Radio's Old vs. New
 

I have read much here on the topic of radio frequencys and/or performance.I am attempting to re-enter the R/C world after about 23 years absence.I have tried two new radio's so far,Airtronics 6000.had battery problems,sold it(noting the problems to the buyer).Now a Futaba 6x or something like that,two servo's went bad so far,replaced with hi-tec,but I'm still afraid to fly "not trusting" it.So I considered buying an old Kraft or pro-line and paying the price to upgrade,only to be discouraged here reading all the information.So guys, who makes a reliable,work right out of the box system?Without spending $1000. Thanks John
Oh, for what its worth,Kraft in the late 70's went to complete plug in modules for frequency changes,while Futaba had only crystals.What did Kraft know that futaba didn't.(or didn't care so they could sell cheaper).[:o]

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

Hello Bumpman, Welcome to RCU!

I've got a huge box of old Kraft stuff sitting right next to me right now! LOL Back in the 70's you'd be laughed off the field if you showed up with anything less! Alas, now it's only good as a collectors item.

Look into a Futaba 6XAS:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXXD46**&P=0

or the new 6EXA
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...I=LXCZR6**&P=0

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

Bumpman,
It's unusual and unfortunate you had two bad radios, especially if you bought them new. Generally, either one of those would be recommended choices. I would stick with the 6x and get some upgraded servos for it. Lots of people fly with that radio every day.

Tom

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

Minnflyer, It breaks my heart to see those radio's as collector dust only.Want to sell them?I have access to a lot of remote pasture land around here,may try with a cheap plane.

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

Bumpman- I still have a Kraft patch on my club jacket that attracts attention, and an ofb still has his Kraft 7 channel single stick, and when he inquired about upgrading to new gold sticker specs, he was told his tx was probably already legal. Problem is, there are lots of quality radios out there (I like JR 8103's) for under $500 that will do so much more. I would rather have a brand new one just because the technology is so much more advanced. Remember when we only dreamed of servo reversing and dual rates? You kids (under 40's) out there, skip to the next post.

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

Bumpman, Actually I do plan on selling them. I'm just waiting for enough free time to get everything together, sort it out, see what's what, etc. It's actually a conglomeration of stuff that my dad and I had. The box is what he sent me, and I have a box of servos, switches, and stuff at home.

One of these days I'll get around to going through it all. When I do, I'll post it here in the RCU marketplace.

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

bumpman, sorry for your problems. I have flown Futaba since I was 10 and never had the problems you said you had. I have use Airtronics on many occasions and had nothing but trouble with them, wouldn't use it again if it were all that were left. I had a couple JR radios and they seemed to work fine too.

Personally, the radios since they all went to plastic cases and such seemed to have cheapened up a lot, but I still like Futaba best of all. The 9C is a killer great radio and will do it all. Most flyers don't need the extra features of the Z models unless they really just want it, then what the heck, go for it. I don't really care for any brands cheaper models. They just feel cheap. The X series futaba are good, don't get me wrong, I just don't feel the quality in them like the old G series and prior FN series I started with. Metal cases and such were so nice.

Look at the 9C series. It is a good radio.

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

Thanks guys, I needed some encouragement right now,much has changed since 1980 ,and I was a little (little?) confused.Think I will take some of the recommendations posted here.Going to replace the other two servo's,and take the decathlon out for a spin.Have a dc 3, 60 twin,and will get one of the recomended radio's for it.I can hear you, lol---near the end of my R/C activity around 1980 or so I was flying a Royal f4 phantom with a ops 60.So I'm hoping the old saying of getting on a bicycle applies.Decathlon should'nt be too rough.Thanks again, John

RE: Radio's Old vs. New
 

I have some older Futaba gold radios - a 4 channel and a 7 channel. Neither are legal now, but I love the transmitters. I e-mailed radio south to find out how much it would cost to make them legal and they said it would cost more than comparable new equipment that has a ton more features. However, I'm still thinking about it because they are nice transmitters.

I know if I had a Kraft single stick, it would definitely be worth the money to convert it.