ironman597

My Feedback: (10)

We have had multiple Spektrum dx6 radio failures at our field. Several crashes and some saves. I sold all my Spektrum radios and receivers. I went to Airtronics SD10 G Awesome radio and receivers very affordable. Entire radio with 10 channel receiver 379 at Hobby People. Other guys went to Dx7 with no issues, also Futaba and JR DMSS with no issues.

Radio is definitely an issue. Just our experience. Only 1 guy at our field flys Spektrum now and that is DX7.

TheComputerGeek

I will send in my radio to horizon. But I still need a new radio. I am pretty much set on the futaba 14sg. What do you guys think of the radio?

thailazer

Ironman... Two questions:

Did anyone at your field send the transmitter to Horizon? Curious to what kind of response they might have gotten and I would think that Horizon would have a service bulletin to fix whatever it is that is causing the problem.

Also... Do the Spektrum receivers work with the Airtronics SD10? Back in my 72Mhz days I had several Airtronics units and was always happy with them.

TheComputerGeek

Pretty sure spectrum and airtronics are not compatible. I think that you pretty much have to use whatever receivers the company makes with the exception of frsky and orange.

TheComputerGeek

A little update for everybody. I called Spektrum and they were very nice and helpful. They told me to send in the radio so I did. Yesterday I got the radio back and they had replaced the transmitter module inside the radio and re-loaded the software.
I ranged checked and everything seemed to be ok. I took off with a little foamy and within 5 minutes it happened AGAIN! No dumb thumbs here I just lost all control for about 5 seconds. I hit the ground going straight down which resulted in a lipo fire. Now I'm done with Spektrum. I cant keep dealing with crashed planes. And knowing that they replaced the transmitter I know that I'm not the only one either.. I was also at a different location this time!

52jaws

My Feedback: (65)

Brother....cut your losses and get that Futaba 14.....you will "not" be dissatisfied or any one other brand for that matter.. Im sure had you been aware you may have chosen a different brand of radio.

The fact stands that over the last few years since I only hear of this "chronic" issue with Spektrum. Im not biased because I fly Futaba....just is what i've always used for the last 20+ yrs. I have Airtronics friends....no issues. Hitec users I know....no issues. Even Graupner and some others and I never hear at the field or read online of any of this "brown out" or "losing bind" issue with any of them.

Now having written this....."mark my written words here". I will probably be bombarded by die-hard Spektrum fans and reps defending an ongoing issue that needs not be defended. The facts are that Spektrum has had issues...."still" has issues. No I don't know what they are. What I do "know" is that people I know and many more I don't Know have had this very issue you describe and experience.
Spektrum needs to get their collective poop together and figure it out because their market share is only being encroached upon by the other brands.

AirmanBob

My Feedback: (14)

Well said 52jaws...it does seem to be an ongoing problem for Spektrum. Maybe that's why they came out with a new version of the dx6i. Maybe they actually fixed some of the design flaws. And then again, maybe not. We'll see. In the meantime never use a dx6i in any model that costs over $100.00 cause sooner or later it's going to crash for no apparent reason.

I still use a dx6i in a slow stick and a blade 120SR. I use Futaba for everything else just to be safe.

Bob

AndyKunz

Actually, Bob, what we did is come out with a 6-channel version of the DX9. I have no qualms flying any of my planes (none of which cost me under $400) with a DX6. You fanboys really crack me up sometimes with the misinformation you need to keep your religion going!

Andy

ironman597

My Feedback: (10)

Andy

How about making a general announcement that the dx6 had issues and this causes failures, so new people getting into hobby don't buy these crash their planes and get out of the hobby. Seems like the right thing to do.

AndyKunz

Why should I lie? Every product made by every company will have "issues" for somebody. When you make many hundreds of thousands, sometimes you get a bad one. What's really bad for the hobby is when somebody insists that "my brand is perfect" and somebody believes it, then has problems. I've seen firsthand more than once when a supposedly perfect brand or product fails.

Andy

rmh

You boys appear to have your minds made up - and one point is notable
You all refer to unknown causes of failure .
If the cause is unknown- why blame the radio?
Repeating others stories of unknown causes is of help to no one - except those who are looking for agreement in their own assessment..
I spent years sorting out actual causes in industrial accidents..
Just guessing or repeating others guesses, is no help at all.

