RC Model Reviews

Hello all,
I am very new to this hobby, i have crashed a few cheep park fliers from large chain stores but looking at getting deeper in to it.
(also hello sid)
I was curious about a nice radio to start out on.
I have read some things about the Turnigy and was wondering if the mods are necessary fro a beginner? I have talked to a few at my local club and they seemed to poo on the Turnigy noting software and communication issues. Have those items been fixed with the new version?

I don't see the need to start out with a $400 transmitter if a $60 will fit my needs of crashing and learning the art of repair

Yellowirenut wrote:Hello all,
I am very new to this hobby, i have crashed a few cheep park fliers from large chain stores but looking at getting deeper in to it.
(also hello sid)
I was curious about a nice radio to start out on.
I have read some things about the Turnigy and was wondering if the mods are necessary fro a beginner? I have talked to a few at my local club and they seemed to poo on the Turnigy noting software and communication issues. Have those items been fixed with the new version?

I don't see the need to start out with a $400 transmitter if a $60 will fit my needs of crashing and learning the art of repair

Haha, hi mate!

Go easy on him guys, he's sometimes the world's worst speller but a great guy (we are mates on another forum).

OK, I'll start off and no doubt Bruce will have better and wiser things to say.

Out of the box the Turnigy 9x is...

1. A bit of a gamble sometimes, because the quality control department are all dead (or worse, undead). Despite this, most transmitters still work OK...and bear in mind, it costs less than a night out on the booze.

2. The little box at the back, that is the actual radio transmitter module (together with the receiver in your plane that it talks to) is OK, but lacks some important features. So, you change that little box for a surprisingly inexpensive, but far better one from FrSky, who's system is not only damn cheap, but works as well, or better, than any system on the market today, regardless of price.

3. The battery pack in the transmitter sucks. It has to be replaced. It's easy to do.

4. The software, aka, the operating system, or "firmware" supplied is cheesy and beeps at you. Because it's open source however (like Linux) its kinda easy to load a better one that changes the transmitter from a cheap, sometimes annoying and buggy box, into something that craps over name brand transmitters costing many hundreds of dollars more. Also, you can program it on your computer instead of the transmitter. Think going from DOS to Windows 7.

5. People who have paid a lot for their gear can get defensive about others who get a better transmitter system for hundreds less by taking a small risk and being smart. Then again, the same people got a proper guarantee, and hopefully better components on their more expensive stuff. The 9x is a $60 radio for a reason.

+1 for the Turnigy 9x.

Assuming you get one without faults, and nobody seems to be reporting any faulty ones lately, they are fine as they are without mods. Spending an extra $10 on a decent rechargeable battery is a small extra cost.

The FrSky transmitter mod is a must for large planes, this will also require replacing all your receivers, so I'd say bite the bullet and spend the extra cash on that rather than buying extra 9x receivers. Although, I have a 9x receiver you can have for free if you just want a second one.

A $40 smartieparts board to replace the firmware and add a backlight is a worthy investment when you're ready.

All up I've spent $160 on my 9x but it's as good as if not better than a $500 radio.

How are they on being trainers with buddy cords? The club i am planing on joining offers flight training.

Yellowirenut wrote:How are they on being trainers with buddy cords? The club i am planing on joining offers flight training.

I bought the prevalent brand at the club when I re-learned how to fly, often better because your instructor can trouble shoot problems more easily.

I got the Turnigy 9x and the frsky arrived yesterday, so will install that and let you know how it all goes

Fury

the problem with the turnigy is that its somewhat involved and hard to get to grips with
the software it comes with is pretty well set up for helis but almost completely useless for any remotely complicated plane programming

if you have some electronics knowledge (or are willing to pay about the same price you paid for the radio for an addon board) you can easily flash another firmware on it which makes it one of the most potent if not the most potent radio out there
trouble is you need to program almost everything by hand with the er9x and except for helis it has zero built in mixing capabilties
theres nothing fundamentally wrong with that but to really unlock the power of the thing you need a bit of time some math skills and most importantly knowledge of what kind of mixes a normal top of the line radio comes with and thats a bit of a problem when youre a beginner

a basic example is aileron differntiation
with a regular radio its documented in the manual and built into the software so its easy to set up and more impotantly be aware of that it exists and what it does in the first place
with er9x you have to set it up yourself and if you have no previous rc experience chances are youve never heard of a lot of the things you can program your model to do

Shotglass wrote:the problem with the turnigy is that ... with er9x ... chances are youve never heard of a lot of the things you can program your model to do. a basic example is aileron differntiation

That's a good point. I'd never heard of aileron differentiation before and had to go google it. Is there a list of useful mixes somewhere for us beginners?

not that im aware of
you could try finding manuals of top of the line transmitters online and see what they have to offer

rogueqd wrote:

Shotglass wrote:Is there a list of useful mixes somewhere for us beginners?

they are all useful, but useful for beginners? depends on the aircraft

Check out Futaba's chart: http://www.futaba-rc.com/systems/feature-compare.html


I couldn't find the JR equivalent