cotman

My Feedback: (10)

Guess its time to upgrade to a 2.4 radio. Would be interested to hear thoughts on the best one to get. I'm looking at the Aurora 9. Just as a after throught... bought a used one from this sight and got ripped off for the tune of $325.00. From what I understand, this guy has been doing it on other sites too. Be carefull of a guy named "foamflyer89 or gflyer89. Thankfully 99% of the guys selling on this site are honest and fair and will continue to buy items in here. Luckily I used Paypal and there going to refund my money.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

You will not be sorry about getting the Aurora. I now have two and thirty seven rX's I think. I also have the full telemetry set up and patiently awaiting the telemetry voice promt.

If you are an instructor you will be astounded at the buddy system capabilitys.

John

scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

Everyone loves the Aurora. But now days, most name brand 2.4 radios are darn good. I have 2 JR's, LOVE them. But thats just me. If I had to buy a non JR radio today, it would be the Aurora.

Though I do like that wireless bubby box thing that Fu Fu Fu.....Still working on that one.

Oberst

None of them. I keep to my tried and true 72, and when it dies I'll just buy another 72 or get the one I have now repaired. I've seen too many people have issues with them and to me it's not worth changing because a couple people at my field have them. To me the 2.4 doesn't impress me so far.



Pete

TomCrump

I usually jump in late, with new technologies. That is what I did with 2.4.

Since purchasing my Aurora 9 in April, I have become a complete fan of this transmitter.

When I buy enough RX's, I can empty out my Eclipse, and sell it.

RCVFR

My Feedback: (7)

72Mhz still works as good as ever, does not have any "binding" issues, and with most of the fliers switching to 2.4, there are fewer users of 72, thus less opportunity to get shot down by some errant Bozo. But the opportunity is still there, unfortunately. I don't know of any timetable as to discontinuance of manufacturing this equipment, but with sharply reduced sales of the product, I think the writing is on the wall. When you do consider 2.4 equipment, I can recommend Futaba and Airtronics, I use both, and also Hitec, based on the positive feedback from users I know. Spectrum has superb marketing and advertising acumen. I work in a Hobby Shop, and by far, the Spectrum users seem to have the most problems with their radios. I don't know why.

scooterinvegas

My Feedback: (1)

Know whats funny, people not keeping on topic. The OP didnt NOT ask, "whats better, 2.4 or 72?"

Its like a thread asking help with a gas engine. One or two people take over the thread with, "Gas sucks! Sell it and go electric!"

Come on guys, we all have to respect a person choice to choose what they want.

And to Oberst, there is no reason to be scared of new technology. I HAVE been shot down on 72, but have never had a problem with 2.4. My point is, everyone has varying opinions.

Back to the OP, I have an JR 9503. LOVE it. But that's is just MY opinion. Buy a name brand radio that feels good in your hands, has the options that you need and you wont go wrong. If you get the Aurora 9, it will serve you well.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

The very next person I meet with the Aurora 9 and doesn't like it will be the first.
JOHN!!!!!! have you ever found any good prices on the HT RXs??? I'm trying to switch over but they cost too much to do it very quickly. I need a 9ch RX for my new plane. I bought the Hitec Module for my trusty old Futaba 9-C and have been buying RXs at fly ins from venders for a couple bucks less.

Steve Percifield

My Feedback: (14)

Radical rc sells out of the box Hitec receivers at discounted prices.

smithcreek

My Feedback: (25)

Hey Dick, I have a Futaba 8-FG Super. So far I like it a lot. Get one of those, then you can call me when you can't figure out the manual. On second thought... go with the Aurora.

JohnBuckner

My Feedback: (1)

Hey Gene, all my rx's are the seven channel except one nine channel. That one I got for half price along with one free seven channel when I purchased my second Aurora.

All the others I purchased over maybe a period of six months. My intention was not to replace my entire fleet at all but the deals direct from my local dealer and his corresponding deals with suppliers was just to good and all my Rx's were purchased in a two Rx one module pack that averaged my cost around 111 dollars at the end and I think a 104 early on. That caused a surplus of modules of course but I did not care and it came in very handy when converting my forty one year old Orbit to 2.4, just finishing up a 1965 AristoCat now to be the remaiden ship for my treasured old Orbit. See the link, I suppose you could say I have a Hitec Orbit.


Lately the best deals can come through your LHS with a triple (3 Rx) package and think the price is about 111 bucks or in that neiborhood.

John


http://www.youtube.com/user/JohnBuckner100

GSNut

My Feedback: (8)

I will not even try to tell you what to purchase. OK ?

