The Color Black

[Tanner]

Marshall should leave their recievers unpainted or paint them a light color - the black paint job makes them get ridiculously hot whilst traking a bird in the desert sun in early season. The batteries in mine ruptured because of this while I was tracking my tiercel at 10 am in August. The heat also causes the receiver tuning to drift - you can hear it when you get out of the vehicle and the direct desert sun hits it - the pitch drifts lower. Not a huge deal there, but it does mean you have to move the frequency dial off of the position that you "trust" at a time when you are counting on your telemetry the most. I type this in case anyone from Marshall reads this thread, just a suggestion.

[BestBeagler]

Marshall should leave their recievers unpainted or paint them a light color - the black paint job makes them get ridiculously hot whilst traking a bird in the desert sun in early season. The batteries in mine ruptured because of this while I was tracking my tiercel at 10 am in August. The heat also causes the receiver tuning to drift - you can hear it when you get out of the vehicle and the direct desert sun hits it - the pitch drifts lower. Not a huge deal there, but it does mean you have to move the frequency dial off of the position that you "trust" at a time when you are counting on your telemetry the most. I type this in case anyone from Marshall reads this thread, just a suggestion.

Dude I've noticed the same thing.

[canvibe]

Dude I've noticed the same thing.

I would think colored Anodizing of the Aluminum would be a great idea, not only would it make the surface of the aluminum harder it would look great.

I suggested this back when people were talking about the black pistal grip receivers looking like handguns.

[AK Rev]

Ruptured batteries...wow. This is something Marshall should be on top of with all of their Gulf sales.

[RLBagley]

Marshall should leave their recievers unpainted or paint them a light color - the black paint job makes them get ridiculously hot whilst tracking a bird in the desert sun in early season. The batteries in mine ruptured because of this while I was tracking my tiercel at 10 am in August.

Well, here's some thoughts on this.

Actually, the aluminum parts on the Field Marshall receiver and yagi are not painted, they are Mil-Spec Hard Anodized, which is the most rugged coating process possible for sealing and protecting aluminum. We do this both for aesthetics and electrical performance so that, at least in my mind, we're not sending out "unfinished" products in bare aluminum.

Using Type 2 anodizing, one can can have numerous colors, as proven by Doug Pineo's custom made gold-colored Field Marshall body produced several years ago. But it wears, scratches much more easily, and we're after something to keep a product with an expected life of 10-15 years looking new, built to last. So we use the Hard Coat process and it allows only "clear," which comes out like the Scout, a military gray or greenish color, and "black" which is kind of our signature color. Maybe it's time to think about a "Scout colored" receiver, kind of a new Desert version?

Anyway, over the years, we've seen a number of reasons for the AA and AAA batteries in either the Dog Collars or the receivers to leak:

1) A defective battery which can happen at random. Most of us have probably experienced this happening over the years even in a regular flashlight.

2) They are left in an unused product, in series, for an extended period of time. It's always a good idea to remove them when the receiver is put away for the season.

3) Water and/or humidity ingress to the battery compartment. Which can cause the batteries to corrode and swell.

4) Excessive high heat. The operating range given for the Alkaline batteries is from 0F at the low end up to 130F at the high end.

The good news is that if you use a brand name battery like Energizer or Duracell, they will replace, under their warranty, any product damaged from one of their batteries leaking.

However, it's doubtful the battery compartment on the underside of your receiver was able to get above 130 degrees while being used in open air, tracking a bird, even in the hot sun. If so, there are six batteries in there, and you would expect to see them all fail. I would suspect instead a defective battery.

It doesn't happen often, but even years ago, when we were an authorized reseller for Wildlife materials, we would have TRX receivers returned to us from time to time with a battery that leaked (usually just one of the four AA's), and the entire battery holder would need to be replaced. But it didn't seem to be related to the black powder coat finish on their case, rather, battery failure from a defective battery or there was evidence of water/corrosion.

You may have noticed that in the Field Marshall Owner's Manual we recommend the new Lithium AAA's now available for longer life and cold temperature use, but another advantage to using these is that we've never had a report or return of a Lithium AAA (or even an AA in any dog collar) with a leakage problem.

So that might be another option to consider. They are more expensive but I now use lithium AAA's in my own Field Marshall and it really makes it lighter in weight, as well.

Hope that helps,
RB

[RLBagley]

The heat also causes the receiver tuning to drift - you can hear it when you get out of the vehicle and the direct desert sun hits it - the pitch drifts lower. Not a huge deal there, but it does mean you have to move the frequency dial off of the position that you "trust" at a time when you are counting on your telemetry the most. I type this in case anyone from Marshall reads this thread, just a suggestion.

While it's true that all receivers drift with temperature change, you'll actually find that the Field Marshall drifts less than any other tracking receiver used in falconry. We made this change in 2007.

Our transmitters, on the other hand, are now all completely 'temperature compensated' internally so that they stay right on tune.

RB

[Tanner]

THanks Robert.

