erwabo

So dont hurt me too bad, but I am VERY new to RC planes. One of my issues is I am a tech geek and do IT for a living, so the more feature laden, technical bells and whistles the better. So I have a 72 Futaba 8U that was given to me, but the FASST module for it is like $170, so I was thinking more about getting a new one to fly the newer planes and keeping that for some older planes I was given with it.

So I was looking at the Turnigy 9X Pro, the FlySky FS-i10 and the Spektrum DX8

Any opinions and recommendations?

Thanks so much

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Don't forget the FrSky Taranis with it's open source software, unlimited programming, telemetry, voice notifications, inexpensive accessories, parts availability, and active online community. Perfect for a tech type like yourself and only $200.00 or so.

erwabo

Hmm, I l'll check that one out. I really liked the Spektrum receivers that I was able to edit stuff with the iPad...of course they are things I have no idea bout yet, but I like the capability to do so. I dont know enough to make an informed decision yet or what REALLY makes one radio that much better than the next.

erwabo

So what protocol is recommended. Im seeing so many things. DSMX, FASST, FHSSS, DS2, AS3X

What is the recommended module type?

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

As I understand it, all of the ones you mention are the proprietary names the companies give to essentially the same technology which is frequency hopping. The early Spektrum radios transmitted on two channels at the same time rather than jumping around the spektrum. Spektrum has since joined the crowd and now embraces frequency hopping like everyone else. Although they all use similar technology the manner in which it is implemented and the software used to organize and transmit the data is unique to each manufacturer so that transmitters and receivers are not interchangeable between brands. Some transmitters like the FrSky Taranis have a slot in the back where you can plug in other manufacturers modules allowing you to utilize their receivers, or "Bind N Fly" type of RTF aircraft.

No particular protocol seems to be any better than any other at this point. The relative merits of each system or brand is the source of much discussion on these message boards.

New modelers are generally advised to select brands that are popular in their area so that others can assist them in case they have a programming problem. As you sound technically savy I think you would be safe with any radio of average or better quality.

I have been flying FrSky equipment for over 3 years now and have not had any problems at all. Spektrum, Futaba, JR & Airtronics are the most popular and well known brands although FRSky is catching up fast. FrSky offers a very attractive combination of features, quality and price. I like the "open source" concept, parts availability, and pricing of receivers & telemetry sensors of their systems.

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

duplicate post

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Stay with FM.

erwabo

Okay I have narrowed it down between the DX8 and The Taranis....difficult decision. I definitely like my 72 Futaba 8U. IT has a great feel to it and pretty functional, but my D/R rudder switch is broken off (not a big deal) but I would like a new one. I went and held a DX8 in the Hobby shop...ergonomics are great on it, but they didnt have a Taranis I could compare it to. hmmm...decisions decisions

ululi1970

If you want to try the Taranis software without having to buy it, download the free OpenTx Companion here http://www.open-tx.org/2015/01/13/opentx-2.0.15/
Companion Tx serves two purposes: It is a PC based tool to edit and program the radio AND a radio simulator. The best thing about the Taranis is
the software it runs. Companion TX lets you explore the software.

My suggestion is that since you are new and a self declared techie, Taranis with its OpenTX is perfect for you. Don't let the price difference fool you into thinking
that Spektrum is better since it's more expensive. OpenTX is an Open source firmware that has so many features that you will likely never need another radio. Compared to the
DX8 (a good radio, don't get me wrong), OpenTX is as superior as Windows 7 is to Windows 98.
The RF link of the Taranis is rock solid, and the telemetry options are much better. Plus you get voice alerts, the DX8 only gives you beeps. So instead of hearing a beep and wondering what the heck
it means, you get a nice voice telling you that the signal strength is low, or the voltage has dropped to xxx volts. How much (or little), the radio talks to you is entirely up to you.

Plus, Taranis radios sell very well, so if you find yourself hating it after all (but I guarantee you won't), you can get most if not all of your money back

erwabo

Do you know if any of their receivers support that "smart" technology or gyroscopic correction. The hobby guy was showing me that yesterday with the DX8 how some trainer planes have that tech, so if you totally lose control, hit the button on the radio and it auto corrects the plane. I am assuming thats radio independent and will work with any radio thats bound to it, but I wasnt sure....still learning all this stuff.

