Changing Radio Brands

[John Lee]

This thread is not intended to be a 'X Brand' is better than 'Y Brand' discussion, there have been plenty of Topics covering that.

 

Rather it is sharing the experiences of those who have changed brands in the 2.4GHz era. How did it go? Are you happy with your choice or with hindsight would you have done something different?

 

For me, I was a long time happy JR user, ending with their flagship DSX12 and about 20 receivers . However JR lost their way, I wanted to take advantage of the emerging telemetry facilities and the JR 'Robot' styling just did not appeal. After I was able to have a go of a Jeti system I started making the switch to that brand 6 years ago. It took a few years to change over all the fleet during which time I also upgraded the Transmitter. It is fair to say that there was a pretty steep learning curve. The system is extremely capable but that brings with it complexity and multiple ways of achieving the end goal, but with blind alleys along the way. Fortunately a couple of years in Harry Curzon started producing 'How to do it' Jeti YouTube tutorials and things became much easier.

 

I've no regrets about making the change, above all the system is absolutely bulletproof in its reliability (touch wood) and a joy to operate. However there is no denying the expense and possibly if I had left the change to a couple of years later I would have gone down the Open Tx route.

 

 

 

[ken anderson.]

hello john,i started off in 1989 with Futaba,and used their stuff for 20 years+then changed to Hitec A9 which i still have and use(a wonderful bit of kit)with the touch screen.but Hitec stopped making TX's so i looked around for a back up TX in case of a breakdown with the A9......and bought a Radiomaster T16s with a 4 in 1 module inside...again a great bit of kit...the only downside(for me) was/is it uses Open TX as its operating sysyem...a bit of a learning curve.....but do'able after a bit of watching a few videos etc....

 

ken anderson...ne...1...Futaba/Radiomaster dept. 

[GrumpyGnome]

First 2.4 was Spektrum. Then I got another Spektrum.

 

Then got a Taranis X9DSEPlus and got rid of the Spektrum transmitters - OpenTX was a real revelation. I kept the receivers as I added an iRange module, allowing my Taranis to bind with lots of different brands.

 

Then I got a Radiomaster TX16 as a back up to the Taranis. Liked that so much it's my main radio now.

 

I can't see myself getting a non OpenTX/EdgeTX transmitter when I need a new one.

 

Prior to 2.4 I used MGregor, Skyleader, JR, Futaba, Multiplex, Radiolink..... I have little brand loyalty! 

Edited August 11, 2023 by GrumpyGnome

[Richard Wills 2]

swiched from Spektrum DX9 to Frsky Horus several years ago.  I also had about 20 receivers.  Decided to do it all at once instead of drawing it out, so sold all the Spekky stuff and went all in with the frsky.  Found the frsky operating system pretty good, never looked back just upgraded to an X20S.  If opentx had been what it ran would never have done it, the new Ethos system is great.

 

[Don Fry]

I used a couple of brands in the dim and distant past, went to Futaba when 35 meg came along. In 2012/13 ? I was migrating to 2.4, and went to Spectrum. Futaba seemed to be losing their way, and a DX 9 seemed great. 
My mate, unknown to me, was migrating as well, and came along with a Teranis. And I did think I wished I had known that existed. 

I’m starting to think about a new transmitter. The DX9 has given good reliable service, but I am inclined to drift to the Radiomaster TX 16. I got hands on one with the deluxe sticks, and those sticks are almost erotic to move. 
 

[leccyflyer]

After my first dalliance with a Gem 1+1 in the seventies, when I came back to the hobby I went all in with Futaba and had a pair of their bullet-proof Challenger transmitters, to allow for buddy box operations. Later migrated to a pair of FF6 transmitters when I was teaching my sone to fly, then a FF8, as the need for more model memories became apparent. Finally moved onto a FF9, just before embarking on my switch to 2.4Ghz.

 

That started with one of the original DX7s - DSM only and I replaced many of my Futaba, Hitec and JR receivers with Spektrum 2.4ghz DSM receivers. There was some issue with Spektrum at the time, regarding the power output and EU certification, and wed had our first issue with Spektrum with brown-out of an AR500, resulting in destruction of a favourite model. That led to investigating the new, incoming Frsky system, which was pre-Taranis, but offered great value for money and easy replacement module for the FF9. First flight with Frsky was a disaster -entirely my own fault as I'd thought that the range check activation was the same as Spektrum -it wasn't and I took off after a range check with the TX still in range check mode, destroying the model. I kept both the DX7 and FF9 with Frsky going for several years and was happy with my choice - by then I'd started slope soaring and putting all the gliders on one TX and power models on the other looked a good option. 

