RC RADIO SCAM ?

[Zoom Master]

Recently as I've gotten into the hobby of rc airplanes I have seen the steep price difference between different brands of rc radios. Even radios made by the same company have steep price difference as someone who is used to fpv radio brands....radio brands like radiomaster, tbs and jumper all have radios that support 10 + channels no matter which one u pick so when I got into rc planes I was quite surprised to see radios with half the channels of a radiomaster for DOUBLE the price for example for the price of a spectrum 6 channel radio

u can get a radiomaster tx16s for cheaper

I honestly have no clue why would one go for a spectrum 6 channel radio when u can go for a tx 16s with a 4 in 1 module and 16 CHANNELS.

 

[Zoom Master]

Recently as I've gotten into the hobby of rc airplanes I have seen the steep price difference between different brands of rc radios. Even radios made by the same company have steep price difference as someone who is used to fpv radio brands....radio brands like radiomaster, tbs and jumper all have radios that support 10 + channels no matter which one u pick so when I got into rc planes I was quite surprised to see radios with half the channels of a radiomaster for DOUBLE the price for example for the price of a spectrum 6 channel radio View attachment 251993
u can get a radiomaster tx16s for cheaper View attachment 251994
I honestly have no clue why would one go for a spectrum 6 channel radio when u can go for a tx 16s with a 4 in 1 module and 16 CHANNELS.

I have personally decided to go with a jumper t20 that comes with a 2.4 ghz module built in which I think is pretty sweet and I also like the design of the radio !

 

[Houndpup Rc]

Recently as I've gotten into the hobby of rc airplanes I have seen the steep price difference between different brands of rc radios. Even radios made by the same company have steep price difference as someone who is used to fpv radio brands....radio brands like radiomaster, tbs and jumper all have radios that support 10 + channels no matter which one u pick so when I got into rc planes I was quite surprised to see radios with half the channels of a radiomaster for DOUBLE the price for example for the price of a spectrum 6 channel radio View attachment 251993
u can get a radiomaster tx16s for cheaper View attachment 251994
I honestly have no clue why would one go for a spectrum 6 channel radio when u can go for a tx 16s with a 4 in 1 module and 16 CHANNELS.

Sektrum is definitely not a scam it's just more pricey...Just like you can buy a John deere tractor for $40,000 or a Kioti for $20,000...Is there a big quality difference? No, it's just one brand can charge that much so why would they not?!

 

[Houndpup Rc]

I have personally decided to go with a jumper t20 that comes with a 2.4 ghz module built in which I think is pretty sweet and I also like the design of the radio ! View attachment 251995

So you are going to need to use Elrs receivers with a PWM output unless you are going to use a FC.

 

[Zoom Master]

So you are going to need to use Elrs receivers with a PWM output unless you are going to use a FC.

Yeah I’m aware of that and I already got a 8 channel pwm expressly receivers.

 

[Zoom Master]

Sektrum is definitely not a scam it's just more pricey...Just like you can buy a John deere tractor for $40,000 or a Kioti for $20,000...Is there a big quality difference? No, it's just one brand can charge that much so why would they not?!

True never got the people who would pay 350 dollars for a 14 channel spektrum when u can pay 100 or even 200 dollars less then that and get a radiomaster I mean I get it if ur say a person with a super expensive airplane I mean airplanes that cost 2-10k dollars or even more then that it def makes sense getting spending a bit more on ur radio and get something like a jeti radio or sm if I were to get a radio other then a radiomaster I would 100 percent get a jeti duplex ds 12

Or a frsky tandem x20

 

[Zoom Master]

True never got the people who would pay 350 dollars for a 14 channel spektrum when u can pay 100 or even 200 dollars less then that and get a radiomaster I mean I get it if ur say a person with a super expensive airplane I mean airplanes that cost 2-10k dollars or even more then that it def makes sense getting spending a bit more on ur radio and get something like a jeti radio or sm if I were to get a radio other then a radiomaster I would 100 percent get a jeti duplex ds 12 View attachment 251997
Or a frsky tandem x20 View attachment 251998

I would buy these radios but I honestly can’t justify this purchase I mean what do these radios do that a t20 can’t ? And currently im using a super cheap Temu radio to fly me trainer while I decide on what radio to get.

 

[Zoom Master]

Im between the boxer, tx 16s or a T20

 

[Piotrsko]

Back in the day, more money got you more "features" because it took more transistors to do the extra features. Silicon of today negates that, somewhat, but you still have physical stuff like stick feel, size of box it's in, hard manufacturing stuff. Board mounted Chips are harder to mechanically bugger up

Then there is the dumping of product for a low price. Being a geezer, I have always suspected stuff that was so cheap it was a one use and then trash can it. Back in the day, Futaba was primarily a military radio company that got into RC. We had radio issues that you can't possibly know about.

