I am considering taking out a second mortgage and making the quantum leap to the 14MZ. But first have a few general queries to put out their and get some feedback on.

-What exactly comes with the "complete System" ?...does it include the 32Mb memory card?
-When the 14CH 2.4Ghz module & receiver are released in November (In Australia) & fitted to my system, will this remove the failsafe feature from the unit???????
-From an operational perspective, how user friendly and reliable is the system???
-Futaba headquaters recommend that the unit be sent back to them each year for tuning & calibration...is that really necassary ???

Any general information on the unit and accesories would be very much appreciated

Regards
Scot ( another 12X disapointee )

How can you be disappointed the 12X is not even released yet. They haven't even released a final list of features?

I understand you are an Aussie but heck man. As with the 9x and the 9303 the 12X is going through the programming stages and the final product is not even finalized to release the info that will be included.

By the way I feel if you fly a bunch that once a year or every other year is a good time period for the checkup...I fly a bunch and usually send my stuff in every other year.

Troy Newman
Team JR

I've had a 14MZ for about a year and a half. It does come with the memory card, so purchasing one on your own is not necessary. As far as sending it in every year... I have already had mine in once after almost losing a plane. My 50cc Yak suffered a violent uncommanded roll a bit too low. One second I am at ten feet straight and level scaring the neighbors, the next second it's rolling past 90 degrees quickly. Got it back, pulled up and tried to duplicate and couldn't. I landed and packed up for home. It occurred to me at the time that the 'turbulence' that I had noticed from time to time every once in a while might not be what I thought it was... After talking to a few guys I found out that there was a problem with the encoders on the gimbals. Every now and then the plane would twitch... not just that one, but all of them. But it wasn't frequent, or significant at the time, and I could never duplicate the problem, so I never bothered investigating. Almost cost me a plane. Lesson learned. I sent it back, and they said they replaced the encoders, all the panels on the unit, antenna, screen, gimbals, etc... In fact, the only thing that was the same was the serial number. On my model list the first model listed was a generic model, not the model I had listed first when I sent it in. Did they replace the whole thing and just call it good? Can't say, but I am suspicious. Works great now, and in fact, the planes all feel better 'locked in'. I haven't used it much this year, so I won't send it in this winter, but next year I definitely will. Unless I switch all together by then.

On that point I will say that the radio is amazing... anything you can dream up for it to do, you can get it to do. Once you learn the system it is a breeze... and that learning curve is much improved over the 9Z (which I still have after 15 years). I won't say that it's easy, because that is really subjective, but it is rather intuitive to me.

Based on what I have experienced....... answers in order of your questions

TX, case, receiver, TX charger, Li-ion TX battery, programming stylus and allen wrenches for adjusting stick tension, 32MB memory card, manual mailed seperately but can be downloaded immediately from Futaba website. No servos, airborne battery or switch. Most want to choose those components themselves, not take a default setup.

There was a statement on the Futaba support forum saying failsafe would be avail on all channels with the 14MZ 2.4G module and RX. 2.4G Module and RX not avail from Futaba yet. Supposed to be released soon.

User friendly? Probably to easiest system to program I have used. Very obvious and the many selectable configurations set up dual ailerons, dual elev for you automatically. You can override these if you want but it sure makes initial setups very easy. It has many more programming capabilities than previous Futaba systems and you can get it as complicated as you want, I tend to keep is pretty simple tho. Reliable? There were some initial issues with the first R5014 RX but those were identified and fixed, a new RX, the R5114 encorporates a feature to slow down the PCM transmission by about 20% in areas or installations with a lot of 'noise/interference'. There are a lot of 14MZs out there and from reading the forums and talking with friends that have them, they appear to be quite reliable. As with ANY radio system, there will come a time when it fails, question is, how long will that be?

I can't answer the return for service question. I returned mine for a check up after about a year. Don't know what others are doing.

Woodie

Settle down there Troy...( Have i opened a pandoras box here? ) I was hoping to hear some feedback on the MZ, but hey, its all good i guess. Before you dissapear on a tangent let me just say that yes I am an Aussie and damn proud to be one, second Its more the way JR seems to have approached the development of the 12X relative to whatt the market is requesting from it. Dont get me wrong i have nothing against JR and in fact I currently operate with a 10X and its a fantastic radio. Downunder, the 12X will retail for $1500, maybe you really do get what you pay for.

No hard feelings Troy
Happy flying!

Troy,

How are you doing? I'm thinking of a 14 MZ. Why would I want a 12X instead? I'm serious. Cost is obvious but after that the 14 MZ looks good. Any comments?

