Im very new to the RC hobby but have been buildings models for some time (throw and glide ones). I want to start with the Mini FT22 but am not sure what other parts I will need. I know I need a transmitter and capable receiver- I just don't need something OTT, a plain (pun not intended) and simple 6 channel would work well. What are the best, most price efficient models out there right now?
Don't know what kind of radio to get?
Crazy Goats
Active member
The FRsky i6 is a cheap, simple, 6ch tx or so ive heard. I've never used one.
The dx6i is my favorite transmitter so far. The gimbals feel really nice, it has dual rates for each channel individually, mixing, and model memory, not to mention many more features I have never used. It is a lot more expensive than the i6 though, but not bad for a good radio.
The dx6i is my favorite transmitter so far. The gimbals feel really nice, it has dual rates for each channel individually, mixing, and model memory, not to mention many more features I have never used. It is a lot more expensive than the i6 though, but not bad for a good radio.
m00ndancer
Member
i6 vs DX6i (This is a spec sheet list comparison with some of my own experiences from helping a fellow pilot with his DX6i radio) I use a modded DEVO 7e and a i6 as my own radios.
Pros i6 vs DX6i:
Cons i6 vs DX6i:
Summary:
As a beginner you are going to need a bunch of stuff in the beginning, and you might not have an unlimited budget.
The i6 is a solid choice. If I would buy a Spektrum I would go for the bigger ones (DX7,8) for more features and functions.
But then you are in same (or more) price range as the Flysky i10/Taranis/DEVO 10.
There is nothing wrong with the DX6i and you can find it cheap as a used item. But the receivers cost more (even the third party ones).
Pros i6 vs DX6i:
- The Flysky/Turnigy i6 is cheap (US$53) and easy to program, compared to the Spektrum DX6i. Perfect beginners radio.
- Cheap additional receivers (ia6b) US$12 and voltage sensor $4 for telemetry. (Even cheaper 6 channel ones are available w/o telemetry/ibus and less range)
- 20 model memory.
- Superior range with the ia6b (compared to spektrum)
Cons i6 vs DX6i:
- Quality (the gimbals aren't as good as the DX6i) and I've seen reports that people have problems with build quality. But only a few, and the i6 has sold plenty so if you're worried, get two and a trainer cable
- Warranty (you buy the i6 from china and it wont be worth shipping it back for warranty purposes.)
- Almost no BnF, there are 20+ planes/quads you can buy that you can bind to a DX6i.
- Not that many ready-made mixing features as the DX6i (Airplane Programming Features: Flaps, P-mixes, Dual aileron, Differential)
- No timer on the i6 (I use a small timer attach to the handle)
- Missing a few more features, but not really sure if it affect your usage
Summary:
As a beginner you are going to need a bunch of stuff in the beginning, and you might not have an unlimited budget.
The i6 is a solid choice. If I would buy a Spektrum I would go for the bigger ones (DX7,8) for more features and functions.
But then you are in same (or more) price range as the Flysky i10/Taranis/DEVO 10.
There is nothing wrong with the DX6i and you can find it cheap as a used item. But the receivers cost more (even the third party ones).
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+1 on the FlySky / Turnigy i6 for first radio - it works well and receivers are cheap. If you get totally hooked on the hobby look into the Taranis next - I use a Skektrum radio module when I want to use the BNF planes from the store, and the better Taranis receivers with telemetry on my nicer models.
I just want to take a moment to hijack this thread. Asking a bunch of folks what they recommend for a radio is like asking a mother if she thinks her child is smart and handsome. In other words, it often turns into a debate of brand A vs Brand B, C, D.....
The responses given above are very objective and informative. This is why I love the folks on this forum. I think it is still the friendliest around. You guys are awesome!
The responses given above are very objective and informative. This is why I love the folks on this forum. I think it is still the friendliest around. You guys are awesome!
Crazy Goats
Active member
HAHA! Yes.
pressalltheknobs
Posted a thousand or more times
Th only real -ve of the i6 is a few people have had the gimbal springs break and they are tiny, non standard and hard to find. Seems FlySky does not respond so your recourse is with the seller if this happens to you. I'm still looking to find suitable springs for other reasons.
