Advice on which receivers and other components needed when starting with FrSky

[Martin Arnold 1]

Matty B.

Looking at your last photo of the Horus IX20/24 where it is next to an X9D, it appears to me the stick position on the case is worse for me as the stick are very low in the case, more so than the X7 even.

Would like to get my hands on one though, mind you that's as you say unlikely even when they are launched.

[Peter Christy]

Martin A: One thing to bear in mind - the X9D case (excellent Tx, I have an early one!) was based on earlier 35 MHz designs, which had to balance a long, telescopic aerial. The X9D doesn't balance well about the sticks. They even provide a extender for the neck-strap support to get it closer to the CofG.

This doesn't matter too much if you have large-ish hands, or, like me, a pot-belly to balance it against!

My X10S, on the other hand, has the sticks lower in the case - having been designed from the outset as a 2.4 GHz set - and balances better in the hands.

Having said all that, I still find the X9D easier to handle without a neck-strap, and tend to use the X10S "tray-style", though without the tray!

I am not a "thumbs on top" flyer, but hold the sticks more like a pen, if this make any difference.

--

Pete

[Martin Arnold 1]

Yes Peter I think it does make a difference the way you manipulate the sticks, as I said I am a mode 1 flyer and operate the sticks with my thumbs and don't use a neck strap, which is I think why I did not get on with the X7 and probably the new Ix20/24.

Can see what you mean about the X9D being an older JR type case, but it just feels right for me, I suppose the years I was using an old Futaba 9C with the aerial down and a Frsky module in the back, I have become used to that type of balance.

[robk]

My Radiomaster has arrived. First impressions are its quite chunky and solid. A bit larger than the Spektrum DX6, certainly in its depth. The gimbal arms are a bit shorter than I'm used to but screw in an out for adjustment.

The tx is heavier than I am used to as well, especially because I bought the recommended 5000mAh 2S Lipo as they were out of L-ion batteries which I suspect would have been quite a bit lighter. I like a ratchet on my throttle so I hope I can add that option as its currently just a smooth throw (anyone know if this is possible?). The sliders on the corners don't have much of a centre but they feel solid. The screen is excellent. The rest of the switches are solid. You have to press and hold the main nav switches until they operate which I guess is a safety feature.

See the cute key-ring! HobbyRC also put a boiled sweet in the box to add to my pleasure...

I will be learning a lot more about the OpenTX system before I actually plug it into my computer.

Edited By robk on 26/01/2021 11:52:55

Edited By robk on 26/01/2021 11:53:12

[MattyB]

Posted by robk on 26/01/2021 11:52:37:

My Radiomaster has arrived. First impressions are its quite chunky and solid. A bit larger than the Spektrum DX6, certainly in its depth. The gimbal arms are a bit shorter than I'm used to but screw in an out for adjustment.

The tx is heavier than I am used to as well, especially because I bought the recommended 5000mAh 2S Lipo as they were out of L-ion batteries which I suspect would have been quite a bit lighter. I like a ratchet on my throttle so I hope I can add that option as its currently just a smooth throw (anyone know if this is possible?).

Yes, eminently possible on the TX16 (not the TX12 though) - this video has the "how to"...

The lack of ratchet is one of the reasons why I have decided to skip the TX12 for my FPV q&*d flying (still can't quite bring myself to type it....! ) and buy a TX16 which will be setup mode 2 (I fly fixed wing mode 2, but cannot seem to get the hang of rotary craft in that mode).

[David Hazell 1]

I am so tempted to grab one of those Radiomaster T12's and try to get my head around OpenTX - they look brilliant for the price. How many of the _popular_ protocols are missing from the RM T12 vs its big bro TX16S?? I wonder if I could get it to buddy box up to my Futaba T12K via a CPPM SFHSS Rx plugged into the back of the Fut - then I could get my kids flying by wire buddy. I'd have two T12s by different manufacturers!

Having said all of this, my Futaba is my first TX since re-starting hobby, and I've not learned the ins and outs of the Futaba yet, so changing over completely to OpenTX wouldn't mean a massive waste of Futaba knowledge! I can't go and blow more cash on both a T12 AND a TX16S though!!

