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Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Air Models / November 2009Looking for radio reviews/comparisons
I lost my easyglider today. I was going for a little more altitude than I have in the past and apparently lost radio contact. I almost brought it back but it finally went straight down really fast and toasted everything. Complete loss except for the two wing mounted servos. Why do I suspect the radio? Because in searching the net a bit today I find that the Spektrum 6100e receiver I had is considered a park flyer receiver, and apparently that doesn't just mean size, it can also mean receive range. Live and learn. I'll still use the DX6i with the Blade 400 heli it came with. I don't even get past 50 feet away with that. But I want something better for the next plane. Anyway, I am looking for web sites that compare and review radio systems. I'd also like to find real world range tests. Currently I'm looking at either a Spektrum or Futaba 7ch 2.4ghz system, leaning towards Futaba at the moment provided I find info that the zero id problem has been nixed. I'm also open to other brands. TIA Brian  Signaturehttp://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? > I lost my easyglider today. I was going for a little more altitude > than I have in the past and apparently lost radio contact. I almost [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > > Brian Hi, Why not just keep using the Spektrum DX6i? You can get full range Spektrum rx's that will work with it. The range isn't a limitation of your transmitter. True, the DX6 was a park flyer radio, but the DX6i is full range. Vance Howard <Vance@example.invalid> wrote in news:hbvv8e$sp7$1@news.eternal- september.org: > Hi, > Why not just keep using the Spektrum DX6i? You can get full range > Spektrum rx's that will work with it. The range isn't a limitation of > your transmitter. True, the DX6 was a park flyer radio, but the DX6i is > full range. Well, I'm getting the impression that the frequency hopping method of the Futaba radios is more robust than the dual fixed frequencies of the Spektrum system. I do realize both are different forms of spread spectrum. What I'm kinda hoping for (but not really expecting) is some technical discussion of the systems as it applies to RC. I have a background in electronics so I know the theory. But theory and reality are often different, so I'm more interested in the reality of the radios. I have found typical product reviews of these radios which are nice and do provide some information, but they don't get more technical than regurgitating the manufacturer provided specs. What we need is a "consumer reports" for R/C. Brian Signaturehttp://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? >What we need is a "consumer reports" for R/C. I think there is a website called "RCuniverse" that might have something like that. Or "RC Universe"? I visit it a lot through Google. I prefer newsgroups for daily chatter. Marty SignatureBig-8 newsgroups: humanities.*, misc.*, news.*, rec.*, sci.*, soc.*, talk.* See http://www.big-8.org for info on how to add or remove newsgroups. >>What we need is a "consumer reports" for R/C. > > I think there is a website called "RCuniverse" that might > have something like that. Or "RC Universe"? http://www.rcuniverse.com Thanks for the tip. And for those technically inclined, I also found the following were very interesting comparing the spectrum use and data bursts of various 2.4 Ghz systems: http://www.flyelectric.ukgateway.net/24ghz.htm http://www.flyelectric.ukgateway.net/24scanner.htm Brian Signaturehttp://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? I think you'll find that if you look at Spektrum, Futaba or JR you will find them all pretty similar. You may find one has features that you particularly like and others that you don't. Each brand has it's own loyal following so it's very unlikely you will find a cold mathematical breakdown of which is best. As for frequency hopping versus dual channel - I think you'll find that all full range receivers are pretty robust. I've not made the jump to 2.4GHz and even though I have a PCM TX, most of my RXs are PPM and I've never experienced a serious glitch. The only comment I would add is that in my experience Spektrum are cheaper so you will get more features for your buck than with Futaba or JR. Cheers, Nigel __________ Information from ESET NOD32 Antivirus, version of virus signature database 4545 (20091026) __________ The message was checked by ESET NOD32 Antivirus. http://www.eset.com I routinely speck out my gliders with spektrum RXs with no issues, as do many others. I don't use the 6100 for this, but many people get away with it. There may be other issues that caused the problem. If you ran the motor more than you usually do, you may have overheated the ESC, or run the battery low enough to brown out the RX. Was it your first climb of the day, or well into the pack? PCPhill -------------------------------------------------- From: "Vance Howard" <Vance@example.invalid> Sent: Saturday, October 24, 2009 6:31 PM Newsgroups: rec.models.rc.air Subject: Re: Looking for radio reviews/comparisons >> I lost my easyglider today. I was going for a little more altitude >> than I