D4379

I bought a new Spektrum receiver in late May hoping to convert another plane to spread spectrum technology. Once in installed in the plane and bound it did not work, would only drive one channel and after talking to Horizon it was clearly defective.Icalled the Hobby Shop about it and they said tough not their problem got to Spektrum. This was less than 48 hours after purchase, no support. Icalled Horizon and at first they were going to stiff me for the shipping but after complaining they did pay for that. Anyways I called on June 19th to see what was going on since they had the receiver since June 4, 2009. They told me sorry tough sh*t it will be at least 18 working days till they even look at it. I said this is a brand new defective item and they said sorry they don't care that is the way it is. So here Iam the plane is gutted, cannot fly it and it looks like at least two more weeks plus shipping time. I have always had Futaba before this and I can tell you right now I will always have Futaba from now on. The 6 Channel Spektrum is my first and last I will ever buy from them.

John

davidgeorge212

I had futaba 72 mh before spektrum came out too. But when I jumped into helicopters I didnt have a clue how to set them up so a friend of mine said get a spektrum dx7 and he would set it up for me. After he had everything dialed in I have never had a problem with it since (2 1/2 years on spektrum now). Now about 6 months ago my dad had my transmitter on his knee and bent down to get something and accidently knocked the transmitter off. It landed with the sticks side down and broke the gimbles out. I contacted horizon and asked ifI could just buy new parts and repair it myself and they said"We cant sell you the parts you need to send it in to be fixed" So I ended up sending it in to them. Long story short, I got my transmitter backa week after I mailed it to them and It was fixed up just like new. What surpised me was that they fixed it for free and didnt charge me for anything.

I guess everything can have its ups and its downs.


David G.

D4379

Glad you had a good experience. Mine is not good at all. I am very dissapointed in them.

richg99

I've had two instances where I had to send my units back to Spectrum.  Bang..ten days or two weeks at the most...both items came back perfectly fixed at no charge.  In the last one..they even included a free $60.00 receiver for my trouble. 

I'll bet you get it a LOT quicker than the extra 18 days...unless you p#### ed off somebody with your call. 

It is no fun having troubles right out of the box. Sounds like you LHS just ducked for cover. They should have swapped it out and sent it back in themselves.  I wonder why they didn't? Rich

electricpete

I have had nothing but excellant service from horizon in UK even when the fault has been mine. I beleive your initial problem is with the supplier of the RX, as they should have replaced it. In the UK the retailer is responsible, aaand only if he goes broke would the manufacturer be liable.

I returne a bromen Vapour RTF model, on the Monday, by fault and it was replaced aand back to me on the Wednesday.

Peter

roknHS

I got tired of waiting for myradio and Rxto be returned from inspection so, I called for an update................first call I hung up after being on hold for 45 min.........finally got through the next day just at their start-up.


I was told "the turn-around time for repairs is 4 weeks minimum"..................holy crap.

I sent mine in on June 1st........I know they got it that week. They didn't log it in till the 8th......now it's 4 weeks from the 8th......at least. Maybe the first week of July........probably the second week.

Horizon sold all these 2.4 gig systems in the last couple of years........made a ***** pot full of money........everybody got big bonuses. They increased their market share by a gazillion %.............
.............and still have the same number of repair technicians trying to keep up in the middle of flying season.
When the crash happens, most blame it on the radio system, so, off it goes to Horizon. How many radios and Rx's do you suppose they get for inspection in a week???............40???......50???

Economy slow..........sales down........who wants to hire more people?? In an economic slow down the first thing to suffer is customer service........cause customer service generally doesn't bring in any new dollar$.......it is an investment in future purchase$. If the company is forward looking, the customer service is held together.............If they are more interested in today's dollar and forget about sales down the road........4 weeks turn-around is what you get.

I don't think my radio system has a problem.............I think it was an ESC..........but, when you fly expensive planes, you error on the side of caution.

Horizon has always been top notch in their service.........I believe they will be again......however, until they realize that they are jumping over dollars to save dimes there is going to be a lot of down time.
...................and a lot of complaints from waiting flyers.

D4379

It is a shame that in such a small community they would be like this.

320pilot

I've had some problems with new AR6250 receivers. First one was "glitching" . On power up, control surfaces would freeze sometimes. Well, Horizon Hobby/Spektrum were great. I just boxed up my receiver, and sent it off. No return authorization number required. Meanwhile I bought a new, identical AR 6250 receiver.

