Hey Guys. Please enlighten me. I know for an AVERAGE trainer you need a 4 channel radio with 4 servos right? I planned on purchasing a computer radio. Should i get a 6 or 7 channel? Obviously the point of getting a computer radio at this juncture would enable me to get more advanced models down the road but where do i draw the line. I was planning on getting the
Futaba 6EXAS 6-Channel FM/4 S3151 Servos. To start on a trainer? Would this radio give me the ability to fly any type of airplane in the future?... With the exception of helis.

well, i bought a 6exas and im not doing anything crazy if u know what i mean. My trainer worked great with it and my 4 star is working great with it, except the fact that i have not flown my 4 star yet, ground tests are good. Its really easy to use and u can program several models and it can do flaps landing gear, and most of the other fancy stuff. But how far do u want to go? for me the 6 exas is goign to work perfect. I mean eventually do u want to go into jets and more advanced planes or do u want to stay a little more low key. I know some people will disagree with me and others will agree. But mainly, it a great radio and if u have a pretty good idea of where u are goign than i say go for it. i wish that i went with the s3141 servos, amazing that each servo is $34 and the s3004 are like 15 however the price only changes 20.

G'day Mate, it all depends on what you intend to get into in the future, for instance if you are going to fly larger aircraft, that use 2 servos for ailerons, & 2 servos for elevators, 1 for rudder & 1 for throttle, then the minimum would be 7 channels, that way you don't need Y leads, & you have great control over all your flying surfaces, remember that the 7th channel is for retractable wheels. So it all depends on how much money you want to spend & what you want to do in the future.
Good Flyin Mate.
Allan.

I have the 6EXA, and it's great, but like the other guys say, it all depends on what your flying future holds.
For some people, the 6 channel set will be all they will ever need, for others, progress will require extra features.
Everyones different, so unless you know what your flying future will bring, then I would get the 6 channel set for now, it should see you through about 2-3 years at least anyway.
Then if you decide it's not enough for you, then get a better one later.

I started off on a basic 4ch set, but 6 months later found that I had outgrown it, and bought the 6EXA set, which I have now had for a year and filled 4 of the 6 memories.
I can't see me needing any other set for the time being still, so I can see this one lasting me a few years still as yet, as it does everything I need it to.
For most people the advanced functions that you get on the better models don't even get used until about 2-3 years of flying experience, where you get to the point of being able to make good use of them, some will dissagree on this, but there is stuff on them that a lot will never need, or not need for a long time.
Yes it's good to have lots of spare channels for seperate mixing, but not essential, the beginner won't see any advantage of it until a great deal of experience has been gained, so just using Y leads is highly commonplace, and acceptable.
If you ever need a two elevator set up, there are ways around it, by either using the custom mix on the 6EXA set, a servo reverser, opposite servo mounting (one facing forwards, one facing backwards), or even two different makes of servo that operate the opposite way to each other naturally (can't remeber which ones though, may be JR & Futaba)

The options are not all closed just because of a lesser enabled set.

Hope this helps, and good luck [sm=thumbup.gif]

The 6ex is fine,, EVEN for helis, I fly my T Rex Heli with a 6EX. Its a nice budget starter computer radio.

If you are SERIOUS about wanting a computer radio and you dont want to spend a mint for it... Get yourself a Futaba 9CAP (yes PCM, its better than FM and you will want it once you really understand what the difference between PCM and FM) and you wont ever NEED another radio. Its about $400 including 4 servos and a reciever. I have flown with a 9C, 9Z, 14M and JR 10x,,,,, and the 9C is more user friendly than the others and every bit as functional from a practical perspective. The 14M has a ton more bells and whistles, but the 9C basically has the same user friendly format and all of the functionality of a $1000 for $400. I think JR makes something similar to the Futaba 9C (maybe 8103?) but I know from experience with just about every radio you can get today that the 9C rocks.

Heres what it lacks from a 9Z and or 14M

Conditional programming. Whats that? My point exactly.
Windows format
Onboard Music playback.
Built in tachometer
Touch Screen
Moveable switches
A few other bells and whistles that are really nice but way beyond unnecessary.

Yep, but not just any 6EXA, its a dedicated heli version, the 6EXAH - I believe [sm=rolleyes.gif]
as the normal 6EXA doesn't have any throttle curve settings etc that are essential, so cannot be used for heli use [sm=thumbup.gif]

You are correct. The 6EXH is what you need for helis,

back to the original point though,,, the 9CAP is also fully functional helicopter radio. The only real difference is the smooth throttle stick and 1 mix that you dont have to have.

Yep, but like anything else, you usually get what you pay for in the long run

What is a difficult deciding factor for a beginner is what to get initially.
The beginner is faced with an expensive set up to start with as it is, with having to shell out for absolutely everything all in one go so that he/she can go and fly.


