HellcatAce

My Feedback: (6)

Ok, I know asking this question will get replies from the truly faithful concerning their favorite brand. But I'm looking at how these radios are set up, the different options available, and the overall cost of owning one that is truly relaible. I have flown and drove for years with Airtronics and Futaba, and never really thought much of JR. Now that JR/Spektrum are so popular with their being first to the gate with 2.4 offerings, it seems everyone raves about them. But is it just popularity, or are they REALLY better?

Here's some quick examples of what I'm talking about:
JR/Spektrum Pros - First system, lots of happy users, lots of different Tx and Rx options, model match feature
JR/Spektrum Cons - Satellite receivers (up to four!) needed in some cases to ensure solid link, brown outs with the solution being a capacitor taking a channel on the Rx buss

Futaba Pros - Single Rx for all uses, lots of dedicated users, great trade in and sales incentives
Futaba Cons - Not as many Tx/Rx options, not much development aimed at smaller aircraft applications

Now, I am NOT saying these are the only good and bad points as there are plenty of them, but you get the idea here. Lets get past the "I've always used xxxxx brand and thats why I think they are the best" stuff and get some real insight as to why folks think one brand is superior to the others.

This will hopefully help me and some others that are still on the 2.4 sidelines watching the fur fly in making a future decision.

BTW, I do have a Spektrum DX5e that came with my Parkzone F4U and have since added a MCX BNF helo to my 2.4 fleet, and it has so far worked very well, but it's a low end radio and hardly enough to convince me. My flying buds who are big into scale competition love the JR/Spektrum and have no problem finding spots for all those extra satellite receivers.

Please enter which brand you chose in the poll and if possible give us a little insight as to what tipped the scales for you.

MrCoffeeMax

Futaba - You get what you pay for

Spektrum beat Futaba to the market, but only by a few weeks and only because Futaba designed their system from the ground up to be dedicated to RC aircraft

The rest used "Off the Shelf" technology - and it shows

Guillermo Ibanez

My Feedback: (1)

Hi:

Futaba is not FHSS but FASST? (Futaba Advance Spread Spektrum Technology). Or am I wrong?

I

HellcatAce

My Feedback: (6)

They call it faast but it uses FHSS (frequency hopping spred spectrum) from what I understand

carrellh

I do not think any of them are truly "better" than the rest. I think you have to base your decision on attributes that are important to you.

If I were buying today it would be Futaba or Hitec. I use stick mode 3 and only Futaba and Hitec can be changed to that mode by the end user.

MikeL

My Feedback: (3)

There is no "best."  There are a lot of happy users of each system, and some unhappy users who didn't pick the system that best met their needs.

HellcatAce

My Feedback: (6)

I know exactly what my needs are, that's not the issue here.

There are specific differences that each manufacturer has that make people pick them. I'm not making a purchase decision based on this poll either.

I want to know what specific things made people pick the brand they went with and if it performed to their satisfaction and met their technical needs.

Maybe to prevent these types of basic replies I should have added "for you" to the poll question.

spaceboy

Aurora 9 and Hitec hands down. Best radio on the market.

carrellh

To get more than what you've already seen, maybe you should post a detailed list of your needs so people can address each one as it relates to the system they chose.

I do not have 2.4 gHz equipment but my "current" brand choices have been narrowed to two due to a specific feature I have to have.

stevenmax50

My Feedback: (1)

I like the Airtronics.  It is user friendly.  The manuel is well written and easy to go from one feature to the next. 
This is only my 3rd radio ever.  The other 2 were both 4ch FM.  So I do not claim to to know anything about the whistles and bells.  That is why the easy manuel is important.  I flew a trainer all last season so I did not need alot of features.  I will be flying a Tiger 60 this season as well so I needed dual rates and expo.  I also wanted multi model memory.  I am sure that all the radios in the poll have all these features.  SO the deciding factor for me was price.  
  For my type of flying, an 8ch, $160, 2.4 radio could not be beat. 

DougV

No, Futaba FASST is a DSSS system with channel shifting capabilities (Hybrid)

Doug.

BuschBarber

My Feedback: (2)

I am sure that the A9 will prove to be a worthy competitor to similar radios offered by other manufacturers, but lets be honest. The A9 is just coming out on the market and until it is widely distributed and many people have had the opportunity to use it in various environments, you cannot flatly say it is hands down the Best Radio on the Market.

This is not a slam against Hitec as I have purchased many Hitec Servos and Rx's over the years and the quality and service has been great.

The A9 is loaded and the price is great. There is not much history, yet, so just be a little bit cautious.

MikeL

My Feedback: (3)

So this is like a high school popularity contest? Useful.

ggraham500

My Feedback: (4)

Sorry, Doug, Futaba in fact uses FHSS technology that they call FASST. Frequency hopping from a technology standpoint is probably more secure in its connection.

DougV

Futaba FASST is a Hybrid system, if you look at the FCC documents shows FASST using a DSSS modulation (core).
Futaba makes there own IC chips, so they decided to add “channel shifting� using 36 channels instead of holding to two channels like DSM2.
But the core modulation for FASST and DSM2 is DSSS; both systems will check the band at boot and spread the data across the band.

Remember that if a system only uses FHSS it will not scan the band at boot, that's dangerous if you ask me.

If you like I can provide you with FCC documents, to me FASST has the best of both worlds, it will scan the band at boot and it will hop to different channels 36.

