Which RC to buy

Hello everyone,

I am tinkering with the APM 2.0 that I bought and planning to follow the hardware in the loop simulation as per the below wiki

http://code.google.com/p/ardupilot-mega/wiki/Xplane

I have the mission planner and the xplane trial version loaded on to my computer. However, I realized that I need to buy the Remote control for this to work. 

  1. Which RC should I buy? I know that there could be many options but I'd like to buy something that I can finally use when I buy my airplane. Is this a good one for now https://store.diydrones.com/product_p/rc-spektrum-dx7-01.htm ?
  2. The picture in the wiki link from above shows a "Receiver" that is connected to the APM via a PPM. Is this something I need to buy separately or is it part of the APM that I already bought?

thank you for your time!

John

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Replies

  • +1 for Turnigy 9x, but only if you're planning on doing the upgrades. I think of it like a Jedi building his own lightsaber. :)

    If you're testing in a flight simulator then you can use the radio as stock.

    Replace the battery holder before you fly with a real plane, the battery holder is the only really dangerous part.

    Upgrade to a FrSky DIY kit and matching receiver when you want to fly past 200m range.

    Upgrade to Smartieparts board and er9x when you want to use more than 2 switches. The mixing in er9x is just incredible. I'm always thinking of new handy mixes that do cool things.

    If (Yearly_Income / 1000 < Your_IQ) { Buy(Turnigy_9x); }

  • Graupner MX16 / 20 or better with Hott

    - you can use multiple recievers, (for additional redundancy or just extra outputs)

    - you will see signal strength and quality on the display (telemetry)

    - you can see voltages/current, GPS position, altitude, heading , speed + + + right on the display.

    - transmitter will log all these data to SD card inside it.

    -Ardupilot will soon output telemetry data in HoTT format for the "receiver" (really - it's bidirectional) - just like other systems already do. (like mikrokopter)

    so there you have it - lost model ? - just look up last position, or position+heading, altitude.

    want rssi mess ? - no reason - HoTT warns you by audio in good time before you have significant packet loss - and it's impressively quick to re-establish connection.  (even if receiver browned out.)

  • I have a Turnigy 9x + Frsky TX/RX with Telemetry  + Smartie Parts addon for loading er9x + LiPo Bateries.

    The setup is rock solid i am extremelly happy. The total cost of the setup is about $200

     

      Hobbyking  
    1 Turnigy   9X 9Ch Transmitter w/ Module & 8ch Receiver (Mode 2) ... $64.75
    2 Turnigy   2650mAh 3S 1C LLF Tx Pack (Futaba/JR) $13.30
    1 FrSky   DF 2.4Ghz Combo Pack for JR w/ Module  $50.43
    1 FrSky   FLD-02 Telemetry Display Screen  $19.99
    1 FrSky   USB Cable  $8.49
      Smartie Parts  
    1 9x   Add-on Board with built-in Programmer and EL Backlight $45.00
  • Thank you Guys for the guidance and sharing your opinions. When buying a RC, do I need to look for any particular configuration so I buy something that's compatible with my APM? Or are the RC's generally compatible?


    For example, can I buy the below RC if I want to and assume that it'll work with APM?

    http://www.amazon.com/Futaba-FASST-Airplane-Radio-Servos/dp/B0015UM...

    Thank you,

    John

  • The Turnigy 9X is a good system and way cheaper than anything else out there.  So unless you want to pay a 10,000% markup on your gear it's really your only option.

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