RE: Assan X8 2.4 Ghz problems
I must admit that I was concerned when I saw the Assan X8's original receiver -- no antenna diversity, just a simple dipole.
I recently tested another Chinese 2.4GHz system -- the iMAX 9X 2.4 and found it to work without any significant problems (albeit it's not something I'd use on a large or expensive model for reasons I'll outline in my review). For the price it represents pretty fair value for sport-flying and especially helicopter use. ([link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqpYLgyxM40]YouTube video[/link])
One thing I did like about the iMAX 2.4GHz system is that it comes with a satellite receiver as standard and my testing indicated that the correct positioning and orientation of this satellite was critical to the performance of the gear.
The test system has now been flown extensively for over three weeks (it's mid-summer here so there's lots of flying going on) and hasn't missed a beat, even when competing with other 2.4GHz systems for spectrum allocation.
I'm just about to start some tech-testing to see how well it handles really adverse conditions but based on initial observations I don't think it's going to be anywhere near as robust as Spektrum/JR or Futaba FASST.
If I had an ASSAN set I'd run the same tests on it, to get a comparison.
The Chinese *will* become a strong force in the 2.4GHz market but I think we're still seeing first-generation stuff from them which, while it may be fine for parkfliers, helis and sport flying -- is not yet up to the task of larger models or gas-planes where reliability
of control is also an extreme safety issue.