Looking into buying the Spectrum DX-7 system and have mostly Futaba
& Hitech servos, are they compatable with the JR & Spectrum radio's? ? ? ? ?

Thanks,

Bill D.

The DX-7 is a good radio and you will be happy with it. The servos are compatable, the big problem is the connector. Futaba has the blade on the side of the plug that you will need to carefully remove with an xacto blade, or resolder in all new servo leads, or get the futaba to standard adapters(last resort). You can see just a few moments of razor blade work is the easiest thing to do. The Hitecs are offered in either Futaba or Std plugs, so you may not need to do connector surgery. Just remember that polarity is most important. The black wire on Futaba is the Gnd as is the Brown wire on Hitec or Jr wires. Place this end of the connector onto the "-" symbol on the Spektrum Rx. All will be good. If you get it backwards, they will not work, just flip them over.

Good Luck, Will

Yes, they are compatible, I just made the switch myself.
You will need to trim the directional tab of off the Futaba servo, white is the signal wire.
I used a dremel to grind mine off, some people use side cutters, just whatever you are comfortable with.

Tim

Pretty much just recapping: all the new stuff is compatible between brands. Shave down the Futaba stuff to fit with everything else. They all fit light to light, dark to dark.

Many thanks guys, much appreciated. Looks like Santa will be
placing one under the tree.

After being a Futaba "Die Hard" for so many years I am about to
make a switch which seems to be ahead of Futaba in the 2.4 GHZ
developement, I especially like the dual receiver antenna set up,
one being remotely placed.

Bill D.

Are you SERIOUS???

The FASST system is FAR superior to the stuff Spectrum is putting out. Why do you think they even HAVE a satalite Rx? Because they can't hold a signal with just one!

Not to mention the fact that you need a car battery to keep their Rx from rebooting itself.

The fasst system uses the entire 2,4 spectrum and the Spek uses TWO frequencies.

Look around the forums and see how many people have had problems with Spektrum compared to FASST

I can understand people staying with Spek due to brand loyalty, but I sure can't understand someone switching from a system that is as dependable as FASST to something as shakey as Spek

I just went the other way, dumped the Spektrum and went to Futaba. The Spektrum is a decent radio but it had a few things that irritated me. First off, that sattelite reciever can be a pain in some airplanes. Secondly, I hate the DX-7 antenna, it sits up there on a brittle plastic post sort of thing and is easilly broken. Third, I had 2 brand new receivers out of the box that did not work and had to be sent to Horizon for repair (Horizon was OUTSTANDING though and took care of it immediately, no questions asked). Fourth is the battery power requirement. Fifth is those stupid little binding plugs. Sixth, the thing is slippery as can be if you have any oil or sweat on your hands. Seventh, doing various simple mixes for dual aileron or elevator servos is just plain wierd to program in my opinion.

The one thing I did like was the model match feature.

I bought a Futaba 8FG. Much easier to program, easier receiver mounting, a more compact transmitter with a better layout, etc.

As mentioned, do a forum search and see how many problems you find with binding, programming, "brown out" and other Spektrum subjects. I see very few posts regarding linking or other issues with the Futaba system.

A lot of guys seem to like the new Airtronics 2.4 radios too but I personally have no experience with them.

I was a die-hard Futaba fan until the 2.4GHz radios came out. Futaba was late to market with their 2.4GHz radios, and I didn't like the initial offerings. I went with Spektrum and have not had any problems with my DX7, DX6i, or DX5e radios. I fly at a 2.4GHz only club, and the vast majority of the guys fly Spektrum/JR. Most of the guys flying turbines and large gassers seem to favor Spektrum/JR as well.

Futaba uses frequency hopping, Spektrum uses code spreading, one is not superior to the other.

As for removing the tab on Futaba servos so they can fit into other brands of receivers, I just use a pair of flush cut wire cutters and snip it off.

Really now?

While they are implemented differently, they both work extremely well.

I would not be afraid of JR/Spektrum. They were pretty much first in the 2.4g category of radios and thus had a few problems at startup. The amount of issues reported are incredibly far below the number of people reliably using their equipment. For every complaint on this forum there are tons of people flying big, expensive planes flawlessly with JR/Spektrum equipment.

That being said, the Airtronics SD-10G is $1200 worth of radio packed into a $500 (or less!) package.

Well guys after much debate with some of the guhru's of the local club,
I have decided to give the 2.4 GHz a little more time to develope as we have
lost 5 aircraft this year due to equipment failure 3 on Futaba, 2 on Spektrum/JR
One of the Futaba's was on it's maiden flight, sad loss of a new 40% aircraft,
nothing was salvageable...$$$$$$$$$$$$

So it looks like I'll stay on Futaba PCM for a tad bit longer, got 2 of them, very
happy with both.

Bill D.

I'd disagree on the reliability of 2.4GHz in general (I believe it is extremely reliable) but I think you do have a point. You have to fly what you are comfortable with whether it is 72MHz, 2.4GHz, Futaba, JR or whatever. If you aren't confident in any piece of equipment then some of the fun is taken out of flying.

No worries Bill, even if you have decided to wait, rest assured this thread will most likely continue for a while .

Joking aside, do what you feel is right. There are a few very good brands out there, and those include the two you mentioned above. Just learn some of the intracacies between the traditional and 2.4GHz technologies and you'll be fine. I have had one of the above brands for some time with great success.

Good luck, and keep us posted.