ive been flying for a year now and never until now really thought about my radios max range i have a tactic 2.4 4ch. and a hitec aruroa 9 2.4 and would like to know what there ranges are</p>

Farther than you can see to control your aircraft.....

Im going to guess 12,387 ft, 11 in.

The range is farther than you can see the plane. The is in a wide open space with no obstructions of any kind. The lower your plane is to the ground, the less range you will have. That is, a plane 200' high will have a longer range than a plane that is 20' high from the ground.

I know 1st hand the a 2.4 DX7 has a range of a little over 2 miles. Again, with NO obstructions and over 200' high.

well thats good to know ive always been alittle afraid to let my plane travel to far and loose it now that i know i have around that much range it will be nice to get alittle more distance

Tactic?????????? Never heard of it but the small radios that come with a lot of the RTF planes have a much shorter range?? So I'm told. Your A-9, a lot farther then I can see them. I do fly with a few guys that try to prove they can fly past the limit of the radio, they fly past my range of site so I can't say how far out they really are.

Take your plane and set it on the ground and back away until gets too small to be able to fly. Then measure the distance. I'll be it is a lot close than you think. Range isn't a problem with today's transmitters. However, some receivers don't have the gain to be able to receive the signal. Mostly the park flier variety. Be careful trying to use them for glow flying. We had a couple of planes crash because the pilot was using park flier receivers. I crashed one of his planes when he asked me to trim it for him. He didn't say what was in it. I flew it to the end of our property approx. 400ft and it dove into the ground. He looked at me, and said " Last week my trainer did the same thing at the other end of the field!!" That is when he told he was using park flier receivers in the planes.

Gene,
Tactic radios are sold by Futaba/Hobbico. They are an entry level of radio that they are offering on the market. They work really well and I would trust them just the same as I would trust a Futaba radio.

4-channel
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...XYWM9&amp;P=ML

6-channel
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...XARNY&amp;P=ML



To answer the original question. With the plane in the air, and no obstructions, the range of most major name brand radios is about 1 to 1-1/2 miles. Like it was said above, you can control the plane farther than you can see it!!!! Trust me, most planes at a mile away are going to be a speck, if you can even see it any longer!!!

I wouldn't worry about your range.

Ken

I'm going to have to break down and buy a magazine, I'm falling behind the times again!![&o]

i was just wondering ive been flying and not feeling comfortable because of range i had a park flyer plane that if i went close to 100 yards it would just drop out of the air and my tactic is not a parkflyer radio ive been useing it on my tower hobbies 40 trainer and its been great i only have 2 problems with it one was the strap the hook on it snapped as i was starting to take off so lucky nothing bad happened besides i broke my prop because it jerked nose down when the radio hit the ground and two i wish the sticks on it had a stronger spring i'd like to have alittle more tension on them

Im sorry, I missed the Tactic 4 ch part. I'm going to edit my 1st post. There is no antenna on it, only a little "bump" thing on it. I looked up the output, 0.1 watts. I'm going to have to revise my GUESS down to 2000-3000 feet. Thats still a long way, buy I wouldn't fly it super far away.

I was reading too fast and seen 2.4 and Hitec. Sorry, my bad.

Hey just noticed this post..

Range checking my radios is something I do with every new Transmitter, and every new receiver... When installed in the aircraft / helicopter I will set up my transmitter, and walk, holding the model and turning it in all orientations.

I keep walking until I lose signal..

I do this with every new item before I trust it in an aircraft.. (I found one lemon receiver this way that lost range at 200 meters,even though it passed the "standard" range check as recommended in the Tranmitter manual)

ingeneral the range of my Futaba and Spektrum2.4 Ghz equipment is fabulous.. I easily get over 2 kilometers... at that distance even a person is too small to see.

I always use full range receivers.. even in my park flyers..

Here is my post about range checking futaba and Spektrum beside a 30 year old radio..

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9829320

And at the beginning of this video I talk about range checking my DX8 with the AR8000 receiver.. well over 2 Kilometers again..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV_SaVm-xlo[/youtube]

I do these range checks with every new receiver

There is nothing in either the product information sheet nor the manual that indicates that this is a full-range radio system. I would treat it as though it was a park-flyer range type radio.

And, as stated, a full range check is usually considered as part of pre-flight and should never be avoided.

CGr.

well i only use my tactic radio for my trainer plane and use my hitec for everything else and im getting ready to fly my biggest plane for the first time and ever since my park flyer plane i had ive never really been comfortable with range ive alway done a preflight range test like the manuel say but i never seen unless i keep over looking it a max range for the radio and receiver

Yes, very true.. I'd walk range test it and determine the real range... that is the safest way..

I doubt many manufacturers would publish a range figure.. there are too many variables... A full walk range test will give you the best idea of the range of your aircraft.. My spektrum "full range" receivers and futaba FASST equipment have all proven to be solid at over 2 kilometers.. I rarely fly further than 300 meters away so I know range will never be an issue.. (one less thing to think about)

It's not that I wouldn't trust the Tactic for a larger scale glow powered aircraft, however, it does not say that it's a full-range system. And, looking at the receiver, it has one antenna (not that it means anything.. look at the Futaba which has one and is a full range RX) but combined with the output power of that transmitter, I would have to assume that it's not a full-range system, but I could be wrong.

Best bet, as both Rob and I suggested, is to range check the thing before flying, but be selective in its use. They don't publish range, but most will say "full range" or "park flyer" or something like that, in their specs or writeup's.

In my opinion, the Hitec would be a better choice for a full-range application.

CGr.

The receiver is listed as 'full range.' http://www.tacticrc.com/tacl0624.html

A few weeks ago I found the range of my Futaba 37Mhz, It was about 110 meters..I was flying my 91 size P47. Saw the wings rocking and pitching, looked down at the TX and saw my antenna down...Yes I had been flying 2.4 all mornning untill then..I said to myself that Id never let that happen to me!!!
So easy to let it happen..My usual spotter was away....

As wilh all my radios,except the cheap parkies I loose sight before range.

Thanks. I didn't even see that on the right.

CGr.

Funny how some will post on a subject they know little about, even when there's info a mouse-click away. 

OK, maybe not so funny...

"The wise man says, "He who knows he knows, knows nothing;
He who knows he knows of nothing, really knows."
Not trying to flame, but I never post based on 'hunches'.

Tactics have been out a couple years now, and are innovative, reliable radios. When they were first shown at Toledo, they were priced at least 1/2 of comparable radios. My buddy bought a couple, they work great.

I can see that would be very easy to happen!..

I only fly 2.4 now, and when a friend handed me his FM TX, it just felt WRONG having that long antenna!.. (even though its what I used for 30 years previously!)

I once did a range check on a Tactic TX404. I got 8/10 of a mile away before I even got a glitch. I then looked back to where the Tx was and believe me, I would never fly that far away!

So, what are you saying? You never missed something in a post before? [X(]

At least I admit when I make a mistake.

CGr.

I doubt many people would fly 500 meters away.. most aircraft would look like a speck at that distance.. maybe some of the sailplanes would get that far away.. but my helis rarely get more than 100 - 150 meters away.. My EDF jets, maybe 250 - 300 Meters...If you are flying with full range equipment and it has been tested, then range is not ever going to be an issue when flying..

Funny though.. almost every time I fly, a spectator will ask me "How far does the radio work" I always say.. "much further than I could ever see the aircraft... "