I'm looking at both the Futaba 7C and 6EX 2.4Ghz radios for my first trainer plane.

I don't want to have to upgrade if I get to the 2nd and even 3rd plane. First of all, is that realistic, and second, if so, which radio would fit my needs.

I sure don't know what I'd use beyond the first four channels for throttle, rudder/nose gear, elevator and aelorons but I'm guessing the most I'd ever want would be
to add a channel for flaps and MAYBE one for something else, so I can't see beyond six channels. I have the money for the 7C so my question really is would I likely use the 7th channel or should I save the hundred bucks and go with the 6EX.

Any help with the differences between the two would also be appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Spend the extra money and get the 7C. It has many more programming features that you'll find useful later in you modeling career.

Also the extra channel means you have more capability of mixing things together; you can independently trim dual flap servos, dual aileron servos, dual elevator servos etc.

It would be a while before you needed more than 6 channels though, most likely not for first, second, third, or even fourth plane.

If I didn't have to pay, I would get my favorite 7 channel, for the programming options, etc. and know I would never have to replace it. Although I may never have to replace my 6 channel, depending on what kinds of planes I get myself into.

My suggestion is to get the 6ch. There are pros here who have been flying for decades who still don't need more than 6 channels. Spend the $100 on something else, like a nice OS 46AX or something

Save the hundred bucks. It will be a long time before you even get to use SIX channels, let alone seven.

And *IF* the day ever comes that you need a 7th, radios will be much more advanced than they are now, so you'll get a lot more bang for your hundred bucks.

For the record, I have been flying for over 45 years and have never had a plane that I couldn't fly with a 6-channel radio.

Definantly go for the 7 chnl. You dont know were this hobby will take you and its nice to have the option of adding more servos in the future for retracts or what ever. And as king mentioned it has many more progarmming options.

Can anybody explain the extra 'programming' options the 7C would have? I haven't a clue and if I'm not going to use the programming than I'm leaning toward saving the hundred bucks and using it towards the engine. Thanks for the replies so far.

If you had dual aileron servos, and dual elevator servos, as some high-end 3D planes have, you would not be able to trim out each of the servos individually; you would use a Y-harness, and mechanically adjust the control surfaces. 6 channel radios have 2 'p-mixes' where you can program in two separate mixes (linking a slave to a master servo is a mix).
Also llinking rudder to aileron is a (pre programmed) mix. The 7ch has 3 p-mixes, as well as a snap-roll function, and triple rates instead of dual rates. Both have common mixes already installed, in addition to the user set p-mixes, such as flaperon, aileron to rudder, and an air brake function.

I'm on my (third?) plane, and just starting to use dual rates and expo, and probably a little prematurely. 6ch will do you good for a long time.

Thanks gaRCfield. It's still confusing to me but is sounds like I wouldn't use those features for a long long time.

Two questions.

Have you any experience with the Spectrum 6 channel 2.4 ghz http://www.advantagehobby.com/produc...roductid=72523 ??

Also, this is a strange one, but why are the time stamps on these messages showing 2:54 am, etc. Where is this site originating from, China?

Futaba 7C manual is at: http://manuals.hobbico.com/fut/7c-2_4ghz-manual.pdf
The buttons and functions are independent of the frequency, so this manual is the correct one.

You have to go to your account setting page and enter what time zone you're in. You're right, you won't get to that programming stuff for a long time, if ever. I think Spektrum radios feel a lot nicer in your hands. They are a bit skinnier, lighter, and more rounded edges than the Futabas. There are many Spektrums at my club, and I wish I had gotten one. Pretty much all the same functions as a Futaba 6EX.

Also the throttle clicks seem to be much smoother on Spektrum. I haven't looked into fixing that yet, but I don't think you can make it smoother, only remove the clicks.

I fly using the DX6i and love it. I owned the 72MHz Futaba 6EX, but find that the Spektrum four channel has some additional features that I find useful (timer, etc). I find the DX6i to weigh less and feel better in my hands.

What about the Airtronics RDS 8000 - eight channels, lots of mixing options, 10 model memory, with receiver and priced just over $200.00. See the July 08 AMA mag. I was considering both the Spektrum DX 6i and the Futaba 6ex but now am taking a closer look at this new release. Any thoughts?

Can you use a buddy box with the Airtronics? I won't buy anything I can't get a buddy box to work with.

