JR XP8103 Repair

stevetsc

Junior Member
Hi! Hopefully someone can give me a hand here, but I've got a JR XP8103 Transmitter that I picked up off ebay a while back. It wasn't powering up even with a good battery. I opened it up and found a bad trace. Patched it up seems to work fine. I would go ahead and use it but I noticed a resistor seemed burned out. If anyone feels bold or know's where to find the value for "R9" on the main logic board I'd much appreciate it.

I tried asking Horizon Hobby (as they are the service center) but I was told it was "Proprietary Information" and that I'd have to pay to send it in & have it fixed @ $30/hr + parts. No thanks!

I would try testing it with a receiver but I don't have one at the moment. I'm waiting for a FrSky module & Rx from Hobby King to show up at the doorstep. Also, I'd feel more comfortable if it were "whole."

Thanks,
~steve
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
That's a pretty hard question, unless someone has the same transmitter and can take it apart to measure it.
You might want to try RCGroups on this one.
 
Is the resistor just black or does it have any letters / numbers / color rings on it? (or are they just as burned as the resistor?)

KoekieMonster
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Thirty bucks an hour plus parts is way reasonable.
My vote would be send it in to Horizon.
I know plenty of people that have done so, had their out of warrany radios repaired, and not been charged.

Alternately you may be able to get assistance from a local ham radio repair shop.
I don't think they are going to be cheaper than Horizon...
 

colorex

Rotor Riot!
Mentor
Thirty bucks an hour plus parts is way reasonable.
My vote would be send it in to Horizon.
I know plenty of people that have done so, had their out of warrany radios repaired, and not been charged.

Alternately you may be able to get assistance from a local ham radio repair shop.
I don't think they are going to be cheaper than Horizon...

It'll probably take only a minute as they know what they are doing, they know what part is damaged, etc.
 

stevetsc

Junior Member
@colorex: If everything works out fine with the new module I'll leave it alone, otherwise I'll have to try your advice and see if rcgroups can come up with something. This is a simple enough fix, I just need to know how many Ohms I need to drop in. Right now it powers up fine, I can access the menus and set trims, rates, expos in the programming.

@koekiemonster: It was a surface mount resistor, but now it is no-more. I tried to see if the board had any values marked on it, it doesn't. :-/

@jetpackninja: Here's my other bind with sending it in; they require you send it with receipt & proof of purchase. Since this was an e-bay item I have neither. Also, upon retrospect it isn't that bad a rate. If all else fails I may give them a try.

Thanks every one for the replies!
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
Most likely the proof of purchase is only to verify the warranty.
You will not be making a warranty claim so I doubt they will need it :)
In any case, good luck and let us know if you are able to get it fixed!
 

stevetsc

Junior Member
Well, my box from Hobby King arrived today with a new battery for my JR8103, and the FrSky module & receiver. I set up at my workbench and gave it a whirl. Binding was easy enough, although the bind button on the Rx is a little hard to get to, I would suggest using a power switch rather than trying to plug & bind. Hooked up my servos and everything works great! I'll give it a few more tests before I take it out back and let it fly.

As far as the FrSky module, the antenna is a bit stubby, it barely makes it past the rear handle. I may put one of my WiFi antennas on it when doing some range testing.
 

jetpackninja

More combat please...
Mentor
No need to swap the antenna.
the actual 2.4 antenna (the piece inside that makes is work is only about 2 inches long.
The rest of it is just a plastic tube that goes over it.
if you try a higher gain wi-fi antenna, you will sacrifice in omni directionality.
I actually took my antenna and mounted it inside my radio, no more rubber duckie...