Ron Lang Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 So, after weeks of deliberation, I finally bit the bullet and bought a Max Thrust Riot. I have been successfully flying my Super Cub for some time now and I felt I was ready to upgrade (this post isn't about whether I made the right choice there btw!). Anyway, when I went in the purchase the plane, the very helpful chap behind the counter asked me which radio I have. I said only have the DX4e from the Cub and he immediately said I shouldn't try and fly the Riot with that radio. His reasoning was sound explaining that, without being able to adjust expo and rates, I was much more likely to crash. Having agreed that a 6ch upgrade was probably due, he then said buying the old (but still selling) DX6i was pointless and I should buy the new V2. Having really scraped together the money for the plane itself, I really don't have enough cash to spend £120 on a new Tx too. I can pick up an old version for £40 or so on eBay which is preferable but I really need to know: 1) Can I use my DX4 or is that asking for trouble? 2) Is the old DX6i really that pointless? This is still a 4ch plane after all. Thank in advance. Ron (I'd like to add that the service I received was 1st class, I'm just not sure if I'm being sold more than I really need) Edited By Ron Lang on 28/04/2015 15:57:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wright Stuff Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 My personal view is this: I've flown the Max Thrust Riot, and if you set it up properly, with the correct CofG and recommended throws, it's reasonably docile - it should make for a very nice progression from the Super Cub. You do not NEED expo or fancy rates. In the longer term, I would agree that you might find yourself wanting to upgrade the Tx. But I wouldn't feel rushed into it. Wait until you know what you want. I certainly disagree with the statement: "much more likely to crash"... indeed there's a lot to be said for sticking with what you know and feel comfortable with. TWS Edited By The Wright Stuff on 28/04/2015 16:06:46 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ron. Cannot see any reason why the old DX6 I is pointless. Sure the new one is nice and got more bling but the old one is probably the most popular radio going. Maybe it's an ideal opportunity to get one at a good price as some people cannot live without the latest and fortunately create a good second hand market. If you intend to use your old receiver just check compatability personally I would use a DSMX receiver if you got a DX6i Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Carpenter Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Hi Ron. I have 180ish flights on my Riot and although I fly on a DX9, I only use 4 channels. No Expo but I have rates set but only use low 98% of the time. TWS is correct, a Riot is fine on a DX4. Colin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Set the control throw rate up on the servos + horns start at a gentle rate and when test flown adjust to suit, same result, then buy a tx when you want to. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan W Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 I'm a long-time Riot owner. I would say that it is perfectly OK with a basic 4ch, so long as you set up the throws sensibly. In that case you are no more likely to crash than with any other radio. I fly mine with a Hitec Optic 6 Sport, which has similar capabilities to the Spektrum DX6i. The ability to put the ailerons on separate channels and program some differential is useful, as is the facility for rates/expo. However, I would not say that it was essential. The new Spextrum DX6 has a lot of facilities somewhat superfluous to the Riot, so you could save that expenditure until later, when you were ready to upgrade. A further tip on the Riot.... it's worth experimenting with packing washers behind the motor mount to adjust down and side thrust. When you get this optimised, it will take off straight as a die without any need for major rudder intervention. Edited By Jonathan Whitelegg on 28/04/2015 16:23:23 Edited By Jonathan Whitelegg on 28/04/2015 16:23:43 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iqon Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Having googled - DX4 Does not have the ability to be used as a buddy box Does not have the ability to trim control surfaces Does not have the ability to reverse channels Does not have the ability to perform wing mixing Recommended Only For The 350 QX2 If you cant trim ??? you need a new one......the choice is endless.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonathan W Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Having googled DX4e, it does have trims and servo reversing switches on the front panel. It's very basic, but still sufficient for a Riot. On the other hand, you can pick up a new DX6i from Kings Lynn Models for about £65 now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lang Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Posted by iqon on 28/04/2015 16:14:50: Having googled - DX4 Does not have the ability to be used as a buddy box Does not have the ability to trim control surfaces Does not have the ability to reverse channels Does not have the ability to perform wing mixing Recommended Only For The 350 QX2 If you cant trim ??? you need a new one......the choice is endless.... Its the DX4e which does have trims, buddy input, reversing and dual rate (high or low). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wright Stuff Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Posted by iqon on 28/04/2015 16:14:50: Having googled - DX4 Does not have the ability to be used as a buddy box Does not have the ability to trim control surfaces Does not have the ability to reverse channels Does not have the ability to perform wing mixing Recommended Only For The 350 QX2 If you cant trim ??? you need a new one......the choice is endless.... That's different to the DX4e, which is the one I assume Ron is talking about... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lang Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Thanks all for your input. I'm happy to upgrade the Tx in the near future but really wanted to check I'm not insane to try it using the DX4e. Adjusting the servo horns is a great idea and I do have low rate switch on the dx4e. Gangster: Can you explain DSMX? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lang Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 P.s. is this radio as bad as the price suggests? http://www.hobbyking.co.uk/hobbyking/store/__62710__Turnigy_TGY_i6_AFHDS_Transmitter_and_6CH_Receiver_Mode_2_.