ORIGINAL: bw5493
Having flown for 35yrs now, I have had my issues on occaision with all the major brand stuff, and the occaisional Cheapie HK stuff. I have had a Futaba 9CAP quit talking to a PCM receiver, I have had a Hitech 7ch transmitter loose the rudder channel, and lost a pattern plan to a brown out on a Airtronics RDS8000, and I have had switches go bad and batteries fail in flight due to bad welds on the tabs.
I have had brand new Spektrum Digital servos jitter like they just pounded a Monster drink, and I have had a Hitec High Torgue Digital fail on my Turbines flaps. I just lost my Sig Sundancer using a Specktrum AR500 receiver, when it had dozens of flights on my 10X FM gear previous to that. Yet the $6 orange HK receiver in my glider hasnt had a single problem.
I think all companies have their problems, and what some of the folks a have said, you do tend to get what you pay for! I am not willing to trust my $3000 turbine to a $10 servo or receiver. It runs a JR 12X MV with a 1221 receiver and 4 satillite receivers, and medium priced $40-$50 Hitec digital servos.
Bottom line, you have to make the educated decsion, if your going to dump a grand into that next plane, why on earth wouldn't you trust that the best equipment you can afford is in it?
I have yet to see a Top gun competitor running cheap gear! I have never run across anyone running their new BVM KingKat with Bluebirds. Food for thought.
bw, I quoted your post because you write "Having flown for 35 years".
I have flown for 10 years longer the first period with scratch built radios without any problem but, about 35 years ago I did buy my Multiplex transmitter.
See the photographs, I controll all my planes with the transmitter over these 35 years, much more than on the photographs,
Is there one reason to buy another? Do I read about "brown out"?
Before my Multiplex, I did fly 26.995 MHz. color "Brown"!! Never had one single "brown out" only "brown on", see photograp 5.
(Only for my Orion I use another transmiitter, Multiplex, I received from an estate and I want to have "in the air" for memorial reasons!)
About 35 years ago I payed 1600 Dutch guilders for my new Multiplex Profi Modul; transmitter, receiver, four servos and battery's, .
This is classic RC pattern flying and that's why I have to smile about computer radio's!
Oh, maybe a good advice, mount your servos far away from the center of gravity, it must be possible to mount these in the wings for the ailerons and in the tail for elevator and rudder, vibrations will reduce the hysteresis of the friction of the linking!!!
Taurus Flyer