Doug.

DougV

HellcatAce,

If you’re planning on flying Helis, I will suggest Futaba specially the 8FG, awesome heli software and it’s really fast (very low latency).

Doug.

ww2birds

My Feedback: (14)

You might consider adding Weatronics .. I believe they are a generation ahead of all the systems listed.

bigedmustafa

My Feedback: (2)

F - Futaba
A - Advanced
S - Spread
S - Spectrum
T - Technology

FASST is just an advertising/marketing acronym to try to "brand" Futaba's FHSS radio systems.

I initially wanted to get a 2.4Ghz version of the Futaba 7C; I've been flying a 72Mhz 7C system happily for going on six years now.

Instead of sticking with Futaba, I was attracted to the Airtronics RDS8000 radio system. I still fly some of my older planes on my Futaba 7C 72Mhz radio, but I now own a pair of RDS8000s and I've been flying them heavily for almost two full year. My flying experience with the Airtronics FHSS radio platform can be summed up in just a few words: simplicity, reliability, dependability, and value. I haven't gotten a single glitch, brown-out, or lock-out in two years of flying my RDS8000s, and I've enjoyed buying extra 8-channel full range 2.4Ghz receivers for $65 each instead of $99 or $119 like the competition charges.

I think the Aurora 9 and the new Hitec family of 2.4Ghz FHSS radios and accessories are also terrific. Hitec managed to raise user friendliness to a whole new level while also supporting their existing users with great values for upgrade modules and receivers. I'd love to get to know the new Aurora 9 firsthand, and I think the new Optic 6 2.4Ghz radio is a great value as well.

Spektrum/JR is the only radio platform I haven't seriously considered at some point. JR 2.4Ghz transmitters and receivers are pricey and I hear frequent complaints that they are the least intuitive to program. Spektrum transmitters are too cheaply made, and I've witnessed first hand DX5e and DX6i transmitters breaking too easily even when practically brand new. The DX7 seems solidly made, but not very thoughtfully designed. The lack of a built-in throttle cut feature and the awkward location of the trainer switch on the DX7 still baffle me.

Specific transmitter quirks aside, I've watched my flying buddies suffer through brown-outs, lock-outs, lost receiver bindings, and other reliability problems that seem all too common for Spektrum DSM2 users. I know pilots who've lost multiple aircraft to these kinds of issues, but still insist that "Spektrum is awesome" and "Spektrum is the only way to go."

Airtronics is offering innovative and exciting new products like the SD-10G radio system and their FHSS-3 ultra low latency modulation system. Their RDS8000 is easily the best value on Earth for a programmable spread spectrum sport radio.

Hitec is offering innovative and exciting new products like the incredibly user friendly Aurora 9 radio system and receivers with Single Boosted Omnidirectional Antennas.

Futaba is offering 2.4Ghz updates of existing products for the most part, they're just not pricing their products competitively and instead relying on their existing brand image.

JR 2.4Ghz DSM2 radio equipment is well made but pricey; at the end of the day I still believe that expensive, well made DSM2 radio equipment isn't as reliable as FHSS.

Spektrum branded DSM2 radio equipment is called Spektrum because it's not good enough to put the JR name on it. Kudos to Horizon Hobby for fantastic marketing; Bind-and-Fly and Model Match are marketing concepts that will guarantee the continued success of Spektrum brand radio systems no matter how much better the equipment of Spektrum's competitors may be.

In my opinion, JR and Futaba deserve to be toppled in the marketplace by Airtronics and Hitec. The more established radio manufacturers have been outmaneuvered by their smaller competitors, and now lead only in the ultra high end 12-to-14 channel market segment.

DougV

LOL, can you please read page 5 of this FCC document and tell us what kind of modulation is Futaba using?
https://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/prod/oet/f...ive_or_pdf=pdf

Doug.

AJsToyz

You need to check the Aurora manual, can be changed very easy and fast! I started with Futaba, moved to JR, now I'm on Hitec!! LOL

faulknej

My Feedback: (9)

Airtronics SD-10G can also bechanged by the user to any of the 4 modes. Page 15 in the manual.

redkav

I use both the Airtronics RDS8000 and SD10G for several reasons:

1. The SD10G software can be downloaded to my PC and updated via a USB cable.
2. The SD10G minimizes the potential for brownouts. Most servos become sluggish when your batteries drop to around 3.0 volts. The SD10G receiver will operate below 2.0 volts - maybe down to 1.5 volts. Therefore, you will see sluggish control response before you lose receiver connectivity.
3. With two extended length antennas on one receiver, installation is easy and reliable.
4. When using retracts, I can program the speed at which the servo moves giving me more realistic retract action.
5. As far as I can tell, the SD10G is on par feature/function with the new 9503 and many of the upper end Futaba systems - so why pay more for the same functionality. As always, there might be a few features both ways that one mfg has the other doesn't.
6. The RDS8000 is the best value for a sport radio on the market at approx $189.
6. The SD10G is the best value on the market. Currently, the SD10G sells for $399 including transmitter and 10 channel receiver. Available from Hobby People or your local hobby shop.

I am not a follow the pack kind of guy and look and the feature/functionality. Airtronics seems to have this addressed for me.

BarracudaHockey

My Feedback: (11)

They all work.

ka9fax

My Feedback: (9)

I went from Futaba to JR about 2 years ago, night and day differance. I will never look back.

summerwind

would you please elaborate?