Ok, i'm kinda wanting to buy some extra electronics to build a spad. I have no idea about electrical systems on rc planes. So I have a few questions. Thank you in advance for whoever might reply. Bare with me, I'm just beggining to get into RC. So much to learn!!! Ok here goes...

1. I know i'll need a transmitter, reciever, servos, and a battery and charger. Anything else that i'll need?

2. Can I go on ebay and buy a futaba transmitter and maybe a hitec reciever... and then just buy 2 crystals of the same frequency?

3. Will all servos work on all recievers? What do I have to look for in order for them to work with my "mutt" of a system.

4. And what do I need to know about the battery being compatible?

Hiya and welcome!!

While you can cobble together a system (with the exception of the transmitter crystal, which FCC regulations require be tuned to the unit), to reduce the number of problems on your first system I suggest you purchase an entire package, which will include a transmitter, receiver, transmitter and receiver batteries, charger and servos... Tower Hobbies is an excellent mail order vendor, whose selection of radios can be found at:

http://www.towerhobbies.com/listings/cat-cat-j.html

Complete systems can be found on ebay, but in the unlikely event there is a problem, service can be a headache...

Depending on what your plans are in the hobby, a 6 channel radio system will likely do everything you need for at least a couple of years, which is an eternity in the development of radio systems... If you buy an upper end 9 channel today, by the time you are ready to really use it, there will be better systems available...

Which brand to buy is a matter of personal preference, and may be influenced by the other pilots at the flying field you will be using. If you plan to have them help you learn, having the same make system will make using a buddy box possible...

Do a search on this site to see what others are saying... Good luck!!

Cheers!

Jim

Yes, you can get a Futaba/Hitec Transmitter/receiver so long as the hitec recever is negative shift. Get crystals of the same frequency.

All servos will work except the older airtronics. the positive and negative leads were switched.

Dkf,

I can understand trying to save a few bucks trying to get into R/C. Everyone tries to save as much as possible BUT!!!!! Since you are just getting into the hobby, trying to piece together a radio system from EBAY is NOT the way to go. This is not a black mark against Ebay, I sell and buy a lot of very good equipment there.. but I have been in this hobby over 30 years and know what to buy and what to pay for it. A beginner will have enough challenges getting his plane to fly without having to worry about whether or not his radio is going to work. If you want to buy a used radio, check out your local club and ask what might be available. Usually someone has an older radio and will let you have it for a good value AND you can observe for yourself it's capabilities before cash changes hands. Outside of physical appearance and having the right number of channels, the main thing to check is RANGE. You should be able to turn the system on, Transmitter antenna down, and walk at LEAST 100 feet away from the radio and all servos still be operating correctly with no "jittery" servos. If you want to buy a new radio... check out your local hobby shop. Yes, I know his prices are higher than mail order (MAYBE), but at this point in your hobby, consider the extra money as buying advice and help.. something that a beginner always needs. Hope this helps.. and welcome to R/C !!

Deadstik......[8D]

Deadstik is right! If you're inexperienced, you can get into a lot of trouble mixing and matching, especially with used equipment. Pick up a cheap 4 channel radio (About $100), and you will avoid a LOT of headaches.

And Welcome to RCU!

Buying a used system can be a good deal or it can be a BIG mistake.

A used 4 channel system will have worn servos (who knows how long they will last...) and a RX that has een through who knows how many wrecks. The NiCds will be old... maybe good maybe they'll go bad next week (there goes $30 to $70 to replace the batteries...[X(])

A low end 4 channel FM system is about $100 new. that's about what youwould be into a CHEAP used 4 channel system if you had to buy replacement NiCds and didn't need new crystals. The 4 servos and the RX with the airborne battery purchased as a "fligt pack" would cost about $95.... so that TX is darn near FREE! (and you get a warrantee on the system...)

If you stick with the hobby long enough to need the capabilities of a 6ch or better radio... a newer better radio will be out by the time you need it. (and it will be cheaper to get the same capabilities. My Futaba Super-7 was about $600 when it came out... a new 8 Ch with MORE computer functions is under $300 now.) AND... when you want the better radio... you'll most likely want to have more than one plane ready to fly at a time... so the extra set of servos and RX will be wanted anyway...

Hows that for justifying... get the cheap new 4 ch to start

Well, I bought a Nexstar Select. I was possibly wanting to buy an extra system to mess around with. Maybe build a cheap spad to learn with so I didn't risk making kindling out of my new Nexstar.

The Nexstar will be a better trainer than th SPAD. Its lighter and the slower flying will make learning easier.

The Nexstar has this nice warrantee... if you break it while learning under instruction of an AMA member... they will repair or replace it FREE! Can't beat that with a stick. So just go find an instructor and get that thing into the air!

You don't really need another TX at this time if you want to get a second plane ready to fly... but again.... its just as cheap to get the $100 full system as the $95 airborne pack... and you won't have to deal with playing musical charger to get both charged to fly. (and having 2 systems on 2 different frequencies means less chance you have to wait on someone using "your" freqency. also no playing with resetting the radio when you swap models)

FCC regs say DON'T swap crystals in your TX. Its a Law... Its commonly ignored but there really is no good reason to ignore it. (and plenty of reasons to obey it...) It was a mistake for the radio manufactures to have the crystals as easilly accessable as they are. It was a mistake for the radio manufacturers to sell the TX crystals so freely.