Company History
Hallco
Hallco Systems
By Jay Mendoza
December, 2009
Hallco had 3 basic versions of their pulse systems and a couple variants. The 101 system was a basic RO (rudder only) system for use with an Adams type actuator. It used what was called the "standard" type Adams actuator with the 100-ohm resistor across the coil; the center tap of the coil was used as well. This was an early type circuit not unlike that used by Testors, Sterling, and the early Ace Pulse Commander.
Next in the line-up was the Hallco 103, which was a Galloping Ghost type system that gave proportional rudder, elevator, and position able throttle using a single Rand LR-3 actuator mounted on the receiver/switcher board. Hallco called this "Simple Proportional" It used a 4 cell 500MAH center tapped NiCad battery and the airborne system was all on one board, the batteries plugged into the board, but everything else including all electronics, the LR-3, and switch was integral. This greatly simplified installing the airborne system, and assured the user of all the components being matched to work together perfectly. The receiver had AGC as well, which was a bit unusual for pulse systems. The transmitter used a Bonner stick as found in Digimite radios, and due to the limited trim movement these had, it was compensated for by making the pulser a bit more sensitive to rudder (width) and elevator (rate) inputs from the stick. The drawback of this was that the Rand LR-3 tended to cycle/go around and increment the throttle whenever full up in combination with full rudder was signaled. To compensate for that, Hallco placed a clear plastic overlay with a cutout for the stick over the Bonner joystick which could be moved and adjusted to limit the amount of stick movement and thus prevent the Rand LR-3 from unwanted cycling. This was a crude, but very effective solution as it gave the pilot a decent amount of trim without additional electronic trim knobs as seen on transmitters like the Jansson.
Then Hallco had their dual actuator high rate systems, which they called "steady ghost", the 123SS and 123TA. The basic 123 transmitter was so named because it could be used as a single (1) two (2) or three (3) function transmitter for rudder only, or rudder/ engine, or rudder/engine/throttle, offering the ultimate in pulse proportional versatility. This system came with the unitized single board receiver/switcher, actuator (LR-3) as found with the 103 system, and an optional elevator (Rand HR-1) could be added to it if high rate dual actuators were desired for more precise interaction free control was desired. A step up from this was the 123TA (twin actuator), which came with the 103 airborne and seperate elevator actuator for an additional cost. Another variant was the 123SS; this had a different board with a Rand HR-1 and HR-2 mounted side by side (hence the SS) on a slightly different version of the receiver/electronics board. All 123 variants had an internal switch to select low rate (LR-3) or high rate (HR-1/HR-2) and pots inside to adjust for different pulse rates. Interestingly enough, although they came with the NiCad battery pack, the charger was not included in any of the systems. As one may have already surmised, there were no differences in the 123 steady ghost transmitters, it was the airborne package that was supplied that determined the model.
Hallco was long time in developing these systems and as such they were latecomers to the galloping ghost/pulse proportional field. As a result, they were able to take advantage of all the developments that had occurred and were fairly well refined in terms of simplicity, and features. They were not without drawbacks however, and one was the use of a center tapped battery which meant eventually that the servo would drain one half of the pack faster than the other, resulting in slower operation in one direction, and the pack not recharging to full capacity. Hallco never went to a high quality stick, but the Bonner stick was seen at that time as a feature due to it being associated with the Digimite, and was by far the most popular, it was a selling point. The unitized construction of the receiver, actuator and switcher/decoder had its limitations in that unlike individual components, each could not be positioned separately as required in certain installations, so it was limiting in that respect. The SS and TA were attempts to deal with that issue and allow some flexibility, however, if there was a problem, you had to remove the whole system for servicing as opposed to just replacing an individual component. Additionally, the unitized airborne circuit board was vulnerable to being broke in half in good crash as it was rigidly mounted to rails and was not protected by being wrapped in foam rubber. All in all however, the Hallcos represented on of the most developed and versatile systems of the day, and also they continued to sell them at a very reasonable cost, and even offered deep discounts towards the end of the era as digital proportional systems began to eclipse them. Many people still fondly remember the cartoon characters used in their humorous add campaign for the steady ghost 123 systems.
