Spektrum? Futaba? Hitec? JR? or XXXXX for £63

[Steve W-O]

What is it that makes a radio worth so much? Such as more than 4 times the price of a feature similar radio?

 

Is it quality or reliability?  Not to me, as there are lots of reports of problems on the well known brands

 

Is it ease of programming? Doesn't look like it by the number of questions everywhere.

 

Flexibility of programming? Again, reading how people have to combine various preset mixes and features to do what they want, doesn't seem likely.

 

 Backup service?  Yes, could well be a point of value when things go wrong, but how often do they go wrong, and is i worth the price?

 

"Street cred" of owning a "big name" brand?  Probably for various reasons. But then if you arrived at the fiels in a Reliant Robin, your TX is probably the last thing people would be looking at or commenting on

 

Relaibility, keeping your model safe?   Probably the idea that a big name is more reliable is a strong point, but there doesn't seem to be anything that proves the less known brands to be less reliable.

 

Fear of the unknown?  Yes, probably the biggest point listening to the way people talk. They think that something so inexpensive could not possibly work as well as something 4 times the price, and also that if they crash, the "bargain" gear will be blamed.

 

 

 

 

I have been looking at the adverts over the last week or so, and wondering what the reasons for not buying less expensive gear is. I'm sure I have missed some, I was just taking points from various forums.

 

 

I now have three of    t h e s e   . In standard form, they have all the preset mixes that are commonly used, in updated form, the mixing is only limited by your needs and imagination. They have fantastic range, and have good reviews and long tests.

 

 

I can not find a logical reason, based on facts, why I would be better off paying £260 for something that does not do as much for me as these for £63.

[ken anderson.]

rip off britain comes to mind steve........a few year's ago i queried why the big difference in price between here and the USA......... i was told because america was so-big ---larger market etc...the price's were lower......beyond me why we have to pay top whack......allthough in the uk it appear's that owt to do with hobbies is expensive...

 

  ken anderon........ ne.....1.

[Stephen Grigg]

When I first started I bought the MPX Easistar complete with controller,and for my beginner level it was excellant.I then remember talking to Galaxy  something I needed and went to 2.4 ditigal trimming.I had a number of radio issues and lost models for lost signal,I changed to a better Transmitter still 2.4 different make and sincised make receive have had no radio issues.I buy recognised receivers for £55 a time also.I havent named manufacturers  because I could prove nothing but both are the most popular and not cheap.The Transmitter you show .you would forever be adjusting your trim because it would move out of trim manually just being packed away at the end of the day.I also bought a Transmitter with 20 model memory and Im upto 18 now with 2 more models waiting for receivers

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Stephen Grigg on 19/12/2010 07:59:56:

.The Transmitter you show .you would forever be adjusting your trim because it would move out of trim manually just being packed away at the end of the day.

 

 

I don't understand how, unless you leave them switched on when you pack it away, but then I would have thought any could suffer the same problem.  Mine have never moved without me wanting them to, they have a nice firm click in either direction.

 

There is a way to fit an SD card to them if you need lots of memory, but I tend to use each one for a group of similar planes.

[Frank Skilbeck]

I looked on their E Bay shop and couldn't find any 2.4 Rx's above 3 channel ones, are these easily avaulable by themself.

 

Also the modulation is noted at  GFSK is that a frequency hopping system?

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Frank Skilbeck on 19/12/2010 09:24:19:

I looked on their E Bay shop and couldn't find any 2.4 Rx's above 3 channel ones, are these easily avaulable by themself.

 

Also the modulation is noted at  GFSK is that a frequency hopping system?

 

 

Yes, is is a hopping system.

 

The receivers are available from lots of suppliers, they go under the name of Imax, Turnigy, Eurgle.

 

The A series has satellite receivers, and the B series is as in the picture. You cant use an A series RX on a B series TX and vice versa. The TX modukes are standard JR plugin and I can use my JR 35MHz module on them..  8ch receivers are about £16 and 6ch about £12

 

 

[Steve W-O]

H e r e ' s    an 8ch one  £15 including postage

[Brian Parker]

GFSK is ‘Blue tooth’ (Gaussian filtered Frequency Shift Keying) modulation, it is performed after the frequency hop.

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Brian Parker on 19/12/2010 13:36:35:
GFSK is ‘Blue tooth’ (Gaussian filtered Frequency Shift Keying) modulation, it is performed after the frequency hop.

 

 

 I think his question was mainly "was it hopping system, or did it choose two and stick with those two"

 

Which is why I answered that part of it..

[Stephen Grigg]

Further investigation reveals my appointment with Specsavers cant come soon enough,very good value

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Steve I recon it's for each to make their own decisions.

