Thursday 30th may: After a hard days wallpapering, late in the afternoon I got a call from choddy, It went something like this. Hi grot, Ive spoken to Chris Bashford at mainlink systems and can you come and do a visit tomorrow afternoon. WHAT ??? *&^&*(%£$£RD came my reply its lucky that I'm self employed.

So Friday afternoon choddy came to pick me up in the bus and we set off. Mainlink systems are based in Moggerhanger near Bedford so we hadn't got far to go, on the journey we discussed what we wanted to know and how best to approach this visit (Our knowledge of electronics being what it is 0:-) . As it turned out we needn't have worried. Both Chris and Roger are both keen modellers of some repute and have a company policy of keeping things relevant and always explain things in terms that you can understand. To this end They have produced a book in conjunction with the BMFA to explain in some detail the facts about ni-cad and ni-mh battery packs. This excellent book dispells many myths about these cells and explains how best to treat them. A bargain at £3.50 inc p+p.

Now that is a flight pack for sore eyes. This is one of four flight packs designed for a 60ft airship bieng built for promotional work.WOW.

In the beginning...

Chris and Roger met when both became apprentices in 1957 at the De Havilland aircraft company. But at this stage didnt have much to do with each other. Chris became a control systems and undercarriage design engineer and roger worked on the structural side of airframes, and eventually worked for Marshalls Aviation in Cambridge.

It was both of thier passion for model aircraft that brought them together once more whilst Chris was giving a talk at Rogers model club. Chris has been an aeromodeller since the mid fifties and had some success whith early reed valve radio, while Roger has always been more competetive with control line and R/C pylon racing. Roger is still heavily involved in R/C as an examiner for the BMFA and an active member of Royston MAC.

The Late sixties saw Chris designing a remote-controlled mining locomotive and this eventually led to him starting Mainlink systems in 1979. Both roger and chris now mainly develope charging and test equipment for the modelling world but also produce equipment for the government and also the film industry. All of this experience has led them to produce the Battery book amongst many other things, and with it they hope to dispell all of the common untruths generally bandied about the club field replacing them with a more accurate account of how it should be done.

Occasionally a product comes along that really grabs you by the throat and says buy me. Well that product for me has to be the Mainlink flight monitor. It resembles a battery monitor but actually tells you if you have had a radio glitch in flight and if so how long for. Also you can purchase a pc interface for it and download your previous 9 flights so that you may store it for future reference. For full details go to www.mainlinksystems.co.uk and contact either Chris or roger.

Another usefull little gadget for those who have managed to avoid the onslaught of the computer radio is the mixing unit which enables you to mix v-tail, elevons etc. This unit can also be used for mixing any other two channels of your choice. Price of mixer £18.00 , Glitch counter £28.50 PC interface £25.00 or both for £50.00.

We dont have any pictures at present but the guys told us that they have just tested the prototype of there in flight video camera and have reported that using a buddy box system for safety it was possible to fly a model from the monitor screen. As with messrs Rolls and Royce the range has been quoted as sufficient. We at bumpy green are hoping to aquire one of these amazing little units operating on 2.4Ghz (so its totally legal) whith four available channels to enable th use of four cameras at any one time. Now wont that make a good movie for the Bumpy Cinema. Prices to be announced shortly but somewhere in the region of £280.00.-but this does come in both colour and black and white.

Mainlink systems also produce a full range of other products including Digital tachometers, Frequency checkers, Timers for free flight electric motors etc. but The products for which they are best known are the delta peak charging systems. These i have both seen in operation and can vouch for thier versatility and ease of use. Just plug in press the button and forget it till the job is done.

Q So Chris , how did you start in r/c?..

A "I started in r/c some 40 yrs ago. I was working in the aviation industry and started the first model aircraft club at Hatfield, under the royal aeronautical society. I used to build my own radio in my teens even though it was very bitty in those days. Also, I had been involved in control line and free flight as a kid and stuck with it. When the aeronautical industy went sour I had a few other jobs and started to introduce my knowledge of electronics into my mechanical training at the time. My knowledge of electronics really developed from the hobby. one of the first commercial things I did was to design a radio controlled mining locomotive.

Q And where did you go from there?...

A Well soon atfer that I left the company and had several other jobs in electronics at which point I was already established until in 79' I started Mainlink systems.

Q How did you get together with Rodger?...

A "Rodger was an apprentice at de-Havilland at the same time as me but we only knew each other in passing not really to talk to. However Rodger was also a keen modeller and we met while I was giving a talk at royston model club. He Said that he wasnt doing anything at the time to which I replied "you are now" and we have been working together ever since.

Q And does anybody else work here?...

A Not at the moment but we have had help in the past. One young lady used to work here making up circuit boards which was a great help and stay for quite a long time, unfortunately she left to pursue a career in the police force.

Q Who makes them for you now?...

A "Well, although it's more expensive we now have gone for automatic production using surface mount technology, so we do all the designing and artwork and the major work is done in elseware. This just leaves us to finish the job of final assemlby."

Q How long does it take for Example to produce a batch of say 50 Delta 6 units?...

A "As a rough estimate I would say about three weeks because once they have all been built we then test them. Although we do break of on to ather jobs once we have a stock of them."

Q How do you feel the buisiness has come on and do you find that your work is Seasonal ?

A "Certainly over the years our buisiness has come a very long way since we first started and obviously the technology available today makes life easier. We have also developed our regular customer base over the years wich takes time to acheive. As to how seasonal our work is its hard to say. Obviously at Christmas we have a lot of sales and calls from modellers wives and girlfriends wishing to provide the perfect gift for the man in thier lives, also there is a dramatic rise in sales during the show season. Especially at Sandown where we find buisniness is very brisk.

We thanked Chris and Roger for spending some time with us. And for the interview. Its great to see the companies that keep the model trade alive here in the uk at first hand. It is so easy to take them for granted as just another retail product supplier. But dont forget that most of them are cottage industries and as you know they need our support as customers to stay alive.

The guys were just preparing for the Sandown show that day and leaving early the next day. And were keen to get on so we all decided it was time we got going. We wished them good luck in the show and the future and made our way home.

We Have since purchased a new product the In Flight Video Camera. We have had very good results with this tiny camera and send the live video feed into the camcorder for recording.

Article by Grot from Bumpy Green Model Aerodrome
30th June 2001

Comment by Chris Lane on 00000000000000. Rating none

Returning to RC after many years! What are legal frequencies for what nowadays please? I used Magregor/Elmic 27mHz. . . . . .

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