New radio questions

Try the Dx5- comes with a receiver £99 ish.... You must stick with the same brand TX and trainer.

Right now Airtronics has a special running on their RDS 8000 (8 Channel) with two receivers for $229.00 US. Several dealers are advertising it. here is a links to two of them-

and to and you will get a pop up where you can look for more dealers and download the manual if you want.The downside is that they only offer an 8 channel receiver at present and it measures 1.85L X 1.08W X 0.5987 thick. Two antennas that are 7.75 inches long. Also, no servos or receiver battery are included. (Not a problem for me)

I am mostly into sailplanes now and was considering buying it until I found out that it will not easily do full trailing edge + or - camber change. I decided to wait and see if Airtronics addresses the full camber issue with the release of their 10 series announced for release next summer.

I do know that HiTec and Futaba use the same trainer cable having owned a 7UAFS Futaba and a HiTec/RCD Eclypse 7 plus a buddy box that would work with both of them. But, with the basic buddy box you can not use all features. I.E., Dual Rate and Exponential. Okay for a basic 4 channel trainer though.

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I have owned (and do own) just about every brand of R/C system sold. I have to say that my one experience with Airtronics was superb. That was quite some time ago, but it left a lasting impression.

Now that Airtronics has changed their servo connectors to a universal connector and now that they are being sold by a major online R/C shop (Hobby People), the last of my reasons not to buy Airtronics again have disappeared. I hope to enjoy their feeling of quality, performance and reliability again.

Ed Cregger

I am happy with my new DX6i...I also own a DX6.

Since the DX6 has now been all but discontinued...if you buy Spektrum...look at the DX6i...I bought mine from a local hobby shop (Houston,TX-USA) for $179.00 including one receiver.

I believe that all present 2.4GHZ systems require you to use the same brand of receiver.

I use both my old AR6000' s ....and the new receiver that came with the DX6i ....interchangeably.... though the older models take longer to "link up ". regards, Rich

Get the Airtronics! I have both the Futaba 7ch FAAST and the RDS8000. I like the Airtronics better. Right now there is a special on. Transmitter and TWO receivers for only $229! Hell of a deal!!

BTW, I have been flying Airtronics since the late 60's. I have NEVER had a glitch on an airtronics radio. They are by far my favorite. I also have Futaba and JR. Futaba is my second choice and JR my last.

Good luck!

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All radios glitch. Especially radios on the lower bands. So, either you weren't paying attention or you don't recognize glitches when they do occur. Or, more likely than not, you have a different definition for the word glitch.

If you mean that you haven't had an electronic or mechanical failure, well, I can believe that. My single Airtronics radio was trouble free too. I particularly liked the ergonomics of the Tx case, but that was a long time ago (1985 or so).

As I said previously, I would have bought more Airtronics radios, but back then they weren't that commonly stocked and they had that bassackward wiring scheme for their servos. At least they got the servo connector plug wiring straightened out. And, now that we have internet hobbyshops, they are commonly available.

I haven't looked into their operating system for 2.4 GHz, so I'll have to give that a look-see before I brag them up any more than I have. I don't want folks cursing me for saying it is great when it may be otherwise.

So far, the Spektrum and Futaba 2.4 GHz setups have been working just fine.

Ed Cregger

Thanks for the great input! I think I'll probably go with the Airtronics based on people's experience and the bargain they are currently offering.

Randy

Ed, I'm not talking about itty bitty nanosecond burps that are imperceptible to my poor one-eyed vision which must be your definition of a glitch. I have never had one so much as momentarily lose contact or 'jump', etc. NOR have I ever had an electronic or mechanical failure from an airtronics.

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Don't mind me, Jim. I'm just a cranky old man whose arthritis is making him crankier.

What I was thinking of when I made the statements was flying through nulls. All radio systems experience this phenomenon. With conventional (non PCM) systems you notice the nulls occasionally as ticks or glitches in system stability. Sometimes, depending upon multipath, etc., you may not notice the nulls, but they are still there.

PCM systems do not jump or cause movement when moving through nulls. They simply refuse to respond, which many folks do not notice.

The higher the RF frequency, the less noticable the nulls (phase cancellations) become.

