mikes68charger

My Feedback: (34)

I think Specturm grabs most of the new market like they did for me by offering cheap bind and fly park zone modles with DX6's This was my first plane and raido 4 years ago when I started. As time when on, I got into bigger modles and needed more channels, so I got a DX8, a huge step up, loved it, the next year I was flying turbin Jets and need more channels, and already owning 12 planes with Spectrum recivers my choses were stay spectrum, go Jr or Sell everything and go Futaba like some of my flying bros.

As I have never had a single issues in my short 3 years of flying with Spectrum, I never felt the need to jump brands, and the DX18 offered all the channels I could ever want at a price of $700 that I could aford.

Im a little burned that the New DX18 can talk, I wish mine could, but Im just happy to see that they are still comeing up with new ideals at a resonable price.

The biggest turn off for me on the futaba was the channels. 14 is nice but I got 3 modles that Im useing 15-16 channels, A sweet Skymaster F15, Huge ESM B25 with a lot of cool functions, and now a Velox XL with a huge Turbine and smoke.

lhatton

My Feedback: (1)

I'm guessing you aren't using 18 "channels" but 18 servo outputs. I've got a couple that I needed that as well and you can easily add receivers on the futaba to drive as many as needed. It also adds some redundancy. I'm not sure if the spectrum can do that with the model match feature.

I have both spectrum and futaba, but after several radio related crashes at my club during the dsm2 period. The spectrum is relegated to my small foamys.

I've flown both the 12fg and 18mz for the last several years and other than futabas slow introduction of items available on the robbe side, I can't complain. They are rock solid radios.

The only other system that temps me are the jedi radios. Might have to try one someday.

Les

Rob2160

You can bind multiple receivers to the same model with Spektrum, the only proviso is that you can't bind a DSM2 only receiver with a DSMX version. If using the same model receiver you can bind as many as you want.

In this vid you see 3 small BNF helis bound to one radio at the same time. I have also done it with two 350QXs and flew them simultaneously to compare different props.

JR Davis

My Feedback: (106)

I'll take a good solid link between transmitter and receiver and Futaba has that. I could care less about telemetry and all the other bells and lights that are available now. Been flying for 27 years and Futaba has been there for all 27. Go to the field every week and watch planes re kit themselves. I don't want to say any specific brand radio is common to all these crashes, but it's not Futaba.

Rob2160

Agreed, a good RF Link is vital. Futaba is excellent and Taranis also has one of the best in the industry. This has been well documented.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showp...ostcount=39659

mackeyjones

We pretty much had this exact same discussion an the club I fly at this morning. While I welcome any quality gear opening up on the RC Market, especially if it encourages a lot more competition in pricing. I am a bit cautious of the argument of just sticking it in a cheap foamy and trying it, because of the safety aspect if it hits something. I have no reason to buy another radio at all, so I certainly wont be buying another radio just because it is at a good price. As far as others buying one in Aus I dont have a problem as long as it passes and has the C-tick on it. I will continue to be cautious when it comes to radio gear, because that is the link between myself and what I am flying. Just like an informercial I dont buy it just because I have 10 people on TV telling me it is great.

bonefishfool

My Feedback: (6)

Add me to the list of former Futaba fanatics. After 35 years flying Futaba, I made the switch. For months I have been frustrated by the Futaba's programming, which to my simplistic mind can best be described as arcane,enigmatic, and inscrutable. The failure of the elevator trim switch in flight sealed the deal. I now own a Spektrum DX-9,despite a veritable mountain of Futaba receivers and other gizmos.
I offer no complaints about the actual RF link. In all my years, I have never experienced a loss of radio function in flight attributable to the quality of the signal.
Futaba, get your act together. As I look around my field, I now see Spektrum almost exclusively. One Taranis user and another oddball brand, I was the sole Futaba holdout, and now I too have left my venerable 8FG in its case at home.
I urge Futaba to develop a modern graphical user interface, perhaps with a iPhone or Android type LED touchscreen with a simple, plain language, pictorially illustrated software implementation.
Only then might I consider the Prodigal Son routine.

bem

My Feedback: (1)

Although I have a Futaba myself (14MZ) I can understand that people that has used Futaba for many years look around and see that there are equal and if not better radios out there and also more intuitive to program. I would not say my Futaba 14MZ is easy set up but You can almost do everyting You could possibly need to do. If we are going to get Young people to like to use radio control the radios user interface should be more modern, and I'm sure it will be as we get new generation developers, also at Futaba. It will be interesting to see how good the new Futaba 18SZ will be regading this. I fly F3A and in the past Futaba has been a top brand among the flyers but I really think Futaba is not as obvious choice anymore. Although Futaba has many reliable radios on the market they are probably little to slow with new or enhanced radios today. I would not say that Futuba getting "left behind" - yet, but if they continue like today they can risk to be in such situation in a few years.
When I need a new radio in a couple of years I will consider Futaba again but if it is something better and cheaper out there then it will be bye bye Futaba.

/Bo