Transmitter - Which to buy?

[pressalltheknobs]

Interesting. I thought you needed a Ham license to operate home brew devices...seems perhaps not. Thanks for pointing that out.

However I suspect the the 4in1 would not qualify (unless you built one yourself from the various components) - since it is commercially sold as a thing. At best it's a "kit" for which examples need to be certified.

And neither does the Orange since HK can't be bothered to FCC certify it...at least not last time I looked...There was no FCC sticker on the one I received.

I'll concede the DIY hack module probably qualifies since it is made from parts of a certified radio and is typically home built from components...But most people buy a pre-made circuit board and follow a predefined parts list without any knowledge of how to "employ good engineering practices to meet the specified technical standards" which arguably may qualify it as a kit so I think "perfectly" might be a bit strong.

I realize the DM-9 is ppm. I was more referring to the binding, which was the question. I am not clear if it can bind to more that one thing at once but I suspect it can.

 

[Bricks]

No.

In OpenTX the model configuration is independent from the Module so it doesn't matter if the module is installed or not to set up the model configuration. You just have to plug in the module, power up the TX and select the correct model if it is not the current one. Binding is a Module function and if the module has a serial interface that OpenTX understands then you can also get Model match functionality.

As far as I know....

The more recent Orange modules had a problem retaining bind if you switch between DSM2 and DSMX. Not sure if that is fixed with the latest incarnation (the so called V1.2)

The "MULTI" (aka 4in1 Module) has a better DSMX implementation and has no problem retaining bind as far as I know. It also uses a serial interface with the Taranis. You can flash some variant of the Orange module with the DSM support from the MULTI firmware to take advantage of the firmware improvements.

The hack DIY module retains binding...maybe depending on the Spektrum TX you get the internal RF module from but I think all likely candidates work.

Not sure about the Spektrum DM-9 module which is DSM2 only and the only "legal" (ie. FCC certified) option.

Thanks that was informative

 

[bitogre]

I realize the DM-9 is ppm. I was more referring to the binding, which was the question. I am not clear if it can bind to more that one thing at once but I suspect it can.

In most cases (I am unaware of any case to the contrary but I would not assume there are none), you can bind multiple receivers to the same transmitter/model. I have seen people use this in large models where they put separate receivers near each control surface. I use this ability to have two different Apprentices bound to the same model on the TX (one is stock and the other is set up with lights for night flying). I could theoretically fly both at the same time with the same commands but I am pretty sure that is completely unsafe so do not do it.

In fact, the fact you can bind multiple receivers to the same TX is why I think they came up with model match to ensure that you have the right model selected before you try to fly a plane. Model match is something added to the protocol to make sure you have the right model selected before the receiver will respond to commands from the TX.

The only issue I know of when binding multiple receivers to the same TX/model is you cannot have multiple receivers providing telemetry. In the case of FrSky receivers, there is a way to bind the receiver in a non-telemetry mode (and often for channel 9-16 in cases where you need more than 8 channels).

 

[pressalltheknobs]

In most cases (I am unaware of any case to the contrary but I would not assume there are none), you can bind multiple receivers to the same transmitter/model. I have seen people use this in large models where they put separate receivers near each control surface. I use this ability to have two different Apprentices bound to the same model on the TX (one is stock and the other is set up with lights for night flying). I could theoretically fly both at the same time with the same commands but I am pretty sure that is completely unsafe so do not do it.

In fact, the fact you can bind multiple receivers to the same TX is why I think they came up with model match to ensure that you have the right model selected before you try to fly a plane. Model match is something added to the protocol to make sure you have the right model selected before the receiver will respond to commands from the TX.

The only issue I know of when binding multiple receivers to the same TX/model is you cannot have multiple receivers providing telemetry. In the case of FrSky receivers, there is a way to bind the receiver in a non-telemetry mode (and often for channel 9-16 in cases where you need more than 8 channels).

yes that it the case...

However the question was specifically about the DM-9 (aka AIRMOD) which is a fairly old design at this point. I checked the manual and as far as I read it doesn't say specifically that you can bind it to many receivers but it doesn't say you can't either. I would guess you can since the TX sends a code to the RX during binding so there is really no way for multiple RX's to not work. I don't think it has "model match" though since there is no easy way to select the model you want with a PPM module.

 

[Busted Bricks]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned the Devo 7e and Devo 10 yet. I have both with Deviation TX firmware installed. The 7e has NRF24L01 module fitted so I can use it with a number of toy quads and Hisky helis and planes. My Devo 10 has a 4in1 module so I can use it with DSM2/DSMX, FrSky, Flysky, Hisky and a host of other protocol receivers.