Jim O

Are you kidding me, Tom? As long as 14 is on Windows' platform, it will never be stable, that's why you had the near crash experience If they will switch it to Apple's OS, then. it will be a different story

All kidding aside, I believe it is a lot easier to program than the 9Z, and the features are amazing.

Adrian

Jim,


I don't really know what all the 12X is going to incorporate so making a comparison is futile at this time. I have spent some time with the Futaba 14mz and 12mz radios and they are first class systems. Futaba has always made a good product.

This wasn't suppose to be a brand war. I just think lots of guys are jumping around claiming that JR is not doing anything to compete with the 14 channel radio.

My personal opinion is after some experience with some of the 14's locally I don't see a reason to compete with the 14MZ. I think there are some programming features that are nice but I would buy the 12MZ over the 14 if I was set on a new Futaba system. To me if I wanted to stay Futaba I think the 12MZ is an excellent system. That system while not as flashy, being able to play music and have a color picture of your model on the screen...I think incorporates a most of the software features of the 14.

I expect the JR 12X to be a straight forward approach that is not going to try to dazzle you with voodoo, and play MP3's. I don't have any inside information to share. But fully expect the 12X to be on a par or more advanced that the 12MZ.

The debate is a Ford and Chevy head butting match but what I will do is tell what I really like about my 10X since I switched from the 9Z about 8 years ago. I feel its a much more stable platform to fly from. Not from signal perspective but the Box in my hand is a stable platform to hold the gimbals. The Case of the radio is very durable being a cast magnesium chassis. This makes for a stable gimbal platform. The feel of the system is solid and precise. I like the feel and positioning of the gimbals better. The TX is very robust and has taken a ton of abuse flying. My systems are 8 years old and really only had some minor maintenance issues usually caused by me. The gimbals feel great and are very precise.

I flew the 9ZAP and ZAW for many years and they just didn't take the kind of flying I was doing. Every year I was having issues with the case of the radio. I take good care of my stuff, but I had problems with the plastic case. I also had some issues with the Elevator pot slipping on the gimbal. When switching D/R the trim on the elevator would change. Seems this was a never ending issue for me. Every year I had the problem and had to send it in for repair based on this issue. Radio South was good at doing the work but it never got resolved. At the end of 6-7 years flying the radio I felt like it was on its last legs. Today after flying my 10X's for 8 years, they are in much better shape than the 9Z's after the same amount of time. Also in the last 8 years I have probably flown double or triple the amount of flights as I had on the 9Z systems.

The new JR 12X will be an excellent system. I'll be flying one next year. When we get some details I can make a comparison. What I really like and I think is going to be a huge selling point for the 12X is the built up system in 2.4ghz. I have been flying the Spektrum technology since I had a test version of a DX6. To me the way Spektrum has done the 2.4g stuff has distinct advantages. I have not seen these from the other 2.4 systems. I have been flying module 2.4ghz setups in my 10X since early June. The Flight log data port is an outstanding tool. The model match feature would have dramatically changed a contest for me this past spring as I took off on the wrong model. The servo synch is going to help us match up multiple servos better.

I'll be happy to do a full expose on the system when I get mine. They are due out this winter as far as I heard last. I suspect Horizon will release some specs and features coming soon. Again I have no inside information but there is a big hobby show in October in Chicago. Since the radio is due out this winter I would suspect some info coming around the Chicago show. Again these statements above are my opinions only. I know that Horizon Hobby is re-working the software like they did on the 9303. This 9303 radio is a huge leap forward in my personal opinion. It blows the other radios in the 8-9 channel class out of the water. I think JR and Horizon Hobby have worked very hard to develop the 2.4ghz technology and are definitely leading the way in this arena. I would rather have a solid link to my model without the worry of the frequency board and mistakes at the field. I also like the features that the Spektrum brand of 2.4 bring to the table over what I have seen from other manufacturers.

Its a Ford and Chevy debate. Both are really good products.

To be honest I'm excited about the new radio as I think its going to take the leap forward like the 9303 did over the JR 8103.my advice would be to wait until the 12X comes out and we see what it has to offer. Only then can you really compare the radios.

Troy

Troy,

I share your feelings about the 10X. It’s a brilliant system - a delight to programme and built to last. Whilst I have the greatest admiration for Futaba, I also feel that the ergonomics of the 10X are better for pattern flying. Anyone with any doubts should hold a 9Z (or 14MZ) and a 10X in succession. I have even had diehard Futaba fans admit that the balance and shape of the 10X is superior.

