stand on. I also think it's worth a trip to your local hobby shop where you bought it at and ask them to return the damaged receiver for a new one. By putting them on the spot you'll know if you should shop there either anymore.

Hope they resolve it if not I'm sure e-bay will get you back your money. LOL

 

[rcboatlover]

How about replacing the reciever with a Novak xxtra? It has the synthesized tuning like the JR. Any one know if Novak recievers are any good in the water?

 

[bsmtboy2]

Rc , the novak xxtra sysnthesized receiver works ok in my 1/8th scale but after talking to the reps and some other boaters here in MD, they don't do well with a long exposure to water, ie a flipover or stuffing of the hull. As someone said above, Aeroplate everything associated with the radio in the boat and at will at least buy you some time to retrieve the boat get the radio box open,and get the receiver out and dried off!!!

 

[rcboatlover]

I bought the same radio last week! Wish I would have seen this post be fore I put down $215.00 . I diden't really need the synthesized reciever, just liked the features on the radio. I guess I could buy a regular reciever in the future if I have any problems. Even if I wanted to change the channel at the pond, it would take almost 10 min to get to the reciever and put it all back together.

 

[DAvid Villiard]

I appreciate everyone's responses. I DO have Aeroplate, but I was afraid of spraying it into this new type of receiver. I bought another at a discount from Horizon after they told me they would't warranty it. I also told them I want my old one back. I will try this to the old one and see what happens. I'm not sure if I will keep the radio or not (depends what happens with the old one), but I ordered the new receiver in case I put it all on Ebay, and go back to Futaba.

I have flown JR as well with no troubles, but I am referring to the new synth. technology here which I believe has bugs which they need to work out when using near water. Hopefully the aeroplate will work for me.

we'll see.

thanks

DAve.