Horus and Taranis X9D Express differences?

[MattyB]

Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 07:49:24:

The Horus is a copy of a Jeti, the Taranis is a copy of an old JR.

They both support lots of anagrams which are meaningless to 'normal' human beings, be they model flyer or not..

The operating system was basically copied from Multiplex radios but has lots of randomly added supposedly 'useful' additions created by any nerd who fancies himself as an 'expert'. What in I'm not sure. Certainly not user interfaces.

It was installed in the Taranis for one reason only. It was free, so the Taranis manufacturer did not have to pay any development costs of his own.

Sour grapes much?! "I have no need for this software functionality, therefore no-one else should have it, especially given how expensive it makes my Futaba look..." Sound about right?

OpenTX (and the other Open source based systems) are not for everyone; if you're happy with dual rates and servo reverse then it will look like pointless complexity, and the logic is fundamentally different (note - not harder, just different) to sets based on canned mixers. That means people coming from a big brand TX (other than Multiplex) will have a steepish learning curve. But lets not forget what Open Source has done for RC - previously TXs with the level of functionality were £1k plus, now they can be had for <£100. It also propelled FrSky to being probably the #2 seller of TXs in the world behind Spektrum in the space of a few short years (no I can't prove this, but look at the dominance of FrSky amongst quad pilots and it's difficult to believe they aren't). Not too shabby for a tyro manufacturer from China.

Sure the physical quality might not be there in the cheapest variants, but pay £150-£300 and you are looking at kit which will last a long time, is super reliable and has every feature and sometimes more than proprietary systems costing 4x as much. If it's not for you then that's fine - keep on paying £1k+ for the big brand box with all it's fancy marketing - but don't deny others the choice. I love the affordability and functionality of Open Source (especially the telemetry which has saved me several £100s in avoided accidents) and would never go back to a proprietary system, especially given the incredible speed that bugs get ironed out.

PS - OpenTX may not be the most usable interface to start with, but I have noticed people often get on to using more of it's capacity more quickly than with proprietary systems, especially those who are new to flying and have never used a big brand system. The number of Futaba users I see struggling with servo reverse and endpoints on their high end sets however...

Edited By MattyB on 20/05/2020 17:30:06

[Bob Cotsford]

Posted by Allan Bennett on 20/05/2020 17:11:21:

One more question:

As I said earlier, I'm familiar with LiPo and A123 packs and their storage requirements. What about these "Li-Ion" transmitter packs? Can they be stored safely in the transmitter at full charge, like A123s?

Allan, 'Li-Ion' are the same cell types as used in most laptop computers, rechargable razors, small drill-drivers and the like so are usually fit and forget for our purposes, and yes strictly speaking I think they are all lithium ion devices using different chemistries and case type. LiPo 3.7v nominal, LiFe 3.3v and Li-Ion 3.6v so you need to check exactly which cell type you are charging and if using a universal charger make sure you set it to the right cell type.

[Peter Christy]

Posted by Allan Bennett on 20/05/2020 17:11:21:

One more question:

As I said earlier, I'm familiar with LiPo and A123 packs and their storage requirements. What about these "Li-Ion" transmitter packs? Can they be stored safely in the transmitter at full charge, like A123s?

Yes!

Actually, most of these cells can be stored safely at full charge, though some will eventually lose capacity, if abused.

The problems usually arise when charging, or, in the case of LiPos, if over-discharged.

In terms of overall safety, Li-Ion cells sit somewhere in the middle, better than LiPo, but perhaps not as good as LiFe.

LiPos offer the highest current capacity for their size and weight, which is why you don't usually see Li-Ions being used to power the motors in models, but for transmitters - and even less powerful models - they are fine.

--

Pete

[Richard Clark 2]

Posted by Ron Gray on 20/05/2020 12:26:04:

@Bob, Peter and Mike - 'back of the net"

It's not a competition, and certainly not football. Not for you and I as 'users' , though it may be for the manufacturers.

And as for my 'copy', that the Horus 'appearance' is a plastic rather than metal rip-off the Jeti is blatantly obvious. As for OpenTx, it's not a 'bit for bit' copy of the Multiplex OS but the OpenTx design decisions are based on it. The originators of OpenTx said so themselves.

How successful is it? Very, globally at least. Maybe not so much in the UK. In our 150 member club not a single one uses the Horus or the Taranis. Though there are two UK bloggers (not in our club) who quickly changed from Multiplex fanboys to OpenTx fanboys. But 'fanboyism' doesn't count with me.