Second one was having problem with "holds" ie break in bind during flight. Sent this one back to Spektrum too. Meanwhile I asked Horizon to send me back a new AR6200 receiver on exchange basis for first unit. They also (no charge) included a 24 inch extension cable for the remote receiver, to mount in the tail of a Hotliner, no shipping charges for these two items.

Instead of a second AR6200, on exchange basis I ultimately asked Horizon to send me an AR7000 receiver in exchange. I did pay $20 for the AR7000 upgrade . This too was sent to me, no shipping charge.

Hints for Horizon service; leave a call back number. You will wait a very long time on hold if you don't. They always call back later in day. Ask for your "customer number" so the call back tech can access your file quickly. I had good luck with "Scott", knowledgeable about Spektrum radio gear.

Usually , when I send in a Rx for service, I go and buy a replacement receiver, rather than wait, and ground a plane for weeks. Sometimes you can get them to send a different receiver unit on exchange.

320pilot

roknHS

I suggest you send your Tx in for service today...........just to be on the safe side........then, get back with us in a month and share your feelings.


Bet you won't be quite so satisfied...................

All the good times and fast service were in the past.............not now..........not today

I had warm, fuzzy feelings about Horizon service till a month ago.........a 4 week turn-around in July (mid flying season) is brutal................I was expecting maybe 2 1/2 weeks cause it is the busy season.............I have been without my transmitter for 30 days and its not over yet..........and I bet when I do get it............the tech comments will say "everything checked out fine".

I don't question the quality of the products or the people................I believe the "quantity" of quality people is the problem.

airbusdrvr

I agree the service is good but turn around times are really long. Recently my AR7000 took just a bit over a month to get the antenna replaced. I only sent in the main receiver(the one with the broken wire) and received a new one(both main and satellite receivers). Good service, it is just slow. I would be very hesitant to send in my transmitter as I know I would not be flying for at least a month. Well, not on 2.4Ghz, anyway.

arobatx

I still haven't had a poor support experience with Horizon...in fact, moreso than otherwise, I am surprised by their extra effort, or going clearly beyond their responsibilities.

D4379

Four weeks and no reciever back. Brand new unit not two days after it was purchased found to be defective. No answer to emails either.

marc 540

My Feedback: (6)

I had the same four week turn around on a AR6000 rec. and I chalked it up to not enough tech support. Probably five week's including shipping time!![>:] There service is definatly going down hill cause I used to get one to two week repair's.

Marc 540

D4379

Got an email today. Sorry but it takes 20 days to look at your reciever. Tough sh*t, to bad, up yours, ha ha we got your money. Horizon Hobby is a pure let down.

D4379

Tyr this again. Finaly received an email from Horizon. They are sticking firmly to 20 working days before they will even look at it. Buy a brand new unit and it does not work to bad for you. This is very very poor customer service indeed.

John Majane

codimasta

My Feedback: (89)

[8D]FAIR IS FAIR...PROBLEMS HAPPEN...ELECTRONICS HAVE A FAILURE RATE...THIS IS THE TOP OF THE SEASON...ALSO WITH THE DX6I POT FAILURE..
THE SUPPLIER SENT DEFECTIVE PARTS TO THE SPEKTRUM FACTORY...THIS HAS BEEN CORRECTED..HORIZON IS OVER-BURDENED...BE FAIR...IT IS UNFORTUNATE.

THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO FUTABA WHEN THEY FORGOT TO PROGRAM THE ADDRESS IN THEIR RECEIVERS...CAUSING MAJOR CRASHES...BUT THEY TOOK CARE
OF THE PROBLEM...JUST AS HORIZON IS TRYING TO DO.

I HAVE ALWAYS RECEIVED EXCELLENT SERVICE FROM HORIZON, PRIOR TO THE DX6I PROBLEM..THE TURN AROUND TIME WAS 7 TO 10 DAYS.
IF YOU HAVE A DEFECTIVE ITEM, I AM SURE HORIZON WILL MAKE IT GOOD.

CODIMASTA
ama 11269

fizzwater2

My Feedback: (61)

two weeks ago I sent two receivers to Horizon - one AR6200 that wasn't working correctly (new) and one AR7000 that I just wanted to get the "quick connect" firmware update.

