spectrum vs frsky

Keno

Well-known member
Never had any problems with Orange or Lemon RX's. But pay more and you do have quality. If I were to fly $5000 IMAC models then I would really give this a lot more thought. I do like the Taranis and Horus X10 so this is what I would use in my 1K plus glider or plane.
 

FDS

Elite member
There is the radio system that works for YOU best!
Also never had a problem with LemonRX, smaller, lighter, cheaper and just as powerful as branded.
 

poor boy 101

Active member
I am fine with lemon RC but with orange. Let’s put it this way, I used to have more planes. One lost receiver connection and one: I have never heard anyone have this problem, reversed my servos in a low inverted pass with a eleven hobby t-28( I love that plane and within a two weeks bought another.)
 

FDS

Elite member
I haven’t used the Orange RX’s. Just got my Taranis 9XD plus and am customising the hell out of it so other TX’s are likely on borrowed time....
 

mrjdstewart

Legendary member
i use nothing but orange rx's and i have almost 100 planes programmed into my Tx. for what i do they are just fine, plus cheap enough to have 100 planes.

i was recently given a Taranis QX7 but have not spent much time playing with it. i understand they are supposed to be pretty good but once you get comfortable with a specific type of Tx, it's hard to make a change.

later,s

me :cool:
 

Bricks

Master member
The earlier Orange receivers some had issues with them the newer Gen 2`s have been solid many at my field have them in some very expensive airplanes and not having a single issue. The Lemon light receivers are great for foamies have around 15 of them and not one glitch. All my bigger gassers are running the Orange Gen 2 with telemetry and so far have been great.


With Spektrum you are paying for ease of use and spectacular customer service. The newer DX series transmitter will do everything OT can with less headaches and faster response times from stick to servo. Did not use to be this way that was one of the reasons OT was so popular with quad guy`s.

Everyone has to decide which works for them me it was ease of use a company that stands 100% behind there product. After having a 9XD+ I went back to Spektrum.
 

Brett_N

Well-known member
Redcon, Orange, Lemon and as many of the chinese knock-off's I have, and Spektrum AR636's all use the EXACT SAME RADIO CHIPSET. On top of that - they both use THE EXACT SAME RF FRONT END CIRCUIT between the antenna(s) and said radio chipset. So, from an RF standpoint, they're all gonna perform the same. Some of the newer spektrums use the Cypress CYRF8935 radio which has a slightly modified power amp but it's sensitivity is the same as the 6935 used in these RX's. (the PA gives slightly better telemetry range.)

As Bricks pointed out - Spektrum has a real warranty, and AS3X, and an easy to use programming setup. I have a couple of LemonRX Stabilizers but the setup is analog via the pots and switches, and is only a stabilizer, not a flight controller. HUGE difference between this and AS3X. In my bigger planes I use LemonRX with a satellite and an external Hobby Eagle FC / stabilization system. Never a problem.

Ask me how I know. Here's a redcon (who also makes Orange) side-by-side with a spektrum. The only piece of silicon that is different between the two boards is that the Spektrum has an Invensys MPU - this is the Gyro / Accelerometer for stability control. All of the aformentioned above look identical on the inside.
 

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whackflyer

Master member
I have not had any experience with orange receivers, but I have a couple PowerUp RD410s (from heads up RC or aloft hobbies) and they’re a good receiver for the money. Never had a failure except one I ordered would not bind, I told aloft hobbies about it, they sent me a prepaid shipping label, I shipped it back, they verified it wouldn’t bind, and sent me a replacement free of charge, so big kudos to their customer service! I just checked, I can get an RD610 from headsup shipped to my door for 12$.
 

slembcke

Member
Speaking of their PWM receivers, All 3 Lemon RXs I've had died within 2 years. The status light implied they still bound correctly, but no PWM output. :-\ My neighbor that I fly with had 2 Orange RXs, and both died on him within a year. (both of them during flight, and ruined planes...) Never had a Spektrum branded one die.

I have 4 Lemon satellite RXs, and none of those have died. I think the oldest one is 4 or 5 years old?

