HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Simple poll

Do you think HobbyKing are good or bad for the hobby.

Give reasons either way as you wish

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I dont know if they are good or bad for the hobby but I do know a lot of people are complaining about them, As for me right now I would be
afraid to order anything from them.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

over 60 orderes from them, and have nothing to complain about.

Just dont ever order a backordered item, or if there is onlty1 or 2 things in stock.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Afraid why ?. I have over 48 orders with them many with multiple items. The vast majority of the items I have been very pleased with indeed

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I've ordered some stuff from them. The foamie F-18 was a POS. The other stuff like the chargers were good. I'm still using them without any problems what so ever.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

There battery packs have been hit or miss.... some really good, some dead when they showed up
but all dirt cheap. The one thing they have done that is good for the modeler ( I think) but bad for competitors is get the prices to come down on many products.

Thunder Power has the best packs out there but had to really drop there prices to compete with hobby king.... you can buy three hobby king packs for the price of one thunder power

With that said you may need three if the first one is dead and the other two are not that great. I've bought many packs for them... some have been very good, low internal resistance, good balance, perform just as well as the good brands.

I have also had some that won't stay in balance, so bad you can't even 2c charge without going into safety charge... also had two 6s 5000 packs I bought for $140 bucks show up just garbage. Had to get rid of them and hobby king wouldn't do a thing for me.

There 10 and 12 gauge silicon wire is great and really cheap.... I also use there EC5 conectors which are dirt cheap and work great. I get them for a buck a set instead of $7 here.... and I can't see the differance in them.

never order if not in stock, only use EMS shipping and they have been pretty good.... I'm sure I'll chance getting more of the packs in the future, but for high amp stuff I'll stick with thunder power.

that's my 2 cents

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I'm sitting at 122 orders with them and I've only been dissapointed once. So far they have been great.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I had the same poor experience as Ron 101. Ordered several packs from them and all but one was junk. I contacted them about the bad packs and they wanted me to run a series of NASA style tests to prove to them that they were bad. I have better things to do with my hobby time than running a bunch of tests and furnishing them proof of their poor quality products. Their customer service really SUCKS IMO.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Good... hopefully keep prices down and competition honest.

Z

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Depends on your definition of "good" and "bad" and which side of the fence you are on...whether you are a retailer/distrubutor or a consumer. I would imagine they have many NA retailers and distrubutors feeling nervous. I have many orders with them with the odd hickup but when you consider the price point it is hard to complain.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I will let you know soon ;)

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

The prices might be attracitve and tempting. In the short term, you might even benefit by buying from them. In the long term, the more they are supported, the better they do. The down side is the better they do, the less the local hobby stores do, the less the major US distributors and manufacturers do. If we do enough damage to the local US industry, we might not have a hobby as we know it in some number of years. That being the case, if hk becomes your primary supplier, you might have to get used to them being your only supplier and the policies that go with that decision.

Paul S

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Very good points however I think that there will always be more than one supplier. The Hobby King model will I am sure soon be copied by others and this will ensure competition. All Hobby King are doing is cutting out several middle men who offten (but not always) add little or no value to a product but certainly add a markup.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I am all for free market and it's benefits. So hobby king is fine for me. Bring on the competition and don't whine or point fingers if you lose. Otherwise, we would still be using original Kraft radios on AM bands. Standing in line to buy from a few protected companies isn't for me.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Good post but interesting to see why people would trust some products and expect to have failures just because they are cheap. Why not buy a more expensive reliable product in the first place where you have the good customer service.
Wonder what would be said if the packs failed on a 10 grand jet?

Simon.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Definitely good. There is a lot to be said for a well organised web site, that has more products than 99% of the competition, show prices, gives you significant loyalty discount and shows stock levels. I suspect it won't be long before they will be selling many of the jet accessories we need because their own line of turbine engines is imminent. Hopefully no more paying £5 for one Festo fitting!

As others I've had many orders with them over the years especially for lipos and have never had a big problem. I've sent the occasional thing back and got refunds and had missing items on one order and they got sent out quickly when I spoke to online support.

Just one example of pricing that made me laugh recently...I know where I'd go...

[link=http://www.towerhobbies.com/products/txr_airplanes/gpma1771.html]Great Planes Micro F86[/link] $139

[link=http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=17302]Hobby King Micro F86[/link] $49.99

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

+1 as our American friends would say

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I have 56 orders with them and no big problems.

I have 10 OrangeRx 8ch receivers in planes a helies at $28 each so $280 total instead of $1,400.00 for the Futaba ones.

I'd rather run Futaba 8ch receivers and don't mind pay twice the price for them but I'm not going to pay almost five times the price. That seems high.