Would I buy one? I don't need a new radio but if I did I would consider it. Why? Not because of its 'merits' if any, But because of the failing of its competitors, as below:

The OpenTx functionality is matched or almost matched by the Jeti and the Multiplex Royal (on which some options have now vanished) and the now totally discontinued so rather short-lived Profi, but not by the Cockpit.. The Multiplex user interface is much better but again with the exception of the Cockpit. But I have strong doubts about the continuing existence of Multiplex as a radio manufacturer and the continuing existence of Jeti at all. Jeti radios only exist because of a 'one off' EU development grant to 'small countries'.

Futaba. Not with their protocol 'alphabet soup' and their enforcement of the pointless, complicated, and expensive  'S-Bus' upon you if you want more than eight channels. And they don't even come close to Jeti, Multiplex, or OpenTx functionality unless you pay more than a thousand quid for  the transmitter alone.

Spektrum. They don't have the functionality of the others at any price. 

What would I buy now if I needed a new system? Probably Multiplex though I would be relying on the non-retirement  of Mike Ridley  (Model Radio Workshop) for service,  and the continuing existence of Multiplex radios.  I bought the 'Royal' simply because I liked the appearance of the transmitter and now have about 30 of their receivers.. I didn't know about its brilliant functionality and totally 'intuitive'  interface at the time. Second Futaba, and I would consider the Horus as a  last resort. Spektrum no.

Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 19:04:42

Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 19:18:15

[Richard Clark 2]

duplicate

Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 19:22:54

[Peter Christy]

One of my flying mates had just bought a Jeti system. And I could have bought THREE X10S systems for the same money, and have change left for some spare receivers! The build quality is certainly no better than FrSkys - indeed he had to touch up the paint trim on it out of the box because it was chipped! It also took him an awfully long time to work out how to set up crow braking on his glider, so not very user friendly either.

And didn't I read somewhere that it took Jeti several attempts to get through the FCC certification in the USA?

Hmm!

Think I'll stick with FrSky!

--

Pete

[Richard Clark 2]

Posted by MattyB on 20/05/2020 17:23:39:

Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 07:49:24:

The Horus is a copy of a Jeti, the Taranis is a copy of an old JR.

They both support lots of anagrams which are meaningless to 'normal' human beings, be they model flyer or not..

The operating system was basically copied from Multiplex radios but has lots of randomly added supposedly 'useful' additions created by any nerd who fancies himself as an 'expert'. What in I'm not sure. Certainly not user interfaces.

It was installed in the Taranis for one reason only. It was free, so the Taranis manufacturer did not have to pay any development costs of his own.

Sour grapes much?! "I have no need for this software functionality, therefore no-one else should have it, especially given how expensive it makes my Futaba look..." Sound about right?

OpenTX (and the other Open source based systems) are not for everyone; if you're happy with dual rates and servo reverse then it will look like pointless complexity, and the logic is fundamentally different (note - not harder, just different) to sets based on canned mixers. That means people coming from a big brand TX (other than Multiplex) will have a steepish learning curve. But lets not forget what Open Source has done for RC - previously TXs with the level of functionality were £1k plus, now they can be had for <£100. It also propelled FrSky to being probably the #2 seller of TXs in the world behind Spektrum in the space of a few short years (no I can't prove this, but look at the dominance of FrSky amongst quad pilots and it's difficult to believe they aren't). Not too shabby for a tyro manufacturer from China.

Sure the physical quality might not be there in the cheapest variants, but pay £150-£300 and you are looking at kit which will last a long time, is super reliable and has every feature and sometimes more than proprietary systems costing 4x as much. If it's not for you then that's fine - keep on paying £1k+ for the big brand box with all it's fancy marketing - but don't deny others the choice. I love the affordability and functionality of Open Source (especially the telemetry which has saved me several £100s in avoided accidents) and would never go back to a proprietary system, especially given the incredible speed that bugs get ironed out.

PS - OpenTX may not be the most usable interface to start with, but I have noticed people often get on to using more of it's capacity more quickly than with proprietary systems, especially those who are new to flying and have never used a big brand system. The number of Futaba users I see struggling with servo reverse and endpoints on their high end sets however...

Edited By MattyB on 20/05/2020 17:30:06

No, not sour grapes. I make my own choices and my own mistakes in everything I do  and don't care too much about cost. Model planes particularly so as the various sorts I choose to make (planes up to a maximum of about '90' size, almost all glow, no ARTFs - again just my choice) are not 'expensive' when you consider life as a whole. So no reason for sour grapes.

It's mostly a response to the almost inevitable 'near worship' ' from the OpenTx fanboys and the 'attacks' if you are not a member of their cult. See "The back of the net" accompanied by three 'grins' from Ron Gray above.

