New transmitter under $200
- Thread starter OGnapkin
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- dx6i transmitter
Hello OGnapkin. That is an interesting name you've chosen. Care to explain? If you wouldn't mind please do share a bit about yourself like where in the world you fly, how you got into the hobby, and your main interest in it.
As for your question I'm attaching a link where several forum members have put together some suggestions in one place. You might want to look it over and then maybe you could get a better idea of what you're after and then we can opine there more specifically.
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/which-transmitter-you-should-buy.37966/#post-417645
I do have one question right off, what does the DX6i not do that you are desiring?
Welcome to the forum.
—Jim
As for your question I'm attaching a link where several forum members have put together some suggestions in one place. You might want to look it over and then maybe you could get a better idea of what you're after and then we can opine there more specifically.
https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/which-transmitter-you-should-buy.37966/#post-417645
I do have one question right off, what does the DX6i not do that you are desiring?
Welcome to the forum.
—Jim
OGnapkin
Member
hello Jim, i have chosen my unusual username because my friends and have made "original" gamertag on pc for games and i chose a random item which was a napkin lol, so i called myself OGnapkin. Also, i fly on long island, NY and I got into the hobby about maybe 5 years ago. Before that I was just flying little air hogs stuff and syma 3ch helis. I am only 15 so i started at a pretty young age. Love the hobby man, keeps me going. I fly a 3d eflite sukhoi and an edf from freewing and am looking to get a fast sport flyer at the moment. so, what is your story with the hobby Jim? and where does the CR120 come from in your name?
Bricks
Master member
If you do not mind used you can watch here https://www.rcgroups.com/aircraft-general-radio-equipment-fs-w-215/ I have never bought a new transmitter. If you want to stay with a 6 channel you can pick up a DX6 gen 2 or 3 for around $110-$150 delivered. DX9 can be bought for $210 to $250 delivered if you keep watching and are quick to buy it, At those prices they do not last long usually. One of the things I really like about Spektrum is there service I have bought 2 used DX9 and one the trim switch went out they repaired it free except shipping and checked over the rest of the radio.
If you can swing a little extra the DX9 will do more then I know I will ever need, and the extra channels for running Crow etc is really nice not having to run y cables etc.
If you can swing a little extra the DX9 will do more then I know I will ever need, and the extra channels for running Crow etc is really nice not having to run y cables etc.
Chuppster
Well-known member
I just got a FrSky Taranis QX7. It costs about $100. It's a complicated radio, but you can do just about anything with it. Once you get used to the interface it becomes quite intuitive. I really like it, and you can get a module for it that makes it compatible with Spektrum. Taranis has some really cool telemetry modules for the receiver too!
The C and the R120 are just representations of my name. In this electronic world I wanted something that represented me and that I would likely be able to use wherever I needed a username. In Illinois where I grew up, R120 is the alphanumeric code for Reeves, my last name. SInce I've gone with that as a username I never have to think of something else. It's always available.
As for your transmitter question, what more in a tranmitter are you looking for?
A couple of thoughts... If you get another Spektrum you'll have wireless buddy box available. If you want to sell your old one you could offest the cost of something extra nice. We do have a wanted and for sale section of this forum too.
As for your transmitter question, what more in a tranmitter are you looking for?
A couple of thoughts... If you get another Spektrum you'll have wireless buddy box available. If you want to sell your old one you could offest the cost of something extra nice. We do have a wanted and for sale section of this forum too.
OGnapkin
Member
I need a new one for more model memory as well as 3 position switches for things like dual rates and flaps. The ability for the radio to talk to me and tell me how much time i have left will also be very helpful to me at the field so i don't have to look down to see how much time i have left
I need to update the Spektrum entry on the link I gave you. The DX6 has all those things for $200. If you want more channels the DX8e is available for the same price but it doesn't have voice alerts.
http://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=SPMR6750
My son and I have had these and like them very much. I sold mine and got a DX7 which only has a knob and a channel that the 6 doesn't. I haven't used the 7th channel yet. Actually I think I'm only now contemplating using a 6th. Spektrum has excellent customer service and the air trainer function is nice. You should know though that it's always good to shop around and make an informed decision.
http://www.spektrumrc.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdId=SPMR6750
My son and I have had these and like them very much. I sold mine and got a DX7 which only has a knob and a channel that the 6 doesn't. I haven't used the 7th channel yet. Actually I think I'm only now contemplating using a 6th. Spektrum has excellent customer service and the air trainer function is nice. You should know though that it's always good to shop around and make an informed decision.
OG,
Out of the box, No, but the radio accepts external TX modules which can. Your budget is enough that you can fit in a Taranis QX7 and a irangex module.
One word of caution -- the Taranis series radios are arguably equal-or-better than the Spektrum radios in all but one way -- user friendliness. With a Spektrum radio, setup is simple. With the FRSky radios . . . well, it's gotten better, but still, it's rarely that. keep in mind, though, you're trading ease of use for horsepower -- while setup and tweaking the program may be more complicated, it is predictable and far more expandable. The OpenTX architecture it's built on is designed to let you do practically anything you might want to do, where Spektrum has programmed theirs to do what it expects you want easy . . . which is fine until you want to do something it doesn't expect and it becomes really hard (the latest versions are better, but the DX6i was bad about this).
