Which transmitter?

Which transmitter would you pick?

  • FrSky Taranis QX7S

    Votes: 7 77.8%
  • Spectrum DX8E

    Votes: 2 22.2%

  • Total voters
    9

Bricks

Master member
The QX7S has the better hall gimbals preinstalled and I believe better lotus stick ends. I love my QX7. Its done all I've ever wanted and more. My M7 hall gimbals were actually shipped by FT this morning, so I'll have those to look forward to soon.

For me the big benefit for FrSky is the tiny, inexpensive receivers with telemetry (like the $19 R-XSR).


You can get Lemon DSMX 6 channel light receiver for $6.89 and the Lemon are rock solid have many of them in foamies and never a glitch. Or for quads the Lemon satellite receiver for around $9 but they do not support telemetry. The new Orange receiver Gen2 with telemetry when on sale roughly $9 many of the guys at the field have been using the Orange Gen 2`s in gassers and nitro planesand have had zero problems versus the original Orange receivers.
 
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sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
It can be set up to tune your quad thru the transmitter. Take a picture of your quad or plane and use that picture on the transmitter screen for model select. Touch screen programing also on the new 12.

Interesting...Now, if it just weren't so darned expensive...I remember contemplating the DX8 when I bought my DX6, but the extra $100 for 2 extra channels just seemed like a lot for something I couldn't see using. Now, however, with contemplating a P-38 with landing gear? I may be changing my tune...
 

Beavis

Member
DXe guy here. I got into the hobby with a HH Sport Cub. I lost the 4 channel transmitter, and had to buy a replacement. I wasn't sure where I was going in the hobby, so I got the DXe due to price and compatibility. After that I got an E-Flite P-47. Now I was pretty much a Spektrum disciple without really trying to be.

I use the cheap Lemon RX's. I have very few problems, but for a while I was having momentary control loss with both a Spektrum 4 channel and my Lemons. I don't seem to have as much of those currently, and it might've been an ESC issue or cell tower signal interference issue.

Buying cheap Lemon RX's and running a 6 channel DXe does just about everything I want, and I get to build lots of planes at this price point. I even bought a Lemon RX with stabilizer plus (think Spektrum Safe, but programmable) for just under $30. I haven't used it yet, but at that price I figure I could frankenstein it into something fun.

My only regret with the DXe is that it can only run on a single programmed setup at a time. That means I have to hook up to a pc to download a different model/config of plane. The other models have selectable programs for different planes. But outside of that, the DXe is cheap, durable, and forces me to configure all of my plane servos the same way.
 

French

Construire Voler S'écraser Répéter
I just installed the hall gimbals into my old QX7 and wow. What an amazing feel. Now, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit suggesting that someone get the QX7S (with hall and lotus stick ends). The value is well worth the extra cost. I went for the grand lotus sticks (I fly with a hybrid style - thumb down/index finger in front), but the lotus look really nice too. Great all around sticks.

 

kdobson83

Well-known member
Ok, update time. I ended up going with the dx8e. Price and ease of use being big factors. Plus, the FT store doesn't carry the qx7s. lol Anyway, there is a plethora of aftermarket receivers out there for spectrum including orangerx and lemon rx, both of which are nice and highly rated receivers. I can get a gyro 7 channel receiver for just over $20. The gimbals on this sucker are AMAZING!!! Made me instantly regret ever getting the Flysky. Literally, i feel like i can fly 100% better. And its really easy to use. I was programming misses on my first plane i bound to it. I am super happy with the transmitter and already plan on buying a dx6e for my son in a year or so.
Thanks for all of your alls input. Hopefully this thread will help someone else make up their minds as well.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
Ok, update time. I ended up going with the dx8e. Price and ease of use being big factors. Plus, the FT store doesn't carry the qx7s. lol Anyway, there is a plethora of aftermarket receivers out there for spectrum including orangerx and lemon rx, both of which are nice and highly rated receivers. I can get a gyro 7 channel receiver for just over $20. The gimbals on this sucker are AMAZING!!! Made me instantly regret ever getting the Flysky. Literally, i feel like i can fly 100% better. And its really easy to use. I was programming misses on my first plane i bound to it. I am super happy with the transmitter and already plan on buying a dx6e for my son in a year or so.
Thanks for all of your alls input. Hopefully this thread will help someone else make up their minds as well.

