2nd TX - Where to go next?

[MonkeyWithARotor]

Hi everyone.

I am a newbie, looking to move to my next transmitter. Just wanted to make sure I am on the right track and have a few questions. I'd love a bit of input.

To give you a bit of a background (cause I know you will ask) and what I intend to do;

• Like lots of Newbies, I purchased a Hobbyzone Super Cub S with a DX4e transmitter to test the RC water
• I am getting really confident with the aircraft and am looking to move up in the next few months
• I wanted to purchase a new TX and fly a plane I know, before moving to a new plane
• Budget is NZ$400-NZ$600
• I'd like something with options for telemetry

These are my intensions moving forward;

• Im going to keep the Cub, as I have a few friends and family that would probably like to have a shot at flying RC. I'll need a buddy box
• Im keen to have a crack at upgrading the Cub as a first attempt at playing with electronics and adding ailerons etc
• Im looking for a TX that can do everything and more than I need right now, but I can grow into
• The area I live in is Parkflyer friendly and Im looking to buy a warbird or 2, so I will no doubt purchase other DSMX/PNP style aircraft
• I work at an event venue that has a building that indoor flyers dream about - so looking at getting a couple of minis (once again DSMX)
• Looking at getting a Nano QX (DSMX), as I am interested in moving to mini quads
• Want to have a crack at scratch building a fun plane that I can try things on, such as bomb drops etc, so need a few AUX channels

At first I was looking at buying a DX8 or 9, but have now set my sites on a Taranis Plus with an Orange RX module, mainly due to bang for buck. Also had Futaba and Graupner in mind.

What I understand of the above options;

Spektrum - quality, well made TX, Easy to program, RX are readily available and fairly cheap (DX9 NZ$599, DX7 NZ$539, DX6 NZ$359)
Taranis - big learning curve, extremely programmable, huge bang for buck - not the best finish but probably everything Id need ($360+$42 for Module)
Futaba - Don't know a lot, but are also fairly regularly available in my country (10J NZ$529, 8J NZ$449)
Graupner - great looking TX, lots of options. Cant find a supplier for this in NZ, so would need to order TX and RX from overseas (MZ-18 $502+international frt + Taxes)

Am I on the right track with aiming for a Taranis?


Also a couple of questions;

- Can you buddy box a Taranis with a OrangeRX to a Spektrum?
- If I decided to switch the Cub to FrSky, is there a cheap TX I could use as a buddy box?

Sorry for the long post

Where I work

 

[Grauwulf]

My vote goes to the Taranis, if you go through the Open TX University and do all of your setup on Companion, it gets a lot easier. Cannibalize the transmitter module from your DX4E to make a dsm2/X module (see the thread on here) and you can re-use what's left of the DX4e as a buddy box.

 

[Ethanator10000]

Yes, I agree with Grauwulf. Although I don't own one I have heard a lot of great things about the Taranis. It seems like a radio that will last for a long time with it's complete programming (OpenTx), lots of channels and the module bay sounds awesome so that you aren't stuck using a single protocol.

If you do get one, get the Taranis Plus. The original Taranis is out of production, but I think that some might have them left in stock. The Taranis Plus is like $15-$20 more and it has a few more features, like haptic feedback.

Also is this the Spektrum Protocol module thread?

http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?13829-Want-true-DSMX-in-your-Taranis&highlight=Dsmx+module

 

[ofiesens2]

As everybody else says, the Taranis is incredible, no questions asked.

I'm actually in the same situation as you, I started by flying a Super Cub and a bunch of FT swappables with a DX4e, and just last year I got a used DX7s (the older version) for about 150$, and it has to be one of the best decisions I've made. The radio itself works absolutely fine, I can easily buddybox with the DX4e, and it works with all the planes I currently fly (everything is DSMX). I never use it, but it also has telemetry.

Bear in mind that the new DX7 is much more expensive but also more feature-packed, but if you could find one used that might be the way to go.

 

[Grauwulf]

Ethanator, that's the thread I was referring to. I've built one of those modules and it works awesome. The model memory feature is what really sold me on it, I was constantly having to re-bind with the Orange module.

 

[HilldaFlyer]

My second transmitter was the Taranis Plus. Couldn't be happier with it - recommended for sure... but I only have the two and haven't tried anything else (Guapner, Futaba, Turnigy, etc.)


My first was a Spektrum DX6i and like you, I didn't want to loose the connection to my fleet. So after a little research I built a Spectrum Module and you can find lots of notes in the article on how to build your own rather than buying an OrangeRX Module.

For the buddy box, I just used the now almost unused Spektrum DX6i as the slave. Again I tapped into the Taranis capabilities and created a wireless buddy system... which was surprisingly easy to set up. The article provides a few ways of doing it based on your level of comfort.

Good Luck!

 

[pressalltheknobs]

Personally can't thing of a reason why the Taranis is not the best choice.

It's the least expensive.

It does the most.

The learning curve is overstated assuming you are the least bit interested in how RC works.

You already have a DX4e so the Spektrum factor has an immediate solution.

There is no problem buddy boxing the Taranis with anything that has a normal PPM trainer output. There are other solutions as Hillda Flyer illustrates.

The only negative is that the build quality is good but perhaps not great. In particular, watch out for the programming buttons as the way they are attached is weak and can break. I thought the issue had been addressed but it recently happened to mine after 8 or 9 months of fairly light use. I had mine fixed under warranty because it was convenient for me but I understand you can usually just glue them back in. The good thing is that, unlike other brands, you can get spare parts and the mechanicals are not hard to self service. If you are uncomfortable with that and need more hand holding it might be a factor you want to consider.