 

[Zoom Master]

Back in the day, more money got you more "features" because it took more transistors to do the extra features. Silicon of today negates that, somewhat, but you still have physical stuff like stick feel, size of box it's in, hard manufacturing stuff. Board mounted Chips are harder to mechanically bugger up

Then there is the dumping of product for a low price. Being a geezer, I have always suspected stuff that was so cheap it was a one use and then trash can it. Back in the day, Futaba was primarily a military radio company that got into RC. We had radio issues that you can't possibly know about.

U mean issues like not bieng on the same frequency as another person or their plane would fall out of the sky ? not bieng able to fly ur plane more then a couple hundred feet away ? 50 MHz radios that u needed an amateur radio license for ? And not to mention 72 MHz radios.......

 

[LitterBug]

I started out in the hobby with used Spektrum radios. Spektrum / Horizon Hobby has a big notch in the market with their Easy to setup Bind and Fly models. You can't beat it for ease of use, but, it is not very flexible for doing things outside their market. I evetually migrated off spektrum when I found out all the extra features that OpenTX (now EdgeTX) could do. I had a used FrSky X9D+ for quite a few years, but eventually killed it and by then the Color higer resolution Radiomasters were on the market. I have the original TX16S (parts are now hard to get), The TX16S MKII, and a Pocket ELRS. Radiomaster has jumped in with both feet to support the Open Source radio community providing transmitters, receivers, and everything to support them including easy to find replacement parts. Been very happy with the quality and ease to modify/repair. (I've added bluetooth/gps internally)

I haven't used any of the other EdgeTX gear so I can't speak to the quality.

 

[Zoom Master]

U mean issues like not bieng on the same frequency as another person or their plane would fall out of the sky ? not bieng able to fly ur plane more then a couple hundred feet away ? 50 MHz radios that u needed an amateur radio license for ? And not to mention 72 MHz radios.......

Thank fully all those issues are long gone and people like me now dont have to deal with that sort of stuff.

 

[Piotrsko]

Well firstly, you needed a radio license for everything transmitted. Technically still do but stuff improved so much that you fit under the low power exemption. If I got a battery and brought out my Reeds radio, turned it on, would shoot down a whole bunch of non skip frequency equipment. Probably glitch everything else until they found safe frequencies. Back in the day, 50mhz ham band was generally empty because hardly anybody who flew was a ham

 

[LitterBug]

I forgot to mention one of the reasons it didn't get a newer FrSky was they were intentionally limiting the functionality of 3rd party external radio modules and started moving to a more closed market, less open source model. They even made some of their newer modules obsolete in their push to stop some of the third party from working with their radios. I highly recommend sticking with something that runs EdgeTX natively rather than their own propeietary OS

 

[LitterBug]

I am a HAM. some of the newer gear technically requires a license even though it is in the ISM bands. Especially most FPV gear

 

[Piotrsko]

Limiting factor is: power levels or is it operating in odd bands not approve d for.our use?

 

[LitterBug]

Limiting factor is: power levels or is it operating in odd bands not approve d for.our use?

Power and certification. If it was non-ISM bands, it would be a BIG no-no. 1.3ghz for example is smaller in the US than other regions.

so big picture, most gear is made to use the following "public" bands, although without the fcc certification on it, still requires HAM license.

433 mhz
915 mhz
1.3 ghz
2.4 ghz
5.8 ghz

 

[Zoom Master]

I forgot to mention one of the reasons it didn't get a newer FrSky was they were intentionally limiting the functionality of 3rd party external radio modules and started moving to a more closed market, less open source model. They even made some of their newer modules obsolete in their push to stop some of the third party from working with their radios. I highly recommend sticking with something that runs EdgeTX natively rather than their own propeietary OS

That’s a big bummer as I really am interested in getting a tandem radio.

 

[LitterBug]

That’s a big bummer as I really am interested in getting a tandem radio.

Nice gear, but they chose what they want to support and it may or may not work with other gear going forward. I want something I know will work with everything in my hanger.

 

[Bricks]

There is a difference in people some want a radio just plug in and fly such as Spektrum and outstanding customer service. Some want to spend time trying to figure out a radio programing and making changes and not much customer support.

Since I have both Spektrum DX9 and Radiomaster TX16s ergonomics of the DX9 to me are much better I have made some changes to my TX16s to help in this problem. Both radios will do more then I will ever need just easier to do with the Spektrum biggest advantage to the TX16s is the multi module in my opinion.