Which Transmitter

[TerryC123]

Hi All

Appreciate help for a beginner!!

I am learning (with friend/examiner) on a Glider at the moment and have a e-flite Apprentdice on its way. Using a Flysky on the Glider but to use the bells and whistles on the Apprentice I need a Spektrum Tx. All I understand at the moment is that I need a Tx with three way switch to work the 'Beginner' 'Itermediate' 'Expert' programmes on the Apprentice!! But which Transmitter to go for. Dont think I will EVER need ''Mixers' etc. Just a nice simple Tx with a bit of 'future' in it!!

Thanks all, appreciate yr help/advice

Terry

[Cuban8]

The Spektrum DSX 7 channel tranny is a very basic model - maybe a bit too basic, but only around the ninety quid mark. I think you'd be better off with the DX6e - much more future proof and flexible but not stuffed to the gunnels with stuff you may not ever need. Around the £180 mark if you shop around which I reckon is pretty good value these days. Google them and have a look at the on-line manuals that you can access and check their exact specifications. Three position switches are pretty universal these days and a six channel system will cover most sport model needs.

Edited February 17, 2023 by Cuban8

[GrumpyGnome]

You're not restricted to Spektrum transmitters - you just need one that will communicate with a Spektrum receiver.  I've used an FrSky Taranis and an iRange multi-module with Spektrum receivers, and currently use a Radiomaster with lots of different types of receiver.  Worth looking at multi-protocol radios.......

[MattyB]

36 minutes ago, TerryC123 said:

Hi All

Appreciate help for a beginner!!

I am learning (with friend/examiner) on a Glider at the moment and have a e-flite Apprentice on its way. Using a Flysky on the Glider but to use the bells and whistles on the Apprentice I need a Spektrum Tx. All I understand at the moment is that I need a Tx with three way switch to work the 'Beginner' 'Itermediate' 'Expert' programmes on the Apprentice!! But which Transmitter to go for. Dont think I will EVER need ''Mixers' etc. Just a nice simple Tx with a bit of 'future' in it!!

Thanks all, appreciate yr help/advice

Terry

 

Lot's of beginners say this, but NOT having those features almost always comes back to bite down the line - even the most basic of models can benefit from a bit of mixing here and there , and remember anything like a v-tail or flying wing needs mixers to fly - they aren't optional!

 

If you want to stick with Spektrum, probably the DX8e, NX6 or NX8 are the ones to look at, but bear in mind the cost of buying into the Spektrum ecosystem has risen a lot in recent times, so make sure you are comfortable with their RX and telemetry prices before you leap in. If you are interested in looking at alternatives that leverage the 4-in-1 multiprotocol module and give a huge amount more flexibility and functionality for a lower price (but might take slightly longer to get your head around initially), look at the Radiomaster Boxer, TX16S, TX12 mk 2 or Zorro radios, or one of the similar equivalents from Jumper. Which of those you go for will depend really on your budget and the form factor you prefer; all run the OpenTX or EdgeTX firmware which has an absolutely massive amount of functionality, far more than the Spektrum radios listed. Of those listed I think I'd tend to go for the Boxer which should do everything you want and has a nice mid-sized form factor and decent (if not top end) build quality.

 

 

[Don Fry]

Buy something your friend/examiner understands. It can sort and or prevent a load of grief or hassle. You don’t need too many bells and whistles, future proofing. You are buying a tool to get you flying. After that, you build some knowledge to sort out what you want for the future.

And not all transmitters fit all hands. Get your hands on it first, give it a mauling. 

[TerryC123]

3 hours ago, Cuban8 said:

The Spektrum DSX 7 channel tranny is a very basic model - maybe a bit too basic, but only around the ninety quid mark. I think you'd be better off with the DX6e - much more future proof and flexible but not stuffed to the gunnels with stuff you may not ever need. Around the £180 mark if you shop around which I reckon is pretty good value these days. Google them and have a look at the on-line manuals that you can access and check their exact specifications. Three position switches are pretty universal these days and a six channel system will cover most sport model needs.

the fella I am buying the plane off also suggested the dx6e.....thanks Cuban8........

