Spektrum DSM2 Users

[JimCR120]

I bought my son a DX-5e a few years ago and at first it seemed to work fine. However now my very proficient pilot of a son has lost connection with the receivers and we are losing confidence in this setup. We would have simply bailed-out on this system if it wasn't for the mSR, the ultra-micro P-51, the ultra-micro Su26, and his Orange Rx. I would like to regain confidence and perhaps get him an upgrade, like a DX-6 but I'd rather not spend more money on another unreliable radio system only to wreck more aircraft.

We have another radio in mind but going that route means those BNF a/c will be going to the bone yard which would be a VERY unfortunate and sad thing.

So, I would like to hear from DSM2 experienced people who have had successes, failures, and especially failures that they were able to remedy.

—Jim

I intend to keep this thread clean by deleting some of my own replies from time to time if they don't contribute to the cause. The posts I'm referring to are the ones of gratitude, acknowledging those who are providing input.

Thank you all for your help. I hope others will also gain from this.

 

[ananas1301]

Hey Jim,

me and my little brother both share one DX6i and we´re both gettin along with it quiet well.

Firstly (I don´t know if you can do it on a DX5e at all or if you have already done it) I would recommend you to do the distane test or however its called in the manual. It reduces the signal strength and if you the plane still has signal with a certain amount of feet distance (which is given in the manual as well, I think) your good to go.

Now back to your question. I haven´t had much trouble with Spektrumsystems but I would never use one in a 3m jetpowered plane. The reason is obvious. It is just too unreliable. I have seen a friend of mine at a field and what happened was that with his Dx6i he was able to control the plane he wanted to fly, which he just plugged the battery in, AND the plane he has just flown where he forgot to unplug the battery. I´ve done a video of it and actually this cleary should NOT happen.

They all say DSM2 oh yeah the safe way to go. I mean it depends on what you´re flying and where you´re flying. There is a new thing by Spektrum called DSM X. It says that this new technology uses more channels to transmit the signal between RX and TX.

My little brother has a Parkzone Su27xp and he also can´t buy anything but a Spektrumreceivers now.

However, I would still stay with Spektrum because its "cheap"(er than most of the other really good radios which go up to more than thousands of $) and for most pilots (like me) who just fly for fun and don´t buy/build massive 5 meter planes it more than enough. Most of our planes in these days are foamies and they are fairly easy to repair, so don´t be shy not to crash

BTW, this hobby is not just about flying, it is about building too! Sometimes I´m happy if I crash coz then I got something to do!

 

[ananas1301]

Just to add something to what I already said.

I have heard of many people having trouble with DSM2. Especially in rc spedboats because carbon lets hardly any signal get through.
If you only fly and don´t wan to go for fpv flying, where you need 1,2 or even more miles of distance, I would go for Spektrum because it is reliable enough in that region.

 

[sparksflying]

Teher are alot of guys at my field using DX6I TX but we do suffer signal loss sometimes!
Some of the guys hate them and say "You need Futaba mate" but the cost of these units put me off.
The system being digital and all well should be failsafe,but not in my experience.
The range check is done by holding the trainer switch on, turning on TX and walking 30 paces away whilst operating the controls, however this did not help when the aerial wire inside the black antenna was broken!

 

[jetpackninja]

Jim- I use Spektrum.

My sons have had some issues-
Our Dx5e became unreliable. Sold that and went for the Dx6i. Been fine ever since

One other issue- I think the receivers are to brownouts if the battery sags. Lost a small EDF jet to this issue.
Not sure that the capacitor will buy much protection with the DSM2.
The big problem here is that it takes so long to recover if the receiver reboots.
I think it's possible to run a receiver battery that may help but I haven't investigated this...

Some folks around here have gone to the 9x radios- The guys that use them really seem to like 'em

 

[Chap1012]

After I wrote up a nice entry, I was automatically logged out. This is the second time this has happened and I hate wasting my time doing all this typing. I hate typing. This sucks Watch....this will go through...:black_eyed:

 

[JimCR120]

After I wrote up a nice entry, I was automatically logged out. This is the second time this has happened and I hate wasting my time doing all this typing. I hate typing. This sucks Watch....this will go through...:black_eyed:

I feel your pain. In one browser I can command-back arrow to go to the beginning of my paragraph. In this other browser I've been using it takes me to a prior page which effectively erases all I had just written.

I just got back from taking my son's Dx5e in to the Hobby Shop where they said they would give the friendly people at Spektrum a call. If all goes as planned I intend to use the replaced radio as a credit for a Dx6i and also get one of those brown out inhibiting capacitors.

I'm still interested in knowing the problems and successes of others out there.

 

[kevinjulieevan]

me and my son have flown dx6i and dx8 with no major issues. i've only lost signal a few times and it was fpv/long distance related. i would be careful with the orange rx. we use them but they are prone to quality fluctuations. also the micro flyers that are bnf have range issues due to size. can't fly them super far away but then again why would you want to

 

[Bowerz]

As with all wireless system at some point you will find there will be connection issues. I fly with my DX6i and Orange receivers and never had an issue personally I am a light Parkflyer and i also fly some Bnf Micro's. I did have one official receivers that refused to bind though.

 

[PiperCub49]

Jim,

I know that [your son] repaired the antenna on his DX5. Is he still using that same DX5, or has he gotten a repaired unit from Spektrum? I ask because the antennas on 2.4GHz units can be quite fragile (length determines frequencies, ect.). Also, is the power supply constant? I remember that there was an issue with the AA bettery contacts at one point.

