I am soon ordering my 4* and will probably go ahead and get a comp radio while i'm at it. What radio with servos reciever and such under 250 do you guys reccomend. I am thinking the 7 caf anye other ones that you guys reccomend and whats the dif with the 7caf and 6exas besides the channel difference

Futaba 7 is a much more capable radio with a broader set of mixes.

ok, can you go itno more detail

If you get the Futaba 7CHP (NOT 7 CAF), it will also have heli mixing. I would either get a futaba 7C (I have the 7 CAP) or a Hitec Optima 6. One guy at our club has one and it works good. And you can change freqencies whenever you want.

I brake, intersting. I looked for the optic 6, yet i couldn't find it at tower

The 6EXA is light on features compared to the 7 and 9 channel computer radios, but if you use it to fly a 4* you're not going to be able to tell the difference. I've used a 6EXA for a little more than a year and like the radio, however since the plane I am finishing up is a 90" scale model with six seervo's the 6EXA does the job but just barely. One of these days I will but an end to my temptation and buy a 9-10 channel radio, but not yet. If you're going to be flying sport models for the next year or so, I would look at the 6 channel computer radios from Futaba, Airtronics, JR and Hitec.

6EXA with servos is about $180 - good introductory radio, but not in the same class as the futaba 7C
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXCZR6**&P=ML

Hitec Optic 6, $210 would be in a similar clas to the Futaba 7C
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...=LXGZW3**&P=ML


If you have specific questions we can answer, that would be fine. I am not going to copy them here for comparison. I have posted comparisons but don't have them with me to post.

If you search on 6exa, 7C and optic all together and posts by aeajr, you will find one of my comparison posts.

Im in the same boat...have a 4* built up...getting ready to get radio, thinking the 7cap ... i know its not going to make alot of difference with the 4*, but i dont want to buy another radio everytime i get a new plane...thank god for flight packs....

the 7 channels can come in handy on the corsair that im planning to build....

rjm, thats what the thing with me is, i dont plane on a new radio for some time. So, the 7cap would be awsome.

You can go to the Futaba site and read the manuals and compare features between their models and some of the others. A little work but will take some of the "OPINION" factor out of it and you can make your own decisions based on facts. Of course not all mfg put their manuals on the web, wonder why not? What are they hiding? Or are they just greedy and want to sell you everything? In this day and age it is just good sales policy and customer service. Saw one of the new Futaba 14 Ch at the field the other day, WOW. Whistles and bells. Way beyond what I need but sooooo purrty. Guy that has it does a lot of competition flying.

PS. Rumors are not true, it does not make coffee, only tea.

ok bruce, i will do that. That 14 channel really is odd to me. Why in the world would you ever need 14 channels? It looks like a bit too much. But then again i will probably buy one in the next ten years

Some of the guys want to have extreme amounts of mixing where every surface may have it's own channel. This would include each elevator half (2) each aileron (2), each flap (2), each spoiler(2) or more, brakes, separate nose gear steering, retracts, gear doors, speed brakes, exterior lights, parachute deployment, engine start, separate throttles on multi-engines, drogue chutes, cockpit canopy that opens and the list goes on. Some have said that 14 isn't even enough and are talking about co-pilots with a second transmitter for some functions. The scale guys really get into it. Oh yeah, exterior lights too. See what I mean now? and each of those surfaces I mentioned would need to be trimmable/adjustable.

New twist... Enter the Airtronics
You have two choices here teh Airtronics VG6000 which is close to the 6EXA than the 7C and the Airtronics RD6000 which is closer in line wiht the OPtic 6 and the Fut. 7C.
I have an RD6000 and a friend at the club has the 7C.. and together witha friend that has another RD600 agree that the Airtronics unit is hands down easier to set-up and program than the 7C it van handle both planes and helos its switch selectable so you can use your futaba , hitec, jr or airt receiver
and the price is cool
Futaba 7c $ 240 - 270
Airtronics VG6000 $ 170
Airtronics RD 6000 $ 250
Optic 6 $ 210
This being you 2nd plane and radio I would go for the Optic for price/features and then the Airtronics for ease of use/price
But then again what do I know.....