If he/she decides after a while that the hobby is not for them, or they find it too difficult etc, then they will end up getting rid of all their gear anyway, so the less they spend initially, the better really, just while they decide if it really is for them.
They may think that it is, and in most cases that is true, but there are the odd few that once started to actually do it, end up quitting, for various reasons.
Our hobby may seem very fascinating and a lot of fun to a lot of people, but when it comes down to the nitty gritty, it can be a different story altogether, with problems arising with equipment, & setting up etc.
All the begginner wants to do is fly without all the hassle, but that is not always possible, as we know all too well.


A lot of modellers build up their equipment over a number of a few years, and as experience is gained, they have a better understanding of what they then want from the hobby so can progress further by buying the right equipment to let them do that.

So to just summerise in my opinion, from my experience, I would go for a basic computerised set such as the 6EXA to start with as the extra features you get with it compared to a basic 4ch set is worth the liitle extra cash, as they are not much more expensive than a basic 4ch set anyway.
Then see how you go after that.

The 6EXA should last the average beginner 2 years at least anyway and see them through their first few models of a trainer, to low winger, to aerobatic, and thats if they can get as far as that in that amount of time, - I have, but not everyone does.
There were guys at the club I used to go to that flew their trainers for two years and were still asking the instructor to take off and land for them!
I pick up most stuff easily, and managed to go solo after about 2 1/2 months, but thats me, some never grasp it, and some give up trying, everyones different.

There are two schools of thought on this. I'm with the start simple and buy for actual needs now.

Why? You won't have any realistic appreciation or idea of what you truly need until you've learned to swim and are comfortable in the water so to speak. When you have with some experience under your belt, your will be in a far better postion to make an informed choice and smart decisions. Especially in the entry phase with heightened enthusiasm stimulating buyer excitement, it's normal to want all the bells and whistles and everything you see NOW, none of which you can or will actually use or need for an aeon if you're anything like the rest of us.

So pick your brand, and by all means buy a computer radio, but start basic with a 4 or 6 channel unit and learn to configure and use it properly first. Most people won't use more than 4 channels for ages, and won't understand let along touch mixing, rates, expo etc either. Leave the bells and whistles and fancy stuff and concentrate on learning the basic skills well first. If you want a little more potential than a base 4 channel simple computer radio, still inexpensive, a JR X631 XP622 or even a X2610 or their equivalents in Futaba if that is your preferred brand are very capable and will do a great job without spending a fortune.

Welcome, good luck and have fun.

Agreed, I'll Second that Sigrun [sm=thumbup.gif]

Respectfully, I totally disagree 100% with the NEED to stick to 4-6 channels.
What I do agree with is that a beginner needs to leave the advanced functions alone until he/she actually understands what they are used for. IF the person is mature enough to just stick with the basic functions, whether it has 4-6-9 or 20 channels and 100 mixes wont make any difference. Im not their father trying to protect them from the big bad world, Im trying to help them make a quality decision that they wont regret.

Now I have sortof reversed my philosophy on what to start out with... If a beginner WANTS to startout on a comp rado, then by all means get at least a GOOD 7-9 channel radio, they arent all that much more expensive. ALso the cost differential between 7 and 9 channels isnt that different, thats why I say go to the 9 because if you have the money, and you really are going to fly planes with dual servo or multiple servos on one surface you will NEED the channels. If you cant afford anything but a 6EXA then just get a standard 4 channel radio for $125 and when you are ready to commit, upgrade to something that will last you forever. The minimum would be a JR8103 or the Futaba 9C. Funny thing is, both are just as functioal and maybe more user friendly than the 9Z, 10X, 12/14Z models they just dont have the bells and whistles.. They are an INCREDIBLE value for the money.

7 channels is the bare minimum if you are really going to be serious one day about this... You can get away with less, but one day you are going to be setting up a plane and you are really REALLY going to wish you had those 7,8,9 channels I promise. I know because I setup "more advanced" airplanes all of the time. You just cant do it RIGHT on 6 channels.

Look, I actually fly more advanced airplanes in a competitve atmosphere so Im not just blowing smoke here. From a purely practical standpoint you are not going to want to fly a "more advanced plane" on a $200 radio especially one that limits you to 4-6 channels, that is a 100% guarantee. 4-6 channels just arent enough when you start using dual servo setups. ANd if you think Y harness will cut it, think again. They are ok in some instances, but if you want to fly with any precision, I mean real precision you can forget it. Channel 5, on most low end radios even on the 9C sortof limits what you can do on most transmitters, so unless you are using smoke or retracts its sortof a useless channel

Here it is all spelled out, you can somewhat mix match channels but heres a general application.
Channels
1- Left aileron
2- left elevator
3-throttle
4 rudder
5- smoke/retracts
6-right aileron
7- right elevator
8-2nd battery pack (if you want to use it. )

Ok, I get the 4-6 channel options over the 7-9 option ect...; however, I am not sure if I want to fly planes, helicopters, or both. If I purchase a helicopter controllable radio, like the futaba 6EXH-6, can I fly both planes and helicopters off of this one radio?

I am assuming if I can, all I would have to do is purchase the equipment such as the servo controller and servos etc... for my different models. Am I correct in my understanding of this?