MattyB

Your Spektrum is "retarded" Colin? I know they don't offer the flexibility of OpenTX, but that seems a bit harsh... The results so far are broadly reflective of the clubs of which I am a member (3), and the sample size of ~280 at the time of writing is sizeable enough to give confidence it can't be too far off. The only place I see anything significantly different is amongst the gliding fraternity; FrSky has a much bigger slice of the soaring club I belong too where they have pretty much eliminated the JR and Multiplex sets. Whilst I get it's sensible to ask the same question as in previous years so we can compare results, I still think this survey doesn't really explain what is going on in the market. A better question would "What transmitters or modules did you purchase in the last 3 years?", and allow people to tick as many answers as they like. This would tell you about current sales rather than overall usage. For instance it appears around 7% use JR, but how many of them have bought a DMSS set? In my experience it's very few; far more have stick with their older DSM2 JRs or put FrSky modules in the back of the old bombproof 35MHz sets. If that question were asked I would bet on Spektrum in the lead, FrSky a strong second and Futaba third with everyone else in the low single digits. Maybe we could run that survey in 6 months as a complement to this one? Edited By MattyB on 04/02/2017 16:58:30

Looks like I spoke too soon - there is a UK stockist of Flightline, though the prices as expected are pretty steep... Flightline RC at Reds Radio Control Looks like the Flightline Spit would be around £400 plus p&p - eek! Edited By MattyB on 04/02/2017 14:33:23

Sounds like it will be more like £300-350 delivered - 6S 3000 to 4000 power too... Edited By MattyB on 03/02/2017 22:28:57

If you can overlook the slightly lengthened nose these are excellent - I have seen two go and they both flew great. Seagull build quality is excellent, though the retracts tend to be iffy (this is based on my Dad's Spitfire and plenty of reports online that say the same). Buy some cheap powerful electric units from Hobbyking and you should be in good shape.

Good news indeed - I thought we may never be back again. I suspect we will have to be squeaky clean on issues such a FOD from now on though; one slip up and we might find our access gone for good.

Posted by John Emms - Puffin Models on 03/02/2017 14:03:04: Matty, May I humbly suggest that rather than simply looking at a re-fitted pin, that you give the affected lead a really good pull to ensure that the pin is actually securely home? Of course, I do that every time. I also always double heatshrink any red wire pins removed to disable an onboard BEC; so far the rate of failures is exactly zero. My point about visually checking was that a pin that has not seated into position correctly will not be retained in the plug by plastic "tongue" in the housing, so that will be sticking up. There will also be a tiny bit of metal from the crimps visible where the wire enters the housing. I have never seen a plug where the pin seats fully into the casing with the tongue in the correct location that subsequently fails the "give it a tug" test, but I will continue to do it just to be sure.

Posted by Josip Vrandecic -Mes on 03/02/2017 11:46:18: Soon available two foamy Spitfires in a required dimension.....It's about time : Flightline RC 1600mm Spitfire Hobbying Avios 1450mm Spitfire Sadly there is no UK (or EU as far as I'm aware) distributor for the 1600mm Flightline models, so you can pretty much forget that one - by the time VAT and import duty is added it would be far too expensive to bring from the US. The Hobbyking Avios one looks nice, but some of the early Avios models have had issues (retracts with no flue on the Sea Fury) and I am not sure why they have gone for the one with the desert filter - for me it spoils the lines. Still, it is nice that there are more models emerging in this size range. Edited By MattyB on 03/02/2017 13:29:16

Posted by John Emms - Puffin Models on 02/02/2017 16:24:32: ...1) NEVER pull the pin out of a plug, as you can never be sure of a good link if you need to re-fit it. Sorry, but I can't agree with that. I tend to make up my own leads to the right length for tight installs - are none of to be trusted because they were made up at home? I have pulled out and refitted hundreds of pins across my modelling career and never had an issue; 99.9% of the time the pin is entirely undamaged by the process, and it is always very obvious when you pull it out if the crimp is not good enough. Similarly it is equally obvious if the pin does not seat back fully in the shroud simply by looking at it.

