dacaur

Well, I've personally owned a futaba 3pm 2.4ghz, which I sold, and I currently own a spektrum DX3S. Have you OWNED both from brand new? If not then you really arent qualified to compare them quality wise. Holding one at a hobby shop or using a friends radio doesn't qualify you. You can make assumptions, but that's about it.

Chris_RC

decaur, can you link me to where I can get $35 and $65 receivers for my Spektrum 2.4? I have the DX2.0 and I am going to get the DX3S. Wont the 3000 receiver that comes on the DX2.0 bind with the DX3S?

dacaur

Ebay. You just have to keep watching and you find them cheap now and then. Just check once a day Yes the reciver that came with the dx2.0 will bind to the dx3s

Zerodefect

[&:] Spectrum vs Futaba is all opinion and what works for you, if you can gets reliability out of Futaba then more power to you. Seems to me Spektrum is trying harder to HELP racers. Took Futaba YEARS to fix its overheating FAAST problems.

I prefere the DX3r to the DX3s....the 3S is for bashers.

DX3r
pros:

Lightweight
Small RX
Works fine with older RX's, cheap RX availability
Works fine when it gets hot
Reasonable price
Can handle Lipo Unregulated, 8.4 volts
easy to program

Cons:
Trigger is kind of stiff going towards brakes, and seems to be nonadjustable for tension. (this may be good for gentle application of brakes, slippery tracks)

Needs the optional large rubber grip for " man hands", should come with tansmitter.
Stupid foam doughnut on the steering wheel is too small and can slide around.
Stiff trim buttons, adjusting brake EPA on the fly is very tough.


Futaba FAAST
pros:

Good feeling triggers, well balenced feel with the 4PK.
Easy to use trim buttons

Cons:
Expen$ive, the 4pk is way, waaay too pricey
RX replacement is too pricey
FAAST overheats in nitros and shutsdown (I don't care if they've fixed the problem, "Fool me twice, shame on me......")
No High voltage RX.....come on Futaba, get with the program
Need to memorize the instructions to make any sense of the menus.


I'm no Spektrum Fanboy, I'm still running an M8. But the DX3r or KO EX10 are going to be my next radios.

khudzik

For those of you guys who do have either DX3R or DX3S, check out those new Venom cases for these radios, they are real nice. For $20 how can you go wrong? http://www.overdriverc.com/proddetai...VNR2024&cat=42

kawgomoo

My neighbor has a dx3 s or r i can never remember. think its the s, both me and my buddy run LOSI rtr tx with the mr3000rx.


We all have mini slash/mini revo's.

I also use Spektrum DSM1 on my heli's and plains..

The thing i have noticed is people having RANGE problems with the newer spektrum.

the guy with the dx3 is forever having glitching and weird problems... on every car he owns. i am completely convinced that the entire dx line is junk.

at about 200-250 feet i see the LOSI rtr lock out for range/signal loss, the dx3 always locks out i nthe same spot or sooner.

we are runnign downthe street, everyone loses signal at the stop sign.

i have never locked out or lost signal with any of my spektrum stuff.

i noticed in the air, dsm2 is a true nightmare. lots of binding/dropping issues. not cool with a plane or esp. a heli. too much money lost due to a lockout.

all in all, im semi venting/raising awareness.

all my spektrum stuff is at least 2-3 years old. and it all works great..range is completely out of site. i often fly my plane alongside the freeway for giggles. it must be half a mile away at times.

everytime i get around the "new" spektrum im seeing problems on top of problems.

is it RFI from the esc?

crowded neighborhood wifi hogging all the channels?

i really dont know the answer, but 2.4 is increasingly crowded. 79 channels may very well not be enough.

however, hands down both my RTR systems are far less glitch/craziness prone than the dx3 that my buddy has.

We were sitting in the street talking when his E-SAVAGE decided to go 100% throttle, full reverse. Not cool at all.

You ever tried to catch 5000 watts of runaway terror? Had it not snapped the outdrive upon its sudden launch which left it hopelessly doing reverse donuts god knows who that thing would have taken out.

