i have been in this greate hobby for about 7 months now. I am looking into getting a 2.4 radio and not sure which one to get. i have looked into the DX6i from spektrum and also the futaba FASST system. does anybody have any input as to which one is better or the one they would prefer? Is there another good 2.4 out there? thanks.

I'm partial to Spektrum, myself. I have a DX7, and am considering getting a DX6i as well. I believe Spektrum radios have more features for the money (compared to Futaba), and Spektrum has about 8 different receivers to choose from. Airtronics has an 8 channel out now that is a good value for the money (RDS8000), but only one receiver is available for it, and I've never liked the look of the Airtronics aircraft radios, myself.

I'm sure Spektrum, Futaba, or Airtronics will serve you well, just look at the features, prices, and availability of receivers for each and decide which is best for you personally.

The Airtronics RDS8000 has the most bells and whistles for the money right now.
As far as which one is best? There is no such thing. It is purely personal preference. I fly Futaba and Airtronics because that is what I have. It doesn't make them any better than JR or even Hitec. It is just what I have gotten used to

Ditto. If you already have one of those brands you may decide to stick with it - On the other hand, if you have one brand but like the features of the other better, this may be a good time to jump ship.

well right now i have 72mhz futaba i really like it but some of my flying buddies have the spektrums and really like them. when i was looking at futaba receivers they were all a little more expensive than spektrum. are all futaba receivers full range? i noticed that spektrum had some parkflyer only receivers that were cheaper. i assume these are limited range and cant be used with bigger aircraft.

I started out in this hobby with a 72MHz Futaba 9C radio, and was a pretty die-hard Futaba customer until the Spektrum radios came out. Spektrum has park flyer and full range receivers, and ALL of Spektrum's receivers can be used with the DX6i and DX7 radios. Last I checked, Futaba had only full range 2.4GHz receivers, and some of their receivers are not compatible with some of their radios. Look at their compatibility chart to see which receivers work with each transmitter (see below).

Check to see what is widely used at your airfield, they would be able to help you with any questions you might have when you are using it.

-PKH-
I agree with what your saying. the spektrum seems to be a little better buy for me because i have a couple parkflyers right now and the spektrum seems to be a good transitional radio for me as the receivers would be cheaper for my planes.

one of the guys I fly with who has a spektrum just told me the AR6100 reciever will work in anything not just park fliers. He said as long as you can see the plane you will have control. What gives? I suspect he may be mistaken or has just been lucky so far but being new to the game I did not want to question him.

He may be "one of the guys" but he's not a friend if he's trying to tell you that.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=SPM6100

The manufacturer clearly does NOT recommend this for "regular" planes. It's for park fliers and foamies. It may work but it is NOT to be trusted at long ranges. I'm willing to bet the manufacturer is smarter on this subject than your "guy".

He's probably mistaken it for the AR 6200, which is, in fact, a full range 6 channel receiver with sattellite. It is about 20 bucks cheaper than the 7 channel AR 7000.

he was for sure talking about the ar6100. Guess you can't listen to just anyone. I suspected I was right glad you confirmed it! If i do get the spektrum radio i think it comes with a full range reciever. Maybe that would be a better choice. I wanted to get the ar6100 as an "extra" for my slow stick. But since the ar6100 is a "limited range" reciever should I be concerned about flying to far up or out. The slow stick is as i am sure everyone knows pretty big for a park flyer. You can get it pretty high sometimes which is fun to do but I don't want it to fly out of range. Guess its better to be safe that sorry right?

Here goes for my $0.02 worth,

I have a 72MHz futaba and it is great, but I also have the DX7 and I think that the horizon customer service is better, the radios themselves are not different, if I was buying now, I would have the futaba as the receiver is one piece, indeed I had the 7 channel one on order when I got my 2.4 but I go so fed up waiting for it to be released that I got the specktrum and it is not a choice I regret at all. If anything it feels better in my hands, If you can go to you LHS and hold each radio and buy the one that feels best for you, the performance will be almost the same anyway.

James

I assume you are talking about this one http://www.*********.org/gws_slow-stick.htm and I don't consider it as all that big. Exercise some judgement and keep it at a suitable range/altitude and you should be fine with the AR6100.

Read this to get an idea of why Spektrum limits the claimed range of the park flyer equipment:

http://www.spektrumrc.com/FAQ/tm.aspx?m=18

Basically, nitro planes typically have more conductive material in them (which can block the signal) than smaller electric park flyers, so the park flyers can get by with a single receiver, while the nitros have two or more Spektrum receivers (all "full-range" Spektrum receivers actually contain 2 or more receivers that are placed in different locations & orientations).

I'd use the 6100 in any electric aircraft that would be marketed as a park flyer. I use a 6100 this blue foam plane I built, and I fly it out almost as far as my .40 sized nitro planes without a problem (see photo below).

Range itself isn't the issue with the 6100, shadowing is the problem. If you're flying farther away and the engine for example, comes between the receiver and transmitter, you could loose signal for a short time (or worse). If you never loose line of sight between the radio and the reciever you would have control beyond what you could see it to fly.

Same scenario with something with a satalite reciever, and as long as either reciever has a good lock then you never know there was a problem.