I just never have really liked airtronics... then again i havent used one

Bruce, That is crazy.. Co-Pilot, man. Anyways... I got my reciever back, so i guess i need to re hook everything up...

NEWB: Don't rule out the new JR6102. For the money, it's got lots of features. $250. Me, my dad and my brother all three use this radio. Another fellow club member just bought one who was a dedicated Futaba man. He raves about this radio claiming how much easier it is to program than Futaba. Check it out: http://www.horizonhobby.com/Shop/ByC...odID=JRP6644**

ok, one more question, what the difference in pcm and fm?

PCM allows you to program the receiver so if it looses signal, the servos will go to a pre-set state, like throttle all the way down, a little up elevator, and straight and level ailerons etc... FM does not allow that. I've heard that PCM is way overrated. Personallly, I run all FM. You'll hear much debate over the two....

rjm,
why will you need seven channels on a corsair?

The MAJORITY of people will NEVER use more than 6 channels--it's that simple. I'm building a texan right now which will have dual aileron servos, dual split flaps, and pneumatic retracts, and will be only using 6 channels. Sure, I could use seven, if I wanted to put the ailerons on separate channels, but the overall flight of the plane would be litle, if any, different.

Go with the jr 6102. Me, my dad, and my brother all use one, and there's this guy at my brother's field that just bought one and changed over from futaba......yada yada yada....

Sorry, couldn't resist! (twistr is my bro).

The fact of the matter is that you can fly virtually any non-jet plane with 4 channels. After that extra channels give you:

Easy trimming from the radio if all surfaces are on separate channels
More flexible mixing
More functions you can control.

I have a 9 channel Futaba 9C and I am looking at running out of channels for hte Ventus 2C sailplane I am setting up if I decide to add landing gear AND air breaks.

However initally I will only be using 8 channels.

R = 1
E = 1
A = 2
F = 2
Tow release = 1

That is 7, but channel 3 is used as a mixer for some of the mixes I want to use, so that makes 8


Radios like the 7C, Optic 6, 6102, Airtronics VG6000 do not have the ability to handle a 4 servo wing, so if you want to set up flaps on two channels, you can't.

do you need that? No, unless you want to set up an ultra stick or a full house sailplane where the flaps follow the ailerons for better roll.

Just a point of info.

I am currently using the 6exas for my 4 *. This is my second plane. The 6exas is fine for my skill level, however, I am already starting to look into another radio. There are two reasons for this.
1, the plane I am currently building will have flaps and retracts. This leaves only one channel for each of the functions, which leaves no room for added functions or separate channels for ailerons.
2, I fly from a crowded field and I am considering a multi frequency radio.

The Opti 6 gives me multi frequency, but still 6 channels. The 7CAP would give me one more channel, but is fixed frequency.

The two radios I am now looking at are the Opti 7 ($218 at ServoCity), and the 8 channel Tracker III which is about to be released by Polk ($200). There are features of both that appeal to me, but I am leaning toward The Tracker. The features that are attracting me to the Polk are, the extra channel for the price, the frequency is selected electronically and does not require removing the synth module, and when you select a frequency, the radio will not start transmitting if the radio detects usage on the same channel.

Scott

I think the futaba 7 will do me fine. But it will be a little bit till i do order.

One last question.

Whats the difference in the old 6exa and the new one?

Old 6EXA to new one?

http://www.futaba-rc.com/radios/futk55.html

Don't see an old/new

Tower is indicating that the 6EXA is discontinued, and has been replaced with a 6EXAS. The only difference I can see right off-hand is that the 6EXAS contains 4-character model naming, while the 6EXA only had model #'s for different models. There's probably more programming enhancments that haven't been identified yet, since the 6EXAS isn't due out until the end of April.

ok. Thanks guys.

futaba is not listing it on their web site yet.