[TerryC123]

3 hours ago, GrumpyGnome said:

You're not restricted to Spektrum transmitters - you just need one that will communicate with a Spektrum receiver.  I've used an FrSky Taranis and an iRange multi-module with Spektrum receivers, and currently use a Radiomaster with lots of different types of receiver.  Worth looking at multi-protocol radios.......

!!!didnt know that, they make out they are the only tx's you can use!! cheers Grumpy!!

[TerryC123]

2 hours ago, MattyB said:

 

Lot's of beginners say this, but NOT having those features almost always comes back to bite down the line - even the most basic of models can benefit from a bit of mixing here and there , and remember anything like a v-tail or flying wing needs mixers to fly - they aren't optional!

 

If you want to stick with Spektrum, probably the DX8e, NX6 or NX8 are the ones to look at, but bear in mind the cost of buying into the Spektrum ecosystem has risen a lot in recent times, so make sure you are comfortable with their RX and telemetry prices before you leap in. If you are interested in looking at alternatives that leverage the 4-in-1 multiprotocol module and give a huge amount more flexibility and functionality for a lower price (but might take slightly longer to get your head around initially), look at the Radiomaster Boxer, TX16S, TX12 mk 2 or Zorro radios, or one of the similar equivalents from Jumper. Which of those you go for will depend really on your budget and the form factor you prefer; all run the OpenTX or EdgeTX firmware which has an absolutely massive amount of functionality, far more than the Spektrum radios listed. Of those listed I think I'd tend to go for the Boxer which should do everything you want and has a nice mid-sized form factor and decent (if not top end) build quality.

 

 

!!!You just dont know what to believe until you speak to people in the know!!! Will def look into those makes you suggested!! indeed I will cheers MattyB

[TerryC123]

1 hour ago, Don Fry said:

Buy something your friend/examiner understands. It can sort and or prevent a load of grief or hassle. You don’t need too many bells and whistles, future proofing. You are buying a tool to get you flying. After that, you build some knowledge to sort out what you want for the future.

And not all transmitters fit all hands. Get your hands on it first, give it a mauling. 

Cheers Don. about 1 hr from Kings Lynn Model shop. Will give them a go!! thought it was going to be easy!! blimey!!

[Shaun Walsh]

Al's Hobbies have a used DX6 for sale £185

https://alshobbies.co.uk/preowned/PREOWNED00230214

[MattyB]

3 hours ago, Don Fry said:

Buy something your friend/examiner understands. It can sort and or prevent a load of grief or hassle.

 

This view is often espoused, and it made sense in pre-internet days, but I don't understand it now. I don't buy the same phone, computer, washing machine or car as my neighbour just because they bought one, so why would I buy a TX that way? Every system out there has copious help resources online that can be looked up at any time, so the value of having a local expert who happens to know about a specific brand or set seems a little over-rated, though if buddy boxing it might save some time at the point of first setup. If having a friendly local reassures you by all means go ahead, but dont get too reliant on their expertise, and be  aware that you may lock yourself into a potentially very expensive ecosystem by doing so. 

 

3 hours ago, Don Fry said:

You don’t need too many bells and whistles, future proofing. You are buying a tool to get you flying. After that, you build some knowledge to sort out what you want for the future.

 

This thinking is from the days where only the big brands dominated, and there was a clear relationship between the amount you spent and the channel count and functionality you got. Sure Spektrum and Futaba still operate like that, but if you look at the likes of Frsky, Jumper and Radiomaster, all their sets have the same (extremely high) levels of functionality out of the box, and all will do at least 16 channels irrelevant of the price point; the only differences between the sets are the physicals. That means a multiprotocol TX like the RM Boxer (which comes in at roughly the same prices as the very most basic sets from Spektrum et al) can be used to fly pretty much any model you can think of, and you are not locked into a single (potentially expensive) range or receivers and accessories. For example, you could have complex models using redundant Frsky telemetry RXs with all the bells and whistles, but still fly lightweight foamies on cheap as chips LemonRX DSM2/X receivers, all using the same TX.