I'm pretty happy with my DX6. About ~1/3 of my models are BNF, so it's nice to have that option. The frsky TX/RXs seem a lot nicer though for a lot less money though. I'd be pretty tempted to get one of those if I needed a new radio today.
 

CMS_1961

CMS_1961
Never had an issue with Spektrum (to include Orange Recievers and some off brand 7 channel reciever as well). Pick the one that has the features that you want. Of course it does help to have the opinion of those that have been flying the radio system as well. I have had and been flying with my DX-7 since it came out and never lost a plane due to radio issues!!
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
This is really a "Ford vs Chevy", "Apple vs. Android" argument. Both have their pros, both have their cons. I went Spektrum over Frsky for the following reasons:

- All of the stuff I wanted to fly when I was starting was Bind N' Fly, so I didn't have to change out receivers
- Almost everyone flying at my field was on Spektrum, so if I had a problem with setup, I could get help
- While the Taranis radio I was looking at was cheaper than Spektrum, the cost to replace the receiver in my first quad, PLUS upgrade the gimbals to Hall gimbals put it a little more expensive than the Spektrum DX6. Plus, I would have to replace the gimbals myself, which instantly voided the warranty; if I screwed it up, that was on me. I was new to soldering at the time, didn't want to take that risk.
- Ergonomically, the DX6 felt better in my hands than the Taranis I was looking at. This is a personal thing, but it was a factor for me when I chose the Spektrum over the FrSky.

As someone else said, it's really buying the radio that best fits YOUR needs.
 

Liam B

Well-known member
I started with Spektrum, didn’t like it, and switched to Graupner. Loved it, but receiver cost was up the wazoo and Crossfire was on the way in with the miniquad scene. So I got my special edition X9D. I don’t doubt that purchase... ever.
 

evranch

Well-known member
@Brett_N thanks for that enlightening info about the radio chipsets.

I've never had a lemon go bad on me, but I'm migrating to all native FrSky RX's since real FrSky 4-channels are down in the $15 range now. It's just easier than having to switch transmitters or modules to grab my X9D SE and go flying. Sure, they aren't as nice as the $30 diversity RXs, but they are perfectly fine for park flyers or something you want to minimize the cost of crashing.

Spektrum is definitely easier to set up but I love the power of OpenTX to set up mixes however you want, and random switches to modify this and that. I also use my X9D as an additional sim controller for non-RC flight, it sits beside my flightstick and the sticks, switches and knobs are set up to run my flaps, mixture, trim etc. which is a great way to get even more value out of it, and where the ultra-customizable mixes really shine.
 

Bricks

Master member
Evranch I have to agree about mixes before the DX series Spektrum was limited but now as I stated earlier the DX`s will do anything OT can do. It comes down to personnel preference both companies make a very dependable radio system.

Both have had issues from users as more and more move to Taranis. Starting to read about crashes caused by signal loss, or should I say blamed on signal loss which many are not from the radio system itself but by either bad installation, or a bad piece of electronics.

The more competition out there the more us end users will benefit GO MANUFACTURERS KEEP COMPETEING.
 

Billhove2

New member
I have Spektrum, Lemon, admiral and FRSky recievers.

I have had minor difficulties with the following:
Reuse of Spektrum BNF as3x recievers.
Configuration of FRSky stabilization (gyro) recievers.

Purchased Spektrum recievers have no as3x until programed, lemon and admiral stabilized recievers can have the gyro shut off. No difficulties.

Simple (no gyro) recievers from FRSky have been good also.

I purchased 3 of the simple (no gyro) sleaved lemon recievers with diversity antennas. 2 planes destroyed, both rxs physically damaged 3rd rx tossed out.

My programming and setup difficulties may not have the same adversity for others.

The cased lemon and admiral rxs have not presented any problems.

The cased and uncased (sleeved) FRSky rxs have presented no problems outside of loose operating nut issues.

In my opinion, properly tuned gyros are awesome, but no gyro is much better than a poorly tuned or configured gyro.

Aside from these minor issues I can find no difference in rx brand.

All my transmitters (DX8e, DX7s, TX16S & Taranus DX9) are packed with considerably more features than I need or use.