Edited By David Hazell 1 on 26/01/2021 16:31:20

Edited By David Hazell 1 on 26/01/2021 16:31:54

[Trevor Crook]

Pete, I believe the "no mixing of makes" rule I mentioned in my earlier post came into being some years ago after there were a couple of incidents with Spektrum tx's and Orange rx's. This was in the days of DSM2.

I asked a couple of years ago if this rule would be reconsidered, but the thinking is that there is a risk that a reverse-engineered version of a protocol may not be as well tested as the oem product. As members of the public walk their dogs on the land where we fly, the committee considered that any additional risk, however small, was not worth taking. It's not a major concern for me as I regard the Spekky receivers I use as reasonable value anyway.

Apologies for missing a predictive text typo in my earlier post, OpenTable should be OpenTx of course!

[MattyB]

Posted by David Hazell 1 on 26/01/2021 16:29:27:

I am so tempted to grab one of those Radiomaster T12's and try to get my head around OpenTX - they look brilliant for the price. How many of the _popular_ protocols are missing from the RM T12 vs its big bro TX16S?? I wonder if I could get it to buddy box up to my Futaba T12K via a CPPM SFHSS Rx plugged into the back of the Fut - then I could get my kids flying by wire buddy. I'd have two T12s by different manufacturers!

Having said all of this, my Futaba is my first TX since re-starting hobby, and I've not learned the ins and outs of the Futaba yet, so changing over completely to OpenTX wouldn't mean a massive waste of Futaba knowledge! I can't go and blow more cash on both a T12 AND a TX16S though!!

The TX12 and TX16SE have the CC2500 chipset, meaning they "only" do Frsky ACCST (all versions), Graupner HoTT, Hitec, Futaba S-FHSS and a few other obscure ones. As a result you should be able rig up to do an RF buddy system with no problem. If you think about it as long as the RX attached the master for buddiying purposes can output SBUS it doesn't actually matter the protocal used to transmit from the slave to the master, That means you could use a cheaper Frsky or Radiomaster RX for the buddy setup, or a Futaba FHSS compatible.

[MattyB]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 26/01/2021 16:43:01:

Pete, I believe the "no mixing of makes" rule I mentioned in my earlier post came into being some years ago after there were a couple of incidents with Spektrum tx's and Orange rx's. This was in the days of DSM2.

I asked a couple of years ago if this rule would be reconsidered, but the thinking is that there is a risk that a reverse-engineered version of a protocol may not be as well tested as the oem product. As members of the public walk their dogs on the land where we fly, the committee considered that any additional risk, however small, was not worth taking. It's not a major concern for me as I regard the Spekky receivers I use as reasonable value anyway.

"Interesting" logic.... Are they happy with MPM based TXs? I can't imagine anything open source would meet their expectations; presumably they also ride to the field on horseback...

[robk]

Hi - some of our posts went missing on this topic with the site refresh. Anyway, I have moved on a bit and have a couple of more questions that the experts out there might be gracious enough to help me with.

 

First - this is just a general question about the throttle movement. On my TX screen it shows the throttle moving between -100% and +100%. This is much more than on the Spektrum system - is this normal? Does to make any difference? The throttle seems to work ok on the plane I have bound to.

 

Second and more important - I am using OpenTX using MacOS. The software works fine and it is connecting with my TX without a problem. I did however have a problem updating the firmware. It was not possible within OpenTX Companion. I kept getting various messages that meant it wouldn't play ball. However, I found a work around. I copied the up-to-date firmware to the SD card (with the up-to-date SD card data) and than installed it from that using the screen below. Two questions - on the screen it now shows the correct firmware on the bottom line but the old firmware on the top one 'OpenTX Bootloader' - does this matter? Also, despite advice sites saying once the new firmware was installed I would need to re-calibrate the controls the TX never asked me to do that. Finally - is there anyone out there with experience of using OpenTX on a mac? All the info I have found is for Windows systems.