Radio systems
12-27-2003, 07:11 PM
#1
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Radio systems
I know Mr Mod, wrong forum, but wanted opinions from the beginners group 
I will be buying a radio system soon, like within the next 2 weeks. Will be my first radio. Looking for a simple 4 chan, possibly a 6 chan if the price is not that much of a differance.
Any reason to buy a JR, Futaba, or HiTech? or even AirTronics for that matter?
Looking at the 4 diff manufacturers, they are all about the same price with the same features.
Thanks for any opinions,
RichD
I will be buying a radio system soon, like within the next 2 weeks. Will be my first radio. Looking for a simple 4 chan, possibly a 6 chan if the price is not that much of a differance.
Any reason to buy a JR, Futaba, or HiTech? or even AirTronics for that matter?
Looking at the 4 diff manufacturers, they are all about the same price with the same features.
Thanks for any opinions,
RichD
12-27-2003, 08:07 PM
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RE: Radio systems
I went through the same stage only recently and decided to go with the transmitter type the rest of the local club used
1.the instructor has the same type so theres no problems with buddy box setup
2.proven to be reliable
3.it was in excelent condition second hand with 8 top of the line servos and an 8 channel RX unit.
WE all use Hitec systems.
Hope it helps
Anthony
1.the instructor has the same type so theres no problems with buddy box setup
2.proven to be reliable
3.it was in excelent condition second hand with 8 top of the line servos and an 8 channel RX unit.
WE all use Hitec systems.
Hope it helps
Anthony
12-29-2003, 11:08 AM
#5
RE: Radio systems
Would have to agree with checking with your instructor, and then if he doesn't have a futaba, find one that does. hahahaha. Just kidding, they are all pretty good radios now. Get one that is compatible with the others so you can get on the buddy box and learn right.
12-29-2003, 11:37 AM
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RE: Radio systems
Oh, I just can't resist a good Me Too this morning. .
Use what others around are using. Partly for buddy box compatibility, but it also helps with setup and spare parts and such. It really helps when you start to try messing around with a computer radio. Having someone who's set up your brand before makes it a lot easier.
. Use what others around are using. Partly for buddy box compatibility, but it also helps with setup and spare parts and such. It really helps when you start to try messing around with a computer radio. Having someone who's set up your brand before makes it a lot easier.
12-30-2003, 02:44 PM
#8
RE: Radio systems
Which radio should I buy. All new flyers ask this question.
The brands you are considering are all good. I fly all Hitec. The prices are good and the service is excellent. But I have nothing bad to say about the other brands.
I am going to take my answer to the next questions that beginners ask.
How many channels do I need? You will get many opinions.
And, you will get a debate on whether you need a standard radio or a computer
radio and what mixes come with each. What does that mean?
First it is important to realize that you should be able to fly any plane on 4
channels. That is enough to control rudder, elevator, ailerons and throttle.
With that you can fly an indoor plane, an electric park flyer or a giant high
powered plane.
However, with more channels you gain flexibility. For example, you can put
two servos on the ailerons and control them individually. You can operate
moveable landing gear. And, when it comes to gliders/sailplanes you are
likely to do more surface mixing than on power planes, so if you into
sailplanes and plan to fly full house sailplanes, you typically want more than
4 channels so you can do that fancy surface mixing. The club wizards
recommended at least 7 channels for full houuse sailplanes.
Here is a typical channel breakdown. These apply to electrics, glo and
gliders.
Rudder - 1
Elevator - 1
Ailerons - 1 or 2
Spoilers/Flaps - 1 or 2
Motor/tow hook/landing gear - 1
That makes 5 or 7.
Could you use 9? Sure, if you have the money?
How about 12? Sure, if you have the money?
I am not pushing a given number of channels, just trying to help establish
what they are used for. In my opinion, most sport flyers will be well served
with a 5 channel computer radio and be able to do what they need to do for
years. Bump it up to 7 channels and you have about all you need to fly almost
any sport plane without feeling you are short channels. If your plane has
bomb doors, fires rockets, ejects pilots, and stuff like that, 12 might not be
enough.
For the rest of us, why would 7 be enough. You typically don't have spoilers
and flaps on the same plane. A motor and a tow hook would not likely reside on the same plane either. While landing gear is very rare on sailplanes it is common on power planes, but then you really don't need two flap servos because power planes don't usually do the kind of
complex flap mixing that sailplanes use. So 7 will still usually do it unless you are into really complex planes or really advanced competition.
AM vs. FM
AM is fine. I have one and have had no problems
FM is better based on lots of technical stuff.
Dual Conversion FM receivers are generally better than single conversion as it
does more to filter out stray signals and other garbage.
Range
Be aware of range and how far out you are likely to fly your plane. This is
partially a function of how big your field is and what you are flying.