 

Reliability, safety and fear of the unknown probably sum my decisions up. 

When I fly 14lb models doing say 50 mph in a public place with other people, dog walkers etc all allowed on the field, the fear of an accident with all of it's repercussions means I buy branded gear from a UK source, I have BMFA insurance and I follow club safety procedures to the letter.

 

I would rather have all my ducks in line with respect to traceable manufacturing, testing and certification. Just to minimise the chances of:

A. Doing anyone or anyones property some damage.

B. Lawyers or CAA finding against me after such an incident.

 

I understand that it is the importers responsibility to ensure equipment is "legal".Buying from overseas via ebay makes the buyer the importer.

 

All this is very pessimistic,  but spending a little extra on Tx and Rx means one less worry. 

NOTE: I haven't even mentioned the cost of a model if I crash.

 

Each of us decides depending on circumstances. Depends what we fly, depends where we fly, depends how the worst outcome would actually affect us. Depends how risk averse we are. 

[Ultymate]

I'm with Chris on this Steve, I have some large petrol models and no way would I fly them on a cheap Chinese cloned system. I have some Frsky gear that I fly slope combat and indoor foamies with but there is no way I would fly expensive and over 7Kilo models with, I like to sleep at night. 

                                I suspect that a lot of people that do buy them are,no disrespect, toy flyers and a small minority at the moment and any failures are likely to go unreported and the gear get promptly binned whilst the owner moves on to their next means of instant gratification   

Edited By Ultymate on 19/12/2010 17:06:42

[kc]

Steve is looking for a ' logical reason '.......well surely the logical reason for not buying cheap stff from Hong Kong etc is that it does not state whether it is legal for use in the EU or is of the more powerful type allowed in the USA & Canada.

  see page 79 of the BMFA handbook which says you are personally responsible for its legal operation if you import equip from outside the EU.

 

As regards manual trims that Stephen commented on, well up to a few years ago everything had manual trims and the procedure was to alter the clevis to ensure the model was correctly trimmed when the trim lever was at the centre position.   This was part of the pre flight checks - trim levers at zero-   Manual trims are much better ( in my opinion ) and I would pay extra to get manual trims instead of digital!

Edited By kc on 19/12/2010 17:39:45

[Stephen Grigg]

Thats an interesting clarification KC,I always try and ensure my model is correctly trimmed before its maiden flight but once I joined a club and flew more expensive Tx and Rx it was only pointed out to me that you mechanically trim the model itself before flight so only slight trimming is needed in the air.I was also informed that manual trimming could get knocked in transit,but its what the earlier generation of flyers had to do because they didnt have the finesse of the better of todays transmitters.I also worry about therange of cheaper transmitters.

[Lee Smalley]

If you seriously think that tx is good enough for what I want to do well your in Disney land does it have servo slow for my flaps does it have four flight modes for my aerobatic models and my moulded glider and all the mixes and differentials I require .....no it does not . If it's enough tx for you well that's great but I sold my dx 7 as it was just not cutting it not everyone flies the same type models

Edited By Lee Smalley on 20/12/2010 21:36:54

[Tony Smith 7]

Posted by Lee Smalley on 20/12/2010 21:36:11:
If you seriously think that tx is good enough for what I want to do well your in Disney land does it have servo slow for my flaps does it have four flight modes for my aerobatic models and my moulded glider and all the mixes and differentials I require .....no it does not . If it's enough tx for you well that's great but I sold my dx 7 as it was just not cutting it not everyone flies the same type models

Edited By Lee Smalley on 20/12/2010 21:36:54

 Yes to the servo slows, no to the flight modes (that's under discussion at the moment and may make it into a later fw release), and most definitely YES to the mixes - it has the most flexible and powerful set of mixes around, completely uncommitted.

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Posted by Steve W-O on 19/12/2010 07:38:34:

I now have three of    t h e s e   . In standard form, they have all the preset mixes that are commonly used, in updated form, the mixing is only limited by your needs and imagination. They have fantastic range, and have good reviews and long tests.

 

 

I can not find a logical reason, based on facts, why I would be better off paying £260 for something that does not do as much for me as these for £63.

 

Just a question Steve. Why do you need three of them? 

[Spice Cat]

Interesting subject. I posted a similar thread on our club website after I took the back off my DX6i to fix a broken trim switch.

Damned if I could see £150 in there and said so. I appeared to ruffle a few feathers with the comment and it lead to a most weird "conversation" one day at the site with a club member who vehemently defended inflated prices.