Free shipping US Direct 2-6 days for a Mode 2 with a iA6B for $52.99 seems like the best deal right now if you are in the US
http://www.banggood.com/FlySky-FS-i...ansmitter-With-FS-iA6B-Receiver-p-983537.html
I have not ordered from Banggood so just pointing this out. If you have a problem complain to them. You may have to make and post a video of what doesn't work and then if they agree it seems they often just ship you another.
You might want to order the data cable in case you want to update the firmware...
http://www.banggood.com/FlySky-Data...-T6-Transmitter-Firmware-Update-p-982289.html
and one of these adapters so you can use it with a flight sim on the PC. I have tried with ClearView (cheap) and PicaSim (free) Think you will need another cable set to make it work. The one I got came with the USB adapter.
http://www.banggood.com/Flight-Simu...-For-Flysky-I6-Esky-Transmitter-p-999562.html
I think this cable set may be the one. I don't have this so just pointing it out. The questions says you need the above adapter to make it work with the i6. You might want to poke around to confirm that before ordering.
http://www.banggood.com/22-in-1-RC-Flight-Simulator-Cable-for-Realflight-G7-G6-G5-G4-p-950398.html
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Ethanator10000
Member
To throw in my two cents...
You might not need the firmware cable, I can't find an update for mine anywhere.
Also I think that second sim cable will work on its own, not 100% on that though.
Just be careful with the cable when it's in the back of the transmitter, I have a weak wire in mine since I accidentally left it on its back when it was plugged in.
It is a good starter radio, but a spring on mine broke after very light use. I am going to try to order some custom springs this weekend and probably replace all of them, which might be best to be on the safe side.
You might not need the firmware cable, I can't find an update for mine anywhere.
Also I think that second sim cable will work on its own, not 100% on that though.
Just be careful with the cable when it's in the back of the transmitter, I have a weak wire in mine since I accidentally left it on its back when it was plugged in.
It is a good starter radio, but a spring on mine broke after very light use. I am going to try to order some custom springs this weekend and probably replace all of them, which might be best to be on the safe side.
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pressalltheknobs
Posted a thousand or more times
For firmware check this thread...
WARNING: Software downloaded from the internet may contain viruses and other malware. It seems Avast does not like the file from FlySky FS-i6-Update-20151015.exe - see post below - although I checked with Malwarebytes and Microsoft Security Essentials and they showed no problem
I have not tried to use these. Just pointing them out.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2486545
The various bits and pieces developed mostly by Povlhp, ThomHpl, DBorthwick are collected by benb0jangles here...
https://github.com/benb0jangles/FlySky-i6-Mod-
The official firmware is here.
FS-i6-Update-20151015
点击下载
on this page...
http://gb.flysky-cn.com/download_detail/&downloadsId=23.html
Probably you have the latest. Not sure why it's not on the English download page since they revamped their website. You can download the "latest" (I'm guessing) FlySky firmware from the Chinese site although I'm not sure if it is English language. I suspect it is... The Turnigy version is on the HobbyKing website somewhere - probably the files tab on the i6 page of the international warehouse. I believe they work interchangeably but I haven't tried.
- I'm not sure the sim adapter cable is necessary either but one comment said that set did not come with one that works with the i6 so it seems worth pointing out.
- Where are you getting the custom springs? Is there a bulk price?
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Gryf
Active member
For what it's worth, I've been using a Tactic TTX650 for a good while, and have really been impressed. Setup and programming are easy to learn, and receivers are quite affordable.
That said, a couple of my favorite planes recently became unflyable, with no physical changes made to either of them... Both of them just go nuts and crash on launch. I had similar problems in the past with a couple other models too. So on the off chance that the problem may be with the radio gear, I used some gift money and bought a Spektrum DX6 a couple of days ago. I have yet to try it out, but I'm curious to see if it will make a difference.
Gryf
That said, a couple of my favorite planes recently became unflyable, with no physical changes made to either of them... Both of them just go nuts and crash on launch. I had similar problems in the past with a couple other models too. So on the off chance that the problem may be with the radio gear, I used some gift money and bought a Spektrum DX6 a couple of days ago. I have yet to try it out, but I'm curious to see if it will make a difference.