I totally agree with Pete in Post #4, 2.4 (YAWN) I bought one (as below) and it works so what. It is supposed to do that. I spent the money after I checked it out. If it doen't work, I'll take the heat it's my problem.

I was involved in the Radio Brand Wars Brawl of the 60's and early 70's and that was the pits of hell.
Everyone thought that they had the best, just had to read the advertisements and they would tell you so.

I have had Babcock, Citzenship, Marcytone, World Engines, FM, Digitrio, Micro Avionics, Royal, EK Logictrol, Kraft, even built a couple of Heathkits and so on... I moved here 32 years ago and at that time I had the Kraft Gold. Guess What? The last time I sent it in for repair, I told Phil if they could not get it fixed right not to send it back. But to take it out and run a truck over it. Honest, that is what I did, and that is what he did.

So I haunted the LHS's and talked to the guys who repair their own brands and some others also. From what information that I gathered, I made up my mind and bought Brand X which I have stayed with for the last 32 years... I do my own repairs and don't sell or give any old/new radio systems away. If they are bad they are saved for parts or destroyed on my own bench and into the trash. BTW: I just bought a 2.4 module and a Rx. Yes, for my Brand X Equiipment which I am totally happy with yet.

My advise to you is to get with a club and see what is working and what is not.

Don't believe all the BS that that a private seller will tell you or sell you from the trunk of his car.
See it for yourself and don't buy used if you can help it.
If it is used and for sale there is a reason and it maynot be what they tell you.

Lights, whistles and horns do not make a Radio, I don't care how much memory it has.

Don't buy all the Hype, that can change in a minute and normally does when things are not right.

Be A Wise and Advised Buyer !
Keep Your Money in Your Pocket Untill You are Sure !
Then Only Buy from an Authorized Dealer or LHS That Has an Established Track Record.

It is your money and that makes you the one in power.

I hope you find the one that works for you, I found mine.

Cheers

lopflyers

My Feedback: (12)

Dx7 no issues whatsoever

Pylonracr

I am a life long Futaba user. I have an 8FG and love it. Use what you like, or what you are farmiliar with. What type of radio do you use now? Get a 2.4 of that brand.I do not think there are any bad 2.4 radios out there.

blvdbuzzard

As with most if not all 2.4, their are the low budget ones that can use Rx's with different stickers on them, but for the most are from the same assembly plant. You will be locked into a brand. The cost of the Rx's will be a lot more then the cost of the Tx. What I have done is to have two brands of 2.4g radios. One is a "BUDGET" priced one that has 6 channel Rx's for $9.00. I use it for the slow, small foam planes. I get out of it way more then I paid for it. So, $90.00 for the Tx and 1 Rx, plus nine more Rx's at $81.00. I say that is a good deal for the small planes I am not worried about crashing.

Now, for the larger electric glow and gas model I use Airtronics. I trust it to never let me down. I use it in the sail planes that get specked out and never give a glitch. I use it in helicopters and anything of real value. I have flown Hitech, Futaba, Heathkit, EX Logic, Kraft, Galloping Ghost, Expert and a few more. Most have worked very well. There have been issues with a few brands service centers, but that is another issue.

You should hold them to see how they fit your hands. If they are not comfortable, they why spend all that time holding them?

I will say that the big names area "ALL" good radios. It will come down to a features issue over anything else.


Buzz.

GSNut

My Feedback: (8)

If it works and you are happy then that is great.

Cheers

geneh-RCU

My Feedback: (6)

I have been flying for 35 years and have had most brands. I now have the Aurora 9 and have been using it for a year. I love this radio and the ease of setup as well as the touch screen. I have the telemetry system and this is great! I have not had any problems with the Aurora in Jets, Prop Planes or Helicopters. For the price and features I would buy this radio again. Why Pay More for Less with some of the others just for the name (Brand)!

Luchnia

My Feedback: (21)

The Aurora radios must be very nice bang for the buck. Many goods things reported about them. I had Futaba and JR/Spektrum mostly. Now just fly JR and Spektrum and that is mainly because I have the receivers I don't think there is so much difference in good radios. Just really what a person gets comfortable with. It is the same with our autos. One swares by Ford, the other a Chevy. I figure if it gets good ratings and does the job and a person likes it then that settles it.

This is one of the better radio threads. Some just go nuts on the 2.4 debate! There are guys at our field now flying the cheap HobbyKing Orange receivers with their radios and not having a bit of problem. You would think if anything would give you a problem it would be a 15 dollar receiver when compared to a 60-100 dollar unit.

Good thread.