 

As the number of models in the fleet grew I needed more model memories than the DX7 provided, but I was lumbered with a large number of DSM and DSM2 receivers, which worked with the DX7, but wouldn't work with the newer DX9s. That led me to seek out an older, little used early DX9, which is still my main transmitter. There are still some of my Spektrum receivers that cannot bind to my DX9, so the DX7 stands in on those models. As my FF9 is getting on a bit now and I'd got used to the nice features on the DX9, I researched a Frsky-capable TX to replace the FF9. The Radiomaster TX16S looked ideal and I got one a couple of years ago. It's been switched on a couple of times, but is still in it's box/carrying case, waiting for me to spend some time learning to use OpenTX. There's at least one glider with a four servo wing that is sitting there waiting for that to happen.

 

I certainly don't regret switching from Futaba, as their gear got outrageously expensive and Spektrum is starting to go the same way with the new Forward Programming transmitters. I can't see me getting a Spektrum transmitter that won't work with my older Spektrum receivers, but I suppose the Radiomaster could fil in there. For the foreseeable future I'd still like to proceed with Spektrum DX9 and the Radiomaster TX16S, which will result in the retirement of my FF9.

 

Alongside those I'm just about to start converting several 27mhz MacGregor transmitters to 2.4Ghz, to fly my new set of vintage models, which are coming off the bench at the moment. Those will be using Phil Green's excellent 7 channel encoders, allowing an optional single channel button and the Lemon 2,4Ghz module, to replace the 27mhz circuitry. Phil and Shaun found me a Gem 1+1 a couple of months ago, so I've now gone full circle back to my first sentence in this post.

[PeterF]

I only started flying in 2000 with a 2nd hand Futaba FF8. When I converted to 2.4gHz I looked around and chose the Hitec Aurora9. At the time there was lots of chatter about brown outs and reboot times. The Hitec receivers allowed you to connect power direct to the Rx circuit at up to 35 Volt and power the servo bus separately. As I was electric flight only, I could connect the flight battery direct to the Rx power and then the BEC or separate battery to the servo bus, no chance of brown outs if there was too much load on the servo bus. Additionally, the Hitec Rx had inbuilt telemetry for the Rx voltage (not the servo bus voltage though) so I could monitor the flight pack. At the time, this was quite an advantage.

 

Moving on, I was looking for a replacement because I wanted more telemetry, some more channels and a system with some redundancy in as I was moving to larger models, Hitec stopped their 16 channel development. I ended up casting around and at the time Jeti had just bought out their DS-12 model, a plastic case Tx with fewer controls and channels. Luckily at the time I had been doing some consultancy work to top up my pension so I went ahead and bought that complete with all the Rxs that I would need and some telemetry. Brilliant piece of kit and fairly straightforward to learn to program. I also dived into the LUA programming language that could be used to write apps to augment the telemetry, luckily I have programming knowledge from my working life writing Excel macros so this was a good find. I also found RC Thoughts website with plans for home build telemetry, all models have amp hour counters on the flight batteries, brilliant for monitoring your flights, no more working from timers. Buying into Jeti had opened up a whole new arm of the hobby and I am very happy with how well the change worked out.

[Wookman]

52 minutes ago, leccyflyer said:

There's at least one glider with a four servo wing that is sitting there waiting for that to happen.

 

Have a look at Mike Shelim's website at rcsoar.com.

He has some excellent templates ready written to download onto your Otx transmitter that will take all the grief out of seting up your 4 servo wing glider.

[leccyflyer]

Thanks Wookman - I'll have a look at those.👍

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Similar history to Peter - when I returned to model flying I started out with second hand earlier FF7 35MHz 4 model memory transmitter eventually upgrading to a FF9.  I was very happy with Futaba 35MHz although their 2.4 MHz equipment seemed expensive when it was eventually launched.  To be quite frank, their range of different protocols both confuses me and in my opinion makes their desirability rather questionable.  When Jeti announced their original transmitter modules with telemetry to plug into the Futaba transmitter in 2019 I bought one immediately as I had long desired feedback capability and with receivers significantly cheaper than Futaba standard ones soon amassed a good selection of receivers and telemetry modules.

