I've had this transmitter a few weeks, but today was my first chance to try it out properly. In summary, it worked pretty well, so a general thumbs up.
For those that don't know about it, it uses Open Tx operating system, which is pretty well identical to the Taranis. If you haven't used Open Tx before, you need to watch a few Youtube videos on how to set up a plane. It's not that difficult after you've done a couple. You get the advantage of a lot of settings to get your plane perfect, though you don't need to go to all that trouble. It's not a plug-and-play transmitter. There are some settings that have to be done before you start, like switching off the internal RF module that doesn't exist and switching on the external one, adjusting battery ranges, etc. At first i wondered why my dual rates didn't work, until I figured out that the switches had to be added manually in the OpenTx setup.
It uses a JP4 in one Rf module, which can bind with just about any 2.4GHz receiver so it's extremely versatile, and I just noticed that Banggood reduced the price by 15%, which makes it a bargain until something else comes along.
On the downside, it's a relatively small transmitter. It feels a bit like a toy one, but it works like it should. The people that buy it probably won't be worried by the light spring tension and small gimbals because it's perfectly OK for normal fun flying.
The only real problem I've had with it is that it won't auto-bind with my cheapo Motive-RC R8SB receiver. I have the auto-bind box ticked in Open Tx, but it only works if there's a short duration between switching off the Rx and then on again. I don't know how long, but 30 minutes is too long. In that case, I just bring up the bind box in the Open Tx and select it to make it flash, and the receiver binds after a few seconds. I don't need to do anything to the receiver. I don't know if it's a receiver or transmitter problem. Also, the transmitter is a bit weird when it comes to binding. I have a Taranis, and when I activate the bind box, it flashes and continues to flash until it binds so you have all the time in the world to fiddle about with the Rx until you bind it. The Jumper T12 only flashes for about 5 seconds, then stops. I guess it exits bind mode at that point, but I'm not sure. This makes it a bit of a palava to get the initial bind. You have to have everything ready, then you've got 5 secs to put down the transmitter, pick up the receiver and battery connector, hold down the bind button and get it connected. It normally takes me a few attempts to get it right. It would be easier with a helper.
So far, all I've done is a simple 4-channel setup with triple rates (3 posn switches) and differential. I haven't used the telemetry other than using the RSSI for range checking. The next plane will have a stabiliser and more complicated setup, so I'll report on that back here when I get it working.
Overall I'm happy with the T12. It cost me about £80 and does just about everything my Taranis does, plus it can bind with just about any receiver. I bought it more out of curiosity than necessity. Also, I have a couple of Hobbyzone BNF planes with Spektrum receivers that I couldn't use because my Spektrum Tx has RF problems. I could have bought just the 4 in 1 module (£30 from Hobbyking) for my Taranis, but I thought it would be useful to have a spare transmitter.
I'd be interested to hear from anybody else with one of these. Most of the reviews, just show what it can do. It's not until you do a complete setup and take the plane to a flying field that you discover issues.
For those that don't know about it, it uses Open Tx operating system, which is pretty well identical to the Taranis. If you haven't used Open Tx before, you need to watch a few Youtube videos on how to set up a plane. It's not that difficult after you've done a couple. You get the advantage of a lot of settings to get your plane perfect, though you don't need to go to all that trouble. It's not a plug-and-play transmitter. There are some settings that have to be done before you start, like switching off the internal RF module that doesn't exist and switching on the external one, adjusting battery ranges, etc. At first i wondered why my dual rates didn't work, until I figured out that the switches had to be added manually in the OpenTx setup.
It uses a JP4 in one Rf module, which can bind with just about any 2.4GHz receiver so it's extremely versatile, and I just noticed that Banggood reduced the price by 15%, which makes it a bargain until something else comes along.
On the downside, it's a relatively small transmitter. It feels a bit like a toy one, but it works like it should. The people that buy it probably won't be worried by the light spring tension and small gimbals because it's perfectly OK for normal fun flying.
The only real problem I've had with it is that it won't auto-bind with my cheapo Motive-RC R8SB receiver. I have the auto-bind box ticked in Open Tx, but it only works if there's a short duration between switching off the Rx and then on again. I don't know how long, but 30 minutes is too long. In that case, I just bring up the bind box in the Open Tx and select it to make it flash, and the receiver binds after a few seconds. I don't need to do anything to the receiver. I don't know if it's a receiver or transmitter problem. Also, the transmitter is a bit weird when it comes to binding. I have a Taranis, and when I activate the bind box, it flashes and continues to flash until it binds so you have all the time in the world to fiddle about with the Rx until you bind it. The Jumper T12 only flashes for about 5 seconds, then stops. I guess it exits bind mode at that point, but I'm not sure. This makes it a bit of a palava to get the initial bind. You have to have everything ready, then you've got 5 secs to put down the transmitter, pick up the receiver and battery connector, hold down the bind button and get it connected. It normally takes me a few attempts to get it right. It would be easier with a helper.
So far, all I've done is a simple 4-channel setup with triple rates (3 posn switches) and differential. I haven't used the telemetry other than using the RSSI for range checking. The next plane will have a stabiliser and more complicated setup, so I'll report on that back here when I get it working.
Overall I'm happy with the T12. It cost me about £80 and does just about everything my Taranis does, plus it can bind with just about any receiver. I bought it more out of curiosity than necessity. Also, I have a couple of Hobbyzone BNF planes with Spektrum receivers that I couldn't use because my Spektrum Tx has RF problems. I could have bought just the 4 in 1 module (£30 from Hobbyking) for my Taranis, but I thought it would be useful to have a spare transmitter.
I'd be interested to hear from anybody else with one of these. Most of the reviews, just show what it can do. It's not until you do a complete setup and take the plane to a flying field that you discover issues.
