Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length.

[glowworm]

hi everybody,
                 i'm thinking of buying a 2.4GHz radio for my griffon hovercraft. i know very little about them apart from - futaba with six channel, six model memory for £149.99 with servos. or the spektrum six channel, six model memory for £99.99 without servos. i have seen a club member with a 5 channel spektrum which may be suitable for me , (as i only need a minimum of 3) but which my local shop will not sell as he thinks they are a waste of time. can anyone help as in, where to buy, what's most suitable, cheapest or easiest to set up and use. any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Proteus]

this is a good deal , a site sponsor and good shop to deal with.  £129



http://www.servoshop.co.uk/index.php?pid=FUTSETCB6EXP24GL&area=Radio

Proteus

[FullLeatherJacket]

The main reasons a trader would not sell a product are a low profit margin, a poor reputation for quality - unlikely for a brand new set - or simply because he can't obtain one! Ever heard of "sour grapes"?   

If your mate is happy with his then that rather blows Mr Modelshop out of the water, doesn't it?
 
I've just bought a Spektrum DX5E for £66 incl P&P from RC Pitstop in Birkdale, Stockport. Haven't tried it out in battle yet but it seems very good value, even just for the Tx and Rx (no servos, rechargeable cells or charger are included). If you don't want or need a computerised set then I reckon this would be the 2.4Gigglebyte one to go for.

Suit yourself.

FLJ

[brockya]

Hi all.
Well in my, rather old now, fire boat I have had,  27 then 40 and now a Futaba 6Ex 2.4 and I can only say its the best the boat has ever been, No glitching, or interference and range is up to almost out of site and maybe more, but then it would be out of sight!!!
Phoenix Model Products are advertising the full 6 Ex set for £125.95, plus postage. and their delivery is very fast.
Richard.

[The long Build]

hi everybody,
                 i'm thinking of buying a 2.4GHz radio for my griffon hovercraft. i know very little about them apart from - futaba with six channel, six model memory for £149.99 with servos. or the spektrum six channel, six model memory for £99.99 without servos. i have seen a club member with a 5 channel spektrum which may be suitable for me , (as i only need a minimum of 3) but which my local shop will not sell as he thinks they are a waste of time. can anyone help as in, where to buy, what's most suitable, cheapest or easiest to set up and use. any help would be greatly appreciated.

Personally  I think any trader turning down a sale regardless of the low margin  is possibly being a bit short sited as this sale could easily lead to follow up sales of more profitable items, they could have at least offered to order one in even if it may have taken a bit longer , No excuse really and I think that this is where a lot of shops are failing on service. I once got roasted for selling a tv to an American who only had Us Dollars (we could not take his Amex card) on him and wanted to get his relatives a gift, a quick call to the bank checking the exchange rate and charges, Job done I got my Commis , the shop sold a tv everybody was happy except the area manager..!!. Many a time I have gone to my Local Model shop , in this case Steve Webbs, the main store to Servoshop , they have not had an item but have put it on the next order.

So Yes take your business elsewhere.

[Seaspray]

Although the model shop thought they were a waste of time. (did the shop say why they're a waste of time ?)

Any order is a guaranteed sale, call me old fashioned   

Martin

[grasshopper]

Whichever 2.4Ghz radio you buy will be a good investment - I have found them (I use a spektrum ) to be fantastic compared to 27 or 40 MHz. I have yet to find anyone that has had glitching, interference or loss of control whilst using one (and we're often racing 10 cars in a heat)

You turn on when you want and know you won't clash with anyone else - no waiting for pegs - and no interfernece from those RTR kit radio's with scatter bands.

Agree with all the others that say your local retailer is a bit daft - nothing is a waste of time if the customer is willing to pay for it. BUT, if your budget runs to it, get the one with the most  channels - you might not need them all now, but in the future....