 

I resisted the temptations of the rather pricey DS16 transmitter - although still a lot less than the high end Futaba transmitters - for a year or so until I nearly lost a model to what I believe was a connecting pin problem between the module and transmitter.  Although easily resolved, it gave me the excuse to invest in the proper Jeti transmitter back in 2013 and I'm just reaching its 10th anniversary.  It's had week in week out use and never missed a beat - in fact it's grown to 24 channel capability and picked up many software functionality upgrades without cost so that it is a significantly better transmitter now than when it was new!  There are no signs of wear and tear and even the battery maintains capacity so the not insignificant cost is starting to look like a great investment at a couple of pounds a week over the first decade of use.  Even my earliest receivers continue to be compatible with the latest software and transmission protocols although have less functions than the later programmable versions.  While other systems have caught up in functionality, many of their users have had to replace their equipment more than once during this time so there may be more than a grain of truth in the "buy cheap buy twice" mantra.

 

When Taranis/OpenTX came along, I did wonder whether I might have gone that way had I not been so invested into Jeti by then but I have no reason to regret my choice and no plans to go anywhere else.  Spektrum appear to be moving up the expense ladder for their more capable models and I suspect that my head would be drawn to Radiomaster if I were forced to change - but for some reason the one glaring omission from their impressive multi-protocol list is Jeti Duplex!

[Jon H]

Grew up on Futaba 35meg using FF6 and then 9. My first 2.4ghz set was a Spectrum DX6i bundled with a Blade heli. I bought more rx's for it, used it in my parkfly and electric stuff. It seemed to work ok, but it felt cheap and flimsy, the pots needed cleaning from time to time and i seemed to always be falling apart. It would also loose its bind and seemed quite a faff. So when the time came to buy 2.4ghz for my big fixed wing (mandated for show flying) i stuck to what i knew with Futaba and bought the 8j. Its been great, no complaints beyond the lack of servo slow in the software or flap sliders on the side like my FF9. 

 

I still use my FF9 for about half my fleet as i had a bunch of fully functional 35meg rx's and saw no reason to bin them.  

[Alan Hilton]

I went Jeti a while back and have no regrets

[aidan mcatamney]

I suppose you could call me a Futaba fanatic and that's what I really am.  For since 1986 that's all I've ever used to fly my planes.  If its not broke don't fix it and I'm a firm believer in this.   I've never had a single problem once with either my transmitters or receivers in all those years.  I would never change now.  

[Bruce Collinson]

5 hours ago, John Lee said:

This thread is not intended to be a 'X Brand' is better than 'Y Brand' discussion, there have been plenty of Topics covering that.

 

Rather it is sharing the experiences of those who have changed brands in the 2.4GHz era. How did it go? Are you happy with your choice or with hindsight would you have done something different?

 

For me, I was a long time happy JR user, ending with their flagship DSX12 and about 20 receivers . However JR lost their way, I wanted to take advantage of the emerging telemetry facilities and the JR 'Robot' styling just did not appeal. After I was able to have a go of a Jeti system I started making the switch to that brand 6 years ago. It took a few years to change over all the fleet during which time I also upgraded the Transmitter. It is fair to say that there was a pretty steep learning curve. The system is extremely capable but that brings with it complexity and multiple ways of achieving the end goal, but with blind alleys along the way. Fortunately a couple of years in Harry Curzon started producing 'How to do it' Jeti YouTube tutorials and things became much easier.

 

I've no regrets about making the change, above all the system is absolutely bulletproof in its reliability (touch wood) and a joy to operate. However there is no denying the expense and possibly if I had left the change to a couple of years later I would have gone down the Open Tx route.

 

 

 

Started with Spekkie as most of the club used it.  Failed once, new Wass it called board fitted; slight loss of confidence as mine wasn’t the only one.  Bit the bullet with Yeti and agree that some functions can be a bit daunting but it looks, feels and behaves as if utterly bomb proof.   No regrets.

BTC.

[Zflyer]

Have Spektrum kit, wanted another radio after my DX8 required new mainboard, i think its actually the voltage regulator. Keeping the DX9 for i.c. and have purchased Radiomaster TX16s for my other planes. Edge TX is certainly a back to school exercise, RC Radio Review and Painless 360 youtube chanels are excellent teachers. Very pleased with it following a hiccup with receivers. 

Good value for money as I watch the more established brands price increases.

[J D 8]

           Futaba T8j is my main radio and still use my FF7 for some models still on 35. They just work, even my M series from the 70's on 27 band still works so I will stick with Futaba.

[PDB]

My first year flying has been with a DX6 gen 2, good ergonomics but the build quality isn’t great. Binding to Spektrum receivers at power on is unreliable so it’s time to move on. A shame as the firmware is very intuitive and covers all of the functions I need.

