Fresh out of nappys and need advice please

[Martin Keeley]

Hello all

im totally new to this.its been a dream for years and the thought of purchasing a transmitter financially put me off.

after doing some research i want a transmitter that will serve me well.

i started off looking at the 9XR,after some forums comments was then looking at the flysky taranis.

would this be a good starting platform, also what gear to use with it.

this is the plane im going to start with

**LINK**

thanks in advance for helping

[Wiltshire Flyer]

Hi martin welcome!
I have a spektrum dx5e.
It's a simple no frills jobby.
It has rates and channel mixing and that's all I need, so it really depends on what functions you are looking for.
I think that taranis and frsky are upcoming quality brands at good prices, saw a recent post here about them.
Many more peeps here to give you really in-depth advice and I'm sure someone will be along soon :0)

[Depron Daz]

You can get a good second hand Spektrum DX6i for £40 - £50 on fleabay.

[Ian Jones]

You don't need anything special for the floater so perhaps on this occasion the usual advice of get the best you can afford may not apply. I say this because as has been suggested here and elsewhere it may be that we are in for an unsettled time on the transmitter front do a short term use transmitter could be right.

I've held a Taranis, seen the programming functions and used many, many other transmitters and I would suggest that unless you consider yourself pretty technically minded the Taranis may not be a good starter, excellent value for money though it is. On the other hand if you know someone that help you get the first setup done then you could be in at the beginning of the revolution.

Oh, sorry. Back on task, any cheap popular branded 2.4Ghz new or 2nd hand should do the job. Bear in mind that the systems are propriety, Spektrum will not work with Futaba or Hitec and so on, so an expensive purchase now could tie you into that make for a long time.

Is someone going to teach you to fly (always the best option, if you don't believe me now, you will do later). If so then they can advise you, in particular and regardless of branding, you will need a transmitter in the same mode (probably 1 or 2) as your instructor. This refers to which surfaces the stick position changes cause to move so it's really important.

Another really, really good plan is to visit a club and discuss your plans with a few experienced members, I'm sure they will point you in the right direction.

Good luck, welcome to the forum.

Ian

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Martin - two tips

1. Put "transmitter" into the search box at the top of this page and you'll find over a 100 threads discussing the choice and pros and cons etc. of different transmitters

2. If you want to know about Taranis specifically - go to the FrSky radio section under Radio Systems on the "All topics" page and you'll find a number of threads there.

All good research

BEB

[Kevin Wilson]

You describe yourself as a complete beginer. In which case I think the complexity of the Tarranis would get in the way of your flying.
Something Spektrum will get you plenty of advice here and at any club,
The DX5e is all you would need for your conidered plane; However I suggest you would get better value from a DX6i.

Even starting out you will soon gather another plane or two, and the model memories on the 6 will come in really handy,

With the ready availability of Orange and Lemon receivers (yes, really!) the Spektrum system is affordable. It also gives you access to those far too tempting Bind 'N' Fly models.

There is some snobbery that will decry the DX6i but it is an entry level radio that will see you through training and still be enough for follow on planes, It should even have a resale value when you decide to move up.

Best of luck.

[Phil Winks]

this is just my opinion but having been where you are a couple of times Martin I may have a valid point or two.

1st on the frysky taranis if you have a technical leaning pc wise and a hands on friendly adviser who understands rc flight then the advice to go that route is good and valid,

however there is another cheaper route that will see you several years down the line before you need to upgrade,

my chosen route has been to get a DSM2 compatible transmitter, in my case an "orangeRx" T6 (Approx £45 + p&p from Hobbyking) as this system is compatible with a lot of the Bind and fly models (BNF) on the market today and contrary to popular conceptions DSM2 and DSMX are compatible too,

the conception that your TX needs to be the compatible with your instructors for buddy linking is no longer true

all thats needed is a twin Rx set up and modes/manufacturer rules go out the window basically as fitted to my seagull E-Pioneer trainer (bottom of page 2) and the master and slave rx's can be different modes different manufacturers and even mixed 35 mhz and 2.4 ghz the master must have one spare switched channel to act as the trainer switched

Like I said at the start just my opinion but it has worked well for me

Edited By Phil Winks on 04/04/2014 23:06:38

[Kevin Wilson]

Oh! and there are a lot of Spektrum fliers around, it would make it easier to get a buddy box voluteer at most clubs.

