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Have Futaba gone stark raving mad?


Seamus O'Leprosy
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I find that I am agreement with many of the points made.

Futaba do seem to have lost the plot.

The point with respect to Fasst electronics, seems spot on for the following reasons.

a) If only Fasst sets were sold, all the development cost would e recouped over a larger number of units sold. Leading to cost savings.

b) The development costs of the other systems would be saved, increasing overall profitability.

c) Tooling cost for that additional transmitter cases, etc. would be saved.

d) The cost of controlling production of all products is reduced.

e) The cost of holding inventory is reduced for both Futaba and the distribution chain

f) Advertising costs, PR overheads etc are all reduced.

It just seems such a "no brainer", one product range makes a lot of sense for Futaba. It is hard to understand why we now have three or four (if you included 35/72) systems.

I do believe the points made with respect to the customers perspective are also just or even more important.

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bearing in mind that 'futaba' used to be the default radio system chosen by most when they started off in the hobby....probably picked for the price 1st and features 2nd.....i think that the marketing people at futaba thought they would carry on with 2.4ghz where they were with the 35 mhz systems....... and not thinking that someone/company could come along with a different attractive system for a really good price and steal their thunder and buisness...... if a new starter has a look at the equipment on offer and compares the prices...they are deffo going to be attracted by the more resonably priced stuff...that will do nearly everything that the over priced stuff does so what can futabe do? admit they got it wrong by over pricing/over specifying their brand.......or bring out a better/lower/ priced/competitive set? .. and hopefully capture some more buisness off the now established competition ...... time will tell..... we in the uk tend to stick by 'names' we trust...... even though we prob pay more for them......

ken anderson ne..1 consumer dept...

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Futaba aren't getting rid of FASST, they are just giving another option for you to choose. If one wants to continue using the FASST system, you can, as it is still the main system. No big deal having another TX, as I have done, as the FF7 is full and bought the T6J. Soon, another Futaba TX, more mid-price range will do both protocols, like the expensive set does now. I don't know what the fuss is about.indecision

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Paul

It is very messy, a lot of the Fasst transmitters will not do the three systems, some will now.

Also it would appear that to do all, some of the Fasst transmitters have duplicated systems, not quite, but almost two Tx's in one.

If there is a sales strategy, it is not that obvious, other than the almost contrived message of a basic system and a bells and whistle system. If the base system does come to have many or all of the Fasst Telemetry/data logging systems (which are just appearing, some say), it will have been a contrived strategy.

You have to believe there is some logic, what it really is, I do not believe we have been told or seen yet.

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As a Futaba user it looks like I made the correct decision and stuck to 35mHz? It had been my intention to jump to 2.4 when the market had settled down from all the "hype." Looks like I'm going to have to wait a while longer? Thankfully others have changed and now the problem of having others using the same frequency has greatly dimished.

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I think Pete B summed it up very succinctly.....I too find it very frustrating that Futaba have introduced a new cheaper system to FASST. Until I buy a new Tx the FHSS system & hence the cheaper Rxs are not available to me. The cheapest Futaba FASST Rx is the £50 617 which is an expensive Rx to chuck in a 2 channel foamie glider.....

I never thought I'd actually say this but thank heaven for the Chinese & their cheap "copies" (Corona FRSky etc) but then buying copies kind of negates the reasons for staying within the Futaba camp.....angry 2

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I do agree Ken, except that having very recenlty changed back to a 35mhz rx in my blaze warmliner, so I could use my 617 in a more expensive model, I did notice the feel had changed in that it was a tad slower in response, and not as much locked in feel.

I tend to fly quite high almost barely visible in the sky sometimes, and if you throttled on or off, there was a delay it seemed of a second or two, but very much less so on 2.4.

DW ne 1. Feel Dept.........wink

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I'm glad you said that DW....I think I can feel a difference too between 35MHz & 2.4Ghz but I couldn't really believe it. I thought it was just me "wanting" to feel that 2.4 responded faster....