have in the past and apparently lost radio contact. I almost [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > your transmitter. True, the DX6 was a park flyer radio, but the DX6i is > full range. > I routinely speck out my gliders with spektrum RXs with no issues, as do > many others. I don't use the 6100 for this, but many people get away > with it. There may be other issues that caused the problem. If you ran > the motor more than you usually do, you may have overheated the ESC, or > run the battery low enough to brown out the RX. Was it your first climb > of the day, or well into the pack? I'd say I was only in half way to 3/4'ths. I don't know exactly as I didn't bother to look at the timer on my Tx after I heard the thud. I use 2100mAh 20c packs and with my flying style was getting about 20-25 minutes before I got the pulsing motor warning. Motor was an Eflite Park 480 1020kv outrunner on an Eflite 30 amp esc. The only setting I changed on the programmable esc was to enable the motor brake to keep the prop from windmilling on glides. I doubt it was a brown out as it happened after I throttled down, and I never had brown outs before on this setup. I did once but that was on the old brushed motor and esc. The voltage sense in the new esc has always seemed to work. On this climb I was going for some more altitude than before, about a 60 degree climb. I figured I was pushing range so I turned her back to me. She nosed down right after throttle off but I thought I just stalled it. Response suddenly became sluggish and then she nosed dived. This happened twice and each time she recovered I pulled it up level which was towards me. The final time it just never came back. It must have gone straight down from about 150 ft altitude. Figuring it was range I thought that since each recovery brought it closer to me it would eventually come back for good. The crash site was about 520 ft away (via google maps), so I know I was further than that at first. I guesstimate altitude at 300-400. Even so, that's line of sight less than 1000. I was definately higher and further out than I had ever been before. The Rx may have survived the crash, and I kinda intend to check if it lives. If so, I'm going to do a range check at full Tx power and see how far I get. Even if it survived, I won't chance the part in a new bird due to how hard she hit. My first bird died spectacularly. Brian Signaturehttp://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? > My first bird died spectacularly. That is not unusual for a first bird, in my experience. Come to think of it, not for some of your future planes, too! :-) To me, it is like saying, " I found it the _last place_ I looked for it!" Of course it was in the last place you looked, because when you find it, you stop looking! Duh! Same thing holds for RC planes. If you fly them, you will crash them beyond repair, eventually. That's what happens to me, and I don't think I am in the minority. Every day they live, our planes are one day closer to their death. If you have several planes, it may take a few years for it to happen, though. Good luck in your search for your search for a new plane and system. SignatureJim in NC >> My first bird died spectacularly. > > That is not unusual for a first bird, in my experience. Come to think > of it, not for some of your future planes, too! :-) Very true. Although I must say this happened much sooner than I expected. It may have been my first bird, but I've been a sim pilot for a loooooooong time. One of these days, the real thing, I hope. So I had very little learning curve. A few scrapes on my first couple flights but that was just getting a feel for the handling. <Snipola> > Good luck in your search for your search for a new plane and system. Thanks. I'm doing 'research' (aka drooling), but haven't decided on anything yet. Right now I'm leaning towards something very sporty which would likely stay closer to me, and keeping the DX6i in use (besides on the heli). But later I'd still like to get the Futaba radio as I really like the technical specs, and I anticipate needing more than 6 channels for future use. Brian Signaturehttp://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? I have flown my Easy Glider Electric with an AR6100, and taken it to great distances with no problems at all. I am primarily a glider pilot so I am very used to fly little distant dots in the sky. But if you are concerned about range, then get the AR500 or the AR6200. If you can see the plane, then you can fly it. i have had many problems with the 6100, and i have always told people to never ever use the 6100 for gliders or fast planes, the 6100 is really intended for close flying e.g 3d planes or indoor planes, if you want to be secure, go with the 6200, i have tested the 6200 and it went over 2,000 feet, and i tested the 6100 and i lost all signals after 700feet, so using the 6100 on gliders is pretty much a risk. hope that helps. http://www.skyhighhobby.com My electric RC planes >I lost my easyglider today. I was going for a little more altitude >than I have in the past and apparently lost radio contact. I almost [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > >Brian Signaturehttp://www.skyhighhobby.com |
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