 

If you want to know how this is possible, it's because the software behind these devices is open source, so the likes of RM have not had to invest huge sums in it's development - it's been developed by the RC community at large for free. That might sound scary at first, but remember that open source development is a well proven model; vast tracts of global IT infrastructure that makes up the internet runs on open source OS'. Additional advantages are that using this software means manufacturers have far more money to invest in the physicals of the sets, plus they don't have a traditional distributor or advertising model that means they can keep costs low.

 

In combination these factors can save you a huge amount of money in the long run. You won't have to make incremental TX upgrades as your skills improve in order to fly that next (slightly more complex) model, and you aren't locked into a single, high cost ecosystem. Even if you do choose to change your TX to one with a higher physical spec, you can still take all your model setups from one to the other - all you'll need to do is to check and adjust the switch assignments where necessary. That's a huge time and faff saver!

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by MattyB

[Don Fry]

Each to his own Matty.

If I have someone I’m training and he has a problem, having taken him on, I take on the problems. And I’m not happy wading through the highly variable content of U tube. I don’t tell him, your buying decision, your problem.

Second bit, Don’t give a monkies stuff what brand he chooses, but I think he should make his own mind up, from a knowledge base. Agree the world changes, and I know there are no useless systems nowadays, but I always reckon, if someone buys basic, gets to know what that person preferred, and buys the perceived preference to use long term use, it’s cheaper that initial basic mistakes, made on a strangers say so.

PS, I am computer literate. My training in formal languages started in 1970. Idiot/savant things.

[Cuban8]

Open source driven radios such as Frsky were the subject of much discussion on both of my club fields and a few examples did make an appearance. I have to say that they never really made that much of an impression on the majority of members - a few did buy outfits but I think the reputation for them to be bothersome to programme (unfairly I'm sure) was enough to put people off. Futaba and Spektrum still have the lion's share of the mass market as far as I can see. Although I understand that the drone racing fraternity (!)😉do go for Frsky in a big way.

Whether the other brands can dig seriously into the mass market of Futaba and Spektrum on price point alone is a difficult one - I reckon they'll struggle in the long term, but good on them for giving the big boys a run for their money. Good for all buyers of radios, no matter what their preferred brand.

Edited February 17, 2023 by Cuban8

[MattyB]

34 minutes ago, Don Fry said:

...Second bit, Don’t give a monkies stuff what brand he chooses, but I think he should make his own mind up, from a knowledge base. Agree the world changes, and I know there are no useless systems nowadays, but I always reckon, if someone buys basic, gets to know what that person preferred, and buys the perceived preference to use long term use, it’s cheaper that initial basic mistakes, made on a strangers say so.

 

I am not telling him he should or has to go with a more complex set, just that there are actual alternatives to Spektrum that work with their models and that those are very cost effective and function rich by comparison. Remember, the first purchase of a beginner is always without a personal knowledge base, that is unavoidable. Personally as a beginner I'd rather spend ~£100 on a fully featured set I know will fly anything I can move on to than a minimum of £200 on a Spek or Futaba that is almost certain to need to be upgraded if I stick with the hobby. 

[GrumpyGnome]

In the multi-rotor world, I think the budget brands are giving Spektrum and Futaba more than a run for their money.

 

Spektrum seems to dominate our club with the more established flyers.  Newcomers are more open to Flysky, FrSky, Radiomaster etc., having done some research for themselves.  Have only seen one Futaba set.

[MattyB]

7 minutes ago, Cuban8 said:

Open source driven radios such as Frsky were the subject of much discussion on both of my club fields and a few examples did make an appearance. I have to say that they never really made that much of an impression on the majority of members - a few did buy outfits but I think the reputation for them to be bothersome to programme (unfairly I'm sure) was enough to put people off. Futaba and Spektrum still have the lion's share of the mass market as far as I can see. Whether the budget brands can dig seriously into the mass market of Futaba and Spektrum on price point alone is a difficult one - I reckon they'll struggle in the long term, but good on them for giving the big boys a run for their money. Good for all buyers of radios, no matter what their preferred brand.

