EdgeTx pros/cons?

[Allan Bennett]

In response to a query I posted in the Ardupilot forum it's been suggested that I should 'update' from OpenTx to EdgeTx.  I'm getting confused now, for in this forum I read a lot about Ethos as a replacement for OpenTx.

 

My trannies are Taranis 9D+ and 9D+2019, and my receivers are all X-series ACCST, all on v2 firmware.  My setup does more than I think I should ever want, so what would be the advantage, if any, of 'upgrading' to Edge or Ethos, other than the fact that OpenTx is apparently no longer being developed any further?

[GrumpyGnome]

Ethos is a development of EdgeTx for FrSky transmitters, and is more like a 'traditional' systen.

EdgeTx is the next iteration of OpenTx and continues to be developed and supported.

 

If you don't have a touch screen, and have not found any issues with Otx, or any limitations, you may as well stick with it.

[Peter Christy]

One of the advantages of "Open Source" software is that if someone believes they can do a better job than the current developers, they can create a "fork" and develop it the way they think best. This is essentially what has happened here.

 

I'm not privy to the internal politics of it, but from what I can make out, the lead developer of OpenTx was lured away to develop Ethos - a closed source proprietary system. After he left. development slowed considerably, though there has been a release since. EdgeTx is a fork of OpenTx, and the two are much the same "under the hood". EdgeTx has support for touch screens, and is supposedly more user friendly.

 

I have two transmitters with OpenTx and one with EdgeTx.  If you are already familiar with OpenTx, then EdgeTx will hold no worries for you. However, I'm not sure if touch-screen functionality will be much of an advantage on a Taranis! I have a very early X9D, and also an X10S. I haven't seen any point in updating them to EdgeTx. I have a Radiomaster T16S, which came with EdgeTx, and that does benefit from the touch screen functionality. However, I'm not a fan of touch screens, having had to change them on the old JR PCM 10s regularly, whenever they got damp...! Hopefully the new generation are better, but mine hasn't been out in the rain yet!

 

I have no experience with Ethos, nor do I see any need to change from what I have and know.

 

OpenTx development does seem to have slowed down, but it may well pick up again if new developers come on board, or some EdgeTx functions get back-ported. EdgeTx seems to be under active development. Whether it offers any real advantage on the X9D is a matter only you can decide.

 

--

Pete

 

[Tim Kearsley]

I totally agree with what Pete says.  I have a Horus X10S Express which is running OpenTx.  In quite a few hours of actual air time, over many months, I've not encountered any bugs.  As the Horus doesn't have a touch screen it doesn't seem worth moving to EdgeTx.  It's true that development on OpenTx seems to have stopped at the moment, but it does far more than I need so that aspect doesn't concern me.  In many ways it's quite nice not thinking that you need to be upgrading to the next version, with all its attendant risks! 

[Allan Bennett]

1 hour ago, GrumpyGnome said:

Ethos is a development of EdgeTx for FrSky transmitters, and is more like a 'traditional' systen.

EdgeTx is the next iteration of OpenTx and continues to be developed and supported.

 

If you don't have a touch screen, and have not found any issues with Otx, or any limitations, you may as well stick with it.

 

So Ethos, to me, is a retrograde step if what you mean by a 'traditional' system is that it has pre-defined model setups.  The reason I moved from Futaba was the inflexibility of their predefined setups.

 

1 hour ago, Peter Christy said:

One of the advantages of "Open Source" software is that if someone believes they can do a better job than the current developers, they can create a "fork" and develop it the way they think best. This is essentially what has happened here. . . . 

 

 

Is the 'advantage' of EdgeTx that is supports touch screens whereas OpenTx doesn't? 

 

My instinct from the outset was to stick with what's working for me, and this brief discussion hasn't given me any reason to think otherwise.  I'll have to find out why the Ardupilot guys think that I need EdgeTx.

 

Thank you for the input.

[Peter Christy]

Ethos was developed (as I understand it) by the OpenTx lead developer, so it is probably a lot more flexible than Futaba. Having said that, I have no direct experience of it.

 

As Tim says above, and I agree, the static nature of OpenTx at the moment is perhaps a positive. Upgrading transmitters is a time consuming chore, and can occasionally lead to unintended consequences.

 

My advice, for what its worth, would be to make sure you are running the latest version of OpenTx (currently 2.3.15, which is extremely stable) and stick with it.

 

I have no issues with EdgeTx, but it really has no advantages on an X9D, other than supposedly being more "user friendly". I'm not totally convinced by this, though it may be better for a total newcomer. If you already have some OpenTx experience under your belt, you will just have to waste time learning yet another new interface for no really good reason.

 

--

Pete

 

[Mike Blandford]

Ethos is not a development of either openTx or EdgeTx, although, as Peter says, the main developer was the the main developer of openTx (he is now a FrSky employee).

Ethos is only available for FrSky transmitters with colour screens and ACCESS protocol RF modules.

It is very flexible and is not like "traditional" system, just includes some features so it is easier for "traditional" system users to get started with it.

 

Mike

ErskyTx developer and UNI receiver firmware developer.

[Allan Bennett]

Thanks for the info.  I've had a couple of replies to my query in the Ardupilot forum, and they both say I should upgrade to EdgeTx because OpenTx is static development-wise and EdgeTx is ongoing.  I don't really want any development at the moment, so I'll stick with OpenTx.

[GrumpyGnome]

Sounds a sensible choice. Happy flying!

[Tim Kearsley]

11 hours ago, Allan Bennett said:

Thanks for the info.  I've had a couple of replies to my query in the Ardupilot forum, and they both say I should upgrade to EdgeTx because OpenTx is static development-wise and EdgeTx is ongoing.  I don't really want any development at the moment, so I'll stick with OpenTx.

There does seem to be this mentality that you need to keep on and on upgrading!  As you rightly say, if the product does all you need and is, as far as your own use goes, bug-free then what would be the point, other than the "novelty" of having something new?  I've been using OpenTx for years and am perfectly satisfied.  If at some point I change to a Tx which has a touch screen then I will look again at EdgeTx, or whatever "XXXXXTx" is available at that time!  Mind you, I'm a dinosaur with mobile phones as well - my OnePlus 3 is at least eight years old!