Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Ok I am looking at a Hangar 9 Ultra Stick as a second plane. I want to set it up with quad flaps. That way I have room to grow still within the plane. But, I need to have some suggestions about a radio. I have a JR Quatro with my Alpha Trainer and I know that it will work for the US for the time, but I am kinda wondering if I should go with a 4, 6, or 8 channel radio to take full advantage of the quad flaps. Let me know what you guys/gals thing. (Oh Im open to engine suggestions too)

Thanks
Cole

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Always fly the best radio you can afford. I would recommend the promo JR 8103. You may not use all the channels and bells & whistles right now, but as you progress, you will begin to use more and more, flaperons, spoilerons, crow (like on the Ultra Stick) knife edge correction for both roll and pitch, throttle curves, lots of stuff. For example, a few months ago, I started flying sea planes. Now I am installing on-board glow just for re-assurance on landing. I am using a separate servo and channel to turn on the micro switch. I mix this channel to throttle using one of the multi-point mixes. I have the servo arm hit the micro switch at just under half throttle, then stop, rather than trying to over drive. I set positions 1, 2, 3 on the multi-point to 0, then used end point to make it hit the switch. Works great, doesn't stall the servo. Without one of these "fancy mixes no one uses" I couldn't have done it.

Get it on the same freq as the Quattro, and fly both with the 8103 transmitter.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Well first of all there is no other radio I would reccomend to get other than the Futaba 9cap or comparable type JR, Airtronics. I have heard that the Futaba is a bit more difficult to program than its JR competitor but i havent had any issues. I bought mine used from someone who was looking for the heil verson of the same radio. basically the difference is the heli verson had a few more preprogramed mixes for swash plates and capabilities to program more heli finctions than the one I have. But I wouldnt get anything else the 9CAP has more than you need for a while but you will be amazed at what its potential is when you want something and its there. I went from a skysport 6 to the a 6exa to the 9 cap and I was sorry for getting the 6exa. If you dont need the receiver and servos you can get one pretty cheap on RCU i think I paid 200 for mine. I sent it to Futaba to get it checked out they bench tested it for me and $ 40.00 later I had it back and it was all ok. As for the engine I dont know what size the H9 ultra stick is you are looking at but if its a 40 I am a 4 stroke guy YS is my favorite maybe a .63 if you can find them if not the new Saito .82 is supposed to be the ulitmate 40 size 4 stroke. There is a guy at my field that flys the ultra stick 60 size with a Saito 100 its awesome lots of power.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Any computer radio that has glider fuction in it will work. You already have JR equipment so stay with them. Get the new radio on the same channel you have now. The 8103 will probility be the last radio you will ever need. Dennis

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

I'm going to buck the trend here: I bought a Hitec Eclipse 7 a year ago, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I have also owned Futaba and JR equipment, and I firmly believe that the Eclipse has the best cost/feature ratio of any radio I've seen. It is fully glider/acro/heli capable, and can be had with "spectra" synthesizer and PCM capability for $200, Tx and charger only. The advantage to this is the ability to work with ANY 72 mHz FM receiver. The other mentioned radios are good, but I just wnated to list another option for the pilot on a budget.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

9 CAP--no substitute.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Is JR compatible with any other radio manufactuar?

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

airtronics is compatible with jr.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

OK, For this setup do I want an 8 channel or a 7 channel radio. I like the JR 8103 radio but the price is kinda high. I like the Hitec Eclipse 7 because of the price but I dont want to be limited on the mixing and the option of haveing one more channel on the JR. So do I put up the extra 200 bucks and get the JR 8103 (wich may not be in the near future) or go with the Eclipse and can almost get it now? Or here is another way I guess is make the plane off of a flight pack and just use my 4 channel radio till I can get the 8103. Im just kinda trying to figure out what the most logical way would be with a limited income into the hobby. Thanks everyone so far for the help it just gets confuseing sometimes expecaily with radios and what not. (Oh if i should go with a flight pack what one would be a good Idea).
Thanks
Cole

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Here's a link to the manual for the hitec eclipse: [link=http://www.hitecrcd.com/Support/Manuals/Eclipse7Manual.pdf]pdf manual[/link]. This should give you a better idea what capabilities the radio has.(EDIT--if you check page 10 and 11, you will see one of the eclipse's nicest features--it can be set to transmit to JR, Airtronics, Futaba, Hitec, and any other FM 72mHz rx by changing the shift, so you can use if to control all your planes, no matter what brand of gear is in them) I can't speak for others, but I personally don't see a need for more than seven channels, unless you plan to build a 1/4 scale B-17 with radio operated turrets, smoke, flaps, and retracts, anything along those lines. I think for most general sport flying and aerobatics, a 6 channel setup is sufficient. It's a personal decision--I don't think there is a "bad' radio out there these days, so you just have to figure out what you want to do with it, how much you want to spend, and find the "best fit" for you.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

