All things flying

[Len Ward]

Anyone had any experience of operating the 2.4GHZ system?
I've heard gossip that the signal can be blanked out by a model flying between?Also,that the tranny can set off car alarms?
Futaba have shown a 2.4 Tranny at the Nuremberg Fair and there's a lot of excitement about the possibilities of this system,ie,the end of frequency control and inadvertantly shooting down models,however,????

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Len, the 2.4 Spektrum is already in shops and there are a few posts on it in the forum here with plenty of comment from users. We reviewed the Spektrum in our last issue and have our air test in Apr issue due on the news stands next week.

Hopefully we can look at the new Futaba offerings soon. I've not heard the gossip stories you mention but I suspect they remain just that and unsubstantiated at present.

[Geoff Daunt]

Interesting to see the comment about blanking out the signal.
I was discusssing this new system at our club in Spain with some of the guys and one of our members is an electronic engineer. He was not familiar with the product but did say that the operating wave length was very short and he would be concerned about a "shadowing effect" He did mention that there was a possibility of losing the signal if eg. you flew around the back of a tree on a low approach. We have a few of those around our site. !!! So that does ty in with the comment of a blanking effect if you flew behind another model.
Anyway all should come clear when we get the Tech. report in next months RCME

[Tim Mackey]

My experience with the DX7 ( now installed in 3 models and flown around 20 times ) is very good, I have flown a model behind trees, and also stood directly behind my helper, with the aerial pushed into their back, me looking over their shoulder, and flew at a considerable distance with no problem. I am not saying that this is the absolute holy grail for us flyers, I am sure there must be some limitations....just that I havent found them YET :-)
I can say that it has transformed a previously glitchy difficult little fast ED into a model which has now flown 7 or 8 times at least, with not a single issue. rock solid. loooovvvvveerly :)

[Les Adams]

I've had a DX7 for a couple of months and think it's great. I spend a lot of time in Florida with the aim being to fly there and at my club in the UK. At last now with 2.4 I can have a transmitter that will do both. The one thing that did bug me was the price of the DX7 in the UK compared with the US. I bought mine in the US for $340 (about £179) with a power supply and a flight battery. I simply went out and bought a UK/US power adapter for $19.99 (about £10.50) and that was it. A full system that works in the UK and US. What bugs me is why the big difference in price. It wasn't just the DX7, it seems that everything to do with model flying costs nearly twice as much in the UK as it does in the US. As for the DX7 it works great and with additional receivers (from the US) I will move everything to 2.4.
P.S. Talk to your club re. peg procedures for 2.4 flyers. You will need something.

[Len Ward]

Interesting comment from Les Adams about the ability to use 2.4 in the USA as well as the UK.
Anyone know if 2.4 can be used in Europe,I'm thinking particularly of France?

[Essjay]

Len, as far as I know France is still limiting the output on 2.4gHZ gear to 10mW, so you will be able to use a DX6, but NOT a DX7 at present. I've also heard that this may change soon, and they may go the sensible route and allow 100mW as we have done. Fingers crossed. Incidentally I think some other European countries already allow 100mW, but not sure which.

[deprondave]

hi all out there

just starting a 3d foamy F15 build and wondering weather to get the dx6 parkfly or
get the dx7 and get some smaller servos for the foamy if so which ones do people think would be compatable with the dx7

[Tim Mackey]

Well if it small and unlikely to fly at distance...the dx6 would probably be better

[deprondave]

yes its only small but i was thinking of stepping up to something larger in the future so i was thinking of useing some small 9g servos for the foamy and saving the larger servos for a larger model in the future so that i dont have to buy another radio system when i get the larger model

deprondave

[country flier]

Having bought a DX-6 at the end of 05 I can say it works as advertised and for the reasons stated. The DX-7 is of course geared toward the larger models. The DX-7 tx can operate both the DX-6 and DX-7 rx. So there is tremendous interoperability there.Soon I'll be adding a DX-7 for the larger models. The 72Mhz systems we use here in the US will,I think, be largely displaced by the 2.4Ghz system. At present the only reason I'd use 72Mhz is that some radios simply have more features available than the current DX-7. Certainly what Spektrum have achieved will be mirrored by Futaba et al as the Nurembirg fair illustrates.

Harold