Regards,

Kevin

[kevin b]

Hi Martin and welcome.

It may be an idea to let us know what area you live in. That way one of your local forumites might be able to take you under their wing as it were. Well except maybe Budgie Daz. I'm a bit worried about him. Taking you under his wing could involve spending a lot of time in a cage and eating millet !

kevinb.

[Martin Keeley]

Thanks for all the feed back.
I've been reading in several forums and its quite mind blowing with pros and cons for most makes. I'm an aircraft technician bye profession and now work on pc systems so my technical grasp is good so I feel the flysky interesting. I live in the south east (Kent). Thanks for your advice

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Hi Martin,

given your background I do not think you would find that programming the FrSky Taranis would pose an insurmountable problem for you.

BEB

[Chris Barlow]

The 9XR does have a programming port on it to allow complete programming and upgrading/customising the firmware too & if you're into pic programming or atmega/arduino stuff you will be right at home.

My 9XR has a DJI module which will accept telemetry and the receivers are very cheap, important if you end up getting a few! The 9XR is quite similar to the previous 9X in that all the curves and mixes are programmable. In addition all/any channel is bindable to any stick/switch! My 9X is used for helicopters and Gliders and the 9XR for planes.

The only problem I found when starting out with the 9X was that few people were flying with it so help in setting up pitch curves, mixes etc for helis meant watching youtube tutorials. Having said that there are probably more tutorials for Turnigy and Taranis than other radio systems due to their open source nature!

[Chris Jones 7]

Hi Martin,

If the Taranis interests you why not download the companion software to your PC and have a play with it? It has all the functionality of the TX itself and even has a simulator so that you can see what the settings you do in the TX do to the actual model.

I have a Taranis having come from Spektrum and absolutely love it - I don't think there is anything this radio can't do!

Chris

[John F]

At first I think you're only going to need a "normal" set to learn to fly on. You can't really, safely, learn to fly on your own so there's the option of joining a club.

At first there are very few pros and cons to consider, IMO, for your first radio. They all work. They will all fly your aircraft and you can use it later in other planes.

If you turn up at a club with an all singing, dancing taranis (for example) transmitter that will do everything other than fly the plane for you it won't help because the instructor might not be able to buddy with you. The radio probably could but the instructor may not know how or be willing to buddy with it.

If you do plan on joining a club go and see what the instructors are using so you know you can buy the right gear to enable you to learn to fly. After that, obviously you can buy whatever you like but I think the first steps really are about going with the flow.

[Martin Keeley]

I will look to see where my local club is and see what they are using and chat with them. It will be nice to get tips from the people that have been doing it for many year's. Thankyou all for your advise. Greatly appreciated.although I wil be patient I still can't wait. A couple of months ill be ready I think after more research. Cheers

[Rob43]

Hi Martin
I am flying a floater jet right now using a 9xr transmitter on an orange rf module. I have had no problems at all with this radio, you just need to sit down and have a fiddle with the programming but its easy enough once you understand it. I would buy a taranis over the 9xr if I wanted telemetry, it shares practically the same open source software as the 9xr and both sets can buddy box to spektrum and futaba sets if you are using an instructor.

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

Martin, another possibility might be that the club you join may have it's own training aircraft and transmitters. Ours does.

If this is the case, there's no need to buy anything straight away.

[Martin Keeley]

Just another question

if you have several models, boat, plane and heli for instance

can you use a 3 , 4, and a six channel receiver on the one transmitter (not all at same time) as my wife is keen on boats lol

 

ive got to ask as now the BOSS is showing interest???

Edited By Martin Keeley on 05/04/2014 16:29:30

[Rob43]

Hi Martin

Yes you can use different receivers as long as you are using the same protocol from tx to rx, all you need to do is bind every new rx to your tx.

The rx "learns" the identity of your tx so that it only operates the intended rx's when you bind them.

This is a straightforward operation

[Martin Keeley]

brilliant i thought this but wasnt sure

thankyou