MattyB

Posted by Danny Fenton on 16/05/2014 22:15:41: I find with my models the throttle is at half most of the time and therefore so is the sound system setting. I have toyed with putting the sound throttle on a slider so the motor appears to be at full throttle when the actual throttle is much lower, not tried it out yet. Worth trying Roy? Cheers Danny Even better would be to put the sound on a separate channel as you suggest, but give it a custom curve and mix it in from the throttle. This means you can have any sound setting for any throttle setting you like without any need for manual adjustment. Using timer delays on a TX like the Taranis you can even have an idle setting that puts the sound on for it's startup sequence, but only starts the prop turning once the engine "fires". Works great!

Stunning model, beautifully flown with a great sound system - perfection. Looks like I need to build a Depron Spit for my MrRCSound unit...!   Edited By MattyB on 19/05/2014 22:57:36

Fabulous model - you just have to get one of these for her too; with the new TT-25 speakers she won't even notice the extra weight... Edited By MattyB on 24/04/2014 23:21:02

One other thought... Would it be worth running a slightly different poll in a few months asking what TXs people have bought in the last 12 or 24 months? I have a strong suspicion the results for that might be quite different to the percentages in this poll...

Posted by Erfolg on 24/04/2014 17:04:41: Not wishing to upset BEB, particularly as this is a discussion, where hypothesis is put forward and then examined, he did suggest that perhaps that Spektrum would be slightly disappointed at the lack of further growth. The current results do point towards a steady advancement of Spektrum at about 40%. This has acted as a stimulus to ponder, what is the maximum realistic market share that is possible in a free market? I do believe that the sales in this past year that share of sales is much higher, possibly as high as 70%. The same is probably true for Frsky could they have 20%? I started to look and think of numbers. I am using my numbers, not because I believe they are correct (in a absolute sense), mainly on the basis that they are easy to use, and act as a pointer to what is probably broadly happening. I am guessing there are about 30,000 of us, and that we buy a new set on average every 10 years. On that basis we can expect that 3,000 sets are sold aprox. each year. On that basis 1% is in the region 30 sets. What actually is 1% as presented in the poll? Could it be > than say 0.5% and < 1.5%? More importantly, does it make sense for any distributor to stock such low numbers, without a significant mark up? Very good points. Two comments... In a market with this many players 70% is probably unrealistic, but that is based on the current model where for the vast majority of TXs the hardware and software aren't separable. I'm certain in 10 years time we will see far fewer but much more capable software which can be used on variety of TX hardware, much like mobile phones or PCs. After all, in this age our TXs are just small handheld computers like anything else; they just have an RF transmission stage tacked on the back. When that happens though I can't imagine there will be room for as many manufacturers as today. I agree one set every 10 years was probably the average, but with costs dropping and capabilites rising quickly I wonder if that will continue to be true? I bought my Taranis knowing the hardware probably won't last as long as it's predecessor the Mpx Evo, but then it cost less than half the price and has dramatically more capability. I also know it will get more throughout its life at regular intervals. Is that a good thing? Not sure really; it's just different. Some will like it and others definitely won't! Edited By MattyB on 24/04/2014 17:57:39

Very interesting poll and results - it seems new entrants such as FrSky have caused a fair bit of disruption already, and I'm sure that's going to continue. Based on the numbers it doesn't look like good news for Futaba - their users have historically been vocal and loyal supporters of the brand (as can be seen from the comments in this thread), but I am seeing a lot less of their sets at the field and the slope nowadays, and very few of their newest models. Many users I talk to seem confused and disenfranchised by the "protocol soup" they've created, and the adoption of DSM2 as as the de facto standard for BNF models gives Spektrum a big edge. They are almost certainly too big to disappear completely, but they do need to pull their socks up, simplify their line up and reduce prices to remain a compelling competitor to Spektrum and FrSky. Put simply they need to remember what they did to Kraft etc when they were the disruptors back in the 70s. Multiplex have issues too. Their market share has dropped from 4% to 3%, but I suspect it's worse than that - nearly all the people I know who's primary TX is Multiplex (which used to be a lot as I'm a glider guider, including myself until recently) use a FrSky or other 2.4 module, not M-Link. Why? M-link is extremely reliable and the telemetry implementation is great, but it came late and the sensor and RX prices are eye watering. Couple that with the poor reception the Profi has received in the UK, the absence of software updates and the market share Jeti took whilst it was delayed (there are only so many people who will pay £1k for a TX) and I'm not sure Multiplex will even be distributed here in the UK in 2 years time. I love the brand, but the sad thing is that whilst their software was almost certainly the inspiration for open source firmwares such as OpenTX, it's that software that could may kill them off in the long term. A lot will depends on their EU sales and whether their owner (who also owns Hitec) wants to persist with them as a truly independent radio manufacturer. JR though are probably the most interesting. They still have that reputation for the best physical quality (gimbals etc) and their market share doesn't seem to have shrunk hugely (from 10 to 9%), but from the comments here and the evidence at the field it appears most of their users are using their older 35MHz or DSM2 2.4 sets. I've no idea how they are sellingglobally, but have seen precisely none of their DMSS sets here; given the steep UK pricing that's not exactly surprising. On paper DMSS looks great (combining DSSS and FHSS a la Spektrum's DSMX), but for 99.99% of people it won't offer anything over any other straight FHSS implementation. Their biggest problem is getting JR users with DSM2 sets to move - why would they change out all their RXs at great expense if they can just buy a well priced, well featured DX9 instead? Unless they sort out their pricing I suspect they will become a rarer and rarer site; good as the tech is I would not invest in it right for fear they might not be distributed here in the medium term. All in all only one thing is certain - there will be winning and losing brands in the medium term, and a few are going to go by the wayside completely, so be cautious before you invest a huge amount in any system. Interesting times! Edited By MattyB on 24/04/2014 17:44:50 Edited By MattyB on 24/04/2014 17:48:27

