Advice on new radio - getting back into the hobby.

[Tim Day 2]

Hi there

I was actively involved in the hobby back in the 80/90s, and I’m now looking to buy a radio set. Back then when I worked in a model shop it seemed much easier…we sold lots of Futaba Challangers, with the odd JR Max thrown in. I am slightly confused by the choice available now, and my instinct was to buy a Futaba set but on the face of it they don’t appear to be as popular as they once were. Brand loyalty is a difficult thing to shake off as it was always my go to choice. 

 

My plan is to build a Maricardo (mid wing with a OS 48 FS), so really I just need a fairly basic (but decent) system. In the interim I purchased a vintage Kyosho electric kit from the the late 90s (foam high wing trainer, which requires 2 channel gear with mini servos) as this has sentimental value as it was the first plane I successfully built and flew myself when I was 15. So at the moment I am looking for a TX and RX with a couple of mini servos and I will buy more as required when I build the Maricardo.

 

Any suggestions for a good place to start would be gratefully received. Are they mostly compatible with one another (RX and servos)? Back in the day the plugs used to be different and I remember swapping the pins/wires etc!

 

Thanks.

[GrumpyGnome]

Welcome back!

 

Servos and receivers are  pretty universal these days. Sometimes the servo plug has a little 'tab' on one side that can be carefully cut/sanded off to make it easier to plug in.

 

Futaba still around, still making good solid radios.

 

There's a huge choice nowadays, at wildly different price ranges, in different shapes and sizes.  Do you know what's popular at your local club?  Best advice is to find what others are using, and try and get your paws on some...

Edited July 20 by GrumpyGnome

[Jon H]

If you still have a futaba challenger and you stick a new battery in it there is no reason not to use it. 35mhz is still legal, still viable, and with so few using it you are very unlikely to be shot down! I still fly half of my fleet on 35mhz and will do for some time as i picked up a virtually new FF9 for less than a tenner a year or so ago. 

 

If you are shopping for new gear then futaba still offer some very good options. I have used futaba and spektrum 2.4ghz systems, and while the futaba has been faultless i have had problems with the spektrum. 

 

Personally i would grab a futaba t6k or 10k and crack on. I use the older 8j  as well as my ancient FF9 and find it very easy to use. the 6 and 10k use the same programming interface with a little joystick to navigate. 

 

There are other good radios around, but if buying a futaba set gives you that feeling of confidence in a known quantity then that makes it well worth while sticking to what you know. 

[Gavin Mack]

Slough model shop still have futaba mega sale on, a lot at 1/2 price

www.sloughrc.com

[Tim Day 2]

Many thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

I’ve had a look at the Slough sale and would something like this be a good shout - 

 

https://sloughrc.com/futaba-6k-version-3-6ch-combo-2-4ghz-t-fhss-m2-r3008sb.html

[kc]

One aspect to consider is the cost of extra Rx.  Nowadays many people have a dozen models all with Rx - often tiny foam models.    Futaba may be much more expensive if you need many Rx.   Futaba compatible Rx are not as common as Spektrum compatible Rx.    Otherwise that Futaba set looks a great buy, especially if you get a few Rx to match.

 

The Maricardo plan is available on Outerzone, but there is a newer version which was published in RCME as free plan April 2004 with updates to simplify and use modern aileron servos in wing etc.   I think just the info from the article is all you need with the old plan.  The April 2004 RME is on sale for £4.25 at Magazine Exchange

Edited July 20 by kc

[Jon H]

2 hours ago, Tim Day 2 said:

Many thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

I’ve had a look at the Slough sale and would something like this be a good shout - 

 

https://sloughrc.com/futaba-6k-version-3-6ch-combo-2-4ghz-t-fhss-m2-r3008sb.html

 

cant got wrong for that money. I might even get one for my dad to replace his old FF6

 

44 minutes ago, kc said:

One aspect to consider is the cost of extra Rx

 

8ch futaba rxs compatible with that system are about 40 quid, and 6ch about 36 quid. These are much more reasonable than in the old days where it was 70-80

Edited July 20 by Jon H

[Gavin Mack]

If you are not bothered about telemetry then the R2008SB are good value for the money  £25 instead of £54

Edited July 20 by Gavin Mack
Added price

[kc]

Futaba seem very reliable - the problem being compatibilty of Rx with their Tx.    The old FAAST Rx once available with their cheap 6EX Tx are now only compatible with their very expensive (£1000 )Tx nowadays, so if my 6EX Tx goes wrong then it's either a £1000 for a new Tx or scrap the Rx.   Same with the more modern Rx and TX  - the cheaper Tx are not compatible with many Rx.  See a chart online which shows which Tx is compatible with which Rx.  Not many cheap Tx are compatible with many Rx and none are compatible with the old FAAST system.

 

So that Futaba is fine if you buy all the Rx that you may need ( it seems everybody has at least 6 Rx nowadays- some need a dozen or more )  and look after the Tx.   If the Tx gets damaged or fails then you may need to buy a much more expensive Tx to use your collection of Rx.

Edited July 20 by kc

[Tim Day 2]

23 hours ago, kc said:

One aspect to consider is the cost of extra Rx.  Nowadays many people have a dozen models all with Rx - often tiny foam models.    Futaba may be much more expensive if you need many Rx.   Futaba compatible Rx are not as common as Spektrum compatible Rx.    Otherwise that Futaba set looks a great buy, especially if you get a few Rx to match.

 

The Maricardo plan is available on Outerzone, but there is a newer version which was published in RCME as free plan April 2004 with updates to simplify and use modern aileron servos in wing etc.   I think just the info from the article is all you need with the old plan.  The April 2004 RME is on sale for £4.25 at Magazine Exchange

Many thanks again for all the comments. I ended up buying the T6K Futaba as it seems a reasonable deal and I do like Futaba. 

 

In terms of the Maricardo, I have the original plan and the article (thanks). It’s a bit sentimental as I worked in the model shop owned by the designer (Carlo). When the model shop moved to new premises he said I could go in and pick up any of the old models left behind in storage….a few weeks later I told him I had found an old orange Maricardo and had stripped it to recover as it really needed it. It turns out it was the prototype featured in the aforementioned magazine article and he had forgotten it was left in the old shop. I wasn’t very popular for a while!

[kc]

Tim,

Good luck with building the new Maricardo and lets have some info on the forum when it's finished.   If you have the original article you may still find the 2004 article of use as it's a modernised/ simplified version.   You may hate the changes of course!

 

There was some info somewhere that the name Maricardo was derived from the designers name and his childrens names- can you verify that?

[Tim Day 2]

Thanks KC.

 

The Maricardo was named after Carlo’s two children, Marcello and Riccardo. Sadly, Marcello died in a plane crash whilst hour building for his commercial licence.