Your response is far more measured and I don't basically disagree with the rest of your post - we all make our own choices for our own reasons. 'Fanboys' in any field appear unable to accept that.

Edited By Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 20:13:31

[Richard Clark 2]

Posted by Peter Christy on 20/05/2020 11:28:00:

Posted by Richard Clark 2 on 20/05/2020 07:49:24:

It was installed in the Taranis for one reason only. It was free, so the Taranis manufacturer did not have to pay any development costs of his own.

And that was reflected in the price, which was substantially lower than any comparable competitors!

--

Pete

Sure it was. And the low price is the main reason for its success. I once saw a post on another model forum asking where he could find 'cheap wire' for the undercarriage

[Ron Gray]

You see RC, the problem is that this thread is, or was, about the difference between a couple of FrSky TX, and the OP wanted advice from those who could let him know what these differences were. Then along you come and see this as an opportunity to have a good old rant about FrSky. Three members with first hand experience, not hearsay, then reply with factual posts which, imo, corrected ill informed comments in said rant, hence the 'back of the net' comment. The one mistake I did make was putting in 3 instead of

Now I hope that this thread can return back to it's original topic.

[Geoff S]

I have 2 Taranis transnitters. The first is a very early one and some may remember the saga I had when I tried to charge it using my 'intelligent' charger (with a not so intelligent owner!) and ended up having to replace a surface mount mosfet in the on-board charger circuit. A nightmare of my own inadvertent choosing! My main gripe with Taranis is those 6 little buttons alongside the display which I've had to replace because they became detached. Perhaps the later transmitters have improved the fitting. They failed on both transmitters and it's very annoying at the field. They're also a bit of a pain to get at. Perhaps I was unlucky.

I also have a Horus 10S which suits me perfectly. I didn't bother with more expensive version with the better gimbals because I doubt if I could tell the difference nor did I consider the 12S becaue of its bulk. The 10S also fits my Frsky transmitter tray after a few minor adjustments (to the tray not the transmitter) and really need the tray to steady my hands. It's just a bit more rugged than the Taranis.

It's childish, but I really like the colour display with pictures of my models to make certain I'm in the right memory and I also find voice messages useful. Like Peter Christy, I bought it as a present to myself after I discovered that there are no pockets in shrouds

Geoff

[Richard Clark 2]

Posted by Peter Christy on 20/05/2020 19:27:37:

One of my flying mates had just bought a Jeti system. And I could have bought THREE X10S systems for the same money, and have change left for some spare receivers! The build quality is certainly no better than FrSkys - indeed he had to touch up the paint trim on it out of the box because it was chipped! It also took him an awfully long time to work out how to set up crow braking on his glider, so not very user friendly either.

And didn't I read somewhere that it took Jeti several attempts to get through the FCC certification in the USA?

Hmm!

Think I'll stick with FrSky!

--

Pete

I wouldn't buy a Jeti either. It's not just the software. If you want all the facilities you have to add a whole shedful of little boxes to each plane.

And every Jeti ESC I have purchased eventually melted even though I operated them well within specification

[Bob Cotsford]

Posted by Geoff S on 20/05/2020 22:59:32:

I have 2 Taranis transnitters. The first is a very early one and some may remember the saga I had when I tried to charge it using my 'intelligent' charger (with a not so intelligent owner!) and ended up having to replace a surface mount mosfet in the on-board charger circuit. A nightmare of my own inadvertent choosing! My main gripe with Taranis is those 6 little buttons alongside the display which I've had to replace because they became detached. Perhaps the later transmitters have improved the fitting. They failed on both transmitters and it's very annoying at the field. They're also a bit of a pain to get at. Perhaps I was unlucky.

.........

It's childish, but I really like the colour display with pictures of my models to make certain I'm in the right memory and I also find voice messages useful. Like Peter Christy, I bought it as a present to myself after I discovered that there are no pockets in shrouds

Geoff

The buttons on my Taranis failed early on. I ordered two sets so that I'd have a spare but as a stop-gap to keep flying I stuck the buttons back in using Evo-Stick to form a living hinge. 6 years later the replacement button trees are still in my spares box.

I bought myself an X12 when they came out for the same reasons, also it's ideal for use with a shoulder harness which means the weight doesn't matter. I regularly have to stop myself ordering an X10, another tx would just be greedy!

[Ron Gray]

The latest Taranis only has the buttons (3) on the left as there is a scroll roller on the right. My buttons also failed on my old Taranis so I 3D printed replacements, now works fine.

Edited By Ron Gray on 21/05/2020 11:19:45