What radio to upgrade to?

[keith ellis 2]

Am just getting back into flying after a 7 year layoff but things seem to have moved on since my futaba ff6 and duel conversion 35mg reciever.

As i dont have too many models at the moment thought i would look into upgrading for any future new models but keep the 35 mg for the ones i have for now till they reach there demise.

Question is are there any systems to stear clear of. was hoping to stay with Futaba but having read through a few posts seems Hitec have some good systems and at better prices. Hopfully getting a make that has reasonably priced rx's as these seem to be the pricey bits now..

sounds like a lot of the club members use JR but i have no experience of these.

Have been doing some reading up on the new 2.4 equipment and it would appear that there are a few different operating systems even within the same manufactureres that arnt compatable with eachother..

keith

[Allan Bowker]

I wouldn't say there are any to clearly stay away from, the market seems to mainly consist of Spektrum/JR and Futaba. The Hitec Aurora has been very popular too.

There are clear benefits to going 2.4Ghz, however it's all down to your own requirements and personal taste.

I've been a happy Spektrum user for the past 6 years.

[keith ellis 2]

another thing i have noticed is that the rx side of things seem to use a higher voltage supply so im presuming all my ols 148 and 303 servo's will not be compatable with the new 2.4 recievers.

i was hopeing to get a system that was along the same lines as my old ff6,, as im only flying planes like a wot4, and similar plus a war bird that being put together, so im not after anything that is over complicated.

[ken anderson.]

hello keith and wellcome....your servo's will be ok....Futaba do 2.4 systems along with all the rest and are competitive/ish with their prices......the software hasn't changed that much so much of the functions and ways of doing it are the same...its all down to your preference at the end of the day...have a good look at the different sets avalable before you spend any dosh..............

ken anderson ne..1...... dosh dept......

[Paul Marsh]

Pros of each radio are different. Personally, I use Spektrum DSM2/DSMX; Futaba FASST & S-FHSS; Hitec Boda; JR 2.4 all are good.

One thing that might influence a purchase is Spektrum, as there are a much larger range of receivers and choice of systems. From tiny 4ch micro receivers, both Spektrum and Orange to specialist Heli receivers and dual battery supply units for larger models.

Problem with Futaba, the cheapest FASST full-range receiver is more than £50, where you can get a full 4ch Spektrum for £23. Still all systems are good and depends on what you want...

[Codename-John]

Posted by Paul Marsh on 13/01/2013 15:39:14:

Problem with Futaba, the cheapest FASST full-range receiver is more than £50, where you can get a full 4ch Spektrum for £23. Still all systems are good and depends on what you want...

you can also use one of the very good fasst compatible recievers for about £20 for a 7 channel full range

[dbflyer]

Its as I have said before, also look at a good high end, second hand JR or Futaba transmitter, take out the 35 meg module and throw it away and replace it with a 2.4meg FrSky module. You will have a rock solid system with 8 channel receivers costing about £18 down to 4 channel full range receivers at about £13. Your existing servos will work with them as will a standard 4.8 volt battery. Also 9.6 volts of NiMh cells will operate the tx and because the RF side of things does not appear to need as much power the batteries will last for a very long day's flying.

[Steve Houghton 1]

I started out with a Spektrum DX6i and I didn't have any problems with that system at all. I used Spektrum receivers and also the Orange ones as well.

I've since upraded to the Hitec 7 Eclipse Pro 2.4 as I fly slope and this system had all the mixes I require for that type of flying. My other considerations were price, (£180 which inc charger, 1 x 7ch rx and 1 x 6ch rx) and the cost of receivers, which are under £40 for a 7ch Optima and about £25 for the 6ch Minima. Great value when you think what Futaba charge.