OliverJacob

My Feedback: (12)

I fly mostly helicopters with my Futaba 8FG and never had any problems. It has lots of functions and it takes some time to figure it all out. The switches and sliders are user friendly, easy to reach, which was important to me.
A few weeks ago we had a thunderstorm several miles away. My buddys have 72 Mhz radios and they had lots of interference, lost a few planes. My 2.4 system worked flawless. So IMHO the 2.4 systems are the way to go.
What I don't like about these are the prices for the receivers. I hope they will come down soon.

Jezmo

I have the same OPINION as some of the other posters. Go buy the one that feels best in your hands and has the feature set you are looking for. I've been flying RC since 1972 or 1973 and started out with an EK Logictrol radio. Everything I've bought since then has been markedly better than the last. I'm now using 2.4 exclusively and wouldn't go back to 72mhz if you paid me. Without mentioning names, I've owned most of the bigger brands in both 72mhz and 2.4ghz and "My Humble Opinion" is they "all" have something good to offer and are Darn Fine Radios especially when compared with what was available some 30 to 40 years ago.

geh3

My Feedback: (84)

I have been flying for many years, once I switched to Futaba, I have had excellent performance and I did switch to 2.4 to eliminate
any possibility of getting shot down by someone not following the rules!..I agree that 72 performs well as I used that in many planes and jets!
I believe that any 2.4 radio you get today will be OK, the HITEC stuff certainly does have good featuresand the telemetry can be useful. Whatever you get
pay very careful attention to your flight battery system. This avoids any possibility of a "brownout" or causing the rx to hiccup momentarily due to voltage fluctuations
since the dual redundant batteriesprovide absolutly relaible power, especially in larger heavier planes with digital servos.
I now use Powerboxes with dual batteries usually Duralite "EXB" ones that recharge quickly.
For smaller planes, the Duralite "GEMINI" unit is excellent as it also uses 2 batteries.
Good Luck

seehttp://www.rcaircraft-specialties.com/

JohnB96041

My turn. I have been in the hobby since 1954. Been through almost every kind of radio control system from rubber band powered excapement to todays current radio systems. Have 2 Fatuba 72 mhz radios. Have been using the DX7 system and have all my planes with their own receivers. Have one funtana 125 gasser with the new DX8 and all available telemetry to date installed and have not had a single problem. Most people that have trouble with the 2.4 gig radios IMO are trying to overpower the receiver by going to 6 volt or even higher and adding a voltage regulator. I run dual 4.8 2200 batteries and have not had any problems with binding, flying etc with either the DX7 or DX8. All the other 2.4 gig systems are also great. I think each owner has to really get used to their system and learn how it really works and then stick with it.

ahicks

My Feedback: (2)

I was dyed in the wool Futaba for MANY years. A while back I decided it was time to replace the nearly 20 year old Super 7 just cuz! It was still going strong and I had accumulated quite a few flight packs for use with it. It served me well!

When I started looking at state of the art (like the Super was when I bought it), I saw nothing that could compete with the A9's touch screen, programming of most functions without the use of a manual, but when I read about the receiver voltage telemetry, well that about did it for me. That put it right at the top of my wish list. The price, when figuring the first 3 receivers, wasn't bad at all! That's the way I went 18 months ago and I've never looked back. It's a great radio.

ackroyd

My Feedback: (8)

Look at the price of 2.4 Rxs.

I initial started using the Futaba 2.4 Ghz 6ch set, but soon found the cost of Rxs was stupid, at least $75 each time. With 10+ planes this started to become a pain.

I switched to Spectrum DX7 when they released their AR500 Rx for $40. I use mostly AR6200 6 Ch and a few 7000 7Ch and never had a problem. 7 years flying with Spectrum and only had 1 AR500 brown out issue and that was my fault.

You will find many people rant and rave over different sets, thats the problem with the internet, everyone can express their opinion, both the good and the down right crazy. I firmly believe that 99.9% of all suspected 'bad' radio issues with 2.4Ghz are due to inproper installation, wrong Rx voltage etc etc - i.e the flyers fault not the radio system. It seems to easy to blame the radio for a crash, especially if we don'y properly understand the 2.4Ghz band of the radio spectrum.

cfircav8r

My Feedback: (1)

Of all the issues with 2.4 you can trace most of them down to poor quality switches, bad batteries, or poor battery management. Spectrum IMHO has the most prevalent problems for the same reason they are so popular. They are inexpensive and many people on a budget tend to re-use switches, extensions, and streach the life of batteries. 2.4 is very unforgiving of poor quality power sources, and even a one time short lived hic-up can be enough to cause a brown out and crash. Use quality accessories and good batteries and any name brand will serve you well. I agree with some of the others, find the one that fits your hands well and has the features you require.