 

That may be true in some clubs, but certainly not all - we have more open source TXs from Frsky and Radiomaster than any other brands in both the clubs I am a member of (though one is silent flight only with a large legacy of Multiplex users who recognised quickly that OpenTX has almost exactly the same logic to their sets of old). I literally haven't seen a newly bought Futaba TX for at least 5 years (outside of a sponsored pilot), but the number of RM and Frsky TXs have been huge by comparison. Normally it seems to happen in clubs that have one or two people who are prepared to share knowledge and dispel the myths spread about OS systems being difficult to programme - yes they are different, but if you can park your old approach at the door they are actually just as simple, and certainly a lot more flexible. 

 

Putting all that aside though, as @GrumpyGnome points out the multirotor revolution in the last 10 years has brought vast numbers of TX sales with it. I don't have any figures, but strongly suspect the volumes of gear sold to those users will be 5-10x that sold to traditional club modellers. Remember, most of those buyers haven't joined traditional clubs (often because they have not been made welcome), and their choice has been disproportionately to go with the challenger brands, so the fact you don't see many TXs down your patch doesn't mean they aren't big sellers. All the polls I've seen indicate that Frsky are probably the #2 these days in terms of volumes of sales, but even their growth was stymied by Radiomaster and Jumper when they came on the scene - those sets have been an absolute runaway success. 

[Andy Gates]

Terry,

 

As you are learning to fly with a friend / examiner, I would not be too worried about all the bells & whistles that the Apprentice comes with.

To focus your Tx selection on one particular model I would suggest is not the best way to go.

 

Speak to your friend / examiner and see what he thinks you will require in the way of specifications for your next radio.

Notice I did not say which radio but the specification so you can make your own choice.

 

Depending on the model of your FlySky radio, it may be that the Tx you already have may be plenty good enough for quite some time.

The beginner / intermediate / expert modes are just different setups which can be achieved in other ways by any half decent radio set currently on the market.

 

Personally I cannot see the point of spending nearly £200 on a second user radio with only 6 channels when the same money can buy a 16 channel new Tx with a lot more functionality. But really it is your choice & decision.

[TerryC123]

1 hour ago, Andy Gates said:

Terry,

 

As you are learning to fly with a friend / examiner, I would not be too worried about all the bells & whistles that the Apprentice comes with.

To focus your Tx selection on one particular model I would suggest is not the best way to go.

 

Speak to your friend / examiner and see what he thinks you will require in the way of specifications for your next radio.

Notice I did not say which radio but the specification so you can make your own choice.

 

Depending on the model of your FlySky radio, it may be that the Tx you already have may be plenty good enough for quite some time.

The beginner / intermediate / expert modes are just different setups which can be achieved in other ways by any half decent radio set currently on the market.

 

Personally I cannot see the point of spending nearly £200 on a second user radio with only 6 channels when the same money can buy a 16 channel new Tx with a lot more functionality. But really it is your choice & decision.

Andy. That is so funny. my mate said more or less the same thing!! we both have Flysky Tx's flying a glider. He has suggested using spare Flysky Rcv and just fly around using flysky equipment. think we will go down that route and see what happens!!! 

[Andy Gates]

Which model FlySky Tx do you have Terry?

[GrumpyGnome]

FlySky won't communicate with the Spektrum rx that usually comes with an Apprentice.... you'll need a Spektrum or mpm equipped tx.

 

If the Apprentice has no rx installed then. of course, the world is your lobster as far as rx/tx combos.  But you won't have all the electronic gizmos like Safe, which makes it just another foamy trainer.....

[MattyB]

Agree with the above - I’m not a big fan of SAFe for learning, but there is not a lot of point buying an Apprentice if you don’t want it, as without that it’s just an overpriced version of any old high wing foamie trainer. You would be better off with something like a Tundra, Riot, FMS Super EZ or XFly Glastar at that point. 

[David Davis 2]

Terry, my take on this is as follows.