Also. the simulator has a blue back light...which I really like, but the samples I see online are typical gray and black LCD. I see some people have replaced their LCDs, but Im not about to attempt that. Soldering is not my forte =)

ululi1970

The stabilization technique you're talking about can either be built into the receiver, or it can be provided by a third party module, which sits between the receiver and the servos (sort of fly by wire).
The taranis Rsx do not have stabilization built in, but will work with third party modules.
A few things to consider
1) The best way to learn to fly is with an instructor and a buddy box. That makes stabilization unnecessary.
2) often, to set up the stabilization right, you have to fly the plane without, or ask somebody to set it up for you, which brings you back to point 1.
I have seen people taking off with the thing so overly stable that they could not bank to avoid a tree!
3) With the Taranis, you can plug in a DSM compatible module in the back, and fly planes with spektrum receivers. Lots of people like this one
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...mpatible_.html
With Spektrum, there is no module bay. You're stuck with them.
4) The Taranis will happily buddy box with JR/Futaba/Spektrum radios, so you do not have to search for an instructor with the same brand as yours.

Your goal is long term. Mind you, if flight stabilization is important, you can pick up an inexpensive DX5 just to go through the beginning phase. Lots of people
get them bundled with their first plane, and dump them when they are ready to move on. But IMMO, stabilization applied to trainer planes in mostly a marketing tool.
It becomes important with rotorcraft and FPV outfits, but then you want a good third party box.

erwabo

often, to set up the stabilization right, you have to fly the plane without, or ask somebody to set it up for you, which brings you back to point 1.
I have seen people taking off with the thing so overly stable that they could not bank to avoid a tree!

HAHA, wow that would suck. Yeah hopefully I will get out with a trainer and instructor soon. Probably mid to end of May. Yeah the guy showed me the plane bundled with DX5...nice little outfit.

Definitely sounds like Taranis is the way to go for me. Sounds like it has a lot of long term options and things to always keep the hobby fun and interesting.

Thanks for all the great feedback

Rob2160

I have both the DX8 and the Taranis and it is no contest in my opinion - Bang for buck the Taranis is the stand out winner.

I use it almost exclusively now due to programming flexibility, voice and telemetry. Open TX is great and more intuitive than I expected.

The DX8 is a good quality radio and I can't say a bad word about it. Mine has worked flawlessly for year but the Taranis gives you a lot more.

You can use Spektrum receivers with the Taranis by fitting a DSM2 or DSMX module - (about $30)

A good post here about the FrSky Taranis RF Protocol

ululi1970

Before you go ahead, download Companion TX and see if you can set up a simple 4 channel trainer. This may take a little time, but it will give you a taste of the programming style. if everything goes well, go ahead and get it. If after hours of attempts you find yourself staring blanking at the screen, then maybe the Spektrum may be a wiser choice. I am saying this because chances are that at whatever club you may end up flying, there will be somebody with a Spektrum that can help you. Taranis are still not very popular, though they are catching up fast. At my club, with about 110 members, I think there are only 3 or 4 Taranis, whereas it is literally infested with Spektrums.
On the other hand, the way you describe yourself, I think you will love the Taranis. Heck, maybe you will contribute to the software (did I mention it is Open source?)

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

There are lots of Taranis related videos on youtube, tutorials and the like.

The Taranis not only has voice notification but it also allows you to record anyone's voice to supply the announcements.

Another cool feature is the newer X series receivers have "model match" similar to Spektrum.