 

Had a play with a RadioMaster Boxer and TX16, for me the ergonomics and build quality didn’t feel great. The firmware is wasted on me as I don’t need all the flexibility it offers.

 

The nicest TX I’ve tried so far is a Futaba  16iz however it puts me into Jeti’s entry level.

 

A new club I’m joining is run by Harry Curzon so I’ll get hooked up with trying a DS-12 which on paper meets my requirements.

 

If the DS-12 doesn’t feel right it’ll be the Futaba for me.

 

Good build quality and ergonomics is what I would like, not bothered about the firmware as any of them can be got to grips with and will satisfy my simple needs.

[Dickw]

My first venture into RC was with Fleet gear in 1984, and I acquired a second Fleet Tx a couple of years later. I never had any problems with it, but decided I didn't really like hand held transmitters, so moved to a Multiplex 3030 in 1992.

I liked the Multiplex transmitter and its operating system (like an early version of Open Tx) so much that I eventually got myself a Multiplex 4000 as well (which was even more like open Tx would become).

Round about 2009 I converted the 4000 to 2.4 GHz with the installation of a module from ACT in Germany and used that along with the ACT receivers for several years. As that started to show signs of age I began looking for a replacement and obviously investigated Open Tx equipment, but couldn't find any hardware I liked (i.e. not handheld).

In 2012 a couple of people I know bought some of the first Jeti Tx (the DC16) imported into the UK, and I liked the look of it. A few months later Jeti started selling the handheld DS16 and one guy decide he would prefer that, so I bought his DC16 off of him in early 2013 and have been using that Tx exclusively since then.

I have no complaints about any of the radio gear I have used, but the changes have been made for other good reasons. I am now very pleased with the Jeti gear and cannot see me changing again as my current Tx has proved completely reliable and still seems like new after 11 years of use.

 

Dick

Edited August 11, 2023 by Dickw

[MattyB]

1 hour ago, PDB said:

My first year flying has been with a DX6 gen 2, good ergonomics but the build quality isn’t great. Binding to Spektrum receivers at power on is unreliable so it’s time to move on. A shame as the firmware is very intuitive and covers all of the functions I need.

 

Had a play with a RadioMaster Boxer and TX16, for me the ergonomics and build quality didn’t feel great. The firmware is wasted on me as I don’t need all the flexibility it offers.

 

The nicest TX I’ve tried so far is a Futaba  16iz however it puts me into Jeti’s entry level.

 

A new club I’m joining is run by Harry Curzon so I’ll get hooked up with trying a DS-12 which on paper meets my requirements.

 

If the DS-12 doesn’t feel right it’ll be the Futaba for me.

 

Good build quality and ergonomics is what I would like, not bothered about the firmware as any of them can be got to grips with and will satisfy my simple needs.

Ypu should also consider the Frsky X18 or X20, both of which are modern sets with good ergonomics and excellent build quality, and use (proprietary) ETHOS firmware which is more straightforward than OpenTX but almost as flexible. Frsky also have more affordable telemetry sensors and RXs than Jeti or Futaba, with plenty of functionality built in as std (certainly significantly more than the Futaba you are considering).

 

Frsky TXs at T9Hobbysport

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by MattyB

[Graham Bowers]

I went for Multiplex when I returned to modelling around 20 years ago, before 2.4 GHz. I liked the understated look of the Cockpit SX, and the synthesised RF module and receivers seemed like a much better idea than swappable crystals. Somewhere along the way I learned of the Multiplex Profi 4000 and it's totally flexible programming and picked up a used one, as it was, I think, out of production. Multiplex were slow to join the 2.4 GHz revolution, however I stuck with it and when they eventually released a conversion module, I switched out the RF module in the P4000 to 2.4 GHz and started buying 2.4 GHz receivers.

 

The prospect of telemetry proved enticing. By 2015 ish, as I recall, Multiplx transmitter offerings were nowhere near as capable as the P4000 so and was tempted to try a Taranis on OpenTx. Coming from the P4000, the transition to OTX was pretty straightforward - although I'm still learning some of the more esoteric functionality to this day.

 

I found my box of Multiplex 2.4 GHz receivers about a year ago and decided to give Multiplex another go, so bought a pristine used Cockpit SX 9, the "new" version of the Cockpit, and telemetry capable. It's a beautiful thing, to my eye, and very well made. I've tried so hard to love it - but the limitations on programming functionality are proving very hard to bear.