Another option are magnetic switches; they are available from T9 (and other suppliers I am sure) in single and dual battery configs. 20A capable too; quite an elegant solution. Edited By MattyB on 02/02/2017 16:25:35

EDIT - Re-read your OP, looks like you are fitting an opto ESC anyway. In that case pull the pin and test on the ground and see what happens; based on the posts below, I suspect the ESC will do nothing. Matt Edited By MattyB on 02/02/2017 14:42:17

Posted by Gary Manuel on 01/02/2017 18:10:47: Could this be a bit of a home goal for FrSky? Surely one of the USP's of the Horus is it's smoother gimbals. They could end up losing sales. I am not sure this is going to be an issue. The Horus was predominantly designed to appeal to big brand users from Futaba, JR, Spek etc. wanting high end build and performance with a more traditional menu driven interface, not the existing user base. From what I've seen though to date that hasn't happened - FrSky's launch wasn't polished enough (the RF firmware issues in early units didn't help) and there was precious little publicity in the mags to pique the interest of those buyers. They have sold a fair number to FrSky fans, but the bigger percentage of existing users seemed to have decided it is too big and heavy and/or that it costs to much to be a worthwhile upgrade. Maybe over time it will become a sales success, but the launch appears to have been 4/10 success and I doubt they are on course to recover the dev costs of that expensive new OS anytime soon. However, what there is a huge appetite for is a "Super Taranis". Hall effect gimbals as std, better quality switches and a revised case that fits in with the family resemblance of the Q7 and Horus - maybe even a colour screen could be added. Priced around the £250-300 mark (or more likely 350 if the colour screen was added) it would be a huge seller, but will they do it? I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath; if it were wildly successful it might also kill Horus sales stone dead.

Posted by Adrian Smith 1 on 02/02/2017 09:12:38: MattyB, I accept that the switching requirement for electrics and IC might be different, but with IC (petrol) simplicity is what I go for. Indeed I have taken your good advice given in another thread on switching for electrics. For I/C the Opto Kill switch fulfils that simplicity with a minimum of connections and safely. I am open to persuasion though! No persuasion necessary - if I flew gassers I would always fit one of those opto switches on the ignition circuit (my Dad has one in his NGH 38cc Spit). My comments on using an arming plug were still in the context of large IC powered aircraft like Gary's Extra though; I was suggesting it as an alternative method of switching the power on and off to the the RX and servos. Using a single servo wire with bog standard servo connectors is ok in smaller models, but on something like a 30% gasser I'd feel much happier knowing all the power to those big digital servos is coming across wires and connectors designed for the job. Whether you use a arming plug in series on the +ve rail or simply connect the battery direct to a flylead with a decent high current connector on the end is personal preference, but the key thing is not to rely on the friction fit and current carrying capacity of a single servo lead for all your RC gear! PS - With a model like Gary's I personally wouldn't let my servos take power off the RX power rail; there is no way it can be rated to supply the kinds of currents all those big digital servos could pull simultaneously during 3D flight (I've read in some XPS documentation that 10A is the max most RXs can handle). I suppose that is the reason most of these big models use Powerboxes, though there are now power and RX redundancy products from FrSky (the RB-10 and Redundancy Bus) and my personal favourite from XPS, the X10+. These products mean RX and power resiliency can be added in medium sized club sized models for a very reasonable price. Worth investigating if you want to add additional redundancy and peace of mind for your pride and joy. Edited By MattyB on 02/02/2017 11:58:32

I've never really trusted switches full stop - as you note most of the ones sold for RC use as really aren't up to much. Your method though, whilst effective, does seem like rather a lot of work compared to wiring up a decent quality high current connector (XT60, EC3 or 5) as an arming plug in the +ve rail. The plug can be modded to be held captive within the model to prevent it being lost. Extremely reliable, quick, simple and guaranteed to work through thousands of cycles if done right. If you don't like the inconvenience of having to plug in the connector each time whilst testing the RC, simply fit a cheapie switch in parallel and mark it for ground use only. Alternatively if you worry about flying with only the switch in place wire one in series between the two contacts of a spare arming plug and mark it for ground use only. Simples!

Posted by flight1 on 01/02/2017 16:20:25: can you put stick switches on these like you can on the X9E ? No, I don't think so - these are designed for "thumber" radios. Installation video...

Yes, I have ordered from the next batch - I have an early B spec non-plus model before they upgraded the standard gimbals, so I am expecting a big improvement in feel an accuracy (the centres on mine do wobble a point or two on the outputs screen). The early reviews are very good...

