Transmitters for a beginner

[Mrbiscuits]

I need help choosing a transmitter, im trying to get into RC planes and need some advice. im on a budget and will what to expand in the future. i have heard good things about the spektrum dx6i but have also heard that it is not great in the long run. i am also thinking about the turnigy 9xr with an orange module. I just need an experts opinion.

 

[Craftydan]

As far as transmitters go, the 9xr is marginally better than the DX6i. The 9xr is more capable, but it's stock ROM is fairly buggy and hard to program, where the DX6i has fewer capabilities but rock solid in it's performance. Even with the limitations in it's capabilities, if they were equivalently priced, I'd recommend the DX6i. EVERY. TIME.

If you want to go for the "permanent" radio (the one you'll use for a long time), look into the FRSKY X9d Taranis. VERY capable radio priced well below it's functional competitors. Inexpensive, but not particularly cheap. You may grow to want a different radio (maybe), but barring new technologies, you will not outgrow it.

 

[ZoomNBoom]

I guess Im mostly going to echo what craftydan said. There are two approaches; either you buy a beginner radio that you know you will outgrow if you stick with the hobby, or you buy a taranis and be set 'for life'.

If you go with the former approach, keep in mind that you can buy such a radio second hand, and sell it once you are done with it. That keeps the cost pretty low. As for which one; if you are planning on multirotors, Id also stay away from the 9x, the stock firmware is almost unusable for those, and upgrading it not easy at all. Exception could be if you can buy one second hand thats already modded with Er9X and possibly other mods (backlit LCD mod, audio mod, telemetry mod, .. these things get modded a lot!).

If you are planning on fixed wing aircraft, Id pick a 9x(r) over a dx6i. Some people may have had bad luck with theirs, but on mine I found the gimbals and switches actually pretty darn good, and its aged very well. I also love the fact you can plug in modules. If you want DSM2/X for bind and fly, plug it in. If you want frsky telemetry and better link reliability, go ahead. You can even plug long range UHF modules should you one day want to.

Actually, before hitting "post", I glanced over hobbykings site, and Im going to change my vote. I used to argue against the 9XR pro because it was too expensive compared to a clearly superior taranis, but the price has come down meanwhile, and at $99 (without rf module! edit: and without battery. Hmm..), it actually makes for a nice "taranis light". You'll have fulll programability almost on par with taranis, support for telemetry, speech, RF modules, USB, .. its more than you need as first radio, but at that price, Id certainly consider it.

 

[Mrbiscuits]

thanks, i went to look at the frsky x9d and it looks amazing.

 

[Flyboypres]

radios

I just upgraded from a DX6I to a new DX6 and its a lot better radio than the old one its only 190.00 and has the same features as the DX8 but for less money just a thought

 

[Splatwillicrash]

I own Frsky and Futaba, and my Futaba stuff is gathering dust. Don't get me wrong, the T8J and T7C are good radios, but for all intents and purposes I have one TX, and that is my Taranis. I have about twenty aircraft and Multirotors all of them with either X8R or the tiny X4R receivers in em. They are rock solid and have lots of features you pay stupid amounts of money to get in other radios. Telemetry, Voice, Special Functions, Logical Switches, (used one the other day on my firefly6, If the gear is down and I am in forward flight mode, tell me the gear is down every 30 seconds) I have plans for testing some autonomous flight and this is one more thing to make sure I don't mess up.

But I digress..

Receivers are way cheaper, and many have dual antenna receiver diversity, which means it switches to whatever antenna is stronger, and that is built in, you dont have to pay more to add it.

Out of the box you can do 8 channels PWM, and 16 channels Serial, and you can daisy chain two RX together for 16ch PWM and 32ch Serial. With absolutely no mod to the TX except messing with ONE menu, you become a 16 ch radio. You can add your own voice or other voices as your voice warnings, You could even ad your moms if you want her to nag ya about battery levels.

Now for the bad news.... It is not that easy to program. There I said it.... There is lots of help on Youtube, Mark Harrison is great, and Scott Page is a master at it but sometimes hard to follow because he covers so much in an eppisode, Open TX University is a great resource to learn.

Another resource If your coming to Flite Fest, is to look me up, I will be in a Neff Brothers RV (the Big 32 foot cause that is all they had left) with pink flamingos out on the grass next to it. (yeah I am the one that got the guys to do flying flipping Flamingos challenge) I will be flying a Firefly6, a Multiplex TwinStar all lit up with LED's, and a really big FPV Wing. Oh and hopefully an inflatable pool toy.