mduslick

My Feedback: (1)

Hello all! It will not be long before 2011 will be here and I was wondering if I could get some input from my R/C family. I have a couple of FM radios and several flight packs for my planes and I’m trying to get a feel for where the future is headed. I do not own any 2.4 GHz equipment. I don’t have anything against it but as I build more planes, I’m trying to figure out whether I need to scrap all of my existing radio equipment and start upgrading everything to spread spectrum or if it is foolish to stick with FM. I would very much like to hear any input or feedback from you all. Thanks.

MinnFlyer

My Feedback: (4)

There is no doubt the 2.4GHz is where we are heading. At many events now it's the only type of radio you can use.

carrellh

I think there are a few questions you have to answer for yourself.
> Do you go to "events" where you may not ba allowed to fly with an FM system
> Do you have any issues with frequency conflicts, or are you worried about being 'shot down,' where you usually fly
> Does you current transmitter have the number of channels, model memories, and features that you need or want

My answers are No, No, and Yes. So, I plan to use 72 mhz until FCC says no. If any of my answers were different I would switch to a 2.4 system.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Yes you can use your 72 mhz and likely for many years to come however you will probably regret it to purchase any additional 72 equipment good deal or not.

We recently had to suggest at our field that 72 not be used, falling just short of an outright ban and strickly use at your own risk. This because of irresponsible flyers that fly less than a mile away and in line of site in the open desert. They have caused crashs proven by scanners immediately afterword and only when their vehicles are there which we can see visually.

Beyond that the 2.4 Rx's seem to be far more rock solid than 72 and when used with higher capacity five cell batt packs. They seem to survive crashs better than 72's and no hard core evidence but only close observation of crashs for other reasons at our field.

The most popular systems at our field in order are Hitec, Futaba and XPS. Been only one Airtronics for whatever reasons and Spectrum has had a bad track record.

John

ChuckW

If you feel a need to upgrade your radio for any reason such as more programming features, etc. then definitely go for the 2.4GHz. If your current 72MHz radios are workign fine for you then you have to decide if the convenience and reduced chance of interference problems with 2.4GHz worth the money to you at the present time.

Personally Ilike not having to worry about someone shooting me down, me accidentally tuenong my radio on and crashing someone else or forgetting to pull my antenna up. 2.4 is so much nicer in that regard that it is worth it to me.

wazzbat

If it were me, I'd treat myself to a new 2.4GHz system for Christmas.  I just bought myself a Futaba 7C 2.4GHz.  You don't have to scrap all of your existing stuff though.  You can still leave all of your existing planes on your 72 radio and then maybe down the track, you could convert them to 2.4 if you had to or wanted to?  There's no harm taking a few planes and a couple of radios to the feild (if you can fit them in your car that is).

scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

That's what I do! :-)

Just remember, pull out the antenna!!! Lol

jester_s1

The 2.4 has a quicker response time and the antennas are so much less cumbersome. That was reason enough for me to go 2.4 when I got ready to upgrade my system from the basics. An option that you might consider is a radio with a module. You can keep your 72mhz stuff as is and even continue to buy the cheap receivers on the market if you want to, but you'll have a radio that can also use 2.4 for your newer airplanes or for whenever you feel the need to make the switch. IIRC, the JR 9 channel originally came as a module radio, and it's got enough programming for everything but competitive aerobatics and the fanciest of scale models.

mduslick

My Feedback: (1)

Thanks guys! You have been a tremendous help. I currently have three radios (well two… I’m not counting my first radio… an Attack4 AM 4-channel…lol). I also have a basic 6 channel and then bought a programmable 7C… all Futaba. I’ll continue to use those for now as I won’t be attending any events soon and I have not had any problems with what I have. Well, I do have to send the 7C back to Futaba for repair as the throttle channel stopped working. What ticks me off is when I bought it a couple of years ago, I tested the programming with a model I was working on and it worked flawlessly. But I had to take a break from my hobby/my passion and put everything aside. Then when I was able to return to slicing and dicing balsa, I dusted off my 7C only the find that one channel not working anymore. I did some troubleshooting and found out it wasn’t the servo like I first thought, or wiring, but actually the pot in transmitter. Buuuuuut…. by then, the warranty had expired. So I have to foot the repaid bill myself and haven’t even used the radio at the field yet. Gotta love it! So down the road, it’s Spread Spectrum we go. Until then, please be kind to me when you see me beside the road with this: