hey,
im new to the hobby and shopping for my first heli radio set. people tell me to get the best radio i can afford so i dont end up re buying a radio thats better 4 when i get into aerobatic stuff.what do those extra channels do ?? should i get a 10 ch or will an 8 ch suffice??

thx any help is appreciated

I have a Hitec Eclipse 7 and I Futaba 9C Both are great radios and VERY easy to program. The new wheel dial feature on the 9C is Great!!
Hitec is 7 chan Futaba is 9. Hitec is around $270 TX only (high 300's complete set-up), Futaba complete set-up is $450 w/FM Receiver $550 w/PCM receiver.
I think the 9C is worth the extra $

Happy New Year

thanks for the info fitenfyr. i think ill go for the futaba 9ch. we'll see

by the way, who carries the futaba 9C series??? or is it even out yet??

Its out... You should call Heliproz... www.helipooz.com ... They have about the best prices in the states but you have to call as Futaba won't let them advertise their lowest price...

i wanted to clarify for other viewers that its heliproz.com not helipooz.com

1. FM or PCM??what are differences

2. what advantages do you have with a 7-9 point pitch curve compared to 5 pt???

i was looking at heliproz and saw the futaba 9c in pcm.
(only seen it in fm before)do you think its worth $100 more for the pcm or shoyuld i take the fm.

remember, im 14 wit paper route for income, not a big cash flow, im hopefully gonna get this radio and keep it till it falls apart

The 9C transmitter can shift back and forth through it's settings between PPM (FM) and PCM modulation. What you are paying for is the extra for a PCM receiver. The receivers come only in PPM or PCM and you can't switch them between the two modulations like the Transmitter. I think you also get better servos with the PCM version but and not sure on that.

Just starting out you should be fine with PPM and can always sell your receiver and buy a PCM version at a later date if you decide you need to.

100 bucks gets you :

A - Better servos (9001) Great all-purpose servo for sport planes and helis; gold plated connectors. Instead of the (3001) Natural upgrade of popular S148 or S3003; 3-pole motor (standard LOW COST servo)

B - Better Receiver (my option) the R149DP instead of the R148DF I have both and always got little hits with the FM's same with the other guys at the field. PCM's seem to work much better for us.

C - Same radio!!

So is it worth it to you??
I'm flying a 9Z and really cant wait to try the "feel" of this new mid priced radio. It seems to have it all for the novice to sport 3d flyer...

Other things to consider:

A - what heli you putting this in?? I'm guessing a 30?

B - What gyro you looking at? That will be just as, or even more important as a good radio!


I guess I'm saying, dont dump the 600 bucks for a radio if you have to then buy a 100 dollar gyro... even it out, pay less for the radio, not get ALL the bells and whistles, but get what you need (like the FM 9C), and get a good gyro with the left over $$

Keep throwing those papers!!!

Jeff

previosly i knew that a good gyro is important , now you make it sound EXTREMELY important. i want looking at the telebee gyro, someone,i dont know who, said it performs very well even though its 85 bucks. what gyro would you recommend. how good do you think the telebee functions, is it worth it or should i look at some more expensive models.

I'd recommend anything that Futaba currently makes. The GY 240 can be had a HeliHut.com for $95.
Lots of local guys are using the Century P2000 $84.95 at Heli-world.com and having great success.
The CSM 360 and up gyros are very good too.
If you can spend the money the Futaba GY401 w/9253 digital servo combo will take you from beginner to 3D pro but it's $200 at helihut.com +$10 shipping. Gyro alone is $140.

My suggestion... please take with grain of salt....

The radio you are looking at (9C FM) is most likely going to last you through many heli's (if you stay with the hobby) If you dont stay in the hobby you will have a piece that will have good resale value. what was it 450 about??

I recommend the GY401 gyro (list 300bucks) as a previous post mentioned 200 bucks from heli hut.. I have 3 of 'em... 1 is from Heli Hut, no problems there. also I have 2 GY601 gyros (you dont need this!!) The Futaba GY401 includes the $110+ high end servo. This gyro will help you learn faster with the tail locked in. You can set it to normal mode and learn the tail (make many corrections) Wish I had it when I was learning!! If you are scraping pennys, I have a CSM 360 I bought 2.5 years ago when they were the ____. If your interested, it yours for 100 bucks. (still need decent servo!) there is a pic of it in a reply in the Heli WTB section.

suggestion,
9C FM, or even drop to the 8ch... $450 + frt
GY401 with servo 9253 .............. $200 + frt

If you want any more details, send me a e-mail or PM

Good Luck
Jeff

Found out tonight that there have been some recalls on the 9C

I guess that they are having a problem with a mode involving sail planes and something about the finish coming off??

Not totaly sure here, maybe someone else can tell us more..

Just thought you would like to know

Jeff

Yes, there was a problem with the software in the 9C that was only discovered by some high-end sailplane flyers using a complex V-tail/crow full-house glider configuration.

Those owners contacted the US distributor with details of their setup issues, and Futaba corrected the problem within weeks.

All radios now shipping are apparently OK, but radios purchased before the problem was fixed need to be returned for an upgrade.

The only recommendation I have is to stay away from the Futaba T6xa or T6xh, I went this route because I had airplanes and I never thought I would get into heli's but once I got my heli I upgraded to the better radio fast, the 6x models don't have your pitch curves and throttle curves. I have a Telebbee 701 with a high speed servo I bought as a package deal from Heli World (century helicopter) http://66.70.182.17/index.html they have a combo deal for $149. For what your going to be doing at first its probably the way to go since you will probably be crashing a few times at first and you will need the extra money to fix your mistakes. I don't know if you have a flight sim yet or not, if you don't you should really think about buying one before you buy anything. I think you can get the real flight g2 with the transmitter interface for around 180-200 right now. You can learn allot before you even start on a real heli.