Hi everyone. Im new here, but not to the RC community. This forum is an awesome resource.
I ordered the 3D Robotics Y6 DIY kit and now im looking at radios. I have a bit of experience with futaba 2 channel radios from my RC car days and Ive always been impressed with the quality, fit, finish, ect. So, now im trying to decide between the Futaba 7c and Spektrum DX7. Which do you think will be the best fit the the Y6 with Pixhawk?
Thanks in advance,
-Joe
Replies
I've had a DX6i, DX7s and a DX8.
The 6i and 7s were both great radios but ultimately a little limiting. The 8 was a serious dud for me with random lockups, an RF board failure and it just didn't "feel" as nice as the 7s
For a basic radio that does what it says on the tin the Spektrum's are ok, but if you want more abilities then I'd also recommend the Taranis. Got mine from Hobbyking for around £100 and has more features as a DX9 that costs nearer £300
I agree the old low end Futaba radios were very disappointing. I have a Spektrum DX6i and it is also very disappointing I use it for bind and fly compatibility. With all the new features and camera control I would not get a new radio with less than 12 channels. Pixhawk now supports 14 channels. That’s why the new Taranis Plus has become extremely popular.
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@Joe,
I was an early adopter of the Futaba EX6 2.4GHz R/C equipment which turned out to be a real disappointment.
Futaba had a lot of trouble getting the early receivers to stay reliably connected to the transmitter.
When all was said and done Futaba wanted me to pony up an additional $100 for a new receiver to correct their receiver problem.
I have never bought another Futaba product since that fiasco.
I have found Spektrum products to be the best bang for the buck and they are willing to correct hardware problems when they arise.
Regards,
TCIII AVD
Spektrum is popular because Horizon Hobbies has lots of bind and fly products that are only compatible with Spektrum or JR.
In my opinion Futaba is slightly higher quality. The Futaba RF link is a little more robust and has slightly more range than Spektrum.
There is a radio manufacture, FrSky, which has been around for only a few years but is quickly moving up in popularity. They have made a concerted effort to keep the cost down by doing very little advertising (that really runs up the price) and a limited number of dealers. I have been using their Futaba compatible receivers for a couple of years and they are just as good as the ones Futaba makes. They are now on their second generation of radios (Taranis Plus). I just got one a couple of weeks age and it very high quality. Also you get much more radio for your money. They have telemetry at an affordable price. Check it out. http://www.alofthobbies.com/radio-gear/frsky-transmitters.html
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I am a Futaba guy, but a better option today in that price range would be the FrSky Taranis X9D.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__45026__FrSky_2_4GHz_ACCS...
It's a no brainer since it has no artificial limitations on functionality. Meaning you get more features then even the high-end Futaba and Spektrum radios, and still cost less then the the cheapest Futaba/Spektrums. You also get much cheaper receivers, which is perhaps the most important thing in the long run.