Baz Lewis Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 I think so! Since I upgraded to the Dx8, I am finding a lot of useful gizmos additional to the lower models. ie servo slow and custom timer. Not forgetting dsmx..... all in all, it has ticked all the boxes for me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted December 28, 2013 Share Posted December 28, 2013 Absolutely, Steve - it is a huge step up from the 6i. Nowt wrong with my DX8 but the 9 was a temptation I couldn't resist.... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Thanks very much for the feedback guys. DX8 it will be! Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark a Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I've been using the DX8 for about 9 months now with no problems at all. It sits nice in your hands and I think its good value for money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr.B. Posted December 30, 2013 Share Posted December 30, 2013 Steve, I bought a Dx6i about 3 years ago and up graded to DX8 a year later and have not regretted it. Mr B Jnr now uses the DX6. We fly a couple of times a week. so both radios are used regularly. In addition to the 2 extra channels the '8 has many useful functions. Which can make going back to the '6 frustrating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I ordered my DX8 today. Now the wait for the posty begins. A quick question. Is the lipo upgrade (15euros from HK) worthwhile, or am I good to go with the supplied NiMh ? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masher Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 I upgraded mine and am pleased with performance - I never seemed to get full charge on battery as supplied but now it charges properly and lasts for ages Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Steve I have been fine with the supplied NiMh it seems to last absolutely ages. The one thing to watch, is that the built in charger has no cutoff for NiMh batteries. So you have to just charge for a time. Leave it charging too long and the batteries can even overheat! Very poor design in my opinion. Just be aware of it and you'll be fine. If you do upgrade to the Lipo, then make sure you change the setting in the Tx to Lipo. The charger is designed to cut off correctly with lipos. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baz Lewis Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Going Lipo is a definite for longer life and more air time. Because of the internal built in charger, it is an easy cheap add on if you get a Garmin satnav charge adaptor off eBay for just over £3. This has the same plug as the Dx8 , the conversion is easy, so just open the adaptor case and piggy back solder the wires on its circuit board which allows the LED to still function when plugged into your car cigarette lighter socket. You can then charge your Dx8 whilst driving to the field with an easy quick plug in facility. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 Many thanks for your replies gentlemen. I think I'll see how things go with the NiMh to start with and be careful with the charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan Kristensen Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 When I received my DX8 in early 2012 one of the cells in the NiMH pack overheated after few minutes of charging and luckily I had it placed next to me, so I discovered before any damage to the tx. I received a new NiMH package on warranty, and that was ok however the voltage dropped quite quickly and made me feel a bit uncomfortable at the flying field. Then I decided to change to LiPO and bought the cheap package from hobby king. It lasts for hours and hours of flying and I think I recharge every other month or so. I would recommend using LiPO in stead of NiMH. The disadvantage of the DX8 built-in charger is that it will not tell you how many mAhrs was charged, so a rapid decline in voltage does make it feel uncomfortable. The majority of model flyers have a computerised charger anyway, so Spektrum could save the cost of the built-in charger and lower the price or instead spend the money on developing and optimising the Airware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Ok chaps. My shiny new DX8 arrived earlier this week. Typically, my time has by necessity been devoted to other things. Still, The Tx is now registered and the "Sailplane" update completed without problems. Now, I've found some time to play; the NiMh pack has been "carefully" charged and memory slots have been assigned and named. So far so good. I now need to input all the individual model settings and I have one small question. Which is: If I input the settings with the exact same values as I have in my DX6i, would I be correct in assuming that, give or take a little tweak here and there, things will remain more or less the same on the model? Or, should I be prepared to tediously set up all my models from scratch once again? Thanks, Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Hi Steve I think the answer would be to give it a try and then test with the first model. I think you'll find some servo reversing required at the very least. Centres and throws ought to be close though, along with rates and expo settings. But do be prepared to trim the models on each first flight. Remember too, that the DX8 has far more capability, so it could well do things that you couldn't before. Depending on the model of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devcon1 Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 Steve, Just picked up on this one, in my experience the Lipo upgrade is reccomended, the DX8 has a built in Lipo balance charger for safe and foolproof charging. I've destroyed one NiMh pack and deformed/almost melted the battery cover through accidental overcharging. Regards John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted January 31, 2014 Share Posted January 31, 2014 John I don't believe it has a balance charger at all. What it does need for an upgrade to a lipo battery, is the correct Spektrum battery purchasing (This has the balance gizmo built in), and the charger setting changing to LiPo in the software. I think Hobbyking also offer a suitable LiPo but I have no idea how suitable that is. I've used mine on the original NiMh for a very long time now and have had no problems at all. It is unfortunate that you can't leave it to look after it's own NiMh charge. That is definitely a downside. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Thanks for the feedback guys. I had read some horror stories re the NiMh charging. I had a whole day free at home and charged for 12 hours with the battery cover off just in case. I would touch the pack every now and then to check for heat build up. I must say that I don't like this method of charging Tx batteries in situ though. Additionally, a second battery would be useful to have on hand at the field. Apparently, the HK lipo is a good buy from what I've read. Now, as it's raining once again, I need to start inputting all the details of 12 or so models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeS Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Been using my DX8 for around sixteen months. The battery (Nihm) has been fine but I do prefer the idea of using a Lipo. When I charge my DX8 I never leave it overnight but I do use a timer that switches off after so many hours just in case I should forget it. Only problem I had with the DX8 was a loss of signal which was fixed by Horizon. Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I've had my DX8 since they were released (not sure how long that is) and still use the supplied NiMh. It seems to last for months and months, with quite heavy use, between charges. So apart from the silly charge arrangement, there's no need to change it. Just out of interest, I wonder what battery and internal charger system comes with DX18, DX9 and the brand new DX6 ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 This is going to take far longer than I thought! If I manage to sort out two models today I'll be a happy bunny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devcon1 Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Chris, I see now. I know the NiMh charger is built in and the all the "looks like a charger" does is supply 12V 0.5A DC. Very happy with the DX8, does everyrhing I need and more for the moment, but I am tempted by the new DX6 when it becomes readily available instead of the DX9 for voice alerts, wireless buddy and the solid aerial. Regards John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete B Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 There's a useful thread on the Tx pack here. Timbo having put the wind up me, I fitted my Turnigy Li-Po with a balance lead, taking out the inbuilt circuit, and I charge it off the Tx. It's been fine.... Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trevor Crook Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Steve I have been using my DX8 happily for nearly a year now. Initially I had some concerns that the supplied NiMh pack dropped in voltage faster than I expected. I bought an Eneloop pack sold by Over lander that is designed for the DX8, and this is very good. It has a very low self discharge and lasts for ages. I haven't had any charging issue, I just give it a few hours when it drops below 5V. By the way, it seems that the new DX6 is DSMX only, which is a shame for anyone who is still using DSM2 RX's, or am I missing something? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Bott - Moderator Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 It would be unlike Spektrum not to keep as much backward compatibility as they can. Just looking near the bottom of this page, DSM2 and DSMX are mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Colman Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 Thanks for all this great info gentlemen. I've managed to fully program and re-setup my Acromaster and Sebart Shark today. So, by the end of the coming week I might just about have all my models ready to go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark a Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 I fitted the Lipo battery a few weeks ago and the tx has a built in balancer for this battery and shuts itself off when fully charged. Why Spektrum don't fit this as standard I'll never know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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