[brianc]

Something i would bring to your attention,by  installing in a hovercraft which will generate a lot of spray  you may be liable to a loss of signal ..some thing worth thinking about
remember the 2.4 signal won`t pass through water (not suitable for submarines etc)
The DX5E is a brilliant buy though.... well worth it

[glowworm]

hi everybody,
                  thanks for all your help. i have read all your comments and decided on the dx5e for £67 from rc pitstop from stockport, should be with me by tuesday. this should be suitable for my present needs and i'll maybe try the larger set next time. thanks again for everyones help.
                                                         cheers, chris.  (glowworm).

[brianc]

Good choice ,You won`t be disappointed mate

[Bunkerbarge]

Just an angle that seems to have been overlooked here, perhaps the model shop was actually giving you sound advice?

His thoughts may be quite simply why go for a five channel set when for a few more pounds you can get a six channel set, which is far more future proof and therefore potentially better value for money in the longer term.  Also, if I remember rightly the Spektrum 6 and 7 channel units use a different technology than the 5 channel units as well as incorporating the model match systems etc.

He may have been simply saying that the 5 channel units are not worth it.  Only a thought.

[andyn]

Spray is not a problem. For the last time. Errghh.....


Any of you at Llanberis would have no doubt seen Bill's Makara doing 40+mph, a huge great glassfibre thing, with lots of spray, with a 26cc petrol engine vibrating a lot, with its aerials inside the boat under a piece of mesh with a 1mm aluminium wing over it.

Did if failsafe once???

No it didn't....

On the plus side, well done on your new purchase, Spektrum radio is great, and to be honest I'm well and truly fed up of people putting spread spectrum radios down, because unless you are a nonce, they work flawlessly.

[omra85]

BB
The "5" uses the same DSM2 technology as the "6i" and the "7" so should be fine.
On a separate point - I need to have the rudder on one stick, the throttle on the other, but also a mixture control on either a proportional knob or slider. (I can't use the other two channels on the sticks as there is a strong likelyhood of "mixing" the two commands) Does anyone know if either the Spektrum or the Futaba has this extra channel (or could be modified easily)?
Danny

[Bunkerbarge]

Thanks for the clarification Danny.

I have a Spektrum DX6i and it only has switches for the last two channels, all the proportional channels are on the sticks.

[omra85]

Well BB, that's one less to spend my money on!  I wonder if the "7" has it (cost shoots up though).
Danny

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Well BB, that's one less to spend my money on!  I wonder if the "7" has it (cost shoots up though).
Danny

On the DX7, the Flaps and Aux2 channel can be programed to two position (on/off), Three position (on/off/on) or
proportional... However from what I can tell from the manual, it is  a "clicky" switch, like the trims. And
the proportional has to be run a click up or down at a time, or held for "multible clicks".

http://www.spektrumrc.com/ProdInfo/Files/SPM2710_DX7_Manual.pdf

See page 38  :-\

[Seaspray]

Hi
Read part of the Spekturn manual which was good reading and very clearly laid out.

Only part that put me off was the charging socket had the +ve voltage on the outside. Easy to brush up against something so care needs to be taken here.

I'll have to have another read at last months Model Boats magazine,there was article about a Spectrum review,me thinks. But it certainly seems to be the way to go now.

Is there some reason sets are sold without the servos ?  Or have I missed something, again

[andyn]

BB
The "5" uses the same DSM2 technology as the "6i" and the "7" so should be fine.
On a separate point - I need to have the rudder on one stick, the throttle on the other, but also a mixture control on either a proportional knob or slider. (I can't use the other two channels on the sticks as there is a strong likelyhood of "mixing" the two commands) Does anyone know if either the Spektrum or the Futaba has this extra channel (or could be modified easily)?
Danny

Get a Futaba, and replace the heli throttle hold switch with a Futaba rotary dial.

I have a DX6i, and to charge it you just use a JR charger

You can buy them with the servos, but the companys listened to feedback and now most of them come without.

