I just received a 3DR x8 that I planned to use with some existing Spektrum equipment that I have. I have decided to keep that equipment where it is and get something dedicated to the X8. After doing a little reading I think I want to utilize a PPM-sum receiver rather than the Spektrum setup. From what I can tell I will need 3 additional components.
1. Transmitter like a Turnigy 9XR
2. Receiver (FR-Sky D4R-2)
3. FR-Sky DJT Telemetry
First question is does this cover what I'll need. Second question is what is the Telemetry unit for? There's a telemetry module on the X8 for communicating with the ground station. Does the FR-Sky communicate with the transmitter?
Thanks for any help!
John
Replies
Hi John,
It's hard to say if it will cover what you need, without knowing what you want to do. :) The D4R II is a capable, but somewhat limited receiver in that you can't do PPM and PWM at the same time, but maybe you don't need to. It all depends on what else you plan to load up on your x8 (fpv? camera? gimbal? lights? etc...). If you want to future-proof yourself a little, I'd recommend spending a few more bucks and getting the X8R over the D4R.
Telemetry... well assuming you're not going to be doing FPV, then telemetry can send important data like RSSI and battery voltage (among others) information back to the transmitter. However the D4R doesn't have the smartport (like the X8R) so you can't use the newest sensors that FrSky has to offer. Check their website for details.
However, I don't think the 9XR can display FrSky telemetry data without a hardware and software hack. Someone correct me if I'm wrong here.
So all that being said, if telemetry and future upgradeability is important to you and you don't feel like doing much hacking, I'd strongly recommend skipping the Turnigy and just getting a FrSky Taranis with X8R bundle. If telemetry is not important and you don't envision adding anything to the x8, then you can probably go with what you have and be just fine.
Kristian
Hi Kristian,
Thank you for the reply. The hardware I listed was one of the recommended configurations over on the ardupilot wiki for use with the Pixhawk auto pilot. I believe I did find the answer that I was looking for. What was throwing me off was that my experience with transmitters has been limited to Spektrum and I was not familiar with the modular transmitters so I wasn't understanding what the Frsky DJT module was for.
John