Buddy boxes

[David Holland 2]

Evening guys,

 

Does anyone know if it is possible (and if so, how?) to buddy a master Tx using Mode 1 to a slave using Mode 2. I would like to give my 8 year old grandson a try but think that he would be better starting out on Mode 2 than copying dinosaur grandad on Mode 1.

 

TIA

[Phil Green]

You can, but if you're going to be spending time flying with him then would teach him your way, mode 1, in your case, otherwise its going to be inconvenient when he's ready for you to start sharing models and gear.  You'll find Playstation kids expect steering on the left so there will be some re-learning in any case.

Theres nothing fundamentally wrong with mode 1, no reason to avoid it, though mode 2 does have some advantages (like keeping one hand warm whilst flying!)

 

 

Edited October 30 by Phil Green

[kc]

I think Phil is right - teach him your Mode and you can grab the Tx if needed and years later he can grab the Tx when YOU get old!

 

But it really depends on clubs local to him - if they are all Mode 2 then maybe think about Mode 2.   I say this as a Mode 1 flier in a Mode 2 club - it's inconvenient having nobody on my mode on most club sessions so nobdy can grab the tx in emergency or give me a guest flight of their model or vice versa.

 

With a buddy Tx each  Tx can be different modes  but it probably needs a competant Mode 2 pilot to set it up with you first of all.

[SIMON CRAGG]

Yes, it can be done fairly easily.

 

We have two club models for training, one on Mode 1 and the other on Mode 2.

 

Seems to work fine.

[Brian Cooper]

It really isn't a problem to have the Master and Slave transmitters on different modes. 

The channels remain the same.... it is only the stick locations for those channels which changes. 

The radio doesn't know the difference.  

 

Just remember to tell the appropriate transmitter which mode it is supposed to be on. (Stick Mode programme).

[David Holland 2]

Thanks for the responses, chaps. I’m perhaps overthinking this cos I guess the little guy would not get fixed in his ways after one brief session of model flying. I am way too old to try changing to Mode2 and I actually think that separating the primary controls onto two separate sticks makes accurate control easier. I have tried flying a four channel model using rudder and elevator (left stick on Mode1) and found it hard not to introduce unwanted inputs on rudder when applying elevator, and vice versa. I have flown full size for 50 odd years and find it entirely natural to have roll and pitch on one stick or yoke and feet for rudder but, for me, it does not translate to flying RC. My concern is that it is increasingly difficult to find ready to fly stuff, and I guess that would be his first purchases if he were to enjoy it, on Mode1.

[David Davis]

I do it all the time in reverse.

 

I am the only Mode 2 pilot in my club here in the middle of France and all of my pupils are Mode 1, however, by the time they come to me they've already had some stick time flying with the CFI on Mode 1.

[kc]

8 hours ago, Brian Cooper said:

It really isn't a problem to have the Master and Slave transmitters on different modes. 

The channels remain the same.... it is only the stick locations for those channels which changes. 

But the trims need to be correctly set on the pupils Tx before he has control.  Hence I think a competent Mode 2 pilot needs to set the trims on the pupil Tx in the air first.  

[Andy Stephenson]

All you need to do to set the trims is to flick the switch back and forth between trainer and instructor and alter the trims on the trainee's Tx so there is no movement between the two. This is of course once the trims have been set in flight by the instructor on his Tx.

[Nick Cripps]

If you use the "Pilot Link Instructor" setting on Spektrum transmitters then only the stick commands are passed through and trims, mixes, rates, throttle cut, etc remain under the control of the master transmitter. The slave transmitter should be set up with a clean, new model memory with no programming applied.

 

Once your trainee has learnt the basics then you can change over to the "Standard Instructor" mode. This requires the slave transmitter to have the same programming as the master (but can still be a different mode) so that the pupil can then learn how to use the trims and have control of rates, etc.

[kc]

Thanks for clarifying that point Andy & Nick  - it seems my comment was not quite right.   But it's brought out the valuable info that was missing before!   

 

[David Holland 2]

Will any pair of Spektrum Tx’s work together or do they need to be the same “generation”?

[David Davis 2]

7 minutes ago, David Holland 2 said:

Will any pair of Spektrum Tx’s work together or do they need to be the same “generation”?

 

With my DX9 as the master transmitter I have connected to DX5e, DX6i, DX8 and NX8 transmitters.

[Nick Cripps]

1 hour ago, David Holland 2 said:

Will any pair of Spektrum Tx’s work together or do they need to be the same “generation”?

 

From memory, all the NX and Gen 2 DX series can act as master transmitters with the exception of the DXS, which requires an additional receiver installed to operate as the master in wireless mode.

 

Any of the Spektrum transmitters including the DXS and Gen 1  DX (eg DX6i) can be used as the slave.

[David Holland 2]

Thanks chaps, that’s me sorted.

[SIMON CRAGG]

And you can mix 35 and 2.4 no problem.

[David Holland 2]

I have 2 Speccy Tx’s and have connected them and everything works fine. I’m thinking my Super 60 would be a suitable model to give my little mate a go on. I’ll check all the trims and stuff and see how we go.