I dont think Spektrum is as safe and interference free as we are led to believe. Maybe technology is just catching up, and the air is becoming too crowded for 2.4 just like it did for am and fm 10 years ago.

dacaur

Hmmm... Ive been using spectrum air for 4 years, and ground for 1 and a half.... I have a 4 year old DX7, and a 6 month old DX5e.... I have never experienced any kind of glitch or issue with either... The one and only problem ive ever had with spectrum air, is a reciver that died on the ground.... I had flown the plane, then landed and turned off the transmitter to do something (plane still on and armed) When I turned it back on, nothing happened... spectrum replaced the reciver no charge..

Spectrum ground I've had no problems either. I have a DX3S and a Losi RTR transmitter. Ive had the losi out to at least 200 feet, and the dx3s further than that, never a glitch or issue....

Now in all honestly, In my eyes running anything smaller than 1/5 scale 200 feet away is kinda pushing the limits of how well I can control it... running my 1/16 e-revo 200 feet out is just plain silly.... its really easy to get confused as to weather I'm coming or going... I dont really see a reason to run that far away.

it's odd how whenever i read about people having problems with 2.4ghz, its always one person that has some massive issues, the same issue over and over, even with different radios.... while hundreds of thousands of others never experience so much as a glitch.... Kinda makes you wonder....

Telepathic Telemetry

I like Futaba, the quality really is top notch, and i really appreciate that, their servos are really exceptional. Airtronics also makes high quality components, although i'm not a fan of the M8's daunting menu tasks. Spektrum radios are of sub-quality compared to both Futaba and Airtronics, that is obvious to any student of manufacturing. I base this purely on their transmitter case construction and design. I've only held them in my hand, and have never used one. They are poorly constructed, using cheap plastics and have very poor fit and finish. Where there is smoke, there is fire, and if they can't invest in better molding and manufacturing technology, why would I beleive that their electronics are of high quality. With that said, I would still buy one. Features, specifications, performance, and price point considered (and should be 4 the top 5 considerations), Spektrum seems to be fairly equal to all others and for me that's what matters. All manufacturers will have problems, high quality or low quality. Just look at Toyota's recent recalls- still, no one would call Toyota low quality. I like Spektrum because they are a next-gen company. They are looking for ways to improve and advance this great hobby. They make the others step up their game, and have forced the industry to evolve in ways that are better for all of us. Futaba, Airtronics, KO Propo, and others are just not as innovative as they used to be- Spektrum is, and thats why we should all accept them. They made your 3PK/4PK and M8 better, and you didn't even know it! If Spektrum's had backlighting and adjustable wheels/triggers, i would buy one, questionable quality and all. Fanboys of anything bother me, its pure ignorance in bottled and packaged form. I absolutely love Honda motorcycles, it is my favorite company hands down. So...what brand of dirt bike is sitting in my garage? A KTM. Why? Because Honda doesn"t offer a 2-stroke off-road competition motorcycle. It's that simple. Buy what meets your requirements. If quality outwieghs all other things combined, then a Spektrum radio may not be your best choice. Thats not a reason to flame it, you just make yourself look very narrow minded and uneducated (on the subject).

race troller

Ik this is a nooby question but , i have a spek. dx3s with telemetry and i want to add a sc car to my collection. I don't care too much about telemetry that being said what is a cheap spektrum receiver i can buy on oh say, ebay? i only see 100$ ones   and 20$ orangerx  ones....    which brings me to my next point could i run a orangerx receiver on a sc truck even though it is a flight receiver? the orangerx one is like 20$ so yeah... i would rather save some cash..

dacaur

no a flight reciver wont work with a surface transmitter.
You can use any dsm reciver from spektrum, JR, or team losi.... the 2.4ghz team losi vehicles use spektrum technology, and when people buy them and use a different brand radio, the receivers go on ebay for cheap. go to ebay and search for "losi 2.4" you can get one "buy it now" for $50 any day of the week, and if you wait and keep looking, I've seen them go for as low as $25.

HerrSavage

Same question as the OP from me! I do race 8th scale buggy occasionally.. DX3S?

Have the quality issues been sorted in the meantime?