You can also use your own jpeg images with the Taranis and have the aprpopriate model displayed when you select it.

erwabo

So this doesn't just bind? Every model requires a specific set up? I briefly looked at the software here at work, but how does it validate that you set it up correctly? All I did was download the taranis and taranis plus .bin files and opened up the simulator and poked around the menus, but I didnt really see if there was a way to validate your setup. The manual looked fairly comprehensive though. How hard can it be?

ululi1970

Different planes have different setups (from the number of channels, to the maximum travel of the servos, and many more options). Generally, once you have a clear grasp on how to set up a 4 ch plane, you can use that as a start point to tweak to suit your need. The Taranis can have up to 60 planes stored in memory.
To validate your setup, in companion you click the simulate bar at the bottom. That gives you a screen with the input (gimbals, sliders, switches,...) and at the bottom you see what happens to the channels. So, using a 4 ch trainer as an example, if you move the throttle gimbal up and down, you should see whatever channel you have assigned to throttle (that would be the channel you sign plug the throttle servo into the rx) move.
More complex mixes (e.g., rudder coupled to aileron) will show as their relative channels moving...
This is actually different from the Taranis simulator options, which simulates the screens of the actual Taranis...

NO MATTER WHAT, (now I got your attention), never skip the actual preflight check with the actual plane in front of you at the flight line before each take off (left right ailerons, left right rudder, up down elevator, ...)...

Model match: Once you start having several planes programmed, it is imperative that you pick the right plane in the radio. Here's where model match helps. Each plane set up gets matched to a specific receiver. If you select the wrong plane in the menu, the rx will refuse the incoming signals, and here's the sequence of thoughts that come along: (1) oh s...t there's something wrong with the battery, receiver, (2) strange, I charged the battery and everything worked well when I last used the plane, (3) no wait, I select the Corsair but today I am flying the Mustang, (4) thankyou whoever came up with the idea of model match...

Alberto

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

Look for videos by Scott Page on youtube, lots of good info there!

The Companion software also has a Wizard to help novice Taranis users set up the radio for their model. The latest software version for the Taranis has this same Wizard loaded in the radio itself making basic set ups a snap.

4ptroll

My Feedback: (35)

+1 Taranis all the way

8178

My Feedback: (17)

To get the features that the Taranis Plus has you would need to buy the most expensive Futaba or Spektrum system made and even then then they would be lacking compared to the Taranis. OpenTX is turning the world upside down.

One on the guys on an other forum spent a lot of time on this chart https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BxM...RUE/view?pli=1 that compares a number of Spektrum radios with Taranis. Interesting to see all the features lined up like this on a chart.

If you do decide on a Taranis Plus I would recommend only Aloft Hobbies as your dealer. They are out of stock right now because people are buying the systems faster than FrSky can make them, but a new shipment apparently should be in stock soon.

Mike

erwabo

SO I setup a 4 channel model....I LOVE this software. Made a gear up and gear down too. SO MUCH faster than using the 6 buttons on the radio. This is TOTALLY the controller for a geek like myself. Have NO IDEA about the Logical switches LOL....but I dont need them yet =)

What I would REALLY love is Editing of the receivers via BlueTooth with the Ipad or iPhone or any smartphone. I think Spektrum has that. It would be nice in the field. Im sure the boys in the OpenTX world are working on it =)

Rob2160

Great to hear - you will love this radio - I use the logical switches for a number of features - IE in my multicopters - if throttle is more than 5% above or below centre for greater than 4 seconds in GPS or ATTI modes the radio will say "climbing" or "descending" - but this alert is deactivated if I select manual mode. Whatever you can think of - the Taranis can do it.

I could use a logical switch to measure GPS distance from starting location and automatically activate return home if it gets too far - or if the battery drops below a certain voltage (even measuring a single cell) - once you realise the power in this radio its hard to fly with anything else.

+1 for Aloft too.

erwabo

Yeah...that makes sense. Its too bad planes dont have a "return home and land themselves" function =) Do they make Fuel sensors for planes? I would love alerts for fuel and voltages.

a multicopter is on the road map...but I can only buy so many toys at a time before it causes ill-effect in the marriage haha.

Rob2160

LOL… I hear you. Not totally familiar with the fuel sensors as I haven't flown with glow for years but saw this recently

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...3#post31444218

erwabo

Wow thats awesome. Thats exactly what I was looking for.

Most of my future planes will probably be electric, but I just love the sound of the engines and working on them, not to mention the planes that were given to me are nitro.