RCS Tetraplex

[stuart mackay]

An acquaintance of mine, who would prefer to remain nameless (and who paid a fortune for it) lent me his Tetraplex to take some photos to share with you....
Some of you may know that this ws one of the first British proportional sets from the 1963/4 era and is an analogue pulse proportional

The receiver is the veritable half a house-brick and the servos are equally substantial.
The charger looks like the same case as the RCS single channel transmitter?

Controls are relatively conventional other than the twist knob for rudder control and thumbwheel for throttle. The most ergonomic way of holding is using the "cuddle-box" method....Enjoy

[stuart mackay]

I happened to be with Shaun yesterday when he read this.
I had to sit him down and settle his nerves until the veneration subsided to a manageable level...
He was like

I think it had a slightly different effect on Mike K, who had it in his shaking hands yesterday when he popped in and only realised today that he missed seeing the RX and Servos!

It has a real "Dan Dare"/ Eagle Comic feel to it, smells like old 60s electronics and thank heavens someone has had the foresight to remove the batteries a long time ago before they could rot the transmitter. Corrosion is non-existent for a set that must be 57 years old now.

Lovely isn't it (?) and Mike is already scheming of how to make a replica!

How many still exist?

[Tobe]

I sure can replicate the knob....

[RobertC]

Wow! That’s a sight to behold , how lovely and it’s the first time I’ve ever seen a set , heard about them never seen a picture till now ..
The stick unit looks a lovely bit of kit, shame they never used them on early Digi 4/6’s instead of the Bonner

[Pchristy]

I remember seeing one at the RCS factory, back around 1963/4. A school-friend's father wanted to buy a proportional set, and took us both up to London to "do the rounds" of suppliers.

We were shown a Tetraplex at the RCS factory, but not allowed to turn it on! It may have just been an empty box, though there was a prototype system there too. The sticks on the prototype looked like they were made from Meccano (or similar)!

Because we weren't allowed to see it working, for years after I wondered if they ever even existed outside of the adverts! I suspect the number manufactured barely broke into double figures, as I neither came across one nor came across anyone else who had - until now!

Eventually friend's dad settled on a FlightLink (the original valve one!), a Graupner Caravelle and Merco 61. I have no idea what happened to the Caravelle, but I did see him spectacularly write off a Super 60 with the FlightLink! The FlightLink ended up in a boat, and even there it proved barely up to the task...

Have you tried powering the Tetraplex up to see if it still works? I'm sure I've got an old RCM&E somewhere with a detailed explanation of how it works. I got the impression it was a "clone" of the American Space Control system, which eventually morphed into the Orbit analog system.

--
Pete

[stuart mackay]

I remember seeing one at the RCS factory, back around 1963/4. A school-friend's father wanted to buy a proportional set, and took us both up to London to "do the rounds" of suppliers.

Have you tried powering the Tetraplex up to see if it still works? I'm sure I've got an old RCM&E somewhere with a detailed explanation of how it works. I got the impression it was a "clone" of the American Space Control system, which eventually morphed into the Orbit analog system.

--
Pete

No Pete, was loaned it and signed a covenant that I would only photograph it to share with you guys. Although, I am trying to sell body parts to try and buy it, but that will come with strings attached, I am sure...

[Mike_K]

Hi Stuart

I found an advert for the Tetraplex in the RCM&E June 1964 and a review in the next months' copy (July 64).

Interestingly the RCM&E June 64 had the Flight Link series 1 in the "commercial developments", so RCM&E had both sets within a month or so of each other. Owning a Flight Link series 1 and having held the Tetraplex Stuart has on loan, I can compare the two and the RCS feels more "modern" and was certainly smaller and lighter than the Flight Link and was superhet, whereas the Flight Link was Super-regen and it was another year before the FL superhet came to market. Yet it seems from adverts that the Tetraplex went out of production after only a few months, but the Flight Link carried on a few more years before being replaced by the series 3. I wonder why, as obviously so much work had gone into its development?

Cheers Mike