petermiller

Hey everybody,
I'm looking into a new radio and was wondering for the price if the 3PK was a good buy? What are the pros and cons of this radio for those of you who have purchased it? Do you get the most out of it if you are a serious racer or is it also ok for someone who doesnt want to keep upgrading radios and might race in a few years? I'm on a two channel AM Tower Hobbies (Futaba) begginer radio that I've had for 8 years now and want to seriously start practicing for competition. I realize I would have to buy FM recievers as well and I would really like to stick to Futaba. Let me know your thoughts.

Texdav

I have used the 3PK anmd I see no negative really. I have a 3pjs myself and like the lower steering wheel position and the side screen becuase this is how I hold the radio. I have used most brands and none are any better than Futuba IMO. Make ure the TX you buy is confortable as this is more important since all the highend systems I've used have been soild ecpept a R-1 I had that keep breaking steering wheel centering springs but that's probaly fixed.

Tracer

My Feedback: (1)

I have had the original 3PK and the new Titanium Black version.
No real difference other then cosmetic and "bug fixes" in the software.
Not even sure what those are..

Like others have mentioned here and in other forums the most important thing is the Feel of the radio in your hand.
For me the clear winner here was the 3PK.. BUT this is MY preference and yours may vary. Some find the 3PK a bit (some a lot) too top heavy. But I love the feel of the grip and find it much better than others.

Whats funny about the above comment is that I really didn't have much choice. For me the main reason I got the 3PK was it's the only radio I could find that had the ability to setup and customize 4 wheel stearing for Monster Trucks I was just lucky that I also found it the most comfortable. There was also price/availablility in my Area (Toronto, Canada)

You also get Futabas Legendary Quality and reliability.

Some other pros
- configurable display
- display position
- adjustable stearing wheel (including for left handed users)
- replacable module (hey, the new Spektrum stuff is coming out)
- 3 levels of menus (beginner, intermediate and advanced) though I ended up in advanced right away because of my stearing needs
- PCM (yay glitch free)
- Model saving abilities, expandibility up to 20 models.

Cons
- Top heavy
- no computer connectivity
- HRS Mode Requires Digital Servos
- DSC doesn't always work (dunno why)

Feel free to ask any specific questions.

I would also recomend downloading the manual from the futaba website and looking it over.

Tigger N. Bennie

Although I tried the Ko Propo Helios Ex-10 and Airtronics M8, I own and prefer the Futaba T3PK. Futaba's website lists lots of pros. To me the Ko Propo was bottom heavy though I liked the optional "angled" wheel adjustment, the M8 was weighted wrong, and the T3PK just right. I also have a couple of JR radios but I prefer the T3PK over all of them. According to Futaba's website the last I checked, the T3PK is still 2x faster than the other radios in the HRS mode (the manual had 3x prior to the Ex-10). The T3PK also has the optional AM Conversion Module which I use a lot since I race Kyosho Mini-Zs. The brake mix is nice for anyone who has a 1/5th scale with front/rear brakes. One con if you can call it a con is that apparently some of the other radios don't use as much juice to run and though I have ran my T3PK radio's battery down a few times (I used it for almost 8 hours straight then charged it with the supplied charger and then ran another 8 hours straight the next day), I simply gave it a quick charge with my Novak instead of using the Futaba charger that came with the radio so I could get by until 2AM when we finished running. Perhaps, I should just get a spare battery pack or make one for those long hauls--one of my friends uses a lipo to run his M8 and it feels very light now (which could be another option for someone wanting a lighter transmitter radio).