Rob2160

Bingo Andy, I fly with several Futaba, Spektrum and JR radios equally and trust me, no brand is perfect.

The following vids show issues I've had with each brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpFan0kDSR0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvIQNVTu5Xk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvFMQ8pOPrk I can also honestly say that none of these brands have ever caused a crash for me except for selecting the wrong model memory on Futaba twice (my error, not the radio)

JR and Spektrum have Model match which makes that impossible.

rmh

The constant in the stream of "I ain't got it "!comments, is the absence of any direct knowledge of the actual failure points. Amongst the failures we have tracked down , the actual causes are in this order
: power loss--typically a BEC shutdown
reception loss-- incorrect location of antenna tips.
Tx failures - none
rx failures - none
Can tx fail -of course but ground testing (and range testing) will show almost any issues here
Will rx fail - of course but other than vibrations causing intermittent connections or previous undiscovered damage -
almost non existant issue.
What is still an issue ,is failure by the operator to properly locate antenna and or use rx type suited to the model.
The ranting on Spectrum is an indication of how lack of knowledge on the subject can produce incorrect information.

thailazer

Andy... Would you include the DX6i in that statement about flying your planes? I have had solid results with my DX6i but there seems to be a lot of information on the web of DX6i issues.

rmh

FWIW- the DX6i have an excellent track record
Personally I have had 2 of them which I moved along to others and never an issue with them.
The rub is the fact that they were and are inexpensive which means they were used by some who used off brand rx to save money and did not use good procedures in operating the equipment .
This happens more frequently with lower cost equipment.
it is a fact of life ..
However those who use them properly have good ,dependable service from them

AndyKunz

SURE! We have a DX6i. It flies planes more expensive than mine (it belongs to my son). If you saw the "humongulous" numbers of DX6i sales it would make sense. I'm not worried that there's some latent flaw in them at all.

Andy

308jockey

Andy I don't think that there is some design or production flaw in the dx6i. We have two of them and the newer one, about a year old, is at Horizon with a problem in the throttle channel. What concerns me is that in each of the three or four times we've called customer service about this radio we've been told it couldn't be a transmitter problem and it must be something else. It's almost like a standard reply. I've been at this for many years and am pretty good at trouble shooting and determined that the problem is indeed in the Tx. I'm interested in seeing what gets repaired. We use a lot of Futaba and Airtronics as well and each has had issues. Lost a few nice planes to manufacturing problems. I've had many hours of satisfactory performance with Spektrum but also above average problems. In all honesty I've begun to use them only in smaller electrics. Even then I've just lost an EF1 racer in its first minute of flight to unknown control issues. I wish Horizon would put some effort into some serious investigation and perhaps that has happened with nothing found. It just makes me uneasy and I'm not confident enough in the product to put it in my expensive pattern planes, warbirds and nitro powered racers. I hope the higher end Spektrum qear is not showing these same symptoms.

Rick H.

chuckk2

Nothing is perfect. Everyone has problems with something.
I've had problems with Futaba, Spectrum, and even an old 8 Ch single stick HeathKit.

The Futaba issues were the result of unfixed firmware issues that as far as I know, were never fixed
on the 72Mhz 9C TX's.
The 6i Spectrum problems were due to the battery spring clips.
No problems with 2 DX-8's
DX-9 No Problems yet, but not enough flight time to really judge.
There also were some RX problems we traced to E-Flite ESCs with built-in BECs. (Not enough current output)
The Heathkit? The top of stick housing would not stay tight, even when I used locktite.

Rob2160

There is a bug with the latest V4.0 firmware for the Futaba 14SG, This is still listed on the Futaba website as "new" firmware.

You can get the fix here (4.1) - not yet posted on Futaba's site.

http://www.fabricedelhay.fr/DL/RC/14...T14SG_FX22.zip

AirmanBob

My Feedback: (14)

Well, its fanboy AirmanBob again. Other radio systems MIGHT have a software problem but that's easily corrected. The Spektrum dx6i has problem after problem. Read the Spektrum/JR thread. Its loaded with problem after problem. I own a Spektrum dx6i and so far the only problem I've had is that it goes into bind mode all by its self once in awhile. It has nothing to do with loose xmitter battery connections as some suggest. Turning it off and on over and over does not help. It just seems to fix itself after awhile so I have not sent it in.