I called them yesterday, left a callback number, and before the day was out they returned my call. They confirmed the arrival date of my stuff (two days after it was shipped from here) and told me it would be 15-20 working days from that date, as they were backed up. Being summertime and all, I don't doubt that. They also apologized for the turn around, and I have no doubt that they'll get it back to me as soon as they can.

In the meantime, I'll fly with a different receiver - I expected some delay in getting these back, so am not worried at this point. My AR7000 was working fine, I just wanted the updated firmware, but I chose to send it in along with the problem child anyway.

I hope that you're able to get your stuff back soon now, I can understand your frustration, but I'll bet they're doing the best they can at this point.

D4379

Four weeks is ridiculous for a warranty issue on a brand new never used receiver. I am sorry but this is not customer service but customer abuse. This goes for all electronics manufacturers though. A massive issue like Futaba had is understandable to a point but they did everything they could to rectify it. Not tell the customer oh well to bad that is the way it is. The message from Horizon is we got your money to bad you have to wait.

Had a problem with a DVD player. You had to pay for shipping to their facility and then it was months to get the problem corrected. The stores where you buy the electronics are no help and can care less. The system is set up to frustrate the customer into giving up and just buying another one. My issue was with Philco. Ended up writing the President of the company and believe it or not got not only a response but a phone call! Had the DVD back in a week. It was a $39 unit but the principle was the point.

D4379

Email late yesterday from Horizon. Reciever will be looked at this morning. 20 days to the hour. Interesting to see what is wrong with it.

roknHS

I called Horizon to get an update on my Tx.........the tech said I should get it back on July 9th.............that will be 38 days since I sent it off.

I asked them if they were aware that these outrageous turn-around times would hurt future business............the answer was "affirmative"..........they know they are not living up to expectations and are committed to fixing it............That's the good news............
The bad news is it probably won't get fixed this year. So, if you need a repair this flying season.........be prepared for a 4-5 week turn-around. Its not the tech's fault......somebody up the ladder gets to take credit for this little fiasco............

I still love my Tx........but, this wait has been brutal.

D4379

38 days is ridiculous for warranty service. This is pretty sad. They never got back to me with the status of the reciever. Oh well.

rack

My Feedback: (11)

horizon is like any other service dept, you got to know who is in charge and go directly to them , my 12x lost display on wednesday got it back sat same week, you have to be reasonable about priority i dont expect this kind of service with a receiver or servos but paying 1400 for a 12x should have a little priority built in to the cost of the product.
horizon is working on a program to get anything worked on immediately but you will pay for this express service doesn't matter if your under warranty or not

PipeMajor

My Feedback: (1)

I just had my 2nd warranty experience with Horizon. Both instances were handled superbly. Two years ago I bought my son an EFlite Mini Ultra Stick. The threaded rods on the vertical fin were misaligned making the assembled unit also misaligned. I called them, left a message (during the holidays) and they called back. I had new parts sent out next day - no charge. They didn't want the old parts back.

Last month, somehow the selector wheel on my X9303 broke. I only noticed it after getting home after a day of flying. I sent the TX and all 5 of my full range DSM2 receivers in. Because of the recall on the DX6i units, I was told by other modelers it would likely be a month turnaround time.

Sure enough, they repaired the X9303, checked and updated the firmware on 3 of the 5 receivers which needed it - all for no charge. Sure, I was without my electronics for a month and I had to pay shipping costs out to them. No complaints here...

roknHS

My Dx7 Tx came back on Friday..............39days since I sent it in............Brutal!

I expected an inspection would reveal no issues...........I got a surprise..........


When I bought the radio new a year and a half ago, it had no range........if I walked more than 15ft away from my plane I would lose all control. I sent it in and it was repaired and sent back to me promptly (that was the old Horizon Repair). The tech said it had a bad RF deck and they replaced it.......fine, mistakes happen even with new stuff.

The note I got back with the radio this time said essentially the same thing...........the signal was weak so the RF deck was replaced.........AGAIN.......! ?????????? How can that be? What causes an RF deck to wear down? Anyone know anything about electronics?????? Please feel free to enlighten me.

D4379

After five weeks the reciever came back today. The invoice says in the interest of customer service reviever replaced with a new one. That is it nothing else. They could have done that 4.5 weeks ago. I am dissapointed in Horizon Hobby and I can see a lot of other folks are to. They can kill themselves and go the way of Royal, Orbit, Kraft and others or they can get their act straight. Small community to get upset, word gets out fast.