The black is certainly good looking. I'd be up for the scout colored version for sure. As a point of fact, only one battery ruptured. However it was an Energizer Lithium, only a few weeks old. It did happen when the receiver was very hot. I was doing my best to keep it shaded while walking across the desert and trying to maintain the signal at the same time. As for the temperature inside the battery compartment? I don't know how hot it was, but the air temperature was in the range of 98 or thereabouts, so I'm sure that hot receiver was at least 105 - 110.

I had to run a wood screw partly into the battery to get it out. The coating on the inside surface of the battery chamber was eroded slightly in one spot but everything else looked good in there. I cleaned it up with a gun-barrel brush and have not had any problems since (it's not that hot anymore).

I agree that all receivers can frequency drift and was not intending to point fingers at Marshall there, simply stating that it does happen and maybe lighter colored finishes would help minimize that. As a whole, I have been very pleased with my reciever, it's an awesome product.

Tanner

[AK Rev]

I will be getting a FM800 before long. If there is a Scout colored version, I would be interested in that.

[RLBagley]

I would think colored Anodizing of the Aluminum would be a great idea, not only would it make the surface of the aluminum harder it would look great.

I suggested this back when people were talking about the black pistal grip receivers looking like handguns.

We have indeed been anodizing all our aluminum products for fifteen years now (see reply above). That is highlighted as a key feature on the website. The question as to offering other colors is the issue, it seems. For now, we have been following the Henry Ford approach to the color offerings, keeping things simple.

As to looking like a handgun, this used to be much more of an issue for some people in the east (and especially those hawking the Industrial parks near Chicago!) and we would hear this concern about the single piece receiver design. Although police have been called on falconers using other receiver designs as well.

On receivers produced since 2007 (the last five years) this issue has kind of melted away since the handle can be completely removed and with the body now 30% narrower, it's just as easy to hold it like you would those two-element receivers imported from Finland (only you don't give up range and directionality).

Others have also put reflective tape on the sides of their receiver to alter its color/appearance as well as make it real easy to find with a flashlight if left there in the grass after a successful recovery.

Just some more thoughts,
RB

[RLBagley]

Ruptured batteries...wow. This is something Marshall should be on top of with all of their Gulf sales.

Well, with a couple thousand receivers going over to the Gulf every year, we do watch things pretty closely when it comes to failures. Over there, the temperatures inside a parked vehicle in the sun get extreme. Anyway, battery problems are a very small percentage.

The great double-edge sword of that market is the effectiveness of their word-of-mouth networks. If things are new and great, everyone knows quickly. If there are misunderstandings and/or failures, you don't often get a second chance.

Keeps a telemetry designer, manufacturer, on their toes for sure.
RB

[RLBagley]

I will be getting a FM800 before long. If there is a Scout colored version, I would be interested in that.

Yes, I can visualize a "military color receiver" as being pretty cool. The trick here is that there are so many antenna parts to do when assembling the yagi in a new color.

However, it'd be pretty easy to just do a batch of 20-30 of the two case halves, together with the control panel and then just put the regular black yagi on top, black Delrin handle below.

Except then it'd end up kind of like a two-toned Chevy, not ideal in terms of appearance. Yet we'd have to still have our name on it.

So, let's say, for now, we'll "take this under advisement for possible future development."

RB

[RLBagley]

THanks Robert.

I agree that all receivers can frequency drift and was not intending to point fingers at Marshall there, simply stating that it does happen and maybe lighter colored finishes would help minimize that. As a whole, I have been very pleased with my reciever, it's an awesome product.

Tanner

OK, very good, thanks.

Maybe we should run a quick survey on the Marshall Radio Forum, as to how many would prefer the military gray/green color for their receiver? The dawning of a new era for color.

(except, that's not going to help those who already have one)

Please know, however, there are far more exciting things for all you guys just around the corner, than merely a color change.

RB

[fehgan101]

Mr Bagley that's not fair. At least an indication of when we can expect it.

[FredFogg]

Please know, however, there are far more exciting things for all you guys just around the corner, than merely a color change.

RB

Ahhhhh, I love a good tease!

[RLBagley]

Mr Bagley that's not fair. At least an indication of when we can expect it.

Well, maybe instead of "just around the corner," I should have used the word "soon." That way it can be later this season, or even the beginning of next. . .

Anyway, the point is, there's a lot of cool stuff happening here internally, and we're not sitting still with past achievements.

[canvibe]

OK, very good, thanks.

Maybe we should run a quick survey on the Marshall Radio Forum, as to how many would prefer the military gray/green color for their receiver? The dawning of a new era for color.

(except, that's not going to help those who already have one)

Please know, however, there are far more exciting things for all you guys just around the corner, than merely a color change.

RB

Olive Green would be cool.

[fehgan101]

Can you at least let us know if the advances are transmitter or reciever based. I'm wwanting to upgrade from the older version reciever and wouldn't be best pleased if I bought it and something better appeared a month or two later!!

[crbhawking]

Will it be out by Christmas season??