Vintage transmitter frequency ribbon clip

thingiverse

One thing that has long eluded me in my pursuit to upgrade my vintage Futaba RipMax 4 transmitter is a ribbon antenna clip, later dubbed a "frequency pennant." After exhaustive online searches, I found images and purchase options for the device, but none provided clear views of the top portion of the antenna, nor did they meet my budget requirements. Undeterred, I stumbled upon an instruction manual for the ACOMS ATB-227 (Mk2) transmitter, which featured a well-drawn sectioned view of the clip. Inspired by this discovery, I decided to give drawing and 3D printing a try. My first task was to design the clip portion of the antenna. After several test prints, I was satisfied with the grip's functionality. Next, I set out to create the rest of the device, assuming that the ribbon itself would be approximately one inch in width. By combining this assumption with the dimensions I had gathered from my actual Futaba aerial, I was able to produce a scaled-down version. As fate would have it, I eventually found an image of the ribbon clip used by Futaba – and it resembled a coat hanger design. Given the effort I had invested in designing the previous version, I thought it only fair to share my creation with others who may be interested.