A good range test is definitely in order. The range of 2.4GHz units becomes a little complicated when you are using Spektrum bricks and HK receivers. Supposedly, 2.4GHz range depends only on the transmitting range of the TX, not the receiving range of the RX, but I've learned that this does not hold true with lesser quality RXs. Do you guys have any standard size, full range DSM2 RXs to range test?

-Kody

 

[ananas1301]

That´s a really good idea, but I can hardly imagine how reliable a test would be!

Everyone goes flying on a different part on earth and all those things like altitude wheather, location (if your flying near a radio tower etc.) do influence range, but still I would really appreciate FT to do such an episode.

 

[JimCR120]

Kody,

That tx was the old one that we had been having problems with and that is the one that Spektrum already replaced. Unfortunately the new Dx5e that Spektrum sent was also giving him problems including the latest most inhibiting, it wouldn't bind. We took that one in yesterday to the hobby shop and Burt said he'll talk to Spektrum. The hope is to just give up on the Dx5e and look to upgrade to a Dx6i with DSMX. We're hoping the success everyone seems to be having will be his as well. By the way, that DSM2 xmtr you loaned is working fine on all his gear, though there does seem to be a limited range on the Orange rcvr as has been suggested.

 

[PiperCub49]

Jim,

It's good to know that we can eliminate those variables. Sometimes things are just wonky, you know? It could be a lemon of a TX. There are simply too many people out there that fly with the DX5s to pin the problem on Spektrum technology. In my humble opinion, it has been time for MorganAR120 to move up to a better quality TX for some time now. He deserves a radio that will help him out a bit.

I would also suggest that you guys look into a modularized, 72MHz radio (yes, I'm partial to my setup ). This way, you can get that high quality TX with 2.4GHz, but at a hugely reduced price. For comparison, the 9C is a considerable step above the DX8 in terms of features (I don't count telemetry), but it can be bought with the module for about $150 less. I have seen the 9Cs selling for $125 plus $50 shipped for the DSM2 module. Just an interesting price point and food for thought.

-Kody

 

[pgerts]

All radios are sensitive for signal loss, Spektrum, Futaba, Multiplex, FrSky and others.
As mentioned before, the voltage is important and overloaded servos can sink the voltage to the receiver.
Antennas are equally important but is often not taken seriously as they are so tiny on 2,4 systems.
I have been using a DX7 since august 2007 and a DX8 since june 2011 without any problems.
Be careful only with the "pirate" receivers together with all new Spektrums compatible with DSMX. There are many issues with DX8 and old AR6xxx variants. I am very pleased with the features of the Spekrum as the model match, availability of BNF models and the new model memory import- export with the DX8.

 

[RCTakeOff]

Hi,

I have a dx6i with dsmx tech., now the orange rx are only dsm2 so I fly dsm2. Never got problem exept one time.
Were I got only 2 paces of range: I was like What the Hack?
Restarted everything and then it was just fine, So one thing before you fly: RANGE CHECK!

 

[JimCR120]

@RCTakeOff, so then you are saying that your DSMX equipped Dx6i does work with the OrangeRx? To many times I've seen planes bite the dust due to loss of control ending up in broken plane parts. Frustration hardly conveys the emotion when this happens over and over. This morning we just had another one at probably around 50 yards out. Uff!

 

[Logan]

I have used the dx5e for a while, and I haven't had any problems until very recently. A couple days ago I was flying my Parkzone F4F wildcat (great plane, by the way) at my local field, and about two minutes into the flight my AR6000 locked up. The elevator wouldn't budge and the plane ended up heading straight for the ground and crashing. Luckily, the damage wasn't too bad so I managed to fix it. Before this happened I would say that I trusted DSM2 and DSMX without a doubt, but after that incident I'm not so sure. hopefully it was just the receivers fault, because I don't have nearly enough money to buy a better transmitter.

 

[UndCon]

I have a Spektrum DX7 and never lost control due to brownouts

I did loose control 1 time but I flew very low and far away so that is no mystery
I use the Spektrum for FPV,Tricopters, Quadcopters and indoor foamies and even my crawler from time to time.

No worries

//UndCon

 

[SunShine]

Hello! I am a owner of a DX7 and i have never experienced any problems, what so ever, and i have used cheap $4.99 receivers.
well anyways, I have been reading about radio-stuff allot. (because of a school project ), I started researching glitchiness and signal loss, and usually it occurs when you fly with other transmitters around you, or when metal (or carbon) object get between the transmitter and receiver, this is because of the radio waves interfear with each other (i dont know what its called in proper english physics terms, but i mean the phenomena when two waves hit each other).
I dont know how well you guys know youtube, but there is a channel called xjet and rcmoddelreviews both channels are made by an australian guy, everything i'm about to say is based on his research, and i just want to make sure that he gets credit for it!
So the short version of what he found out is that spectrum DSM2 only uses 2 frequencies all the time, so if you get unlucky and both frequencies get disturbed, then you are done for it! the newer and more modern radio technologies (including DSMX) use something called Frequency hopping, that means that the link between the TX and RX is on the same frequency only for a 1/1000 of a second, that means if you get a bad frequency, it doesn't matter, because you are already on the next one. by that you can loose connection with your plane 10-20 times a second, and you wouldn't even know it! (not that it happens). ill go and look for the link where he talks about this.. and il post it here when i found it.
cheers!
-A

 

[jetpackninja]

If you suspect the transmitter get in touch with Horizon. If there is an issue with the TX they will very likely fix it. Many friends report that they have performed repairs even on out of warranty items at no charge. My experience was with a radio that was still under warranty- fixed good as new (bad potentiometer). Great customer support organization!