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Changing the Crystal or Frequency in a Radio Controlled Boat
When I started out in radio controlled boats I went electric as it was easy and I learned a lot about how to control the boat without smashing it into the shore or other boats (although some of that happened anyway).
When I ended up on really crowded ponds with lots of other people it was very frustrating to find that there were other radio controlled boats with the same frequency as mine and it meant a very frustrating afternoon. Many of the beginner electric boats did not allow you to change the frequency they operated on however as the boasts got more sophisticated (and more expensive) I realized I had to be able to change the frequency on my boat.
The basic idea was simple. Purchase the RF crystals from a hobby store or Radio Shack and replace them. However the bigger challenge is what do these things look like? It is a challenge faced by many an enthusiast of radio controlled vehicles.
If you dig around in the controller you can find what seems to be a small silver rounded edge rectangle which says 27.145 on it so that looks pretty straightforward, but the confusing thing is that often there is nothing that seems to correspond to this in the vehicle itself. Sometimes you can find what looks to be a semiconductor chip device, a small black rectangle with a lot (16+) metal prongs on the bottom that plug into the boat and you can sometimes see numbers on the boards above like 2 or 7.
It can get confusing! But don't worry; the crystal is the rectangular metal piece. On some RC vehicles it is in a socket so that it can be changed easily. But regardless it is a good idea to be very careful and not damage this chip - who knows when you will want to reuse it? If the crystal is soldered in, you will have to de-solder it, by heating up the solder with a soldering iron and removing the melted solder (this is not the easiest job in the world). The best way seems to be to soak it up with a solder "wick". Once the crystal is out I'd advise putting in a socket to hold the crystal (if space allows naturally) this will let you change the frequency easily next time rather than having to de-solder and re-solder.
All you do is plug the new crystal in the same way the old one was facing; there is usually a pin indicator or guide as to how it should be inserted, remember to follow this otherwise it will not work. You might also try going to a RC hobby shop, if there is one in your local area. Explain the modification you want to make, and ask them if they can give you any tips.
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