Posted by John Emms - Puffin Models on 01/02/2017 13:24:45: I thought J Perkins (the UK distributor) had a long history. It is also possible to buy direct from Roto, who also have quite a long history.... Yeah, my Dad bought direct from them as it was apparently a fair bit cheaper than the UK sources for this engine. Didn't know they a long established supplier though, they were a new name to me until a year or two ago... that is reassuring. Posted by John Emms - Puffin Models on 01/02/2017 13:24:45: Roto have a huge reputation for quality in Czech, and even a friend who is a dealer for other engine ranges recommended the Roto 35 FS to me, particularly for the sound. The Roto four strokes appear to be designed as lower revving engines than the nearest equivalent OS engines. There is a very limited range of engine manufacturers I would buy from, and Roto is on the list. Yes, the quality and sound is the main attraction for him - it may still be difficult to get it below the 85Db limit he has at his site I suspect, but it should be easier than a two stroke of equivalent power. Certainly the build should be a lot nicer than his NGH, though to be fair utilitarian as it is he seem to be one of the lucky ones that got a good one that runs nicely.

Posted by cymaz on 31/01/2017 06:30:19: Very short thread HERE . The owner seemed to be pleased with it. There is another short thread on RCUniverse... Many thanks - I had found the first one, but not the one on RCUniverse. It does seem to run nicely and perform well in the air; I guess maybe buyers are reluctant to purchase these relatively expensive engines from suppliers who don't have a long standing history. I am certainly looking forward to seeing it fly and maybe having a go, but don't expect a video anytime soon - he has his Seagull Spit (NGH 38) to finish and a Laser powered Flair Tiggie to recomission first. Edited By MattyB on 31/01/2017 14:14:58

As per the above dialogue a request has been posted - lets see what the Devs say...

Just found out my Dad has bought himself a rather spectacular new toy - a Roto 85 FSI 2-cylinder inline which he is going to attempt to squeeze into a Topflite P-51... Anyone had any experience with this engine or any of the other Roto 4-strokes? There are plenty of videos of them running nicely on benches, but only a couple of flying vids. They do sound good, though I suspect a canister or two is going to be required...

20 degrees sounds fine for maiden Ross. Beware Sebart high rates though; despite most of them (incldung the Angel) being designed for F3A not 3D, Seba tends to recommend rearward CGs and big movements for hovering around! His high rate recommendation on the Angel for ailerons is 50 degrees, but unless you do want to try 3Ding it I would suggest setting up the servos to give no more than 35-40 degrees at full servo throw; this gives more torque and better centring, and still offers plenty of movement.

Can it be done? Yes, as the guys say you just need the right module, though be aware that some of the later Hobbyking Orange modules have had issues binding to some Spektrum RXs after Orange changed them ~18 months - 2 years ago. Do you really want to bother though you if you already have a DX6? If you are new to Taranis it is likely to be a bit of a faff getting all the various SAFE features setup. If I had a DX6 that did the job already I wouldn't bother myself, and I'm saying that as a very happy Taranis owner. Just keep your DX6 for the BNF small stuff, and use the Taranis on everything else. Besides, having a secondary radio is always handy in case something happens to your primary. Edited By MattyB on 30/01/2017 17:06:41

I certainly hope not! I'm not against 3D printing - it's fantastic tech for us modellers used in the right places - but please place this idea in the bin. The very idea of being anywhere near a 3D printed prop as it spools up makes me shudder... Edited By MattyB on 30/01/2017 15:29:30

Posted by bouncebounce crunch on 30/01/2017 02:40:54: Crashed my first model in many years today. took off, banked to the right while gaining height, banked left to enter a return run down the strip, she throttled back on her own, then throttled up and flicked over into a crunching dive from about 100feet. I laughed and cheered as this model gave me every cent that i paid for her, sure it isn't great fun to lose a model, but as we know the full size crash at times so too our scaled down versions. I won't dwell on what went wrong as it happened very quickly, she never felt a thing. OK, but if you don't try and understand what caused it how can you be confident it won't happen again on the next model you fly? It could be a TX issue after all... At least check the state of the power supply in the wrecked model to see if that was the issue; in my experience power supply failure is the most likely root cause of non-pilot induced crashes.

Lemon RX - I use FrSky for most of my models, but their ubercheap DSM2 6ch RXs have been great for me in lightweight low cost foamies.

Posted by Richard Wills 2 on 28/01/2017 17:48:25: The DX7 doesn't, single antenna only AFAIK. The revised version of the DX6 G2 and the DX8 G2 do have diversity. DX7 gen 1 - single aerial. DX7 gen 2 - dual aerial diversity as stated explicitly here on this HH website.   Edited By MattyB on 28/01/2017 18:33:38