SlimShady

Hey all,

The airtronics rd 8000 super is going for 319.99 dollars on heli-world.com....over here in Euroland (ireland) i would be expected to pay 330 euro(equiv 330 dollars) for an airtronics rd 6000 sport....as you can see thats a big drop down, im a beginner and would love to know if it is possible to change the 72mhz frequency to 35 mhz......i hear this is possible by changing crystals or somthing but what do i do?!!

Thanks a lot,
Andy

HELP!

Phil Cole

If the radio has a plug-in RF module (fairly common in medium to high end radios) then you just have to buy a module to suit your local frequency. The modules for your frequency will have to be sourced locally.

If if just has a crystal, then it's generally impractical to move it to another band. You would have to change all the tuned circuits in the transmitter as well as the crystal, and then tune it up from scratch.

You may also be able to purchase a radio on the correct band from one of the internet retailers on the net. Cyberheli, Heli-kraft, Singahobby, Rotor Hobby in Singapore are some that you could try.

SlimShady

Thanks a million. Im just looking through cyber heli now and ill progress through all of them.

Hey can you recommend a good beginner radio for me?

Hitec eclipse 7?

Sanwa rd 6000 super?

Are these any good?

Thanks,
Andy

Phil Cole

All the radios you can get are reasonable. Some are better than others in value for money.

In entry-level computer radios, the Futaba 6x and JR 652 (or 552 or whatever, I can't keep track) are a bit deficient in the feature department. The RD6000 and Eclipse certainly do more for your money.

Some things to look for are user-defined p-mixes in addition to the standard mixes like v-tail and flaperon, ability to mix trim settings into the P-mixes, ability to disable or reassign controls (e.g. if you have a mix with the flap channel as slave, it might be nice if it you didn't have to be careful with the position of the flap knob or switch).

If you are sure you will continue with the hobby, it's cheaper in the long run to get a radio that you won't have to resell soon when you run up against it's limitations. This is more so with specialised models like helicopters or sailplanes with multi-servo wings.

4*60

My Feedback: (41)

Are you sure about the module switch? I know 72 to 75 MHz is OK, but not sure about the rest. If you buy it and import what duty do you pay? If you buy the North American version, charger is probably different??

FHHuber

RE the module switching from 72 to 35 mhz... unsure if it will work... but it should. I think the entire RF deck is in the module.

***********
Beginner's radios... quite the debateable subject.

A beginer only really needs a BASIC 4 ch system with a buddy cord socket. The options added with a computer radio shouldn't be used until the 3rd or 4th plane.

Cost-wize, there's no reason not to get a low end computer radio any more. Its almost as cheap an upgrade as buying a spare servo now.

I recommend AGAINST only one radio by a major maker... the Futaba 6DA. It sounds good with having mix capabilities... but the mix capabilities are severely limited. Not worth the cost when compared to a HiTech Flash 5, or even the Futaba 6XAS

Phil Cole

Yes, I'm sure about the modules. From the manufacturers' point of view modules mean that the whole radio does not need to be redesigned.

There are other features like defualt switch positions that vary by locality. However these are easily accommodated at final assembly and don't require different PCBs and components.