But, I read the Spektrum thread fairly often and all those poor guys losing plane after plane can't all be stupid! There have been so many different complaints about the dx6i that I couldn't possibly list them all here. Those of you thinking of buying a Spektrum I think should avoid the dx6i at all costsl. It was built to be cheap and that is reflected in the performance (or lack thereof).

I've been flying r/c since 1954 and I've owned almost every brand that came on the market (yep, even heathkit) and I think I can tell a good radio from a bad radio. Spektrum seems to have the lion's share of problems. I'm gonna keep mine but only use it in planes I can afford to lose. I'm betting they phase out the dx6i. Then all of this won't matter any more.

Sorry Andy. I don't mean to hurt your feelings. Its not personal. You try to make it personal by calling me 'fanboy'. We are all fanboys of one product or another. That doesn't change the fact that the dx6i is a risky radio to use in expensive planes. Think of all this as a product review. Your product gets poor scores. I'm now afraid to try a newer model of Spektrum (dx7, dx8, dx9 etc.).

rmh

it goes into bind mode all by its self once in awhile
Forgive me- I have heard plenty of strange claims about tx failures but yours gets the blue ribbon. Been trying to imagine how this failure actually occurs.. and how it is identified.
If I believed 1/100th of the "issues I read in these forums - I would never go near a radio again.

AndyKunz

That's your choice, Bob, but it's not well-founded.

Andy

rmh

Emmett Idaho is a beautiful bit of country -- but not exactly a hotbed of RC activity - unless things have changed a lot.
I would venture Bob has had to figure out most of his applications by himself -if he has lived there for a while.
I sure would like to see that DX6i go into bind mode all by it'self - I would pay to see that one .
Having seen it once - I would pack it onto the nearest Pony Express bound for Champaign--

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

I think the problem is multipath. A reflected signal comes in out of phase and cancels your signal at a certain spot.
You said you were in the nowhere. Where are your cars parked?
Futaba or any band shifting system would be less likely to suffer this problem

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

I have to speak up about the Spektrum radio systems. Horizon Hobby has done a terrific job of improving the ergonomics and material quality of the entire Spektrum transmitter line for years now. The Spektrum DX8 had a bit of a rough launch, but that really cemented in my mind Horizon's commitment to quality. The quality of the fit and feel of the transmitters released since then; the DX8, the DX7s, the DX9, the DX18, the DX18 QQ, and now the (new) DX6 have all been terrific. The quality of the programming interface has also been praised for being feature-rich and easy to use. Horizon also bit the bullet and introduced DSMX, and upgraded to a frequency hopping system to further solidify Spektrum's signal reliability.

I think the new DX6 is a great representation of the new product line. It retails for $229.99 versus $179.99 for the old DX6i. Horizon is under tremendous pricing pressure right now. Graupner is entering the U.S. radio market, Tactic radio systems are being advertised in every major RC publication, Futaba has released a range of FHSS radio systems that appear to compete with various Spektrum radio systems directly at various price points, and Hitec is getting ready to release two new agressively priced mid-range radios to shore up their product lineup. So why did Horizon Hobby come out with a new DX6 radio system that is $50 more expensive than the old DX6i? Because it's a much better radio system. The quality of the materials is better, the manufacturing process has resulted in a more sturdy and reliable product, and the advanced programming and DSMX modulation provide a more reliable radio that is easier to use.

I used to fly Futaba on 72Mhz, and I started flying Airtronics when I made the switch to 2.4Ghz. I love my SD-10g radio system. I have no doubt in my mind, however, that I could buy a new Spektrum radio system with DSMX modulation and get just as reliable performance out of a DX7s or a DX9 as I am used to getting from my SD-10g.

Anybody can make a 6-channel radio that's a little cheaper. Cut some corners, don't spend quite as much on quality, leave a couple of things out of the box that used to be included. Our friends in Hong Kong sell a full 6-channel computer radio system with receiver that is DSM2 compatible for $69, for example. Horizon Hobby didn't make Spektrum radio systems cheaper, they made them better. I for one think that is a trend that all RC pilots should applaud!