So, if you're thinking about expanding what you're doing to the unusual, might be better to use this opportunity to struggle up the learning curve and move over to openTX, because you'll probably want to later. If you're not, the DX8e is a fine radio.
Out of the box, No, but the radio accepts external TX modules which can. Your budget is enough that you can fit in a Taranis QX7 and a irangex module.
One word of caution -- the Taranis series radios are arguably equal-or-better than the Spektrum radios in all but one way -- user friendliness. With a Spektrum radio, setup is simple. With the FRSky radios . . . well, it's gotten better, but still, it's rarely that. keep in mind, though, you're trading ease of use for horsepower -- while setup and tweaking the program may be more complicated, it is predictable and far more expandable. The OpenTX architecture it's built on is designed to let you do practically anything you might want to do, where Spektrum has programmed theirs to do what it expects you want easy . . . which is fine until you want to do something it doesn't expect and it becomes really hard (the latest versions are better, but the DX6i was bad about this).
So, if you're thinking about expanding what you're doing to the unusual, might be better to use this opportunity to struggle up the learning curve and move over to openTX, because you'll probably want to later. If you're not, the DX8e is a fine radio.
Chuppster
Well-known member
I really like how I can plug the QX7 into my PC and set it up with their free software. Access to a keyboard and mouse beats any fancy interface (even though the Taranis interface is pretty good, imho). Also, you can log telemetry onto a micro SD with the QX7 and view it back via graphs or, if you get the GPS sensor, in 3d via Google Earth. It's not super practical but it's a fun novelty for sure. Not sure if Spektrum can do all this, as I don't own anything by them.
I totally second what CraftyDan is saying about user friendliness, the Taranis takes some getting used to. But once you get used to everything it becomes second nature. It took me about 2 hours of fiddling to get the hang of things. Thankfully they have a new model wizard built in that can get you flying pretty quick, and there is a wealth of knowledge out there to guide you. You can also as me/us if you have any questions.
It may sound like I'm trying to sell the QX7 here, and can promise you I don't work for them. I just really like how powerful the radio is and it seems like the best radio on the market given the price point.
I have my QX7 set to read the battery voltage to me once it gets below a certain point. Super handy! It also tells me how much time is left on my timers.
Dan, I'd considered a Taranis for a while, but 2 things stopped me:
1) The gimbal feel - they felt mushy to me vs. what I had in the Spektrum. Spektrum felt more responsive. I've been told you can upgrade the gimbals, but at $50, it seemed a little steep, plus I'd have to figure out how to do that on my own, with a brand new radio. If I couldn't get it working, I'm now out the money for the transmitter AND the gimbals, and still have to get a radio to fly. I'm not saying it's not doable; it clearly is, or else people wouldn't be doing it. I just don't know how good my skills are to take it on. LOL
2) I can't seem to find a good DSMX module for the Taranis. HobbyKing advertised that they had one, but every time I checked it said it was out of stock, and I couldn't source another dealer for something that would work. Maybe it's me, my Google Fu sucks lately, I don't know...I just didn't want to have to keep waiting on HK to try and get something in stock (did that a while back, after 2 months of complaining I finally got my parts). That just seems to be my luck.
Bricks,
It depends on the module. The Orange Module is a PPM based module (it reads the channel positions off the radio and nothing else), so it requires a rebind. (in fairness it has 4 TX modes -- DSMx/DSM2 and 22/11ms -- and each mode can hold a single bind at one time) The Hacked Spektrum Modules and iRangeX modules are integrated with the radio, and the radio can digitally control the module's settings and binds. For those, the model match functionality (bound model will match the radio's current program ) works.
Sprzout,
I know what you mean. The stock gimbals feel rough and cheap, and in that case the M9/M7 gimbals are a serious upgrade . . . and one that doesn't have to happen right away. I have the M9's on my x9d and the feel is MUCH better. Butter smooth regardless of how stiff you set the springs. As for how difficult, the Mod was dirt simple -- open the case, unscrew/unplug the old, plug/scew-in the new, close the case. Set tension to taste.
As far as the DSMX module . . . yeah, that's not as easy. The hacked spektrum modules are the cat's meow, but if you're not into building one yourself, they can be hard to find. Takes about $20 in parts, but you do need to solder a bit, and have an old radio to harvest the TX module from. (OGnapkin -- you can harvest the TX module out of your DX6i to build one). Where you can find them, pre-built they run in the ~$70 range . . . but as I've mentioned, they're hard to find. The iRangeX module is an open project that has picked up some legs off the DeviationTx project, and you can find it fairly cheap from the Chinese cloners (~$35) -- if you open source the hardware and there's demand, they will build it. I'd get one of the latest STM versions -- those chips hold more protocols, so you're not as likely to get shortchanged out of a TX protocol you want.
