DX9 Owners thread

[stewart BAKER]

Hi does anyone know what are the acceptable no of fades during a flight on dsmx recievers and dx9 trannie?

I flew today with a brand new dx9 trannie with the latest update (1.7) the model was also new a parkzone sukhoi mm27

fitted as standard with a safe as3x reciever, antennas orientated as fitted ie small one out of the side long one towards the tail 90 degrees from each other .. so the whole set up is correct and as specified. now here is my problem the model flew faultless for 8 41/2 min flights but after each flight the no of fades were 400 to 700 all flights were at normal distances and never further than 350 yds. I have also got a dx 8 trannie and this never records more than 400 fades. the dx8 handbook states that anything more than 500 and you need to move the reciever the dx9 manual gives no info on acceptable fades,there is nowhere in the model to move the reciever to as i said before it is where it comes as parkzone fit it.... thanks greatful for any help stewart

[Pete B]

Page 43 of the DX9 mentions possible causes but no suggested figures, as you say. As far as I'm aware, several hundred fades per flight can be expected, without ill effect, and I don't think Andy Kunz would have too many worries about it, as per his RCG post here.

I do agree, though, that it can be a bit disconcerting, particularly when you have some models which rarely throw up any fades and others, in my case with a bit of carbon in them, which regularly show fades in the hundreds but don't appear to be having any reception problems.

Pete

[stewart BAKER]

Yes it now makes sense i just appears that the telemetry part of the receiver does not have the range that the actual receiver does. makes me wonder what the the use of the fade readout is ! did not mention though there were no holds showing on any flight thanks for your help stew

[Harrier Mate]

Hi guys. I was about to lay out over £400 for a Black limited edition DX9 but now note that everywhere seems to have them heavily discounted. Am I missing something? Is the DX9 or its technology about to be outdated, non-supportable or just superseded by something else? Any advice gratefully received.

[Pete B]

Spekky keep their cards close to their chests but I don't think there's much chance of the Dx9 disappearing or being unsupported any time soon. All of their recent releases use the Airware protocol and they are still delivering enhancements - but maybe not as quickly as some folk would like!

Pete

[Harrier Mate]

Thanks Pete. I should welcome my radio of choice being reduced but it just seemed too good to be true!

[chris larkins]

Are you aware that all new Spektrum TX's come as DSMX only? All the advertising blurb that I have seen states that they are DSM2/DSMX compatable but I have been assured that this is not the case, fine if you only have DSMX receivers but for anyone upgrading from an older TX and with exisitng DSM2 receivers or those wishing to fly most of the micro models that are DSM2 this could be a problem. I understand why this is the case but surely they should be making sure that anyone shelling out the pound notes is aware of this.

Having said that I love my DX9, and as I bought it when they first came out mine will work with DSM2 if needed.

[Essjay]

Only transmitters manufactured after Jan 2015 have DSM2 disabled (EU regulations have banned the use of DSM2).
However bear in mind that if you send your transmitter in for service and the RF board has to be changed, you will lose DSM2 compatibility.
One thing to note (at present anyway) is that upgrading the firmware on earlier transmitters will NOT remove DSM2 compatibility. That's not to say Spektrum won't implement this in the future, but I would hope this would be highlighted if it is.

Edited By Essjay on 14/06/2015 08:04:44

[Harrier Mate]

Thanks guys for the answers which are reassuring. As Im just upgrading from 35MHz .... (I know ....how late?), all my 2.4GHz equipment will be new. So I guess I don't need to worry about DSM2 versus DSMX as it should all be compatible .... although I will take care if tempted by any 'used' receivers etc in future.

[Harrier Mate]

In fact, I expect that the shop stock of the limited edition DX9 Black will probably have been produced before Jan 15, so it may be still DSM2 and DSMX compatible.

[Iain Hale]

Switching on my DX( at the field this morning, up came a message system hardware fault and voice alert prompting to return the Unit to Factory for repair. Two error codes came up as well.

I almost had it boxed up and in the post to Horizon. Eventually with persistent phone calls to Horizon UK The service manager was persuaded to the phone to speak with me. Oh just hold down the scroll wheel until the message clears came the reply. "Its just the processor booting up in the wrong sequence" If it continues after you've switched off and on again it WILL need to come back for further investigation

A lesson learnt for all of us eh!!

[Don Fry]

Daft question, but can I use the bind data port on a Spektrum receiver to plug the battery into.

[John Lee]

Posted by Donald Fry on 14/07/2015 13:01:49:

Daft question, but can I use the bind data port on a Spektrum receiver to plug the battery into.

No daft but, yes. Typically this is an extract from the AR610 Rx Manual:

Once the bind process is complete, you can remove the bind plug and connect the battery to the Bind port.