[omra85]

On the DX7 .... the proportional has to be run a click up or down at a time, or held for "multible clicks".

http://www.spektrumrc.com/ProdInfo/Files/SPM2710_DX7_Manual.pdf

See page 38  :-\

As the price of the Spektrum 7 is nearly as much as the Futaba 7, which has a proportional knob for ch 6 so is a lot simpler to use in the heat of battle racing, and 4 hi-torque servos for £20 more, I think I'll be opting for the Futaba (even though additional receivers are £70 each).
Thanks
Danny

[FullLeatherJacket]

On the DX7 .... the proportional has to be run a click up or down at a time, or held for "multible clicks".

http://www.spektrumrc.com/ProdInfo/Files/SPM2710_DX7_Manual.pdf

See page 38  :-\

As the price of the Spektrum 7 is nearly as much as the Futaba 7, which has a proportional knob for ch 6 so is a lot simpler to use in the heat of battle racing, and 4 hi-torque servos for £20 more, I think I'll be opting for the Futaba (even though additional receivers are £70 each).
Thanks
Danny

Danny
Check out the spec again before you order. I'm only aware of a 6 channel Futaba 2.4 Gigglebyte set and that has non-proportional (ON/OFF) switches for both Channels 5 and 6. The 40MHZ 6EXA has one rotary knob and one 2-way switch for Channels 5 and 6, however.
I stand to be corrected  ?
FLJ

[omra85]

Hi FLJ
The Futaba 7 is listed at Pheonix for £234.95 (  )
http://www.phoenixmp.com/acatalog/Futaba_Radio_Sets.html

7C System Specifics:
Available with 4 S3152 digital high-torque servos
Dial 'n Key™ programming·
Airplane/heli software·
Assignable switches/functions·
Up/down stopwatch·
Mode 1-4 selectable (modes 3 and 4 available via transmitter software)·
Large 72 x 32 LCD screen with adjustable contrast·
10-model memory·
6-character model naming·
Digital trims, trim memory, EPA, subtrims and servo reversing (all channels)·
Dual/Triple rates* (aileron/elevator/rudder)· Exponential (aileron/elevator/rudder)·
Adjustable throttle cut·
Fail-safe· NT8S600B
600mAh Tx NiCd w/dual-output charger·
Trainer system (cord required)·
Flap switch·
Retract switch·
Variable rate knob (channel 6)

Can't say that I'm overly impressed with the Tx battery capacity or the fact that they're NICADS  :-\

So, unless they're fibbing, you're corrected 

Danny

[Bunkerbarge]

Omra, the trouble is then that you are paying a lot of extra money for the additional proportional channel over the DX6. 

Does anyone know of any way way in which an on-off channel could be converted?

[omra85]

Hi BB
I've just re-checked and the 4 digital servos which are included usually sell for £20.50 EACH!
Starting to look a bit more interesting ...
Like you, I'd still like to know whether a simple toggle switch can be swapped on either of the cheaper models of Futaba or Spektrum. Multiplex used to have a slider for the "Europe" model which just had 2 small screws and plugged into the board - dead easy.
Danny
 

[FullLeatherJacket]

Like you, I'd still like to know whether a simple toggle switch can be swapped on either of the cheaper models of Futaba or Spektrum. Multiplex used to have a slider for the "Europe" model which just had 2 small screws and plugged into the board - dead easy.
Danny

Been there and asked the questions of the Service Blokes, guys.
Spektrum DX5E = No
Futaba 6EX 2.4GB = No

BUT........

The Arch Dude hisself, PMK, has been sneaking around the inside of his Futaba 2.4GB trannie and found a hidden connector. He reckons it's possible to hack into the software and re-assign the parameters for each output i.e. convert a 2-way switched channel into a propo one. He's currently digging himself into his new pit and may not be regularly active back on line for a while, but if you want the full SP on his investigations then I suggest you take up the matter with The Man (such fiddling around with Mr Futaba's pride and joy will muck up your warranty, but PMK likes cider.............).

Danny
I stand corrected. Must be a pretty new set, matey. I shall delve further 

FLJ

[Bunkerbarge]

Now you can buy seperate slider switches for the F14 and F16's, interesting!