Resurrecting old transmitter, yes or no?

[Kuma1119]

I was recently gifted a JR X-347 with receiver by my uncle. It’s in good condition and still power up with new batteries. It’s sort of my “ticket” into the hobby of RC flight as it will be my first transmitter. Is it worth it to convert it to 2.4Ghz with modules? Or should I just go buy a new one?

 

[Fluburtur]

Looks like a good radio, not sure how easy it would be to convert but you can keep it around as is if you ever want to do boats or submarines.

 

[Kuma1119]

Well converting it is not hard since spectrum has a 2.4Ghz module for JR transmitter that will fit mine. Just wasn’t sure if it’s a sensible purchase or should I just spend a bit more and get a new modern transmitter.

 

[Fluburtur]

You can get a flysky i6 for around 40€ and it will do all you need for a good while, might be a better option.

 

[PsyBorg]

To be honest. Having old gear for nostalgia is ok as a collector piece. Beyond that there is no benefit to them.

Todays radio gear is far superior and far more economical when comparing what can be done by both side by side.

At bare minimum its a safety issue using old gear now. At best you can mod them for newer standards but they will be slower and far more power hungry.

 

[Kuma1119]

So I am better off to just get a modern transmitter than. Thanks~

 

[rockyboy]

But don't get rid of that radio - modern radios on the 2.4g frequencies don't do well at all in the water, so if you ever build a submarine, boat, or even when you want to make a sea plane, this "old tech" can be really helpful. There are still a couple members at my club who have a plane on their 72mhz systems and as long as they are the only one of those around at the time, they still work great.

Here's another perspective on folks using this for gliders http://slopeflyer.com/radios/jr-x-347-and-x-388-radios-are-still-great-tools/

That said, there are tons of advantages with the modern radios. We've got a good thread going over here with info on most of the major brands in the sub $200 ranges https://forum.flitetest.com/index.php?threads/which-transmitter-you-should-buy.37966/

 

[Kuma1119]

Thanks for the info! Really appreciate it. Yeah I don’t plan on getting rid of it. Pretty sure it will come in handy one day. Also got a bunch of old JR and futaba servos which all work fine.
Yeah I saw that thread and is currently reading through it and will use it as a guide to see what suits my need the best.

 

[Merv]

You might consider a mulit protocol module

 

[Bricks]

There is nothing absolutely wrong with that radio it was a great radio it first came out I believe in 2008 so it is not that old. Here is a link with a few more links in the article about that JR radio Sherman Knight wrote the book on JR radios. Biggest limit it can only hold 4 planes.

http://slopeflyer.com/radios/jr-x-347-and-x-388-radios-are-still-great-tools/

I say go for it.