 

1. Buy a transmitter with which your instructor is comfortable. If he is a computer buff he may enjoy binding a Taranis, Radiomaster or whatever to your Spektrum receiver in the Apprentice. On the other hand, if he is a computer phobe like me, you'd be better off buying a Spektrum transmitter. I use a DX9 myself and keep a DX6i as a Mode 2 slave and an old DX5e as a Mode 1 slave. If someone turned up with a model and a non-Spektrum transmitter at my club and asked me to teach him to fly, I would have no idea how to go about getting both transmitters to talk to each other! Fortunately I have clubmates who are into this sort of thing and would probably be able to help but it would take time to sort everything out.
2. About 40% of my club fly Spektrum. The DX6, DX8e, NX6 and NX8 are popular choices.
3. The Apprentice was my club's trainer when I lived in England. It is an extremely easy model to fly and in my view you do not need all of the stabilising features but if they come with the model, that's what your left with. A Spektrum AR410 only costs £25 and is perfectly adequate for the Apprentice. I use one in a 1/6 scale WW1 biplane.

[Andy Gates]

FlySky Tx do a 6 channel receiver with gyro for under £20 in the UK so no real reason to change Tx in my view.

[TerryC123]

On 17/02/2023 at 14:44, MattyB said:

 

This view is often espoused, and it made sense in pre-internet days, but I don't understand it now. I don't buy the same phone, computer, washing machine or car as my neighbour just because they bought one, so why would I buy a TX that way? Every system out there has copious help resources online that can be looked up at any time, so the value of having a local expert who happens to know about a specific brand or set seems a little over-rated, though if buddy boxing it might save some time at the point of first setup. If having a friendly local reassures you by all means go ahead, but dont get too reliant on their expertise, and be  aware that you may lock yourself into a potentially very expensive ecosystem by doing so. 

 

 

This thinking is from the days where only the big brands dominated, and there was a clear relationship between the amount you spent and the channel count and functionality you got. Sure Spektrum and Futaba still operate like that, but if you look at the likes of Frsky, Jumper and Radiomaster, all their sets have the same (extremely high) levels of functionality out of the box, and all will do at least 16 channels irrelevant of the price point; the only differences between the sets are the physicals. That means a multiprotocol TX like the RM Boxer (which comes in at roughly the same prices as the very most basic sets from Spektrum et al) can be used to fly pretty much any model you can think of, and you are not locked into a single (potentially expensive) range or receivers and accessories. For example, you could have complex models using redundant Frsky telemetry RXs with all the bells and whistles, but still fly lightweight foamies on cheap as chips LemonRX DSM2/X receivers, all using the same TX.

 

If you want to know how this is possible, it's because the software behind these devices is open source, so the likes of RM have not had to invest huge sums in it's development - it's been developed by the RC community at large for free. That might sound scary at first, but remember that open source development is a well proven model; vast tracts of global IT infrastructure that makes up the internet runs on open source OS'. Additional advantages are that using this software means manufacturers have far more money to invest in the physicals of the sets, plus they don't have a traditional distributor or advertising model that means they can keep costs low.

 

In combination these factors can save you a huge amount of money in the long run. You won't have to make incremental TX upgrades as your skills improve in order to fly that next (slightly more complex) model, and you aren't locked into a single, high cost ecosystem. Even if you do choose to change your TX to one with a higher physical spec, you can still take all your model setups from one to the other - all you'll need to do is to check and adjust the switch assignments where necessary. That's a huge time and faff saver!

 

MattyB. Have been looking at those Radiomaster Tx's, they look good!! Fancy the Boxer!! BUT have decided to go the cheaper route for now!! Going to put in a FlySky Rcvr and just learn with that, then, when I get a little better will def go with Radiomaster. Thanks for your help/advice. Terry 

[TerryC123]

On 17/02/2023 at 16:11, Don Fry said:

Each to his own Matty.

If I have someone I’m training and he has a problem, having taken him on, I take on the problems. And I’m not happy wading through the highly variable content of U tube. I don’t tell him, your buying decision, your problem.

Second bit, Don’t give a monkies stuff what brand he chooses, but I think he should make his own mind up, from a knowledge base. Agree the world changes, and I know there are no useless systems nowadays, but I always reckon, if someone buys basic, gets to know what that person preferred, and buys the perceived preference to use long term use, it’s cheaper that initial basic mistakes, made on a strangers say so.

PS, I am computer literate. My training in formal languages started in 1970. Idiot/savant things.

Many years ago (15+) was a Futaba user, now you look around and there are names that were never heard of, am enjoying looking through new equipment tho!!