[Don Fry]

Many thanks John, lazy aero modeller, but the hack I an building swallows channels, and rather than read the usually non existent instructions, caste my query on the communal wisdom and have been sorted. Thanks Don

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Colin Carpenter]

Thought I would post an update on my DX9 usage. Had it about 19 months and 900 flights and 60 hours usage. It has been totally reliable apart from a single glitch with an Orange DSM2 rx .By comparison with other radios owned by me in the last 45 years this is by far the best. Now retired, I can use it many times a week instead of just Sundays and perhaps a few summer evenings so it has far outstripped previous radios in hours used, including my 15 year old Hitec Eclipse 7. Happy to use it with Spectrum,Orange, Lemon Rx all on DSMX. When I hear criticism of Spekkie I just ask the person if their set can match my usage in a short period and their answer is no!!

Colin

[Pete B]

That accords with my experience, too, Colin. If you give some thought to aerial placement and a reliable supply of electrons, it seems to work.....

Pete

[RobC]

Posted by Essjay on 14/06/2015 08:01:35:

Only transmitters manufactured after Jan 2015 have DSM2 disabled (EU regulations have banned the use of DSM2).
However bear in mind that if you send your transmitter in for service and the RF board has to be changed, you will lose DSM2 compatibility.
One thing to note (at present anyway) is that upgrading the firmware on earlier transmitters will NOT remove DSM2 compatibility. That's not to say Spektrum won't implement this in the future, but I would hope this would be highlighted if it is.

Edited By Essjay on 14/06/2015 08:04:44

When I first learned of this compatibility issue I was nothing short of extremely angry with HH/Spektrum as I have a very large hanger full of their equipment having changed at the dawn of 2.4 after 25 years with Multiplex.

I am still very sceptical about this because as far as I can tell it is only HH/Spektrum who are telling us that DSM2 has been banned by EU. Can anybody categorically confirm a change in EU regulations because in my experience these things are normally phased in rather than implemented overnight? I think HH have hoodwinked us and simply dropped DSM2 which previously they had always maintained was the best.

When I purchased my DX9 I made sure I found a pre end of January 2015 model before I purchased it and visited the shop to check that it did work on DSM2.

As it happened it had to go back to HH almost immediately when the screen froze so I made sure in my letter that I had deliberately chosen this TX because of its DSM2/DSMX compatibility and would not accept anything else should they feel motivated to alter or upgrade it, they returned it in their normal first class record time stating what the problem was but without comment regarding the duel compatibility, however they did not disable the DSM2 capability.

I am now a bit frightened to download the latest software in case this disables the DSM2 so has anyone with a DX9 (with DSM2 capability) downloaded the latest software and retained the capability....& do I really need it anyway? Is it a desirable download?

[Pete B]

Worry ye not, Rob, HH haven't hoodwinked anyone....

Firmware updates will NOT disable DSM2 and in answer to a question I posed to Glenn Doman of HH UK asking whether pre-2015 Tx's sent in for service would have DSM2 disabled, his reply was:

I have been informed this is not a service currently being offered and is not necessary as the legislation only applies to new transmitters being sold, not to existing radios already in the market.

My DX9 is on Version 1.07, released 28th January 2015 and I can assure you it's working as well as it ever has, both on DSMX and DSM2.

Worth downloading? Absolutely - apart from any headline changes there are often de-bugs put in to correct earlier issues and if you don't correct these, it's no good complaining later. The Airware system has been designed to drip-feed new features into a radio system so if you wish to take advantage of any or all functions, then downloading the latest update is essential. I've never had an issue arise from the downloading of either the software or sound updates - and neither shjould anyone else, provided the instructions are followed to the letter.

I'll leave you to decide for yourself. Here's what was in the latest update:

Version 1.07
Changes since 2014-May-21
New Features & Improvements
• Added new screens to support Sound Categories. These allow you to select
sounds more easily by grouping them into user-editable lists (categories) to
reduce scrolling needed to find the sound you want. The radio supports up to 16
categories; this update will create default categories but you can modify or
remove them as you desire.
• The pre-flight checklist shows the name of the model on power-up. This allows
you to verify the right model is being started without having to go through the
complete list first.
• New trainer mode “FPV” added to allow head tracker inputs to be mapped to any
channel, with adjustable scaling and reversing. This mode enables easy
mapping of head tracker channels to receiver ports, while not affecting flight
controls. It supports both wired and wireless head trackers.
• Add support for Flight Pack Capacity (mAh) and Receiver Pack Capacity (mAh)
sensors
• Add support for ESC sensor
• X-Plus channels are now able to be configured to generate warnings in 18-
channel systems, in addition to the normal channels previously available
• On the Model Copy utility, you are now able to select the Source model for
copying. It is no longer necessary to use Model Select first.
• When setting up a timer, a 20-second alert is now available.
• You can now use the “wiggle” function to select analog inputs when entering a
“switch” option. Just move the appropriate switch or stick or slider and it will
select it automatically.
• Trainer input is now more tolerant of inputs from devices such as head trackers
Corrections
• .AS3X Gains telemetry screen does not show when configured to not show.
• Custom Voice Events of 16 steps now advance properly.
• Sailplane AIL>RUD mix field “Sub Switch” is now exported properly.
• Heli gyro trim values are aligned properly for all flight modes
• Heli trim setup screen operates properly in tray radios