Gryf
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HilldaFlyer
Well-known member
RockyBoy nailed it!
I have not used Flysky or Turnigy, so I cannot comment on them.
I started with DX6i and wished I would have saved the $$ for later. Once hooked, I am completely sold on my Taranis with DX5i DIY module. It would be my advice before purchasing a Taranis that you are comfortable in understanding the open source system. I love it because of its freedom and limitless possibilities. Others find the freedom confusing and hard to understand. Good luck.
Ethanator10000
Member
I just tried to download that firmware update for the i6 and it was blocked by my antivirus due to a malware threat. Great.
It is a nice radio, but I would actually buy from hobbyking under Turnigy. At least you will have some kind of customer support.
It is a nice radio, but I would actually buy from hobbyking under Turnigy. At least you will have some kind of customer support.
pressalltheknobs
Posted a thousand or more times
Which link and what threat?
Ethanator10000
Member
The link from your previous post. It may have been a false positive but Avast is usually pretty good.
Ethanator10000
Member
The official firmware update was identified as a threat.
If you want to remove the link from your post so other people can't get the possible virus I will remove it here too.
pressalltheknobs
Posted a thousand or more times
I scanned that file, FS-i6-Update-20151015.exe, the TGY one from the hobby king site and the 3 that Bojangles has cached with both the latest Malwarebytes and Microsoft Security Essentials they don't detect any problem.
Not to say there isn't but it seems unlikely.
The only odd thing is that FS-i6-Update-20151015.exe is much smaller than the one Bojangle copied and has less attributes that compare. The Bojangles FlySky one is much more like the Turnigy one.
That done it's not clear how these programs work. They don't seem to do anything much running as a regular user and since I have no need currently, I'm not going to run them as administrator without finding out how they are supposed to work. I'll make a note above, to use any downloads with caution.
pressalltheknobs
Posted a thousand or more times
Well I tried avast on FS-i6-Update-20151015.exe and it fails with the same error Ethanator10000 got. More specifically, threat...
"Win32:Malware-gen"
A search showed at least one false positive discussion but who knows and Malwarebytes + Microsoft Security don't detect anything.
All the other files show no problems
...so may be don't try to use FS-i6-Update-20151015.exe from the FlySky site without first tracking down what this means.
"Win32:Malware-gen"
A search showed at least one false positive discussion but who knows and Malwarebytes + Microsoft Security don't detect anything.
All the other files show no problems
...so may be don't try to use FS-i6-Update-20151015.exe from the FlySky site without first tracking down what this means.
TooJung2Die
Master member
Another newbie to RC here. I decided on the FlySky FS-i6 and I'm happy. I won't see the need for an upgrade for quite a while. 20 model memory and inexpensive 6 channel receivers will keep my hanger full with just this one transmitter. Half my receivers are the older, cheaper FS-R6B using AFHDS instead of the newer FS-iA6 that uses AFHDS2A and telemetry (which I have no use for yet). I see no difference in performance, in fact the only receiver I had trouble with was a FS-iA6. Low price was a big factor as well because I wasn't sure how deep I wanted to get into this hobby. 9 months of building and flying with no sign of slowing down.
Sure there aren't many BNF models out there for the FlySky but my goal is to Build-n-Fly, not Bind-n-Fly. Thank you Flite Test for making this hobby so accessible!
BTW - I tried to download the firmware update listed above. Norton Antivirus analyzed and deleted it. Says it contains a trojan.
Jon
Sure there aren't many BNF models out there for the FlySky but my goal is to Build-n-Fly, not Bind-n-Fly. Thank you Flite Test for making this hobby so accessible!
BTW - I tried to download the firmware update listed above. Norton Antivirus analyzed and deleted it. Says it contains a trojan.
Jon
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Ethanator10000
Member
So maybe something is going on there.
As for the springs I haven't looked around yet since I'm working on a big school project right now. Ever heard of appinventor? It's the worst thing ever.
As for the springs I haven't looked around yet since I'm working on a big school project right now. Ever heard of appinventor? It's the worst thing ever.
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