Hi forum, I have a few questions regarding Radio control transmitters for use with APM2 aircraft (in UK).
I have had a high level read through the previous threads on here regarding radio transmitter choices etc. and If possible i'd like to just get a few opinions on the below...I have done about as much research as I can of my own, and i'd now like to see what peoples thoughts are on the below. First of all may i just list some requirements....
- Must be legal on UK frequencies
- Using tx for fallback control of my aerial mapping aircraft - Range about 2km
- Ideally i'd like it to work out of the box with existing firmware
- Good Failsafe is an absolute must
- Ideally TX and a single RX will cost below £300 (~$485)
- Telemetry desirable
- Must work with 433mhz 3dr Telemetry Radios
I have been using a Futaba 9C 35Mhz Tx with R149dp rx, which has served me well over the years, but I am having a few issues now with the signal quality, and the TX Screen has broken. Therefore it is time to upgrade to a new system. And the 1m antenna on the Futaba r149 is a bit of a pain to install.
Based on my research I have 2 options..
- Buy another oldish Radio, eg. Futaba 9c/10c, and then buy a UHF 469mhz radio module.
- Buy a new 2.4ghz system and decent RX
Given that i'd like a comfortable 2km decent Range, I'm not sure whether I need a Long Range system. I am tentatively going with option 2, but please someone stop me if a Long range System would be better.
Okay...Transmitters and my thoughts...In approximate price order (Lowest to Highest, all prices are an approximate based on a bit of Googling)
Turnigy 9x - £30 (tx only)
RX-9X8Cv2 rx - £20
Unbeatable cost - around £50 including RX, seems it can integrate with MAVlink with a little programming knowledge
Seems you need to update firmware, buy extra modules to get it working properly. With the amount of other knowledge I am learning about RE: mapping, cameras, APM Planner, config, etc.. I could do without this extra work.
Hitec aurora 9 - £200 (tx only)
Optima 9 - £50
Moderately priced at £200 - Nice big screen - Cheapest of the decent radios, Programming screens look good.
I do like this radio, however it doesn't seem to be widely used in the DIYD user base
Spektrum DX8 - £210 (tx only)
AR8000 - £53
This is a nice radio, but it is creeping up in terms of cost, and it does have 1 less channel than I have at the moment on my Futaba 9c. But apparent this has good usability, and reported range is quite good.
Futaba 8FG - £260 (tx only)
r6208sb - £90
This Radio has many advantages, being 14 channel for a start! However i'd have to use a knock-off hobbyking RX in order to come under £300. I do like futaba, coming from a Futaba 9C, this would be the natural next step. A friend of mine does have a 6ex, but I do not like the menus on that one. The screen on this is a little small by comparison to the Hitec and JR
JR DSX9 Mk2 - £280 (includes rx)
Extra rx - RD921 - £110
JR Seem to be the most expensive brand of radios, possibly because of reliability, usability, I've never seen one. But they do have nice large screens. Hobbyking sells these, but Mode 2 has been out of stock for a while.
What are peoples thoughts on the above..Normally i'd just go ahead and buy one, but due to the cost, i'd like to make sure I make the right decision....
I guess i'm asking, are there any clangers or tx's to avoid like the plague!
Discuss...
Replies
Hi Forum, cheers all for your input, You've all helped me make my decision. I went for the Hitec aurora 9. Hopefully it will serve me many years of diy-droning.....! Rich
I fly with the Aurora 9 and am generally pretty happy with it and specifically, the standard onboard voltage telemetry, is something I now CANNOT live without. Before, flying was like driving a car without a fuel guage and relying on time driven to determine how much fuel you have left. Now I have a real "fuel guage", essential for 'copters!
I have had a few issues, one was bad (Rx froze but fortunately no loss or damage, see my blog) and the others seemed to have been problems related to 2.4GHz in general. FWIW the signal is not as robust as they would like you to believe as I've found out - RIP a plane.
It's not perfect, Rx's are expensive, the firmware hasn't been updated in over a year, channels 5-9 can't be used with the buddy cord system (for FPV headtracking) and it looks a bit too retro for being the first touchscreen RC radio.
It is a breeze to program, feels and works well, hardware support is very good and it has nearly everything anyone would ever need.
Although not the cheapest, I'm very pleased with the quality and features it offers. I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for.
This is where I got mine from and it's only £40 over your £300 budget for transmitter and receiver.
http://www.kingslynnmodelshop.co.uk/Radio-2.4_Flight_Transmitters-F...
Hope this helps,
Steve
Hi Richard
I will make a suggestion for you, it may be a little more expensive than what you are mentioning, however, this is what I am doing with my setup. Check out this site http://www.dragonlinkstore.com/v2/node/1
As you will read, this is a very good setup, but I too would stick with the better known brands like JR or Futaba (and a few others) Can't go wrong with either. All my own opinion of coarse. Hope this doesn't offend anyone.
Cheers, Steve