I stumbled on an interesting tidbit today. It has to do with storing your transmitter with the battery connected. Apparently, when the battery is connected, it attracts moisture. The moisture reacts with the copper wiring and over time, it can cause " black wire syndrome". It's when the copper wire becomes brittle and discoloured and eventually fails ( read cracks). ......interesting. I know I store my radios in their cease, but in the furnace room.

Bambi, Star and Loosey (her spelling)

Now these were interesting little tidbits....remember them from christmas  2011?

I should have added that the article suggests to remove or at least unplug transmitter batteries when storing . Never would have crossed my mind.

Here's where I found it. It was on the Futaba  site Q and A's

Q: My switch stopped working. When I checked it, I found that the black wire was all corroded and the copper part looked dark and was brittle. What happened?

A: This sounds like what's sometimes called "Black Wire Corrosion." Over time the battery's negative lead, which runs through the switch harness to the receiver, will corrode. The copper wire loses its bright, "coppery" look and turns almost black. It also becomes brittle and inflexible.

The cause? Storing your system in a damp place with the battery installed. If you leave the wire connected to the battery, surrounded by environmental moisture, an electrical effect results that promotes corrosion of the wire. The corrosion starts at the battery pack and works its way toward the switch harness.

The air doesn't have to feel particularly humid to qualify as a damp environment. Storing your system in a shed or garage leaves it vulnerable to enough humidity (such as the moisture brought into the garage by your car) for corrosion to occur. It will happen even faster if the battery is not maintained and goes flat. Charge and cycle your battery regularly to prevent or slow down the corrosion.


Although this is specifically talking about receivers, I am assuming leaving the power connected to your transmitter and it being stored anywhere damp, could have the same effect. Any electronic gurus out there shed some light on this?