grbaker

My Feedback: (29)

I know I am.
I built my last 2 jets from kits (one of them all wood, the other was fiberglass, foam and wood)
Don't own a kero-start turbine
fly one of my jets on 72 mhz
I've never owned a gyro

I agree with Secret Agent

luv2flyrc

My Feedback: (6)

Would you consider it a distraction to get a warning that you are approaching the range limits of the RF or that 1 of your 2 redundant batteries has tanked? Pretty good stuff to know in my book. How about a warning that your turbine has flamed out? I've had that happen at an event with multiple jets in the air, believe me, you will not immediately know that you have a flame out because of the noise from the other jets, the extra 3-5 seconds that it could buy you could make a big difference to your landing.

I can't possibly see how somebody could argue that these are not good things but are "crutches" or "distractions". That's just arguing for the sake of arguing. Unfortunately they are not available with Airtronics.

Thud_Driver

My Feedback: (1)

When you're flying, telemetry is all about alarms, not visuals, particularly for batteries and signal strength. You can look at the data after the flight.

I once did first flights for a guy who was notorious for not getting his batteries charged even though he swore they just came off the charger. Luckily, he had a radio with telemetry and one look at the screen before the flight was enough to verify battery condition without having to plug voltmeters and such in. Couple that to inflight audio or tactile alarms and you've got information worth every penny.

You probably already use a transmitter that has it's own internal low voltage alarm. Whether you look at the Tx voltage before every flight or not, I'll bet that when that alarm goes off inflight it will get your attention. Did for me once and saved a plane. That's what telemetry is all about.

SECRET AGENT

My Feedback: (18)

You will always have one side who wants every single techy thing they can get. I'm sure that crowd also gets the latest smart phone/xbox/ipad etc. as soon as they come out. And there is nothing wrong with wanting all that. To some it is necessary.

There is also the other side who wants to keep things simple because they know that the more complicated a syatem gets the more failure points you have. They just want to enjoy the experience.

My Airtronics has the ability to warm me that the onboard battery is getting dangerously low, and I don't even use that feature. I have never, ever had a battery failure in the 20 plus years of flying. Maybe I'm lucky or maybe I'm just thorough and check my batteries all the time. Maybe a little of both.

So the real arguement, if that's what you want to call it, is how complicated do you want your setup. My life is overly complicated as it is, I like things simple and fun.

nute12

My Feedback: (14)

been happy as can be with My SD10, wish they put a little larger battery in them stock tho.

gsoav8r

My Feedback: (6)

Disclaimer: I fly with a Hitec A9 but its still worth mentioning assuming the low voltage warning on the Airtronics has similar attributes.

So, about three years ago I found that the LVW can also tell when a servo is failing in flight. Had a rudder servo that started failing and became an amp hog. This caused the voltage to sag which triggered the alarm. Had a fully charged 5 cell, 2000mah pack and the servo was pulling enough juice to trip the alarm Id set for 5.9V. The interesting bit was that this was early in the flight and I landed asap. Anyway, Ive always wondered, that without the alarm, what may have caused a crash first. The failing servo that stops at the wrong time or the battery that I didnt know was being zapped to death.

Just sharing.

By the way. I have a dumb phone but love my smart Tx. Sorry, couldnt resist.
Cheers.

ira d

Up untill five years ago no one had telemerty and many still dont use it I do think Airtroncs should offer telemerty and two more channels but otherwise I fell the SD-10G is a very capable radio.

Dustflyer

My Feedback: (13)

That's the beauty of this hobby, there's something for everyone.

The reason I started this thread was, after years and years reading about this and that problem with Futaba, JR, and Spektrum, I never recall hearing any complaints about 2.4 ghz Airtronics. I thought that was extraordinary.

Clearly, if telemetry is important then the SD-10G or GS is not for you. On the other hand, it seems to me that this system has racked up an impressive record of reliability. Just because it doesn't cost $3,000 doesn't mean it's not "high end." In fact, my understanding was it was developed to compete with the best of them.

I got a little spooked not too long ago when one of my flying buddies bought a Jeti because his X9303 was giving him problems. Shoot, I thought, that's the radio I use! So far mine hasn't given me any trouble but it got me thinking.

There are a lot of good radios out there, but it occurred to me Airtronics has not been given the consideration it deserved.

I would definitely consider it for my next radio. I don't worry about battery failure because I have dual redundancy, I cycle and test my batteries at the start of the season and charge them before every flight, then check them afterward. I don't worry about the range limit of my radio because I fly in close. I don't worry about fuel quantity because I know exactly how much fuel my 4 1/2 minute flights burn and leave enough reserve for at least 3 go-arounds (sometimes I need all three!). Now I admit, it would be nice to know if I had a flameout, assuming there is no tell-tale plume out the tailpipe.

What I want more than anything is reliability. I would gladly exchange bells and whistles for the most reliable radio I can buy.

But hey, that's just me. What the hell do I know.

Hope everyone enjoyed the thread. I sure did! Thanks for all the replies.