The Hitec unit has been fab with a rock solid connection between tx and rx and I'd recommend it to anyone on a budget who needs a full function radio

Steve

A470Soaring.blogspot.com

[crispin church]

i would just say that there are many others makes but and a big but would there stuff still be about if you had another 7 years off

i would stick with the big makes i got spektrum DX6i 3 years of very good service and yes i had problems with battery and brown outs as they call it and loosing signal but all with the same RX AR500 which sent back to horizon and they replace with new AR600 each time have not had any problem since

and you servos are fine as long as they have 3 wires none the old 5 wire jobby

if going spektrum any thing DX6I and above will get you mixes and model memory and £6 a rx for small electrics and £24 for 4 channel ic rx cant be bad

and there loads of BNF planes that will bind and fly straight out of the box with spektrum tx

but its more of a minefield now yes futaba is good but not many BNF and dear RX depends on prices of your planes and how big is your wallet

just remember different makes dont no longer work together

[keith ellis 2]

i think my main question is , as with all these radio sets, you have fasst, fhst and other differing systems, but how new are these to the 2.4 sets and are they likely to stick with them of fase out certain ones in favour of either cheeper to produce or most popular, i dont want to get stuck with something that will be outdated in a few years or stuck with a particular make thats costly on rx's

why are some rx's only £30.00 odd pounds to buy and others £50- or more..

are we now stuck in a position like pc's where new technology is pregressing so quick that its out of date within a few years.

i was looking at the futaba ff7 2.4 but the rx are expensive, and the Auroura seems a reasonable set up with more than i need plus the rx's are a better price from what i can see.

[Frank Skilbeck]

I fly with Multiplex M Link, Spektrum DSM2 and a FrSky module, was flying a collegues plane on a Hitec AFHSS system this morining and there a few Futaba FASST systems in the club (some using FrSky FASST Rxs), apart from a glitch with Spektrum Dx8's when they did a firmware upgrade to give the sets DSMX capability all have been fine.

Just bear in mind that any 2.4 system is digital and if the Rx supply voltage drops below 3.5v ish then the Rx will stop working and will reboot after the voltage recovers, the famous brownout "problems" were with earlier Spektrum systems where the Rx's spent a couple of seconds checking the frequencies when they rebooted, but now Spektrum Rx's reboot as quickly as anybody elses.

Rather than focus on the actual transmission prtotocol you'd be better off looking at getting a radio that supports the type of planes you plane to fly, e.g. some of the entry level sets programming doesn't support 4 servo wing gliders very well, some of them don't have flap sliders only switches, etc so it really depends what you want, And if you are interested in the telemetry features you may want to check that the manufacturer supply the sensors that you'd like.

[John Privett]

To clarify the Futaba position on 2.4, this is how I see things...

Futaba started with the FASST protocol and all their initial 2.4 offerings used this. For whatever reason they were unable to produce FASST receivers at a price level as low as some of the other manufacturers. However "FASST-compatible" receivers are available and seem just as reliable as the "real thing". I was flying one this afternoon.

In the last year or so they've launched a lower-cost 2.4 protocol, FHSS which it seems is cheaper to manufacture receivers for. This will also be used in new "FTR" (Futaba Transmitter Ready) ARTF models with all the gear installed - similar to the Spektrum "BNF" (Bind 'n' Fly) models.

They say (as I understand it) that the new FHSS protocol will be the one used in future on all but the "top-end" gear, and new transmitters at the mid/top-end will support both FASST and FHSS.

I currently use a 2.4 FF7 transmitter with Futaba 617 receivers in some models and Frsky FASST-compatible receivers in others. All have been totally reliable as far as the radio is concerned, even if the pilot occasionally isn't ! I will most likely get a Futaba 14SG at some point and continue to use my existing FASST receivers and FHSS on new models.

[Codename-John]

I did more or less the same as John above, Ive been using a 2.4g FF7 / T7C Futaba with a mixture of receivers for about 3 years, Never had a problem with control, brown outs etc. Used lots of 3001, 3 and s148 servos, as long as the battery is in good condition and fully charged 4.8V works fine, The only problem I have had is the model memory capability ( only 10 ) so have just upgraded to a 14SG, this and other new Futaba transmitters are FASST, FHSS AND FASSest ( telemetry ) capable so hopefully will work with all Futaba 2.4g equipment for many years to come, and with an SD card theres unlimited model memory

[keith ellis 2]

i must admit i am leaning towards the FF7 myself. it does what i want and Steve Webb sells a tx and rx combo nearly 50 quid cheeper than our local. and its encouraging to hear that frsky Fasst rx work with them,

cheepest 617 ive seen are around £50.00 which is ok, so if i decide to upgrade the rx's in my currant models , as long as i can keep the origional 148's and the new 4.8 enloop cells, will be an affordable upgrade for me

[Erfolg]

My own decision was based on which manufactures systems will and are supported by both the origiginal equipment suppliers and by compatible equipment (tier two) suppliers.

