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Author Topic: Radio control choices  (Read 1466 times)

DavidNZ

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Radio control choices
« on: January 20, 2025, 06:10:43 am »

I am very new to boating and the hobby in general.  was given a 1/40 scale boat, the Sentinal with zero running gear. I am looking to buy the gear as inexpensively as possible. I have bought 2 x 550 motors from that dreaded Aliexpress, but I have not gotten the rest yet, my main question is what radio gear to buy, even though the running gear in the boat may be bought at a bargain price, I'd like decent radio gear.
I saw this and wondered if it would suit me, although it looks more suitable for a helicopter :|a
Flysky i6X FS-i6X 2.4GHz 10CH AFHDS 2A RC Transmitter With IA6B Receiver
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Dave_S.

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2025, 09:52:00 am »

I have had a Fly Sky i6 for quite a few years, and despite its budget price, is a good, reliable radio. An added bonus is that extra receivers are also cheap.
All of my boats since 2018 have been controlled by my original Fly Sky transmitter and I have never had a problem with it, and I take my boats out once or often twice a week.
Most of my club mates in the Oxford model boat club also use these as they have the rare combination of being both cheap and reliable.
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dodgy geezer

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2025, 12:02:21 pm »

While we all like a high-quality sophisticated radio, and of course the make we have chosen is always the best, I think that there is a lot to be said for the very cheap budget sets.


A major difference between expensive and cheap sets used to be range and interference rejection - very important for aircraft, but far less important for boats wifh their limited operational space. Sophisticated features, again, are of use to helicopters and aeroplanes - less so for boats. Build quality and support are important for all modellers - the early cheap sets were poor in this regard, but seem to have improved. In many cases the price can be so low that simple replacement is often the best option.


I went over to 2.4Ghz when the Radiolink sets started to be sold for £25 - so far I have had no electrical failures, though I have needed to replace an aerial after I dropped the transmitter down a flight of concrete stairs. That was £5 off ebay....
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mbm999

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2025, 12:15:01 pm »

I use this set and have found it reliable - I use it for all my models. I haven't updated it to 10 as I only ever use 2.

Couple of things to be wary of:-
1. They sell sets with different modes (I think Mode 2 is throttle on left stick)
2. The throttle stick is not self centreing (at least on mine it wasn't) but you can buy a little kit to make it so. You may or not want to do that, but it's only cheap and may be better to buy now rather than later

Cheers,
Mark
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dougal99

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #4 on: January 20, 2025, 12:38:31 pm »

You need to think about what you are going to do with your models. Do you need a lot of channels or can you manage with 2? I initially bought a 6 channel Futaba set (40mhz) when I started (over 20 years ago) but have never used more than 4. Switching to 2.4 I have a Radiolink and Microzone (I bought the latter as I couldn't get RXs for the Radiolink) both 6 channel basic sets which serve me well.
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chas

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #5 on: January 20, 2025, 01:32:11 pm »

Ive been delighted with the flysky. For me the self centreing throttle was essential so that the model stops when i let go of the sticks. One further great feature is that its dual protocol, this means i can use it with the old receivers i have from previous hobbyking / flysky radios. You can still buy the 3  channel receivers very cheaply.
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captain_reg

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #6 on: January 20, 2025, 05:09:00 pm »

Just to echo what others have said, I enjoying using the i6x. For the the self centering spring was a must. I was hoping to be able to switch between models but the first model has to be switched off before you can selected the second. So for example if you are wanting to use a 2nd boat to recover one, then unless it is stuck due to a complete electrical failure you will be unable. The setting of the mixes is very flexible but takes quite some getting used to.
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DavidNZ

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #7 on: January 20, 2025, 11:36:28 pm »

Thank you everyone, great info :D
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DavidNZ

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Re: Radio control choices
« Reply #8 on: January 21, 2025, 09:53:04 pm »

No bad for a freebie... Lots of tidy up work to do and all the running gear to be fitted. A few pieces need to be built from scratch!
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