Posted by Bill_B on 15/04/2014 12:56:52: There is only one Radio for serious glider pilots, Multiplex. There WAS only one radio for serious glider pilots, then Mpx made a total mess of the Profi TX - very late, too expensive and barely any extra functionality over an Evo. Couple this with their silly RX prices and they are a dying breed; Jeti and FrSky seem to have sliced up most of their market share here in the UK. I still know a few people using 4000s and cockpits, but only one uses M-Link with the rest using FrSky modules or still on 35. I would have loved to stick with Mpx, but I am not sure they will be around making radio gear in the medium term so I've gone FrSky; instructions are rubbish (aren't they always), but OpenTX and the resilient RF link are both fabulous. Edited By MattyB on 15/04/2014 21:47:52 Edited By MattyB on 15/04/2014 21:49:49

The people who answered never are definitely fibbing...

Posted by Terence Lynock on 27/10/2011 00:51:49: Always liked the look of the MC202 Folgore and the 205 Veltro, only thing that has put me off is the wing area being purebred fighters, I have sorted the plans for the F22 Spit today as I wasnt feeling too chipper so stayed at home. I used the Lockwood plans resized to dead on 1/10th scale 44.5'' span and changed the aerofoil to S3021 with 3deg incidence, the wing was foam so cleaned everything off the original drawing and used the outline to draw a built up wing which is much lighter. I may tweak it a little by adding an 80mm wide flat centre section and fit the finished wing panels to this, not pure scale I know but it will increase the wing area a little.   All Janssen's designs are subtly tweaked to improve soaring performance, so I've not found it an issue - my Macchi (his original prototype) flies quite happily in 7-8mph off Ivinghoe Beacon in a westerly. Here it is flying on the Lleyn peninsula in 8-10mph.       3 degrees of incidence seem a lot to me though; I'd recommend rigging it with no more than 1, but all the PSS plans I own say to rig at zero-zero (you can always shim it up later after the test flights). The Janssen's designs also have no washout, which surprised me a bit initially but doesn't seem to be a problem when using the HQ sections. Finally I would not worry too much about the extra weight of a foam wing tbh; a brown papered or bagged wing will not be heavy enough to make a huge difference in my opinion, and will be much more reslient to slope abuse (remember S.L.O.P.E stands for smashed, lost or pulverised eventually!) Edited By MattyB on 28/10/2011 11:53:42 Edited By MattyB on 28/10/2011 12:02:59 Edited By MattyB on 28/10/2011 12:04:18 Edited By MattyB on 28/10/2011 12:06:58

The method you used to flat pack your model (i.e. an unfortunate incident whilst flying) is infinitely preferable to mine (leave it in the box and don't build it cos you ain't got time! ). Don't worry about it; these things happen in S.L.O.P.E (smashed, lost or pulverised eventually), and if you don't have an incident every now and again you probably aren't trying hard enough!Edited By MattyB on 25/10/2011 16:54:03

Some suggestions... my Paul Janssen's Macchi 202 flies great on HQ2.5/10 (root) and HQ2.5/12 (tip), and is a fantastic light to med/heavy wind soarer. I'd thoroughly recommend this section (all it lacks is inverted performance, which isn't that important on a PSS IMHO; others may disagree).  Nearly all of Paul's other PSS designs use this section combination too - he also does a nice Spit Mk22/24. A fuse/canopy set is available for that one; just drop him an email (you can't have mine, it's finally near the top of the build queue!). Edited By MattyB on 25/10/2011 14:53:43 Edited By MattyB on 25/10/2011 14:54:58