OGnapkin,
As far as "what kind of things can you do on it that you cannot do on spektrum tx" . . . kinda a loaded question, let me see if I can unpack a few . . .
well to start, one radio to rule them all. With the right TX module, you can bind to nearly ANY RX. Not just the brand name on the front cover. This is something lacking in every Spektrum TX.
Next, cheap telemetry. Spektrum had telemetry first, but they squandered it -- modules were big and expensive, and only their best radios could handle it. They've gotten a bit better . . . but it's still expensive, and while most of their latest radios support it, most of their RXs do not. For the Taranis, not only can you get battery health/capacity, you can easily get altitude, GPS, airspeed . . . and a host of other data depending on the sensors you install. Some sensors are dirt cheap . . . some are not. Some you can build yourself. In most cases the battery voltage alone is all you need, but sometimes knowing how high you are can be handy . . . or how strong the TX signal is as heard by the RX . . . or your last known position . . . or . . . well, we're getting to that creativity bit. In the Spektrum radio you can have this, but it costs a good chunk more, takes up more space in your airframe and the data is for reference and warning only -- the data can be used on the Taranis to adjust the radio's behavior -- that can be powerful with the right crazy idea.
Which comes back to the Open . . . the flow of the radio programming itself lends to some serious automation. sure, flying a FT bloodywonder the default script generated program is almost overkill, but some planes aren't as simple . . .
In this case, I submit my current go-to airframe for an example . . . The full-house hand-launched competition DLG (sadly, the pilot is not that competitive, but that's not the plane's fault). Electrically, it's a simple 4 servo airframe with no powerplant (not even an ESC -- the single cell battery plugs directly into the RX and I can fly on a single 500ma pack all day). one for rudder, one for elevator, one for each aileron (separate control so flaperons can be deployed to change the wing's camber mid-flight). It normally flies with 6 different modes -- launch(for the moment before it's released), Zoom (for the climb up), thermal (rising air), cruise (neutral air), speed (sinking air) and landing (full flaps to strip the plane of energy and airspeed). from the pilot's seat, this is far from a simple plane, but oh so fun to hand toss it up, catch a thermal and soar with.
This is more than your DX6i can handle easily (trust me, I fly with a buddy who tried -- it was painful). the trim-changes between modes alone are killer, where the openTX versions make it as simple as flipping a switch . . . and now the plane flies different.
In fairness, the latest Spektrum airware has specific flight modes for these kinds of airframes, and it helps quite a bit . . . but recall how I mentioned it will "do what it expects you want easy "?
Among the community of competitive pilots (hey, I'm just having fun down int the low-scoring pilots) there are a few competing programs that do all this and include features like automatic task timing (recording your flight score according to the bizzare rule of the current round's task), launch training (reporting your latest launch height and comparing it to recent ones to give an ata-boy or do-better), flight logging (really, how high were you?!?), Quick-turn assistance (don't wait for the landing, grab the wingtip out of the air and launch it again!) . . . and if you want something different, you can program what you want.
What does the OpenTX give you that Spektrum can't? Just that -- the ability to do what you want, not just slight riffs off what the designer (clever people, but still) *Thought* you want.
Are DLGs representative of the RC flight hobby? Good gravy no. It's a cool high-performance nitch, which I think more folks would enjoy, but this kind of complexity is what you get when you push in weird directions. Sailplanes are not the only craft that benefit from this kind of power. Is every RC pilot going to need this level of power? Probably not. Most will get by.
Will you? Dunno. All depends on how creative you think you might want to be. For me, I like that my radio is a partner that works with me in flying, rather than a challenge I have to kludge around when I want to do something genuinely off the wall.
I have the Taranis Qx7 and I love it, but since you already have Spektrum products I would just go with the Spektrum Dx8e. It has pro-level features at a good price and you would not have to buy more recievers to go with it. I have had great success with Taranis, but they are built with FPV pilots in mind, so their transmitters are not nearly as user-friendly as Spektrum transmitters are. Here are links to both:
https://store.flitetest.com/dx8e-8-channel-dsmx-transmitter-only/
https://store.flitetest.com/taranis-q-x7-transmitter-disabled-spring-loaded-throttle-stick/
There are other brands, but these are the two most common ones.
- One more thing, the money you would save buying the Taranis would be used to buy new Frsky receivers, so the prices would be very similar.
https://store.flitetest.com/dx8e-8-channel-dsmx-transmitter-only/
https://store.flitetest.com/taranis-q-x7-transmitter-disabled-spring-loaded-throttle-stick/
There are other brands, but these are the two most common ones.
- One more thing, the money you would save buying the Taranis would be used to buy new Frsky receivers, so the prices would be very similar.
Bricks
Master member
Craftydan Even thou I am a Spektrum guy a nice write up, I actually owned a Taranis for a while but could never get the hang of the programing. I believe the younger techy people can understand the Open Transmitter software as I never could get and understand how it all flowed together. .
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