When buddy boxing does the actually controler that doesnt have the crystal in it matter how many channerls it has. MY main control is a 5ch. Im going to coonect it to a person that wants to learn how to fly. Does that remote haev to have 5ch, or does it run off of mine

Most trainers only require 4 channels. The main radio needs to be one that is on the same frequency as the receiver in the plane. The buddy box does not necessarily need to have the crystal removed. You need to read the instructions that come with the radios, and be sure that the radios you are using are compatible.

Chuck has it right. radios must be compatable. not the same brand just compatable. with the right buddy cord. theres jr to futaba. there's round to round square to square and square to round within futaba and it makes a difference when the 2 radios were built. best thing get together look at the 2 xmitrs and go from there. REMEMBER ONLY TURN ON THE TRANSMITTER THAT THE STUDENT BRINGS DONT TURN ON THE BUDDY BOX.
have fun

I use all Futaba equip, but I do believe you have to turn on the power on the students box if you are using JR to JR, and remove crystal from student box. Futaba to Futaba only the Master box is turned on as jetmech stated, and when using the JR to Futaba Cord I am not sure if the Student Box is to stay off or on? I would assume the student Futaba box would have to be on using this configuration. Futaba (compatible) to Futaba (Comaptible) or JR to JR will be the easiest to get a cord for unless your hobby shop does happen to have the special JR to JR/Futaba Cord(JR must be used as Master Box) . When using two Futaba Radios you will have to know what jacks are needed. The newer Futaba Radios use a Square Plugin, and the older ones use a round plugin as stated above. So you will want to make sure you get the right cord!

Had a guy bring one of the new P-51 trainers to the field the other day. He had his own 4 ch buddy box. Problem was that every time we pushed the trainer button the flaps would deploy (servo installed obviously). No flap control on the buddy box. We took the easy way out and retracted the flaps and disconnected the servo. So I guess if the buddy box does not have enough channels for the installed equipment you MAY have a problem. THIS is one of the reasons for a thorough preflight before starting the engine.

good info, but im still asking this: f i have a 5ch, does the other have to be a 5ch too? or can it be less.

It can be less

is there a limit on how less.

It has to have enough to control all functions in the plane. If the plane has rud,ail,elev,throttle which one would you want to give up? I didn't think so.
4 Ch plane = 4 ch radio or more and 4 ch buddy box or more. It's that simple.

oh i got you, now i got it. thanksss

I would say no. I have 2 Jr xp421 radios. One is on 44 the other is on 53. I use the radio with 53 as a buddy box. This is how it works on Jr. What type of box/radio do you have?

jr

The important thing to remember is that the radio's are compatible. They must be the same manufacturer and of the same type for the radio's to work identically. For instance, I have an Airtronics RD6000 which is a six channel radio. I MUST use another RD6000 as a buddy box for all functions to work. If I use a different Airtronics buddy box, only the basic four channel operations work, trim comes from each radio (for instance, the main box is trimmed for straight level flight then once the flight is turned over to the buddy box (the button is pressed and held) the buddy box must also trim up for it's control. The four channels on the buddy box work as normal but you also have to insure that the reverse controls are set up correctly .. do all this on the ground to avoid that ground-aircraft interface we all fear!!!

With identical computer radio's, though, all functions of the main box will be available to the buddy box... again.. RD-6000 and RD-6000 linked together (for instance). I'm sure it is the same for the other three, Futaba, JR, and HiTec.

Good luck with your training.

DS

I have a Futaba 7CAP & a 4 channel buddy box & they work fine. On the computer radio (7CAP) you configure which channels you want to send to the buddy box & everything else stays on the master. For example, I set mine up to send the main 4 channels & the dual rates & flaperon's still work on the master box.

I guess each system is different. When I was in training, I had my RD6000 with the basic Airtronics buddy box. Only the standard four channels worked. Any computer input that was done on the main box was not seen or usable in the buddy box. Now, if I had another RD6000, and each radio was set up like the other (expo, end points, and so on), then they both would work the same, with the added capability.

Mostly, though, a new trainee doesn't need all that stuff. A newby has his/her hands full just getting the four channels to do what they are designed to do without all the computer aids.

DS.

I didn't really pay attention to the expo & stuff but I do have a dual channel aileron mix set up & it works fine on the buddy box, so i'm guessing the computer stuff just carries over on the standard 4 channels.

they dont have to be the same manufacturer, they do make a futaba to jr buddy cord. DO NOT TURN ON THE BUDDY BOX. when you plug in jr with the buddy cord the students box is turned on automatically. so make sure you unplug when your done after each and every flight.

I use the second radio turned off. I dont know if this works for computer radios, but works for simple ones.

Buddy box--only needs to be four channels to control the main control surfaces. All other features, if present (i.e. flaps, gear, etc.) shouldn't be a consideration to the student anyway.

with JR, DO NOT take out the crystal in the buddy box. There is no need, and I'm not even sure if it will work. Just don't turn the buddy box on. When you plug the trainer cord into the buddy box, it will power up immediately, (if the battery is charged), but will not broadcast a signal. It simply sees the master radio as it would DSC--direct servo control, and sends signals through the cord, and not through the air. With JR, you have to have a charged battery in the buddy box. With futaba, the buddy box draws power from the master--so no battery is required.