Seems like if OrangeRx can make a workable 8ch receiver for $28 then Futaba should be able to put out one for $60 to $90.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Depends on how you look at it. Many people will buy their servos to use in cheap 40 size sticks but wouldn't dare to use it in a 10grand jet as stated earlier. My problem is that a 40 size stick out of control can still kill my child next to the flight line. Not that I suggest there is no failures with the better, more expensive servos, but the ones from HK is just not that reliable, and personally stopped using them all together.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

...

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I wonder if those two F-86's are identical products? If so, oh yes, no question where to get it. I'm certain most RC stuff has huge markups. Why does a JR/FUT/Hitec 12" extension cost $8? Most all products of any type are priced to what the market will bear.
Someone on this thread already said that what looks like a great deal frequently isnt. I agree. I also agree that its a real shame what the Internet has done to many LHS's.

When someone proves that a metal gear servo that advertises 220 oz/in at $15 is as good a quality as a JR, Futaba, or Hitec of similar strength and speed, I MIGHT try one. But not on a jet. Sure name brands are marked up, but I'd rather pay the extra than take a chance. I wonder what it really does cost to produce digital servos?

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

You said it. Its one thing to gamble with your own money. Another to gamble with safety. As long as its apples and apples, get it for as little as you can. But, a flying buddy has used HK servos and rx's. Also cheaper 50cc gas engines. He has some success. He is a good pilot, but has lost many planes due to deadsticks, bad batteries and servos. Not to mention much more frequent issues in the pits just to get his stuff up in the air.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I would have to say HobbyKing has been a great source for just about anything I have wanted as a noob. I originally wanted to start flying back in the 1980's, but the prices the LHS, and mailorder were charging kept me grounded. I would look at the name-brand equipment, and dream. Fast-forward to last spring, a friend invited me to a swap meet, and I bought a used slostik, and a used futaba 6ex. Then when I asked my friend is there more, he showed me HobbyKing. all that I wanted, I have. I now have a Turnigy 9x radio, several rx's from different vendors, and have not had a single problem with it!!! I flew last summer, and fall, and this winter with it, and it has been FLAWLESS. (Michigan weather isn't so nice in the winter). My batteries and all electronics have performed at least as good as any other high-dollar, "name-brand" equipment out there. No "brownouts". No un-binding of rx's. NO PROBLEMS!!! I did have a wattmeter arrive doa, I was able to get a return authorization ticket, sent it to their Washington warehouse, and got store credit. Good service, I'd say. If the "name brand" companies or LHS are feeling a pinch, they will have to do what it takes to compete. And yes, I would trust my radio and equipment, properly set up, in any model.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I would have to say HobbyKing has been a great source for just about anything I have wanted as a noob. I originally wanted to start flying back in the 1980's, but the prices the LHS, and mailorder were charging kept me grounded. I would look at the name-brand equipment, and dream. Fast-forward to last spring, a friend invited me to a swap meet, and I bought a used slostik, and a used futaba 6ex. Then when I asked my friend is there more, he showed me HobbyKing. all that I wanted, I have. I now have a Turnigy 9x radio, several rx's from different vendors, and have not had a single problem with it!!! I flew last summer, and fall, and this winter with it, and it has been FLAWLESS. (Michigan weather isn't so nice in the winter). My batteries and all electronics have performed at least as good as any other high-dollar, "name-brand" equipment out there. No "brownouts". No un-binding of rx's. NO PROBLEMS!!! I did have a wattmeter arrive doa, I was able to get a return authorization ticket, sent it to their Washington warehouse, and got store credit. Good service, I'd say. If the "name brand" companies or LHS are feeling a pinch, they will have to do what it takes to compete. And yes, I would trust my radio and equipment, properly set up, in any model.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Are you saying you would fly a jet with a Turnigy Radio?

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Is Super Walmart good for the consumer?
Yes.

Is Super Walmart bad for super markets?
Yes.

Are super markets bad for chain groceries?
Yes.

Are chain groceries bad for mom and pop stores?
Yes.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Why not? Is it any different than any other plane? It uses Throttle, Ailerons, Elevator, Rudder, Flaps, Gear. And maybe a few other channels, I can make use of 9 channels. Range test, line of sight is at least 1-1/2 km. If I can afford to trust it with my slow-stick, J-3 cub, Cessna 182, Lingcat,Profile Edge,Exceed Concept, Mini-uproar, (Alll electrics, and one nitro trainer, why not a jet? I have had no problems whatsoever with my Turnigy, and I expect it will serve me well for quite a while to come.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

byrne1157, welcome to the hobby and I really hope you enjoy it. My question to you is to what do you compare your equipment to. I've been flying for 17 years and been using a lot of different equipment, thus have something to compare new stuff too. Been flying JR all my live and used a buddies new 18MZ a week ago,WOW!!! Compared to my JR this IS the thing. If I never had the chance to use the 18MZ, my poor JR would have still been the ultimate radio EVER!
I do believe you will have a change of heart and mind as soon as you really used proper stuff. Though, HK gave you the opportunity to enjoy our hobby, I just think it is sometimes at someone else's expense/risk.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Of course a jet is different to any other plane, a large one flies at a much greater than normal range on occasions.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with Turnigy but you would have to be a brain donor to use it in a jet.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Personally have had to bad run ins with Hobby King. Customer service issues though, not product issues. Personally I prefer Hobby Partz which offers the same low prices but much better customer service