Pete

[David P Williams]

Rob - it's because of the way DSM2 works. The new EU rules that came into force in January mean that no new equipment that works in that way can be sold. DSMX and other manufacturers equivalents work in a different manner to DSM2, and are legal under the new rules.

It is only Spektrum that are telling us this because DSM2 is only a Spektrum protocol. It was perfectly legal when developed several years ago, but not now. Other manufacturers have either been fortunate that their protocols were developed later and work in a different way which falls within the new rules, or they have had to change too.

There is no conspiracy and no hoodwinking.

I have an older DX9 and have kept the software up to date and DSM2 works fine.

Edit - oops Pete beat me to it!

Edited By David P Williams on 25/07/2015 16:03:03

[RobC]

Thanks Pete & Dave, your assurances have made me feel a lot better so I will now download the latest software which normally I would do anyway.

It was only this issue that made me wary & grumpy with HH because despite their normal excellent service and market awareness, on this occasion I think they were economical with the truth in that they sent out the new batch of DSMX specific equipment in late January and didn’t tell anyone of the potential issue. Yes, it was on their website but not in an open fashion in that in their adverts they simply deleted reference to DSM2 and did not make reference to the change nor did they bring it to the attention of the model shops, I won’t name them but in late January when I purchased my new DX9 two very large online shops I deal with, one had found out because a customer had taken back his new Tx because it would not bind to his DSM2 equipment which is how they (and I) found out, while the other shop didn’t know until I told them.

One of those shops kindly went through their stock and found a previous stock item for me, they told me that the last stock they took of (DX9) duel DSM2/DSMX was 16^th January 2015.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by David P Williams on 25/07/2015 16:02:25:

It is only Spektrum that are telling us this because DSM2 is only a Spektrum protocol. It was perfectly legal when developed several years ago, but not now. Other manufacturers have either been fortunate that their protocols were developed later and work in a different way which falls within the new rules, or they have had to change too.

There is no conspiracy and no hoodwinking.

I

Edited By David P Williams on 25/07/2015 16:03:03

It wasn't just DSM2 but some other protocols also had to be updated (Futaba Fasst and Frsky are 2 I know of) but these could be done with a firmware update. Note also the specs for the new standard were released about 2 years (or more) before they had to be complied with. I think DSM2 which occupies 2 frequencies was the reason that the use of 2.4 for RC use was challenged in the EU (by a US electronics manufacturer!) as not complying with the then regulations. The net result was that it was agreed it did but that the regulations weren't clear enough and organisation responsible sent away to clarify the regulations and this is the net result.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

My understanding is that the regulations changed to make it compulsory for new equipment to listen for a clear channel before transmitting which was not possible with DSM2 - which may have complied with the letter of the previous regulations (with some imaginative interpretation) but certainly not with the spirit.

As far as I'm aware, all makers have had to adapt their protocols - Jeti, for example, released new firmware which coincided with the new regulations being adopted but managed to make it backwardly compatible with all their existing equipment.

Edited By Martin Harris on 26/07/2015 15:20:06

[Peter Atkins]

Hi

I purchased my DX9 black edition at Blackbush Modelshow and only just got around to programming my first model today (hangar 9 Me109). When I first got this radio I registered it and updated the firmware with no issues and all looked good with the transmitter. But after its been left on for about 10 minutes the screen goes blank but the back light stays on. If I turn the transmitter off for a few minutes the display comes back? Hoping it is just something that I pushed/selected but I cant see any think. Any info or if someone has come across this issue before and has some info it would be much appreciated.

Pete

[RobC]

Posted by Peter Atkins on 26/07/2015 21:43:20:

Hi

..............after its been left on for about 10 minutes the screen goes blank but the back light stays on. If I turn the transmitter off for a few minutes the display comes back................ some info it would be much appreciated.

Pete

This sounds like what happened to my brand new and unused set but the screen didn't always come back on and required another switch off, I sent it back and they reported a main switch fault, I would give them a ring.