There are only two manufactures who fit this bill, Spektrum and Futaba (fasst).

Both have suppliers of tx and other compatible items from alternative suppliers (so called tier 2) at competitive prices.

I personally have Futaba, although I see nothing wrong with Sperktrum, particularly if the lower spec Tx is avoided. The reason i say this, in our club, two members had issues with contacts when using small AA batteries, and some switch issues. The trouble with switches could be user abuse more than an equipment issue.

With Spektrum a lot of the small toy type helicopters seem to use their system and thus a Spektrum Tx can be used with them. Additionally the lowest cost after market Rx's are available for the system.

I did understand that earlier Spekrum systems some how fell foul of EU directives, in not being channel hopping, although I understand this is no longer an issue.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by Erfolg on 13/01/2013 18:30:11:

I did understand that earlier Spekrum systems some how fell foul of EU directives, in not being channel hopping, although I understand this is no longer an issue.

The original DSM2 systems selected 2 frequencies and then hogged them for the flight, but it always looked for two clear frequencies on start up, it never fell foul of the EU directives, rather one of the providers of wireless network gear (Cisco I believe) tried to get 2.4 RC banned all together. Spektrum have now gone to a hopping DSM system DSMx, mainly because the original system could be compromised if there were 40 DSM2 systems operating at the same time. Not an issue normally but it had raised it's head at some of the larger US fly-ins.

[Silver Wolf]

Hi Keith,

I just started to return to regular flying and have a ff9. I have fitted a Hitech spectra module and use optima rx, tested system today, first time that my electric glider has not had any glitch's (used to be on 35mhz).

This enables me to upgrade Rx's and when I can justify a new Tx then this will be an Auora, it also helps spread the cost.

[keith ellis 2]

Is the power consumption of these new sets similar to the old rx's i seem to remember reading that some use highet voltage supplies or at least have a broarder voltage operating range.

[Codename-John]

They are more or less the same, they just wont tolerate as low a voltage and will shut down sooner, around 3.5 V i think

ive had 4 or 5 flights, 10 + minutes each, in a day with a blackhorse super air, with 5 futaba 3003 servos, with an eneloop 2000mAh pack and its been great, if you get yourself a decent battery checker and check the state of your battery before and after flying and youl be good, personally i use a Futaba br-2000

[keith ellis 2]

unfortunatly my ff6 isnt upgradable as far as im aware.

i also have a super air un flown to date but that is also running exactly the same setup 3003;s and just fitted a new 2000 mah eneloop, i do have a loaded battery checker which i always use to check before every flight.

ive just replaced all my old nicads with eneloops but yet to try them out but was hopeing from what i read they would be better than the nicads.

[John Privett]

Keith, most 2.4 receivers are quoted as running on 4.8v to 6v - ie a 4 or 5-cell NiMh or NiCd battery - just like in the "old days" of 35MHz. Servos similarly run on 4.8 to 6v, though some (particularly some JR ones) are claimed not to be suitable for 6v.

Now you might have seen the recent "high voltage" Futaba range of receivers and servos. These appear to be designed to run on 2-cell Lithium batteries. They are comparatively recent and not (unless anybody believes otherwise) in common use yet.

[keith ellis 2]

having been in to the LMS saturday had a look at a few radio's and came across the futaba 8TJ

**LINK**

this radio seems to tick all the boxes for me without being over complicated plus the rx are reasonably priced and run the cheeper FHSS,,

does anyone have any experiance with this radio.

[Paul Marsh]

I've the 6J, and perfectly happy with it. Thinking of getting the SD14, which does both FASST and S-FHSS.

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Jim Newberry - Nuviation Ltd.]

Personally, I am a big fan of Multiplex radios. I know they are pricier than some other radios but I think you will remember the sweetness of the quality long after you have forgotten the bitterness of the price. Whichever radio you go for, I would very strongly recommend getting one that is more capable than you think you will ever need. I once bought a radio with 10 model memories thinking I would never need more than that for my humble handful of slope soarers.... It's surprising how quickly you can outgrow a radio and it's probably the biggest modelling investment you make.

I have heard some criticism of HiTec radios where the on/off switch is so close to the elevator trim that people have inadvertently turned the radio off in flight but they may have fixed this snag by now.