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Thank you for the welcome,Maritza! Well, I must say, we all have our opinions, and they are just that. Opinions, I've been taught, are neither right,nor wrong, just someone's belief based on either thought, or experience. Now down to facts. I will repeat myself so that you will understand what I am basing my OPINION on. My experience has shown me that if I had said I would use a futaba radio in a jet, nobody would have a problem with that. I said in my earlier post that I own a Futaba 6ex. So I guess, Maritza you might say that I have used "proper equipment". I trained using my friends Hitec radio. My Turnigy has an excellent "high quality" feel to it. The gimbals are smooth and tight. The programming is easy, and has all the mixes I need to fly any aircraft. It also can be programmed for Helis. The range checks I have done show me that the system is good for AT LEAST 1.500 METERS. I have NEVER experienced a loss of control. That cannot be claimed by *pektrum. It is NOT a cheap little toy store radio. Have you ever used one? Sounds like you haven't. In 5years, or maybe 10, maybe you guys will accept it. These are made (figuratively) just up the road a little way from where yours are. If you want to find out, spend the price, and test one. You might be surprised.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

<p style="margin-bottom: 0in">One way to start a real heated debate is to mention the name Hobby King!</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">WARNING, this is a long post!</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">byrne1157 &ndash; No matter how you pose the question or explain your preferences there are some that are not going to be swayed period. For someone to compare an 18MZ to a Turnigy 9X is like comparing a Maybach to a Fiesta, they both get the job done, both are reliable but the guy driving the Fiesta probably can't afford the Maybach and even if he could he's probably more financially savvy than the Maybach driver anyway.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">So, I have already been kicked out of one forum because I for one like Hobby King and am not afraid to admit it. I was kicked out because I called someone out who absolutely slams HK every chance he gets but has never owned any of the stuff or most likely never even seen it in person. He drinks the Carden/DA koolaid and anyone with a different opinion is not welcome at that forum. (I guess I didn't make it perfectly clear that besides all of the Hobby King stuff I have I also have the Cardens, DA's and all the rest of the cult required equipment to be a part of that group.)</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I'm not going to try and count how many HK orders I have placed over the past couple of years but I started buying from them back when they were Hobby City and I'm now a Platinum Elite customer. Initially I just purchased hardware like screws, hinges, latches, connectors, wire etc. I never stepped over the line into electronics, engines or airframes till one day &ndash; I was out at our local club and a couple of the guys there had foamies that are manufactured locally. I called the guy making them and went to pick one up. He had everything in stock except the battery so I bought the complete package which included a Hobby King motor, speed controller, servo's and 8 channel Orange Futaba receiver.. On the way home I stopped at the LHS and picked up a battery from E-Flight (which cost almost as much as all the rest of the stuff combined) I put it together and flew the snot out of it but needing more batteries and not having the ability to charge LiPo's and not wanting to spend a fortune on a charger and batteries I ordered a couple of batteries and a charger from Hobby King. 8 days later I had them in my hands and now I could fly without borrowing a charger. One thing I noticed immediately was that the Hobby King (Turnigy) batteries which are the exact same size and C rating as the E-Flight had a heck of a lot more power and after flying them to the &frac12; charge point I had figured out for the E-Flight they were only about 1/3 discharged. So I set about some experiments and ran the motor on a test stand for exactly equal times on both batteries and after several times the HK batteries always had more capacity left in them and provided almost 4 oz more static pull than the E-Flight. I have now run Turnigy batteries against E-Flight, Thunder Power and many others and the Turnigy's have always performed as good or better than the name brands. I now have Turnigy 2s batteries in everything for the receivers and ignitions and have not had a single battery failure yet except for 1 E-Flight battery that puffed and died on charge number 23 and no I never ever take a LiPo below 50%. And FWIW all the rest of the electronics in that plane have been going strong for over two years and even spent a night in a tree with very heavy dew and I can't count the number of times that plane has been crashed and rebuilt.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I have since been equipping all of my planes with HK stuff from the servos to the receivers and the one and only crashed plane since that time was a scratch built Waco that went in because the MPI (American Company) receiver battery failed on the second flight. It was a brand new battery with the brand new Gold Peak cells that I had propperly cycled 3 times. All the rest of the electronics in that plane were HK stuff and they are in another plane now that has had well over 100 flights since then without a glitch.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I have had a few issues with HK stuff, I had a 100 amp speed controller smoke on the bench while setting up the plane. Still not sure if it was defective from the factory or if we did something wrong when installing it. I have had one Corona servo that would not return to center at the same rate as all the rest when released from full deflection. It traveled out to the end the same speed but was slow coming back so I took it out and placed it in my dead servo box (which BTW has several Futaba, Hitech and a few JR servo's in it.).</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">So, is Hobby King good for the hobby? They're good for me and the members of the club I fly at who aren't drinking the big brand koolaid have had exceptional results with HK stuff.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">Would I recommend them? Well that depends, is the person asking one who has to have instant gratification, probably not, I'll send them to the LHS but is the person asking someone who will not call me tomorrow because the order they placed this afternoon hasn't arrived and they can be patient and fly something else for a few days, then yes.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">One thing to remember, Hobby King is basically a wholesaler to the public and therefore they do not have a 50% margin in their merchandise to support a large call center in Illinois to provide customer service or technical support. If you want to pick up the phone and call someone to hold your hand so you can feel all warm and fuzzy then do not order from Hobby King, you won't get that kind of service. If you can figure out how to replace a spark plug and tune a gas engine without calling Technical support in Illinois then IMHO the gas engines they sell are an excellent value but if you need someone to hold your hand so you can get the aforementioned warm and fuzzy feeling again then do not use HK stuff. Same goes with posting questions on forums, if you say that you DA is running poorly and need some advise on setting the needles you will have plenty of people offering help but if you say your HK motor is running poorly you will have to wade through a hundred negative posts chiding you for buying a motor from HK to find one person willing to help. A poorly tuned motor will not run right regardless of whether is was made in Arizona or China.</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in">I'm not brand loyal, I have a new GP Waco with an OS33GT gasser, all Futaba digital servo's and Turnigy batteries and I also have a KMP eBay reject Yak with a RCG (Hobby King) 55cc engine, Corona servo's, Orange receiver and all HK hardware that up till this past Sunday has been flow at least a dozen times a week without a hickup. Sunday on flight 4 I had my first dead-stick which after further examination was a result of not having tuned the high-speed needle and running too lean. I tore the motor down, it's perfect inside, put it back in the plane and was just running it this morning. 3 20 minute runs and it's not had a hickup yet but it was way out of tune. Was that the fault of Hobby King &ndash; I think not, it was my responsibility to check the tune which I did not but then again if I had been flying my $2200 Edge with the $700 DA motor maybe it would have tuned itself and I wouldn't have had a deadstick. Oh but wait, I have had over 6 deadsticks with the OS gasser so I guess that theory doesn't hold up either.</p>