 

Around the same time, I got into indoor flying and wished to buy a Mobula6 bind-and-fly quadcopter. A Frsky version wasn't available, so I went for a Spekky version - thus a Radiomaster TX16S with a 4 in 1 RF module joined the stable. It came with EdgeTx however I changed it to OTX as I was battling with setting up a FrSky stabilised receiver, and learning two new things at once seemed a step too far. I then discovered the 4 in 1 module in the TX16S was capable of binding to my Multiplex receivers!!!!

 

However I have a niggling seed of doubt about the long term reliability of the Taranis and TX16S. One of the guys in my club lost a few models that was eventually traced to a broken wire on one of his gimbals on his Taranis - the copper had broken inside the insulation. And another lost at least one  model to a ribbon cable connection problem on his TX16S. I was present when his TX16S was doing strange and unpredictable things so saw it with my own eyes; he initially thought it may be a programming error due to an unexpected condition or something, but we were unable to fathom it. When he phoned the supplier, he was told it was possibly a ribbon cable connection issue, and was advised to re-seat it, which he did, and normal service was resumed. I chose those words carefully - can we really say it was fixed? My Taranis is pretty much retired to be honest, so it's the TX16S that's on my mind. Reading around, the ribbon cable thing seems to have been a massive problem on the Jumper transmitters, however they were largely, but not completely, designed out of the TX16S. And anecdotes of ribbon cable problems can still be found on RCGroups. The trouble is, all we have is anecdotes.

 

If I were king for a day, I'd like OpenTx to be available on a "quality" high end platform.

 

I find myself looking towards Jeti. I held one in my hand at Weston, and with the help of the vendor, programmed in a model, then added a bit of a non-standard mix. There is nothing not to like about Jeti as far as I can tell, from my reading and speaking to users face to face. Apart from the fact it'd be quite a chunk of cash.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Graham Bowers

[Frank Skilbeck]

Started with a Futaba 27mhz set, had some issues and it had to go away for repair a couple of times, so when upgrading to 35mhz I went with Fleet as they were close to where I lived at the time, first a Custom 3 then a PCM 7 set, both gave 10+ years of sterling service, then wanted model memories as my fleet expanded so went back to Futaba with FF6, then needing 7 channels got a Multiplex Cockpit Sx, programming was much superior to the FF6. Entered into 2.4 with a Dx6i in around 2009, still got the set and apart from the trim rockers and roller its been fine. Got a Multiplex Royal Pro 9 channel 2.4 when they first came in with several telemetry sensors, then a Profi back in 2014, both still in regular operation, Profi has more than 1000 hours on the clock. Still have a couple of models on 35 mhz with the Cockpit Sx and a 2nd hand 3030 I'd acquired.

 

Too many multiplex receivers to consider a switch at the moment, but Jeti and FrSky would be on my shortlist.

[GaryW]

When i first came into the hobby some 36 something years ago my first radio was a 3 channel M series which the throttle was a rotary control on the to of the transmitter that was given to me to get me started.... Through the years I've gone through, A about a dozen Futaba Golds,, FF6, FF7, FF8, FF9, 9ZAP .. JR MAX, Apex Computer & a PCM 10S,,,, Then the original Spektrum 7,,, A DX61 all for the matter of about 20 minutes as I thought it was about as good as a backward farting donkey on heat & finally onto the DX7S & DX8,, which coming back to the hobby after a 6 year break due to health reasons,, I've come back to flying with a DX7S with a mixture of AR500, AR6100e, AR6200 & AR6210 receivers

 

So after being a futaba flier for many years it was when I was working at Biggin Hill Models when the original DX7 came out and I remember watching the Spektrum videos on youtube that converted me to Spektrum
 

 

Edited August 12, 2023 by GaryWebb

[leccyflyer]

That's the key point for me Frank. If you've made an investment in a large number of receivers of a particular brand and protocol then switching can be painful. It's a key difference in 2.4ghz and 35mhz, where mix and match was simpler. I still have a box of 35mhz receivers that I have tried to give away lots of times -including some nice JR synthesised receivers. Despite giving away loads these are still hanging around. The Multi=Protocol systems might provide a solution to that, but I think some folks are put off by the Buy Cheap-Buy Twice adage.

[GaryW]

This was the main one for me that converted me to Spektrum which at the time Futaba radios couldn't do

 

 

[leccyflyer]

Model Match was a game changer for me too and a key benefit of Spektrum over the mishmash of model numbers and short model names, at best, of earlier systems.