Any suggestions for where I can find about 6" of thin, whippy round material for making an aerial support for my tricopter? It can't be metal or carbon-fibre as that would affect the R/C receiver's aerial, so it will have to be plastic or GRP, around 3 - 5mm diameter.

My first thought was some material from the thin end of a fishing rod, but I have no idea where I could get some of that...

Oh - it should also be cheap...

arial doesnt need to point up, just needs to be laid out so it doesnt cross over itself, so just run it down one of the 'legs' of the tricopter with cable ties or something...

What about a Tamiya aerial tube, I have several but there 3000 miles away from you.

doesnt wd40 come with one?

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Originally posted by Kwik
arial doesnt need to point up, just needs to be laid out so it doesnt cross over itself, so just run it down one of the 'legs' of the tricopter with cable ties or something...

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wouldnt a cable tie work ?

if your coming past Mildenhall, i've got some

Heat shrink perhaps?

My explanation wasn't very good - the receiver's aerial is made up of a length of thin wire, a plastic enclosure that probably contains a coil of some sort, then a tiny bit of wire that is the aerial itself. You can just about see this in the picture above.

I need a bit of round stuff to hold the plastic enclosure up from the model, so it can't be *too* whippy or floppy as that would just collapse when the model goes at full speed (these things can be FAST!) - just bendy enough to withstand the occasional prang.

been in the hobby a long time for all sorts, forgot you had wires running down the legs...

how about just have it on the underside?

im just wondering if the wire was long enough to tangle in the prjopellers mid flight as the thin tube comes loose of something, then you have lost it. plus having it attached to the frame it can act as an emergancy tether to hold the reciever onto the frame if it comes loose..

there is a source of very thin GRP, I understand that it is used to make Roman blinds, I had some, and it was quite good for this sort of thing, however in the true spirit of locost, how about a drinking straw, might mean a visit to McVomit where they have them for free, or even buying some.

hope that helps,.. :-)

or the little straws you get with drink cartons...

It'll have to be a bit tougher than plastic straws!

How about a plastic welding rod? Think I might have a couple in the tool cab...

Lollipop stick?
Or if you are into models, you may make a rod with fiberglass strands out of Woven FG and some epoxy? if you have some

Model shop PTFE actuator rod ?

That's a thought...

I'm also wondering if my wife has any knitting needles hidden away - if I can find one that's not too brittle it'll be ideal. She doesn't knit anything anyway, so they're not exactly indispensable!

the stuff you are after is called - rc aerial tubing

It is very common and used in r/c cars

As above the aerial wire does not have to be vertical, it can be tied to the frame, just keep it way from motors and speed controllers



li nky

[Edited on 31/8/11 by Mr Whippy]