Here are some thoughts:
Indoor flyers will no likely exceed 500 feet and 300 is probably enough.
Slow flyers, small parkflyers, say speed 300 class and below, are probably OK
with 500-1000' range
For two meter sailplanes and larger faster parkflyers above the 300 class, as
well as small to medium size glo planes, half a mile/2500 feet, would probably
be OK. The sailplanes tend to get high and the others are fast enough to eat
up ground quickly.
For larger glo planes, 3 meter plus sailplanes you want the 1 mile class of
receiver.
There is no such thing as having equipment with too much range, but a three
meter sailplane can exceed a half mile transmitter because it is large enough
to be easily flown that far away. You don't want to be flying at the edge of
your equipment's range. Weak batteries, interference and such can shorten the
range resulting in you losing control when you seem to be with the working
range of your equipment, so when in doubt, bump it up some.
I know this goes beyond your question, but I hope it was helpful.
The brands you are considering are all good. I fly all Hitec. The prices are good and the service is excellent. But I have nothing bad to say about the other brands.
I am going to take my answer to the next questions that beginners ask.
How many channels do I need? You will get many opinions.
And, you will get a debate on whether you need a standard radio or a computer
radio and what mixes come with each. What does that mean?
First it is important to realize that you should be able to fly any plane on 4
channels. That is enough to control rudder, elevator, ailerons and throttle.
With that you can fly an indoor plane, an electric park flyer or a giant high
powered plane.
However, with more channels you gain flexibility. For example, you can put
two servos on the ailerons and control them individually. You can operate
moveable landing gear. And, when it comes to gliders/sailplanes you are
likely to do more surface mixing than on power planes, so if you into
sailplanes and plan to fly full house sailplanes, you typically want more than
4 channels so you can do that fancy surface mixing. The club wizards
recommended at least 7 channels for full houuse sailplanes.
Here is a typical channel breakdown. These apply to electrics, glo and
gliders.
Rudder - 1
Elevator - 1
Ailerons - 1 or 2
Spoilers/Flaps - 1 or 2
Motor/tow hook/landing gear - 1
That makes 5 or 7.
Could you use 9? Sure, if you have the money?
How about 12? Sure, if you have the money?
I am not pushing a given number of channels, just trying to help establish
what they are used for. In my opinion, most sport flyers will be well served
with a 5 channel computer radio and be able to do what they need to do for
years. Bump it up to 7 channels and you have about all you need to fly almost
any sport plane without feeling you are short channels. If your plane has
bomb doors, fires rockets, ejects pilots, and stuff like that, 12 might not be
enough.
For the rest of us, why would 7 be enough. You typically don't have spoilers
and flaps on the same plane. A motor and a tow hook would not likely reside on the same plane either. While landing gear is very rare on sailplanes it is common on power planes, but then you really don't need two flap servos because power planes don't usually do the kind of
complex flap mixing that sailplanes use. So 7 will still usually do it unless you are into really complex planes or really advanced competition.
AM vs. FM
AM is fine. I have one and have had no problems
FM is better based on lots of technical stuff.
Dual Conversion FM receivers are generally better than single conversion as it
does more to filter out stray signals and other garbage.
Range
Be aware of range and how far out you are likely to fly your plane. This is
partially a function of how big your field is and what you are flying.
Here are some thoughts:
Indoor flyers will no likely exceed 500 feet and 300 is probably enough.
Slow flyers, small parkflyers, say speed 300 class and below, are probably OK
with 500-1000' range
For two meter sailplanes and larger faster parkflyers above the 300 class, as
well as small to medium size glo planes, half a mile/2500 feet, would probably
be OK. The sailplanes tend to get high and the others are fast enough to eat
up ground quickly.
For larger glo planes, 3 meter plus sailplanes you want the 1 mile class of
receiver.
There is no such thing as having equipment with too much range, but a three
meter sailplane can exceed a half mile transmitter because it is large enough
to be easily flown that far away. You don't want to be flying at the edge of
your equipment's range. Weak batteries, interference and such can shorten the
range resulting in you losing control when you seem to be with the working
range of your equipment, so when in doubt, bump it up some.
I know this goes beyond your question, but I hope it was helpful.
12-31-2003, 12:26 AM
#9
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RE: Radio systems
If you are seriously going to stay in this hobby/sport/insanity, get the best you can afford. I started with futaba skysport4 and I really dont recommend it. The servos rarely center the same and adding more planes/receivers can be tricky to setup. I would strongly recommend a six channel system minimum, they dont cost THAT much more and quality is improved a lot. I fly with eclipse 7 from hitec and give this unit a strong thumbs up! For someone new, it is easy to setup, instructions are good, and offers many features that are way cool to play with down the road.
