Essex-Fishing

On ebay you can buy a smartcast rf15 brand new for £103 (including postage) from the USA. But in the USA they have the green sensors rather than the orange ones over here and it says that over here the green ones are illegal and basically use a different frequency. Does this make a difference? will it still work to its full effect over here if i was to buy one? and has anybody got an RF15? if they have would they reccomend it?
cheers
Twink

Dont forget to add postage and import duty to that price if you havent allready.

The uk ones do use a diff frequency. If wont make any differance only you might have a 747 come crashing down in your lake as it is the frequency used for UK airlines.
Mind you dont know of anyone who has actually been prosectuted.
I had an RF10 and regret getting rid of it. Good bit of kit.

Coupla things worth noting:

The smartcast has an unmodified operating range of about 30 yrds, so a plane would have to be landing in your swim anyway to be affected IF it was using the same frequency
It does NOT use the same frquency as UK airlines. It may be a surprise but UK planes go to the states..so it would be pretty dumb if they had to swap frquencies mid-atlantic just to avoid smartcasts
The frequency they use simply is not licenced in the uk. It falls within a range that is set aside for leisure/hobby use but only the UK frequency is licenced.
If your that worried, paint the float orange, nobody will be any wiser.

...... that would make an interesting feature

Twadds,
i know that it only goes a short distance but how do i get it modified? as i believe iv read b4 that u hav got one 2 ?

Do you want to use it towed behing a baitboat or still cast the float sensor?
If your still gonna cast it, its a fairly simple task to mod the sensor and base unit yourself. However, the claimed increase in operating distance is optomistic IMHO. I get about 50-60 yrds from mine towed behind a boat. This may be because of interference from motors and RX/TX electronics.

Some mod kits claim 200 yrds + but these tend to be mods that place the sensor in a custom shuttle that I presume have amplification circuitry. ( These shuttle mods dont work on US models )
The float mod simply involves unwrapping the aerial from its spiral shape in the turret of the float. You have to carefully cut the float open to do this and resealing with silicone or similar.. Its not rocket science tho.
The base unit also has a curly wurly aerial inside and to mod this, you open the unit, cut the aerial off and replace it with another aerial on the exterior.
If you google 'smartcast modification' there is plenty of info on tinternet, including the optimum aerial lengths.
Hope this helps matey.

Hi

i bought a modified one from the states off Ebay - packed up after a couple of weeks and cannot find anyone to repair it - does anyone know anyone who can repair it ?

total crap !

do not waste your money !

andy

Used to have one with my Viper MK3 all Mod up Still only got about 80 yds with it

Can I just add that the hobbies that may use this frequencies could be radio controlled planes. IMHO this could lead to dangerous situations. I have a radio controlled aircraft and it has the potential to kill if out of control. We wouldn`t like model aircraft users to interfere with our sport so lets not interfere with theirs.