Looking for room to grow

[Vlad]

So I am looking at spending about $100 to $150 this summer on a radio and receiver combo. I want to have at least 6 channels to work with so I can do bomb drops and stuff. Something that lets me have presets for different planes I own would be nice. Im open to anything a little over or under. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Foam Addict]

Well, the Turnigy 9x is a great radio, but from personal experience, if you are in that price range may I recommend the Devo 10? Flashed with Deviation software it can control almost any Chinese protocol plus DSM2, and it's stock radio protocol is pretty bullet proof too. I got to use one for a week last summer, and it was an awesome radio.

 

[Montiey]

I have a 9 and a 6i, (spektrum), and I would prefer the 9 any day, but its $ 400... However, the 6 does not have many features, so I would be looking at the dx6i, dx7s, or dx8. the 6i does not have an SD card slot.

Don't confuse the dx6i with the "New" dx6, because the new 6 costs as much as the old 9. its easy to choose between those two..

Of course, there are other brands like tactic, but almost all of the UMX models and park flyers you find these days are DSM2, sometimes DSMX. You would need a Spectrum- or as Foam Addict pointed out, the devo 10, since it can run DSM2/X Im not so sure about using a Chinese radio here in the states.
Look on Spektrums website. They have great info.http://www.spektrumrc.com

 

[Freaky_1]

Were it me, I'd be looking at the turnigy 9xr and the frsky taranis (just recently was me).

The taranis is still on backorder, but still worth looking into. At the time of my purchase, the 9xr was as well (available now), so I cheaped out and bought the flysky (not frsky) FS T6 ($50 - 55 US with rx) to get me by and to introduce me to the world of digital and computer radios. Enjoying the system and will likely buy a couple more later for others to fly at the "club".

With that, I'm waiting on my email for my taranis.

Hope that didn't muddy the waters too much. I was looking for the same as you and changed my mind for a good cheap system (same as turnigy btw) that's rather more than adequate for the wait on my ultimate purchase.

Frank

 

[xuzme720]

Freaky, where are you looking for the Taranis? Aloft had my email to me in about 2 weeks the second time I put in the request.

 

[Freaky_1]

Aloft as well. Was just thinking I should fill out again.

 

[xuzme720]

How long have you been waiting?

I will say I have been simply ecstatic with their service. They always seem to deliver. I ordered my Taranis on Friday morning, I had the box in my hand that Monday with "normal" shipping, not expedited or overnight or anything.

 

[Freaky_1]

Lol, since you suggested it in January. Just re-sent. Sad thing is I was looking forward to the case that's no longer included.

Sorry for the derail Vlad.

 

[Vlad]

Look, my mind never runs linearly. Have fun and let the conversation flow how it may.


Or just talk as if we were standing around, thats how I will learn.

 

[xuzme720]

HAVE you decided on a certain radio Vlad? I don't see anything where you decided on one yet...

 

[Team_Monkey]

I am at a different point in life and hobby than you, but I just did a bunch of reading and research on radio protocols receiver prices and hardware issues before getting my Futaba 14SG. My recommendation in your price range would be a Futaba 6J.
Futaba offer excellent service, has an active service forum on RCU to help a new person and you're likely to find someone at your club (or a club in your area) that knows something about them. Another nice thing is there are good aftermarket receivers available for S-FHSS a little cheaper than buying factory. Even then, the 6CH S-FHSS Rx are only about $5 more than the FrSky versions.

I do like the Spektrum radios. The DX6i is really easy to setup and the DX9 has awesome features. However, the cost of true DSMX receivers drove me away. I fly at many events and I have had hits on DSM2 so I won't use the cheap Orange Rx in anything but foamies if I'm at an event any more.

I still have my Hitec Eclipse 7 that I bought years ago. They make good radios but the cost of true Hitec receivers and some hardware issues that friends told me about kept me away. It's the only radio manufacturer someone who had one, told me not to buy.

I really would have a hard time buying a Turnigy 9X. It seems like there is a lot of fussing around to just make them work and if you have a hardware issue you have to get parts from over seas which could mean long down time.

The Taranis has a lot of nice features and there's a ton of great how to videos to get you started. I was really close to getting one but I didn't like the wait and I keep radios for a long time so I wanted a radio that could be serviced semi-locally if needed.

You are going to get a ton of opinions in an open ended thread like this. My two cents would be to download the manual for each model and breeze through them to see which sounds right for you.
For instance, everyone bagged on Futaba for their long manuals but there are whole chapters on helicopters and gliders that I don't need to worry about.

You're smart to do research before making an investment like this. Just don't look for the lowest cost option. I like good bargains, but sometimes paying for a manufacturer's research and supply chain isn't a bad thing.