I knew what you meant. Don't know why I responded as I did. Argumentative, I suppose.

Ed Cregger

Agreed - DX6i is an awesome radio. The 10 model memory is handy, allows you to program trims and settings for up to 10 planes (or 9 and a sim) without resetting trims. I like using 1 radio for everything, since I get used to it and it's feel. Speaking of feel, the DX6i is also a really, really nice feeling radio. It's a world apart from the cheap FM Tx's that come wtih most RTF jobs. I could gush about the DX6i for a few paragraphs, but since your mind seems made up I won't waste the time, other than to say it's a great Tx.

Agreed - DX6i is an awesome radio. The 10 model memory is handy, allows you to program trims and settings for up to 10 planes (or 9 and a sim) without resetting trims. I like using 1 radio for everything, since I get used to it and it's feel. Speaking of feel, the DX6i is also a really, really nice feeling radio. It's a world apart from the cheap FM Tx's that come wtih most RTF jobs. I could gush about the DX6i for a few paragraphs, but since your mind seems made up I won't waste the time, other than to say it's a great Tx.

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Does the DX6i have the same range limitation as the original DX6?

I have a NIB DX6 lying about. I should sell it since I'm afraid of forgetting its limited range and making a mistake that could cost me a big model.

Ed Cregger

No, the DX6i is a full radio, I believe the DX6 was parkflyer only? It's my understanding that the DX6i si leaps and bounds better than the DX6. Range, programming ease, ergonomics, etc. It's said to be a lot more like the DX7 than the DX6. I've yet to hear anything bad about it. It comes with the AR6200 full range reciever, but works with any DSM Rx, including park flyer Rx's like the AR6000 that came with the DX6. Obviously, if using such a Rx, the range will be limited there, but using the included AR6200 range is excellent.

Thanks. I suspected as much.

Fortunately, I have a bunch of Park Flyers to assemble and fly. I guess I will get some use out of it after all.

I do have a DX7 for larger models, plus a couple of FASST receivers and a FASST Tx, not to mention the old 50 & 72 MHz gear. I can't bring myself to sell off the old gear. Something tells me to hold on to it.

Ed Cregger

No, the DX6i is a full radio, I believe the DX6 was parkflyer only? It's my understanding that the DX6i si leaps and bounds better than the DX6. Range, programming ease, ergonomics, etc. It's said to be a lot more like the DX7 than the DX6. I've yet to hear anything bad about it. It comes with the AR6200 full range reciever, but works with any DSM Rx, including park flyer Rx's like the AR6000 that came with the DX6. Obviously, if using such a Rx, the range will be limited there, but using the included AR6200 range is excellent.

I also have the DX6 ( in addition to my DX6i).

I believe that the announced range limitation was based on the receiver supplied (AR6000)... not the radio itself. I read somewhere that the receiver was prone to issues when "surrounded by metal gear in the plane" ......which they didn't think would ever happen on a park-flyer.

Personally, the planes appear smaller as they get further away.... these old eyes can't see as far as the range that the radio (DX6-AR6000) can control. regards, Rich

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You bring up an interesting point, Rich. My eyes aren't getting any younger either.

With the introduction of the full range model, I don't imagine that the resale value of the DX6 makes it worth bothering to sell. I still have two Wingo kits and several other park flyers that need a radio, so I'll hold on to it.

Ed Cregger

Hmm...

What is the range of that postage stamp sized RX from Specktrum?

I did a test flight this weekend of a new electric that was terrible. Hand launched just fine and was tracking well for about 100 feet then rolled over and dived straight in, so I have "issues" with something but I don't know what. Hope it is not the turnigey BEC, had a BEC crap out once before at a jet meet and made lots of unhappy friends.

****************************************** Well, I've never pushed beyond the outer limits of our club field (Houston Sport Flyers). I checked Google Earth and it tells me that I am at - .20 - ( 1/5th) of a mile ...or 300 meters.. A bit more than three (US) football fields is a goodly distance for these old eyes.....

For my smallish planes, that is as far out as I want to get....

regards,. Rich

Why didn't you range test it before flight ?

Bill

I thought I had.