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Geezer Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Probably more members of our club fly the "old" DX6i than anything else - the last few new "old" ones left in stock at the larger retailers are very cheap for what they are, and second hand even cheaper. It will take you a long time to outgrow one! If you think you don't need rates, expo' and servo reverse - wait 'till you have access to these refinements, you won't want to go back - whatever you are flying now, let alone in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Muir Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 If it's a DX4e then it has servo reversing, dual rates (fixed 70% on all surfaces), trims, delta mixing, buddy box facility and if you google 'DX4e expo' you'll find instructions that will let you activate exponential on it too. You don't need any more than that. When I started flying that would have been the spec of a top-of-the-range radio! You will probably need a y-lead to connect the wing servos to the receiver although I believe some Spektrum receivers have channels 2 and 6 connected internally to use with dual aileron servos. Not a Spektrum user much any more, so not sure on that point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Posted by Ron Lang on 28/04/2015 16:35:07: Thanks all for your input. I'm happy to upgrade the Tx in the near future but really wanted to check I'm not insane to try it using the DX4e. Adjusting the servo horns is a great idea and I do have low rate switch on the dx4e. Gangster: Can you explain DSMX? The Old protocol used by Spektrum was DSM2 - that did not have "Listen Before Talk" (an EU mandatory requirement for all kit now) and the protocol used 2 alternate spot frequencies in the 2.4 band and could switch from one to the other if there was interference on one frequency DSMX is (now) "Listen Before Talk" compliant (meaning it wont transmit on a spot frequency if its in use - so less chance of two+ models interfering with each other) it also uses frequency agility in that instead of 2 frequencies it uses one of any many spot frequencies in the 2.4 band, the TX and RX automatically hoping spots if they are busy So DMSX is more interference resilient and fast re-establishing itself when TX/RX link is interupted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Everything said so far seems correct but Dave said " an EU mandatory requirement for all kit now " but he meant ( I think ) that as " all newly imported kit now " That is all older stuff can still be used and old stock still sold but no more can be imported into EU. Further info on DSMX compared to DSM2 is in the DX6i manual page 4 online here Edited By kc on 28/04/2015 18:14:31 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Hopkin Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 TBH I dont know if the legislation refers to "all newly manufactured/imported in the EU" or "all retail sales" - you CAN continue to use existing kit that doesn't "Listen before Talking" of course and the second hand market is unregulated (so far) either way - DSM2 is dead(ish) Long live DSMX! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ron you asked me to explain DSMX. It is the later protocol used by spektrum. It's advantage is that it hops between 23 different channels dozens of times per second whereas dSM2 only uses two frequencies someone also suggested that it has listen before transmit as per latest ETSI (European ) standard. I don't know if that is true but in my opinion lbt offers no advantage to us from an interference point of view as if the frequency was in use our transmitter would have moved on within 20mili seconds anyway long before our or anyone else's model would know. The advantage of DSMX is that there are 23 channels not 2 to work through to clarify my point about checking compatability DX6i works happily on either DSM2 and DSMX. Spektrum did however have another protocol on some other park flier transmitters I honestly do not know what the DX4 uses but the web will tell us. Or someone will come along on here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Ron asked about the Turnigy TGY 16. My answer is I dont know if it's any good but I have not heard otherwise. However make sure any Tx you buy comes from the UK or European warehouse not from the International warehouse, because if the equip does not comply with the latest regulations it should be rejected by Customs & Excise and not allowed in! And of course duty & VAT will have to be paid ( because its above the minimum ) But the real reason for not buying unusual brands is the problem of buying extra Rx later on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangster Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 IMHO if you were looking for a really good radio at budget prices you would struggle to beat the offer or second hand prices on the DX6i old model. Probably more of those in use by club modellers than anything else Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve T Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Cor dear me, my old DX6i has been a great piece of kit, running 6 models and never missed a beat. I am going to upgrade to DX6 but purely 'cos I can but I will not get rid of the old TX, as long as you do not need more than 5 channels them you don't need any thing else, why would I buy a 12ch or whatever if I'm flying a 4ch cub? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 A lot of good advice here - as we would expect of course! My view, for what its worth: 1. You can fly the Riot perfectly well with your DX4e - you won't crash just because you don't have expo! 2. Lots of folks have been perfectly happy with the "old" DX6i for a long time. My advice would be, if you fancy a "step up" Tx wise, then grab yourself a bit of a bargain while they are still around. From what I can deduce about your experience so far the DX6i "old version" will do everything you want (and more) for quite a while yet! So why pay more? BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kc Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 As everybody says the DX4e will be perfectly OK. Buying a new DX6i now for 65 pounds may be a bargain and might save money in the long run as it's a lot cheaper than a DX6. But I would not buy a secondhand TX from Ebay! Too much chance of buying something that has been dropped, got wet ( might have been used at pondside for boats) used in the rain or had some problems and been repaired. Plus possible damage in post etc. Only buy secondhand radio gear for planes from a known source - clubmate - when you can check with others how he treats his gear. Beware many clubs have someone who trys to offload secondrate gear to unsuspecting newcomers! Buying new is better for peace of mind. Buying a brand where several sources of extra RX are available in the future will be cheaper in the long run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Your Dx4e has more features than my first radio, which I used to fly everything from trainers, low wingers and an IC Wot 4. While I wouldn't want to go back to that now, all you are doing is flying old school and it worked great for us then when we didn't have the choice I've also recently flown a Multiplex Funman (similar to the Riot) with their simple Smart Sx transmitter and I didn't crash Edited By Frank Skilbeck on 28/04/2015 20:39:40 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Lang Posted April 28, 2015 Author Share Posted April 28, 2015 Thanks all for some great feedback. I have the Riot sitting at my feet right now, just about to unbox! I think, in summary, I will look out for an old DX6i bargain but in the meantime just get stuck in. I will indeed Google DX4e expo as this would be very useful. Really glad I joined this forum, everyone has been great so far! I'll let you know how I get on... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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