Does it worth the SPECKTRUM DX8?

[king_carlos_v]

Its some investment($350+) that i would like ask to the community.

i have seen that they have some problem and all other stuff. but i don't know certainly.

so, what do you think about this guys?

 

[Ak Flyer]

I have a Dx8 and I've never regretted buying it. It works with all my planes and helicopters and is compatible with all my bind n fly.

There are certainly cheaper radios but I'm quite happy with mine. Mine was after the updates were done. I had one hardware problem where the vibration and tone stopped working, since they fixed it I haven't had any more problems.

 

[lobstermash]

An item is only worth what someone will pay for it and the seller is willing to take to part with it.

The DX8 is a good radio, no doubt about it. Horizon Hobby has excellent post-purchase customer service. You wont need to open up the radio and play around with it to get optimal functionality either. Spektrum gear is also well regarded at flying fields and clubs. There are a number of planes and helis that can only be used with DSM2/DSMX too.

The big competitor is the Turnigy/Flysky/Eurgle 9x. It's 1/5 of the price and is fully computerised. The retailers that sell this have little to no post-sales service. The stock firmware is usable, but lateral thinking is needed to get some of the more complex mixes working and it's only got an 8 model memory. A $5 AVR programmer soldered onto appropriate points in the tx, or a solder-less solution like the Smartipants board ($45) allows you to update the firmware and double the model memory. Another $50-$60 gets you an easy plug and play module that gets you telemetry and arguably the most reliable 2.4 radio link. This is a very DIY radio that you can customise to a large extent. HOWEVER, be prepared to be snubbed by many of the established flying fraternity.

 

[jetpackninja]

What kind of flying do you intend to do?
The DX8 is a great radio, but so is the DX7 and the DX6i.
I have the DX6i and it will probably never be an issue that it only holds 10 models.
At the least, get a radio that is programmable.

The 9x radios are good too. One big advantage for spektrum as well as for the 9x is the ability to find reasonably priced receivers.
I use the Orange 6ch receivers. For 6 bucks apiece it's hard to beat them.

 

[Ak Flyer]

I was reading the reply from Chad to my question about why we don't see the 9x featured in their episodes very often. He said that they don't use it because the rx's are harder to get than spektrum stuff.

 

[lobstermash]

You've gotta be quick when Hobbyking gets some in stock! It scares me when I think about how transmitters they sell too - They get a container of 200-300 and they're sold out within a couple of hours... That's about $16k in turnover just from one product! They sold them at $40 a pop for a couple of months, so if that's cost (they'd be stupid to sell below cost), there's $4k of pure profit!

 

[pgerts]

I got my first DX7 July 2007 from HobbyKing .
I would answer your question with a YES without any doubt after flying with my DX8 for a year now. But you should get the LiPo battery to get most flying time without any need to recharge. With 20 models on the DX7 and another 30 on the DX8 plus the SD-card i don't expect to be out of model memories any time soon.

 

[Ak Flyer]

It seems like a lot of models but I've got 15 spots filled already. My buddy has about the same amount of planes and he has a DX6i. He has to reprogram for each model if they're complicated or he has one that's just a basic setup for a couple planes and he rebinds it each time.

 

[lobstermash]

Haha, yeah, I was running out of spots on my 9x, as stock it only has 8. ER9X doubles that. We've got 2 9x radios and had my planes spread on them. Now I can just fit them all on one.

 

[Ak Flyer]

I really never thought I would even use up ten. Turns out finding cheap parts from hobbyking including orange rx's has turned my addiction into something more. I think my planes really are gremlins, I must have fed one after midnight because now they're everywhere.

 

[PunkStar Studios]

Its some investment($350+) that i would like ask to the community.

i have seen that they have some problem and all other stuff. but i don't know certainly.

so, what do you think about this guys?

I'm in the same boat as most I suspect.
Started with the 5... moved up to the 6. I quickly outgrew that within a few months and moved into the 8. LOVE the 8.
I the 18 wasn't so damn expensive I'd probably move into that too ;-)
With the exception of my A320 model which needed a reversing cable for the nose wheel, I've never come across a model I couldn't mix right with this radio.
In fact the quad and hex (DJI Innovations) actually needed the AR8000 rx to work right so it's a no brainer for me. And with the number of models in a constant state of flex (unfortunately not always going up haha), the model memory has been irreplaceable.

Post sales is good. I had an issue with my 6 last year (before I upgraded to the 8)... I sent them mine they fixed it and sent it back in a reasonable amount of time.

I dropped my 8 and the left stick got buggered up. I was able to open the radio up, figure out the guts and make it right again.

I also use telemetry on a few models - I'm pretty sure the 6 doesn't have that capability at all.

 

[king_carlos_v]

well; with all the answers i have decide to go for the 8.

thanks guys

 

[king_carlos_v]

What kind of flying do you intend to do?
The DX8 is a great radio, but so is the DX7 and the DX6i.
I have the DX6i and it will probably never be an issue that it only holds 10 models.
At the least, get a radio that is programmable.

The 9x radios are good too. One big advantage for spektrum as well as for the 9x is the ability to find reasonably priced receivers.
I use the Orange 6ch receivers. For 6 bucks apiece it's hard to beat them.

fpv primary and some flights with wings. not too much; but i want head tracker

 

[king_carlos_v]

I'm in the same boat as most I suspect.
Started with the 5... moved up to the 6. I quickly outgrew that within a few months and moved into the 8. LOVE the 8.
I the 18 wasn't so damn expensive I'd probably move into that too ;-)
With the exception of my A320 model which needed a reversing cable for the nose wheel, I've never come across a model I couldn't mix right with this radio.
In fact the quad and hex (DJI Innovations) actually needed the AR8000 rx to work right so it's a no brainer for me. And with the number of models in a constant state of flex (unfortunately not always going up haha), the model memory has been irreplaceable.

Post sales is good. I had an issue with my 6 last year (before I upgraded to the 8)... I sent them mine they fixed it and sent it back in a reasonable amount of time.

I dropped my 8 and the left stick got buggered up. I was able to open the radio up, figure out the guts and make it right again.

I also use telemetry on a few models - I'm pretty sure the 6 doesn't have that capability at all.

i also was looking for the dx18.. but is $800.. i have spend A LOT in a month, so is my wish list.

 

[king_carlos_v]

I got my first DX7 July 2007 from HobbyKing .
I would answer your question with a YES without any doubt after flying with my DX8 for a year now. But you should get the LiPo battery to get most flying time without any need to recharge. With 20 models on the DX7 and another 30 on the DX8 plus the SD-card i don't expect to be out of model memories any time soon.

i would like to know the reason why they stop selling spectrum radios, instead futaba..

 

[lobstermash]

Hobbyking positioned itself to be competition to Horizon. There's a bit of hostility methinks. Hobbyking are big threats to Horizon's business model, which is primarily operated through hobby stores. I'm amazed that both companies sponsored Flitetest at the same time.

Futaba's range of stuff doesn't lend themselves to so much competition with Hobbyking.

 

[pgerts]

i would like to know the reason why they stop selling spectrum radios, instead futaba..

I think that they could not get any profit as the price out to customers was on the spot same dollars as in the USA shops.
My reason to get it was that the EU prices was about 50% higher than US at the time, and the coding was different. The HK version was the EU standard coding. HK still used to sell receivers a long time but not much cheaper than shop-prices.