FrSky repair facility

[Wayne]

I'm going to guess that you have an X9D Plus?? If so, the pricing for the boards:

FrSky Taranis Plus Main Board

Replacement main board for the Taranis Plus transmitter by FrSky. Does include the LCD screen, plug and play, no soldering required.

alofthobbies.com

FrSky Taranis Plus Backboard + internal XJT module

Replacement Backboard and internal XJT module for the Taranis Plus transmitter by FrSky.

alofthobbies.com

Had you recently made any changes to the firmware? Will it come up in boot loader mode? Check the state of charge on the battery?

Typically, the repair will be the price of the parts and around $30 for labor give or take.

 

[Jim Snodgrass]

I'd like to know if Chris and your crack service teams replace antennas on Receivers with the miniature compression fit RF connectors for free, or its my fantastic looks, reputation and personality that has influenced them?

I dropped one in a RMA Box that had had one ant lead that popped off an the other was totally ripped off leaving the connector behind on the PC Board in a bad crash.. and I offered three separate times to pay for the repair knowing this was totally my fault .. but unless the bill is coming later.. I'll be darned if he didn't fix it for free!.. i WAS SHOCKED TO SEE THIS thing come back alive with two whiskers on it.

 

[Wayne]

I will have to have a stern talking to Chris. Clearly we should have charged hundreds of dollars for this service. Just kidding. Chris included the repair as he was doing some other things for you.

 

[Jim Snodgrass]

It Definitely left a good impression of what Aloft's all about.. Thanks!

 

[Wayne]

I just had a customer come in today and he was talking about some good service he got from an RC car shop down the road. He was very happy that they will solder on connectors for $2 if you buy the $5 connectors from them. I then reminded him that we have done that for him for free in the past. Funny thing is we only charge $1.40 for the same connector.

We have a pretty nice Local Hobby Shop (LHS) about 1 mile away. It is a pretty darn nice shop IMHO and they have done a great job of mixing product lines, they offer a lot of Doll Houses, trains, RC gear and seasonal home decorations. They get all ages and sexes into their shop. Their prices were pretty high, but seemed fair enough to me. Well, they are closing their doors next month even though I suspect their business was doing well. They have been going for 25 years. The story we are hearing is that they were offered a lot of money for their building and were seeing a slow down in the business.

You would think I would be happy to see the only other hobby shop in the county go away, but I am not. I do not like to see any hobby shops closing anywhere. These jewels are so rare these days, and they can offer so much to their local community and are great for getting people into the hobby and keeping them there. Very sad.

 

[Konrad]

Sad. I use to go there to pick up building supplies you didn't carry. I'd like to ask that you look into picking up some of the "normal" hobby shop stuff, like balsa, APC props, and maybe the Dubro line of small hardware.

Again sorry to hear they a closing down. They were a resource that complimented my trips to Aloft Hobbies.

 

[Wayne]

We have Balsa as of yesterday. Probably 50% of the price they were selling it for. I have been on the hunt for Balsa for a while now, it is a little tricky to source and I didn't want to go with Midwest as they charge way too much. Will be adding MP Jet line next, then maybe the Sullivan and Durbo to be more "LHS" style shop. I have always been reluctant to carry those lines as I want people to use their LHS for those things, but seems to be less and less LHS for folks to use anyhow.

 

[davemcddd]

I would also like to know Wayne's thoughts about this update.

 

[Jim Snodgrass]

Wayne,
I just wanted to take a second to thank you and your repair and support team members since every time I have asked for advice on something (Like what's a good motor/ESC/Prop or Prop adapter, or battery) they always take to time to give me good advice.. The other thing they do REALLY well is fill orders and get them out the door quickly.. I really do appreciate that level or expertise and service.. Thanks!

 

[Wayne]

Wayne, What's your take on the latest alert update for the X series Rx's. I bought quite a few of those from you. Also is it worth it to upgrade the boards to support ACCESS? If so when will you get the kits in. I have been contemplating sending in the used X12S I bought for inspection and repairs while you still have parts for this discontinued model. Thx.

We really had hoped FrSky was going to give the service dealers more time to test these firmwares and allow us to help them clearly state the issue and the remedy. If you live in the EU and are running the LBT firmware version, then this is of large importance. If you are running the normal (FCC) firmware the chances of this being an issue is VERY rare. As in everyone has been happy for the last 9 years.

Our suggestion is to give us some more time as sure enough this new firmware was rushed out and I feel it may be making matters worse. We all hate firmware upgrading, lets get this fully tested so we only have to deal with this mess once.