Absolutely. The RDS8000 will buddy box with any other Airtronics radio. I recently did a review of this radio for RCU and I can tell you that I absolutely love this radio. [link]http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/article_display.cfm?article_id=995[/link]

Ken

I held a dx6i before i made my decision, and I didn't like it. It is bigger than the normal radios, thinner but wider. That's just my preference, and I even have large hands. I went with the 6ex, and I love the way the programming is set up on it along with the location of the switches and buttons. The only negative about it is the throttle clicks are not as smooth as a "JR" or Spektrum(same thing). The futaba uses a single receiver with dual wires while the spektrum uses two receivers linked together. I didn't want to mess with trying to mount two, so I went futaba. Try to hold one if you can at a local hobby shop, and check out the differences. Both technologies are great. I have Spektrum on all my nitro vehicles.

I like my DX6i. Fits my hands nicely, has more options for receivers. For example if I was building a little park foamy, I don't need to spend 70-80 on a rx. I could just get something like the ar6000 for around $40.

The DX6i also has a larger menu screen and is easy to program (not many abbreviations). It uses Four regular AA rechargeable batteries, this is not a pack, just individual batteries. It comes with 1600mah cells which last all day. I upgraded mine to 2700mah Sanyo cells ($11 at Fry's). This keeps the cost LOW, battery packs are expensive. Rechargeable AA cells are not.

It also has model Match so you won't accidentally fly a plane on the wrong settings because you forgot to change the programming. You can also label each plane, It shows up in LARGE letters what model plane you are set to. It's impossible to fly a plane on the wrong model settings.

It also has a built in timer, which is a great feature IMO.

That's why I chose the DX6i over the 6EX

Yup and no matchboxes, servo reversers, etc.

Hah, I needed six channels on my third plane...

Buy something like a Giant UCD 3D and seven is not nearly enough channels!

Trust me get the 7 Channel. I wished I would have done it when I started. Within 2 years now I have spent almost $600 in radios and over $300 in RXs. [:'(] I could have cut that cost in half and had another plane

If there is *any* chance that an Ultra Stick is in your future (and I can't think of a good reason for anyone NOT to nave an Ultra Stick in their hangar...), get the 7 channel.

For what it's worth almost all of the experienced pilots at my club have the Spektrum DX7. Doesn't mean they need or use all 7 channels though.

I had a 6ex that I outgrew inside of a year. The mixing that you could possible use would be haveing dual rates of 3 surfaces at the same time. rudder aileron and elevator. on the 6ex you can only set up the elevator and ailerons on a preset switch. The seven allows you more control on the mixing. other mixing you might soon experience is if you get into biplanes. They have adverse yaw when you crank the rudder over. mixing you would do for that is to have ailerons reverse the direction of the rudder roll and then add elevator to correct for the planes nose dropping. You would also be able to disengage this mix by flipping a switch. If you get advanced enough to have split elevators with separate servos you would need a radio with more programming options so that they could be trimmed out correctly. all these examples I have given you do not use more then 6 channels, actually most of these use only about 5. The programming for the 6 last time I had it was fairly abysmal where as the newer 7c or 9c programming with the programming wheel is more intuitive and easier to use

For most planes 5 channels is the most you will use. I have a Futab 6x w/o 2.4 and I like it more than my Spektrum DX7 for feel and comfort. But man the DX7 is an awsume radio that you can (after schooling) do some pretty neat stuff with. I have it filled though and can't add a plane without taking one off. I also have the 6AX just about filled. If there were no problems with crystal type radios I would not have gotten the 7 but better safe with 2.4 than sorry. The DX6 is a fine radio, also. And if looks mean anything it looks cooler to me. So DX6, Futaba, whatever you decide they all are making pretty descent radios. Airtronics is good also.

Thanks for all the tips, guys. I still haven't bought a radio, engine or first airplane so I'll keep checking this thread for more info before I make my decision. I'm leaning towards saving the hundred bucks though.
I have the money for the seven but things are tight right now and I could sure use the 100 towards a flight box, fuel pump, fuel, battery, etc.

A lot of great opinions here. Myself,,,,,I'd recommend if you plan on staying in this great hobby of ours, I would buy the most radio you can afford, meaning the 7 channel. I've purchased 3 radios since beginning to fly about 8 years ago for two reasons. I ran out of model memory and I needed a radio that would support dual elevator servos. Once you get into flying planes with flaps, retracts and maybe even smoke,,,you'll need those extra channels. It's also nice to set up dual aileron dual servo planes on seperate channels as to be able to program in some aileron differential or flaperons. That's a whole different animal though.

Best of luck,,,