My current F3A model is a TS Composites Oxalysis. The front end of the fuselage includes an inner layer of carbon cloth all the way back to the rear end of the wing seat. One of my colleagues who flies a similar aircraft (albeit with a Hacker electric motor in place of my YS 160 engine) has experienced intermittent blanketing of the 35 MHz Rx aerial. The problem was especially notable when the aircraft was pointing away at some distance during the procedure turn. He resolved this by relocating his Rx further back in the fuselage, aft of the carbon fibre “shell”. With my YS160 powered Oxalysis I have not found this to be necessary. I have however taken the precaution of taking the aerial of my 35 MHz JR RS10Ds Rx out of the fuselage via the shortest distance possible and routing it to the top of the fin.

My point in relating this tale is that the potential for “aerial blanketing” in the TS Oxalysis has made me wary of converting to a Spectrum 2.4MHz system. If the short main and secondary aerial pairs were installed in the normal location, they would be almost totally encased by the carbon “shell”. There has been much general discussion about this potential problem on various modelling websites, with competition glider pilots for example sharing similar concerns. In response, Horizon have stressed that the system has been widely tested in a variety of airframes and have understandably underlined the need for careful range checking. Despite these assurances, I am somewhat reluctant to use my TS Oxalysis as a test rig! (I should add that the European restriction of 100 mW of RF compared to 500 mW for the USA only adds to my reluctance.) Perhaps this is being over cautious, but before moving forward, I would be very interested to hear of your personal experience (or that of your colleagues) of using 2.4 MHz Spectrum in an F3A model, especially one with a significant carbon content in the airframe.

My second reason for not yet converting to 2.4 MHz, despite the numerous undoubted advantages, is the problem of Rx “drop out”. Obviously any Rx circuit – 2.4 MHz or otherwise – will stop functioning below a certain threshold voltage. As I understand it, the thing that is different (and unwelcome) about Spectrum is that the system software takes a very finite time to reset after the drop out point has been reached. During this finite period the model is out of control. I understand that Spectrum RC and Horizon Hobby are working on an urgent solution along the lines of instantaneous (or at least much faster) reset. In the meantime, they have offered highly responsible and sound advice in relation to integrity of power supplies, including the measurement of supply voltage under extreme conditions with all servos heavily loaded or stalled. Experience would indicate that drop out, although rare, is most likely to occur in models with a large number of digital servos, in which all servos are moved simultaneously (for example, during a snap roll). I suspect IMAC models are more likely to suffer than F3A models. However I am also conscious that due to the weight restriction with F3A, there is less scope for introducing duplicated power management systems and other means of mitigating risk. Once again, I would be most interested to hear of your personal experience, especially in relation to your 2 metre F3A models and your Rx battery set-ups.

Many thanks

Bob

Thanks for the response Troy. I tend to agree with you that JR has always had better mechanical design and construction. I was really looking for differences in performance and features. I haven't kept up with all the latest but in the past it seemed like Futaba led the way in new capabilities. I like what I read about the 14MZ in terms of resolution and latency. I'm beginning to think latency is more important than we realized. I've flown a few DX7s and they feel real good. I like the Futaba's ability to assign any switch to any function and the spline curve capability.

What is sad is that there isn't anyone in the US that is really knowledgeable about what is in these systems so they could compare one to the other. Or even better. specify what we want in our systems. I notice the European transmitters made by Futaba and JR don't look like ours.

In the end it probably doesn't matter when it comes to flying well. Dave Brown beat everyone and he certainly did not have state of the art equipment.

Jim

As far as the 14MZ TX (this is the greatest unit in the market) but stay away from its receivers, I dont think that you have to be concern about a loose bolt or rubbing pieces in order to avoid locks, and avoiding CRASHES!!!!, I have a 90SE Heli for which I already invested thousands, and it is unacceptable that the whole thing ($$$) depends on a very poor filtered $300!! RX unit, if you have a US$2K radio you wont install this on a cheap hobbico trainer, so the whole thing cannot depends on this kind of unknown, unpredictable, always your fault!, poor design, dark RF noise!!!, if 2048 resolution put you on jeopardy it is better to stick to PCM normal modulation.

Roight. Posting to year old thread some silly thoughts about PCM3G receivers, makes me a very sad panda

Is the JR 12X out yet

I bought the 14MZ and love it. No problems and many flights. Mine is on the 50 MHz band and has the 5114 receiver. I'd recommend it to anyone who wants to fly better.

Jim O