He also stated that each CE mark cost in the region of £75. Couldn't see that one myself as many Tx's are sold under that price.

Anyway, bottom line is; pay what you want to, it's your money.

Steve W-O, I'm with you on this as I am happy to use a cheaper model as long as it does its job. Top price does not always mean faultless reliability or quality and many product recalls for BMW, Ferrari and Saab have born witness to this.

This reminds me of an article I read once when a journalist tried out a Holland and Holland shotgun and asked the assistant why pay over 25K for something he could get for less than a tenth of the price.

The reply was something like "A Mini and a Rolls Royce will get you from London to Liverpool just the same; it's a question of how you want to travel".

[Tony Smith 7]

Steve .. are those radios v1 or v2, in terms of the main board?   I'm really tempted, but it would have to be with the er9x software for me, and I understand that its easier to connect the programmer on the v2 boards.    (I'm not speaking about the module and receiver, I don't care about those as I'll stick with Frsky)

 

By the way, I note that the Ebay listing says its CE and RoHS compliant.

[Bert]

 

There is a review of this radio Here

 

This bloke says that it is like the Assan system which doesn't hop so that's why it's so cheap.

 

Bert

[Tony Smith 7]

That's why I'll continue to use the Frsky module and receivers.

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Bert on 21/12/2010 08:35:01:

 

There is a review of this radio Here

 

This bloke says that it is like the Assan system which doesn't hop so that's why it's so cheap.

 

Bert

 

 

The link did not take me to the review, but I have read his review, and it is a long way out of date.

 

It may well have been valid at the time, and many points still are, but a lot has changed.

 

The Spektrum system does not hop either, but in fact the FlySky uses a AFHDS transmitter, which means it does hop. I believe the nearest system is HItec, but I haven't checked, just what I was told.

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Lee Smalley on 20/12/2010 21:36:11:
If you seriously think that tx is good enough for what I want to do well your in Disney land does it have servo slow for my flaps does it have four flight modes for my aerobatic models and my moulded glider and all the mixes and differentials I require .....no it does not . If it's enough tx for you well that's great but I sold my dx 7 as it was just not cutting it not everyone flies the same type models

Edited By Lee Smalley on 20/12/2010 21:36:54

 

 

Yes, it does have servo slow, and yes it does have all the mixes and differentials you could ever want, and much more. With the ER9X firmware, the mixes are unlimited, if you can imagine it, it can do it.

 

I would agree though it is not for people who want to be spoon fed, you do need to understand how the aeroplane works and the effects of the mixes.

 

 

Edit: Sorry, didn't see Tony's answer, he has obviously read up on it in the past and knows the answers

Edited By Steve W-O on 21/12/2010 09:33:11

[Steve W-O]

Posted by Chris Bott on 20/12/2010 22:01:01:

Posted by Steve W-O on 19/12/2010 07:38:34:

I now have three of    t h e s e   . In standard form, they have all the preset mixes that are commonly used, in updated form, the mixing is only limited by your needs and imagination. They have fantastic range, and have good reviews and long tests.

 

 

I can not find a logical reason, based on facts, why I would be better off paying £260 for something that does not do as much for me as these for £63.

 

Just a question Steve. Why do you need three of them? 

   It started out as two, wanted one for my son, then I wanted a couple more receivers, so buying one with the TX meant I was effectively paying £50 for the TX, which seemed like a good price to have one to play with the new firmware. Doing the firmware mod was so easy I have done two of them, and one is at present standard.

[Rob Thomson - Slopeside]

My feeling on the matter is simply

 

"You pay for what you get"

 

I have ordered countless products from China in the past - some of it cheap - some not.   From my experience I have usually always been disapointed with the cheaper products.  They tend to promise the world, but fail to deliver.

 

The next question you have to ask yourself is 'backup support'.  When things go wrong - who do you go to for help?  All great if you have a local retailer - but often this is not the case.

 

All to often people say 'ripoff britain etc'.  The reality here is that this is not rip off britain.  It is a situation caused by the demand we brits have for a high standard of living. 

 

Consider how expensive it is to run a business?  How many products do you need to sell to cover just the corporation tax, payrol, council tax, rent, electricity etc...   and still you have not even drawn a wage for yourself?... oh... and you have a mortgage to pay and a wife and kids to feed?   This costs a lot, and the prices we pay in the UK are simply a reflection of this.   I dont see any 'well off' model shops or dealers.  I see rather a lot businesses who are simply trying there best to make the best of a bad situation.

 

I do agree - there are some areas in life where we are 'ripped off'. (complete wastage within the civil service comes to mind). But personally; I dont believe there are any RC model suppliers who are ripping off the clients