JR also has a 6 ch. for 249.95. If you change radio systems your four ch. equipment can't be used on the new radio. Only the servo's will be used. If you want to add planes you will have to buy recievers. By staying with JR you will have equipment for two planes when you get the new radio. Tha last thing you want to do is have many different type of radios in your shop. In the long run having one good one is easier to handle, and cost less over the years. Most shops will do layaway. also look here for a used one. Dennis

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Ok, I thought that the Hitec radio system is compatable with all receivers? Am I just reading things wrong or is that the case? If so i can get the Hitec system cheaper than the JR 6 channel radio and get one more channel aswell. But I guess that I am not sure. It just seams that 6 channels is not enought 7 channel is ok but an 8 channel would be ideal. but if i have to pay like 150+ for another channel (8) from a 7 channel I think that it is more logical to go with the 7 channel and save the extra money because I really dont thing that I will use all 8 channels unless i am missing something. ( I dont need all the extra scale stuff that most of the channels use from what I have read) And if what I have been reading with the Hitec system is right it would work with my current JR radio system that I have in one of my planes, and still be able to use the 4 channel radio as a buddy box with the Hitec polarised cable (I think thats what I read but maybe not). So I dont know I still need more suggestions I guess on the 6, 7, and 8 channel stuff. So... I guess more reading is needed to be done on my part. Let me know what you people think out there. I was allways told information is allways free!
Thanks Everyone,
Cole

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Cole, just to clear up the Hitec issue a bit, outside North America, all radios are compatible. Here, for whatever reason, JR and Airtronics use positive shift deviation for the signal encoding, whereas Futaba and Hitec use negative shift deviation. The Hitec Eclipse 7 and forthcoming Optic 6 have the capability to transmit either negative or positive shift by selecting from the model setup menu. This makes them compatible with all FM recievers. I believe the top-of-the-line Airtronics RD8000 does this, as does the Polk's Tracker II, both of which are also worthy of considering (sorry if I'm complicating your choices--but it bothers me to see all the Futaba and JR guys give you the Ford/Chevy argument, and so I'm here telling you to buy a Toyota![sm=bananahead.gif]). As for the buddy cable, I don't think they're generally compatible between different brands of transmitters, but I may be wrong. In the end, I'm sure you'll find the "best" radio for your purposes.

-Matt

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

OK I am thinking about going with the Hitec Eclipse seven because of the price issue. I think it will sever the best for what I need right now. But. I dont know Is the JR 8102 for the one channel worth the extra money? With the setup that I want will both radios serv similar or will one have an advantage over the other? Sorry I keep doing this I kinda want to know all my options that I may be missing out since I dont know much about the radio stuff... Thanks guys for all your help so far.
Cole

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Cole, may I offer you a suggestion? If at all practicable, get yourself to a hobby shop that has the Futaba, the JR, and the Hitec in stock, and will let you take them each out of the box, flip through the manual, and perhaps turn it on and play with the menus, etc. Personally, I don't think that the extra channel alone is enough to recommend the JR over the Hitec, but you may find that you like one better than the other, or a Futaba better than both, just by giving them a good look in person. BTW, don't feel bad--I research the living daylights out of everything before I buy.

RE: Second Plane Setup Questions
 

Just to put in my $.02 and give something else to think about...

I currently own 2 JRs (XF631's) a Futaba 6DA and an entry level Hitec. They're all decent/good radios but now I am moving on to the Futaba 9CAP and here's why:

1- Between the radio and the CAMpac memory capacity, it'll hold more planes than I am ever likely to own at one time.
2- I like the versatility of being able to program any function/mix to any switch/slider/knob. This way all my planes will have all the controls in the same place for userfriendliness.
3- It is the single most popular radio at the field I fly (unofficial polling runs it about 65%), so if I have a question or problem, there's always plenty of people to ask for help.
4- The price is within my budget
5- The flight packs will not bankrupt me as my squadron increases
6- All my planes will be on the same frequency, making a shoot-down less likely as I have kept a chart for the last 2 months and know what freqs are not used at our field.

Hope this helps...