@ Seamus....oh yes me too...a 617 would be worth more than the model, servos & battery so seems a bit daft. But as I say it seems a bit crazy saying Futaba are the best thing since sliced bread & them buying another make of Rx...sad

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Posted by Trevor Crook on 20/02/2012 13:02:17:

Are the HK receivers CE marked, and does this affect insurance? One of the club's I'm in doesn't allow 2.4G receivers to be a different make to the transmitter or module because of this worry, and the odd issue with cheapie Rx's (obviously mixing JR and Spektrum DSM2 stuff is ok)

nooooooooooooooooooo! Not another thread about CE mark vs insurance! Seems to be too much FUD about again.

If you want, I can fetch a black marker and draw one on it if it hasn't got one. Seriously, that's about as much use it is for RC models.

Without going through everything again, a CE mark just shows that the manufacturer is certifying that the product compiles with all European laws applicable to it. The only real thing that would be tested on a non telemetry receiver is Electromagnetic Compliance (EMC). This is a series of checks that make sure the device isn't emitting too much electrical noise and it can also withstand electrical noise around it. Nothing is tested for compatibility or even suitability as a aircraft receiver!

Spektrum kit is all CE marked, however it doesn't mean that they will never lock out and cause a crash as many examples prove! teeth 2

Si.

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Wow thats a pretty draconion rule Trevor....based on what exactly I wonder?

I'm sure the likes of Orange, FrSky & Corona would be facinated to hear that a club committee has second guessed them & declared their products null & void!!!

As Olly says CE marking has been done to death Search "Orange Rx" & you will get a few threads.....I think you will find that the 3rd party FASST Rxs are CE marked & approved anyway as you can buy them from UK retailers. As I understand it they would be comitting an offence by selling them without the CE mark.....

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Posted by Trevor Crook on 20/02/2012 13:02:17:

One of the clubs I'm in doesn't allow 2.4G receivers to be a different make to the transmitter or module because of this worry, and the odd issue with cheapie Rx's (obviously mixing JR and Spektrum DSM2 stuff is ok)

Interesting, Trevor. Presumably no-one ever has a radio issue in that club, then? wink

Following that logic, surely they should also ensure that members only use ESC's, Li-Po's etc from top-quality brands rather than those from the likes of GC, HK, etc? A chain is only as strong as its weakest link and there are probably as many incidents due to non-radio component failure or human error as there are through radio failure. One has only to read threads on this and other forums to see that it isn't always the radio.

Given that the reliability of Orange, FrSky etc, seems of a very high level judging by consumer feedback (and probably on a par with OE equipment in practice), I suspect the members are being unfairly penalised, particularly in the pocket, in their choice of equipment.

No criticism of you is intended, of course, just an observation from a satisfied user of non-OE and other economy components.

Pete

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Posted by Trevor Crook on 20/02/2012 13:02:17:

Are the HK receivers CE marked, and does this affect insurance? One of the club's I'm in doesn't allow 2.4G receivers to be a different make to the transmitter or module because of this worry, and the odd issue with cheapie Rx's (obviously mixing JR and Spektrum DSM2 stuff is ok)

I wonder do the members have to have their thumbs CE markedembarrassed

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Tell all those young ladies about the CE mark guanteeing anything.

As for liability with the CE mark, seems nobody is, in actuality, if recent events indicate anything,.

As Ken has indicated and a few others, the CE mark is something of a red herring, when it comes to quality. As has has been discussed to death, there is no legal requirement to have one. Ahhmmmm, it tells you it should conform to EU regulations, ohhhhh, crying 2

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Actually, in common with any other commercial radio equipment (CB radios, etc) it's illegal to use one that isn't 'approved'. That's ALL a 'CE' mark says - that it's legal to use it - nothing else

If you add a 2.5 GHz module to a 35 MHz Tx and it doesn't have the 'CE' mark or use any transmitter that doesn't have that, then you're breaking the law. That's all it means

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