The last time we had to change this firmware was NEVER. I shipped the first batch or Taranis radios out to folks, and prior to each one being shipped I had to upgrade the IXJT firmware. Since then there has been no need to upgrade. So after 9 years I think we are all OK to wait a little bit longer and make sure we are fully tested with this new protocol patch.

 

[davemcddd]

Thank you Wayne!
I really appreciate your honest opinion about FrSky's latest firmware "update".

P.S. You would probably starve if you were a used car salesman.

 

[JiminWA]

We really had hoped FrSky was going to give the service dealers more time to test these firmwares and allow us to help them clearly state the issue and the remedy. If you live in the EU and are running the LBT firmware version, then this is of large importance. If you are running the normal (FCC) firmware the chances of this being an issue is VERY rare. As in everyone has been happy for the last 9 years.

Our suggestion is to give us some more time as sure enough this new firmware was rushed out and I feel it may be making matters worse. We all hate firmware upgrading, lets get this fully tested so we only have to deal with this mess once.

The last time we had to change this firmware was NEVER. I shipped the first batch or Taranis radios out to folks, and prior to each one being shipped I had to upgrade the IXJT firmware. Since then there has been no need to upgrade. So after 9 years I think we are all OK to wait a little bit longer and make sure we are fully tested with this new protocol patch.

Thx for responding Wayne. Hopefully I can get with Scott and find a good path forward to get flying.

 

[Wayne]

I'm starving now.. LOL

 

[SkySoldier]

I recently sent in a radio to get fixed total cost $91.00 plus my shipping. I received my Radio to find that the gimbals had been replaced and work fine but all switches don't, only the slider and Pots . I received an email but nothing more has been done, it maybe that they install the wrong updated firmware. PLEASE fix my radio guys thanks

 

[Wayne]

I recently sent in a radio to get fixed total cost $91.00 plus my shipping. I received my Radio to find that the gimbals had been replaced and work fine but all switches don't, only the slider and Pots . I received an email but nothing more has been done, it maybe that they install the wrong updated firmware. PLEASE fix my radio guys thanks

You should have some emails from us by now. We are getting the radio back and I'm going to be inspecting to see what went wrong on our end. I am very sorry for the trouble.

We do test all radios that come in before they go out. No idea what is going on with this one. I have some things I will be looking at that I suspect, but my guys know better.

We will make this right for you!

 

[SkySoldier]

Thanks Wayne Laurie sent me email I appreciate it

 

[eskrima408]

Hello Wayne and Aloft Hobbies... I just purchased a Near New Horus X12S from a seller on Ebay who was having trouble binding to his fleet... I received the Transmitter and fortunately I was able to get the Transmitter to bind to my fleet... I am looking at the Transmitters Settings and it seems to have not been Updated in sometime... The Current Firmware show 1.3.01 and I am to scared to update this myself... What is the cost to update this to the most Current Firmware that is has been stable... and I am Currently using the FrOs Protocol still and would like to stay with that Protocol for now... Thanks in Advance Roland Navalta

 

[Wayne]

Hello Wayne and Aloft Hobbies... I just purchased a Near New Horus X12S from a seller on Ebay who was having trouble binding to his fleet... I received the Transmitter and fortunately I was able to get the Transmitter to bind to my fleet... I am looking at the Transmitters Settings and it seems to have not been Updated in sometime... The Current Firmware show 1.3.01 and I am to scared to update this myself... What is the cost to update this to the most Current Firmware that is has been stable... and I am Currently using the FrOs Protocol still and would like to stay with that Protocol for now... Thanks in Advance Roland Navalta

Hey Roland,

I think we charge $40 for the firmware and while we have your radio we give it an inspection to make sure all looks good. The problem will be the shipping expense to and from, on the X12S, that does add up. If you would like to move forward with this, just send us an email at contact@alofthobbies.com and Laurie will send you the finer details.

 

[eskrima408]

Hey Roland,

I think we charge $40 for the firmware and while we have your radio we give it an inspection to make sure all looks good. The problem will be the shipping expense to and from, on the X12S, that does add up. If you would like to move forward with this, just send us an email at contact@alofthobbies.com and Laurie will send you the finer details.

Wanye what is the typical turn around time for the Firmware Update for the X12S w/ FrOs...???

 

[Wayne]

Normally a day or two depending on our workload that day, but with Covid, my Horus guy is only able to come in twice a week. Currently that is Monday and Friday. He tends to get everything done that collects the other days. Needless to say this means the turnaround sort of depends on what day your radio arrives. Also, just a warning, pack your radio well. Shipping is really bad right now, we see more abuse, and much slower shipping times. We still like USPS Priority mail the best, and FedEx ground is also pretty good without the price going crazy. UPS seems to have invested in their patented box crushing equipment and have it running in turbo mode lately.