maaaarius

I've always been interested in RC, but never really gotten into it. Now I've decided that I want to give it a try, and I need some help getting started.

First of all I need a transmitter, and it would be very nice if it worked with the simulators (real flight/aerofly deluxe pro/reflex xtr). It looks like the transmitter must be able to work in PPM mode (whatever that is)

I was thinking about a 4 or 6, or maybe 7 channels transmitter. I will only fly electric planes... maybe try som 3D flying and maybe the funny hydro-foam "boat" when I know enough to fly them. I'm no sure if I will buy a new or used transmitter yet, but I gusss that doesn't matter. I don't think I will ever go for gas planes, looks messy. I'm not sure is electric helicopters can become interesting later, who knows.

Quality is important, but isn't JR, Futaba, Airtronics, Hitec all quality? I don't want the most expensive transmitter just because it's expensive, that is no proof of bein better than the others. I don't like how the Futaba looks, and I've heard the programming takes time and can be a *****. I really like the look of the other transmitters, Airtronics looks nice, but so does the others as well. Can anyone say something for or against these brands?

Not sure if I should try to find a transmitter only, and buy the receiver+servos separately. I think I need a mini receiver and mini servos. For all that I know, maybe some transmitters are sold with that as well.

Is it ok to use mini servos for other electric planes than shockflyers and parkflyers? Would they work on bigger planes? I guess that depends how big they are... but...

If i buy a receiver and servos separately, are there any brands I should go for, or stay away from?

All comments and suggestions are highly appreciated

Can anyone recommend some cheap an nice webshops? other than www.towerhobbies.com

Rodney

If there is a club in your area, I'd highly recommend visiting with some of the members and visit their flying field. Most modelers will be only to happy to give you advice, just remember to try to filter out biased brand choices as all current brands are quite good. If you can, pick up and examine some of their transmitters and see how they feel in your hands, all are slightly different. Very probably, they will also have a member or two who can let you fly their model on a trainer cord. Just remember that, if you use your transmitter on a computer program, either disable the rf section or keep the antenna fully extended (do not do this near an active flying site or you will cause the flyers problems with interferance). The reason for keeping the antenna fully extended if the rf is active is to protect your transmitter's output stage. If the unit is radiating RF and the antenna is down, the SWR (standing wave ratio) will be way high and cause excessive heating in the output stage which can lead to shorter lifetime and even possible catostrophic failure. If there are no active clubs in your area, visit the local hobby shop and ask a lot of questions.

maaaarius

Our local hobby shop is small, and the people behind the counter has never even tried a plane. They just work there, and this is how many shops are in my town. I had hoped someone could recommend a brand, I can always be able to find a suitable model on my own. There must be some positive and negative sides of each brand, that would make it all easier to choose. Visiting a club is probably a good thing, I'll try find one.

Rodney

Check out Tower Hobbies or any of the other hobby sites on the web. All current brands are quite good. Futaba and Hitec have some very good introductory systems that are good values. Nothing wrong with JR or Airtronics either.