 

[xuzme720]

The only thing I would disagree with Monkey on is the 9X needing fiddling to make it work. They don't need a lot of fiddling to work out of the box as they work just fine, and plenty of pilots still fly on the stock firmware as it ships. It's just that with a little modification for those that want the next level, they can work ever so much better. Which is the main reason that the 9XR exists as it implemented a lot of the more common modifications that owners were making in a stock ready to buy package.
Any of the OPEN systems will be good for future proofing since most of a computer radios capability is in the firmware and with an open system, there is always someone working on making that firmware better.
One other thing to consider is the type of flying you want to do. Since I fly many different types, I prefer more channels for flexibility but if you plan on only flying fixed wing or basic multi rotors, a 6 channel radio will probably be all you ever need.

 

[Team_Monkey]

Thanks xuzme, I didn't know that.
A friend bought a 9X a few years ago when they came out and he had trouble getting it set up right.

I fly quads, tri's and all manner of odd fixed wing craft and I think only on two of those did I ever actually use 7CH when I needed to mix in a steerable nose wheel. 6 channels should do a person for a while until you get into large gassers, turbines and large scale birds.

Nothing wrong with buying more radio up front though. Especially if you know you'll be in it for a long time.

 

[xuzme720]

Thanks xuzme, I didn't know that.
A friend bought a 9X a few years ago when they came out and he had trouble getting it set up right.

I fly quads, tri's and all manner of odd fixed wing craft and I think only on two of those did I ever actually use 7CH when I needed to mix in a steerable nose wheel. 6 channels should do a person for a while until you get into large gassers, turbines and large scale birds.

Nothing wrong with buying more radio up front though. Especially if you know you'll be in it for a long time.

Precisely, Monkey. Most planes we have will no use more than those 6 unless you are getting into some more complex mixing. Full house DLG's and gliders use crow, flaperons, butterfly, etc., mixing and that can eat up channels fast. Another thing that eats channels, or switches really, to be more accurate, are flight modes for more advanced multis or planes. And set up a throttle kill for safety on a switch, add this to the standard dual rates or expo or, on the Taranis, you can set a switch for background music to play from the speaker and you can eat up those switches fast. Again, not needed if you aren't planning on using modes or just add the expo to the dual rate, etc.

It's all about how you plan on using the radio and how flexible you need it to be.

 

[OrangutangSurfer]

I have a flysky fs-t6, 6 channels, 20 model memory (my favorite feature) computer programmable, channel mixing, and lots of other good features, there are radios that will do more but this one has done more than I need for all the FT planes, it flies heli's as well. receivers are cheap ($12) you can buy the radio and one recover for $55 delivered from hobbypartz.com I like the taranis ($175 before shipping) but a little out of my price range right now, I'll probably use the FlySky until it gives out or I find my self needing more from the radio than it provides.

-Jes

 

[jhitesma]

The 9x out of the box works...but it's not exactly user friendly. I flew with mine stock for a week or two and it worked just fine...but figuring out mixes and even just model memories was completely non-intuitive.

But I bought it because of how hackable it is as I can't leave anything alone and hate the idea of buying anything computerized that I can't FULLY customize.

I love my 9x and while the Taranis sure is appealing my 9x does everything I need and more so I'm not in a huge hurry to upgrade. I've been thinking about picking up a 9xr so I can buddy box and help teach my wife to fly. I mostly use an openLRS module in my 9x lately plus I have a DSM module for it and the stock flysky module so I could easily spare one for the 9xr at any given time. Just couldn't fly two things on the same RF system at the same time without buying another module. Which isn't a huge expense anyway.

Heck I just ordered some bits to try and homebrew some flysky compatible RX's and the modules are also capable as TX's (lower power so only suitable for park fliers) so I could probably even whip up a module for a 9xr.

But...I really don't care for the styling of the 9xr, just looks gaudy to me. But I'm also not in a hurry to do the mods to a 9x to bring it up to 9xr specs (backlight and programming port) again. It wasn't hard...but the price of the 9xr makes it hard to justify buying a 9x again since I have modules on hand.

I have an old Futaba and used a lot of 3ch Futaba stuff on 75mhz for ground vehicles when I was into that...and they make great radios. But I just can't see buying into a closed proprietary system when open systems are available - goes for computers, phones, tablets and just about anything else with a processor in it

 

[Montiey]

if your building your own stuff, you can choose almost any system/protocol, but if you want to fly park flyers and BNF stuff, you will need a dsm2/dmsx radio. If your not sure if you like spectrum, get one of the hobby king orange transmitters since they run dsm2.

 

[Vlad]

That FlySky sounds pretty inviting. I will have to take a look at it. Thanks everyone.

 

[ofiesens2]

My I suggest this thread: http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?7627-Taranis-or-DX6?
It is a lot of reading but it gives the basic outlines of a fair number of transmitters.

 

[nerdnic]

Aloft as well. Was just thinking I should fill out again.

I just ordered a Taranis from getfpv, they are still in stock.

http://www.getfpv.com/featured/frsky-taranis-2-4ghz-accst-radio-x8r-combo-mode-2.html