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

i sent a gas engine in for repairs flipped it 3 times and it frooze> still no answer after 20 emails to them

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

Great post Scott.

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

AAAAAAAAAAAA+++++++++++ scott i have been trying to say what you just said for a long time you hit it 100% on the button amen you just made my day

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

sorry wrong quote but you get the idea

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I did not buy as many as you for sure, but of all the packs I purchased one arrived dead last October. And I mean 0000000, they asked a picture of the sticker, and one of voltmeter showing the voltage (000000).

They asked me to return it, 2 weeks later I got a good pack. Also last year, one pack arrived (I had ordered 2). I presented the claim on line, that same day they sent the missing one (US warehouse).

You log on their site, and do the claim on line, no need to talk to anybody. that was my experience, I purchased things from them for years.

At the beginning I purchased only 3 packs at the time (min) thinking if one is bad, or even 2 I am still ahead. Well, it never happened. Their packs are going strong.

SAID THAT, if the difference (savings) is not big, I would not buy from them. Of course, now I try to buy stuff they have in the local warehouse. A shame they do not have too many controllers in stock in the US.

Good for the hobby? Of course. Is all their stuff good? Nobody has only good stuff:-) You just have to be careful what you buy.

Gerry

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

I have their 1.6 electric motor ($47) and it is a beast. The vertical takeoffs with the giant stick are amazing. I liked it so much I just purchased another one for a 1/4 scale Fokker... Way more power than the Z-26 it replaces (on 8 cell), on 10 cell, the thing is crazy powerful (19-10 prop)

Gerry

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

So at this point the old HK are generally getting a thumbs up as good for the hobby

RE: HobbyKing - Good or Bad
 

We have to accept globalization since is here to STAY , not only in our hobby but bussiness to.

We are used to thinking only in our countries physical boundries, but there are bussiness as Hobby king thinking GLOBALLY.

They are making the hobby afordable for a lot of cunsumers Globally.

Quality yes and no depends on category.

Price: Great.

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