programmable tx virgin !

[Boots]

Hi, over the years i have used various 27 and 35 non programmable tx. also over the years my brain cells have depleted too. I seriously cannot get my head around all the modes and telemetry.

the heading describes frsky as open source, this seemed attractive in the same way i use linux and not windows.

what i believe i am looking for,

1. 2.4ghz

2. a common std rx protocol so i dont end up with a tx requiring rare and expensive rx's.

3. i wish to use 2 or 3 brushless motors, twin star/ tristar, i will need to mix them together onto 1 stick. guess an onboard mixer between rx and esc's wouldnt work.

4. 6ch no more ? well 8 perhaps

5. prog tx with display could prove fiddlely, i cant read displays in bright sunlight , during flight i will not be wearing reading glasses ! i live in cyprus i WILL be wearing sunglasses. yup you guessed it when driving cant read anything on the instrument panel.

i hope i have given you enough infomation

boots

[Bruce Collinson]

Varifocals with a polarised tint?

BTC

[Don Fry]

Boots, first off, on a tangent, I assume you are of a certain age. Our eyes get very bad at seeing in the dark, ditch the dark glasses, sexy that they are, and go more orange, or yellow. You will see the aircraft, and judge depth better.

And see the road, and the instruments in your car, at the same time.

And when you say, mix to one stick, do you mean putting say putting rudder, aileron, and elevator on one stick.

[Allan Bennett]

If you can get your head around programming OpenTX -- which is not difficult at all using the PC configurator software -- then one of the FrSky radios will do what you want. You can certainly have three separate channels controlled by one stick if you don't want to use a Y-lead for your motors, and you can also have a single switch act as motor-cut on all throttle channels. That latter feature was why I switched from Futaba to FrSky a while back.

FrSky receivers are reasonably priced, and most of them have telemetry. In addition to their specified number of PWM channels, many of them can output 16 channels in PPM mode.

[Peter Christy]

I think you may be misunderstanding how a programmable Tx is used in practice. I've been using them since the original JR PCM-9 came out on 35 MHz, and currently have FrSky transmitters as my main Txs. The screen is primarily used for setting up. There is rarely - if ever - any need to look at it in flight.

The FrSky in particular has quite loud voice prompts, and will count down a preset timer that is easy to set up. It will also announce quite loudly any issues, such as low battery voltage, poor signal strength (very rarely!) etc, once suitably set up. It also has a "haptic buzzer" - a bit like a "stick shaker" on a commercial airliner - that can be programmed to activate under whatever conditions you choose. The only time you need to look at the screen is when setting a model up, or switching between models - both done on the ground!

Although I'm using FrSky as an example, many other systems have a similar set up, though FrSky, with its OpenTx system, is by far and away the most flexible.

You may see some comments about FrSky being fiddly to set up. However, these usually come from people used to using systems that "lead them by the hand" through setting up. Pilots who have never used any other kind of programmable Tx usually don't have a problem as they don't have any pre-conceived ideas about programming, and the OpenTx system is very logical.

For everyday use, I wear varifocal glasses, but I find these less than ideal for flying, as the "in focus" window is tiny. I use plain "long distance" glasses for flying - with polaroid clip-ons on very bright days - and never have an issue with using a programmable Tx in flight.

Hope this helps!

--

Pete

[Nigel R]

I'm not sure what the question is?

However, if you can get your head around linux, then opentx should be easy enough.

[Allan Bennett]

Good points made about the glasses: First, I rarely have to look at the Tx screen during flight, for my Taranis is programmed to verbally announce remaining flight time, switch functions, etc. Second, I wear distance prescription lenses for flying and find that I can read the screen on my Taranis even though it's nigh on impossible with the satnav in my car. Must be something to do with the quality or type of screen.

[gangster]

These are always a difficult sort of question. You have however had some good answer. There will always be those who have a particular chip on their shoulder one way or another. There will also be those who will advocate something unnecessarily complex because that is what they do. Programmable radio whilst having gained more and more features has become so much easier to use. Let’s face it they are a consumer item to control a toy aeroplane and not a nerds ego booster. As go seeing the display, that’s not the idea set it up in a location you can see and then watch the model not the tx. Work out what features you really need and confirm that the tx will do it. I made a couple of mistakes and bought transmitters that whilst perfectly adequate just didn’t quite give me the flexibility I needed and ended up putting them on eBay and buying the next model up. As for telemetry. Do you need it ? If you want to go that way maybe a tx that talks. I guess most do now anyway. As for the motor mix. Not quite sure what your specific need is but maybe use one channel y lead two esc but if they have bec cut the red lead to one. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking two with give greater current headroom. They may fight. Obviously if your twin model is big and complex a more professional approach may be required

Edited By gangster on 03/08/2019 09:20:20