I'll tell you that the gimbal feel is SUPER important. I don't care which brand it is - Spektrum, HiTec, FrSky, FlySky - if you have gimbals that aren't smooth and stick, or are spongy, you will notice it. :) That, and ergonomics are the two biggest things - If you have to do some sort of weird "gang sign" hand position to flip a switch or hold the trainer button/switch down, it's not a good radio in my mind.

And French, I kinda like those sticks. Don't know if I'd ever use something that big myself, but I know people who would love it because it would give them more of a gamepad type of feel.
 

Brett_N

Well-known member
Wow - not a single vote for the Jumpers? Protocol's be damned, those little $90 buggers will work with anything, and give you 10 channels!

(In saying that, I do love my Spektrums also)

If you go Spektrum, go with the Dx8e when it's available. It seems like a lot of channels, but if you fly any planes with AS3X, you eat channels up quick.
 

rockyboy

Skill Collector
Mentor
The Jumpers made a nice sized splash when they arrived on scene, but the RC Groups thread tracked a lot of people having problems with them - seems there were more than a few manufacturing quality issues and not good support getting them fixed - and news about them has been very quiet in the last couple months.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
I just installed the hall gimbals into my old QX7 and wow. What an amazing feel. Now, I wouldn’t hesitate one bit suggesting that someone get the QX7S (with hall and lotus stick ends). The value is well worth the extra cost. I went for the grand lotus sticks (I fly with a hybrid style - thumb down/index finger in front), but the lotus look really nice too. Great all around sticks.



Them Gimbals are such a HUGE jump in control aren't they. They are sooo precise. they are almost too good if you don't pay attention to how much pressure you hold the sticks with when neutral as you can induce drift literally by a microsecond or two change from that alone.
 

VarietyPack

New member
I absolutely adore my Q X7. I tentatively moved to it after using a Dx6i for years, and I can honestly say I'll never buy a Spektrum radio set again. I get a little excited when I build some crazy Mini Guinea with bay doors, rockets and airbrakes, because I can bind ALL THE MIXES EVER CONCEIVED OF, and it won't be problematic. Plus the Flight Modes are handy for sailplanes or boatplanes or stuntplanes or... plane-planes. I can snap in a really mellow Trainer Flight Mode with a simple switch while my guest flies, and then snap it back to full-acro to show off or dodge a grabby tree. No idea if you can do that with a Dx6 but it was easy-peasy to figure out in the OpenTx. Plus I just like the layout of the switches way more than the Dx radios.

TL;DR
I love the Q X7, and I didn't even want to make the switch to it.
 

sprzout

Knower of useless information
Mentor
I absolutely adore my Q X7. I tentatively moved to it after using a Dx6i for years, and I can honestly say I'll never buy a Spektrum radio set again. I get a little excited when I build some crazy Mini Guinea with bay doors, rockets and airbrakes, because I can bind ALL THE MIXES EVER CONCEIVED OF, and it won't be problematic. Plus the Flight Modes are handy for sailplanes or boatplanes or stuntplanes or... plane-planes. I can snap in a really mellow Trainer Flight Mode with a simple switch while my guest flies, and then snap it back to full-acro to show off or dodge a grabby tree. No idea if you can do that with a Dx6 but it was easy-peasy to figure out in the OpenTx. Plus I just like the layout of the switches way more than the Dx radios.

TL;DR
I love the Q X7, and I didn't even want to make the switch to it.

Actually, you can - I've got my quad, my Sea Duck, and before my Bushwacker bit the dust, I had it set up with multiple flight modes and different expo rates that I could switch between in a "flight mode" setting, done on my DX6 Gen 3. :)

And no, I'm not trying to do the whole "Spektrum vs. FrSky, Ford vs. Chevy, iPhone vs. Android" argument - I'm of the mindset that you fly what's best for YOU. I just know that some radios feel better than others. My dad was actually complaining on Monday to me about the feel of the trainer radios that he's been flying with at the field (some Dx6is) vs. his radio (a DX8), and was saying his radio had a more "sure" feeling, and a smoother stick feel than those trainer radios. I had to point out that his radio had less than 40 hours on it, while the trainers had hundreds, so things were probably a little looser and sloppier.