Buying Radios and Gear

A place for info or problems concerning Transmitters, Receivers or Servos.
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SecretBuilder
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Location: Spryfield
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Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by SecretBuilder » Mon Nov 02, 2020 9:26 am

Hello,
I an looking into buying a new radio sometime next spring/summer for the next flying season and I was thinking about buying the Radiomaster TX16s, it being multi-protocol and all and I was wondering if anyone owns one of this transmitter and what they think of it. I was also wondering where you buy things like radio systems and other gear. (Great Hobbies, Amazon, Banggood, Other)
Aiden | Pilot Name: AlbatrossFPV | MAAC#: 97485 | HEFA#: ?
Radio: Radiomaster TX16S | Goggles: FatShark Attitude V6
YouTube: AlbatrossFPV

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bdg
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Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2012 11:59 am

Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by bdg » Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:38 pm

The majority of our members use Spektrum. There are a few others out there too. But Spektrum is "the gold standard" I would say.

There are smaller quantities of Futuba, HK Orange transmitters, etc. at the field.

Typically a 6-channel is more than sufficient for 99% of the planes that we fly; although some like to have an alarm or similar on a channel too.

Brian

trevor
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Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2011 10:48 pm

Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by trevor » Tue Nov 24, 2020 7:40 pm

I have the jumpert16 pro. It's an amazing radio. Never had a glitch. The only hard part is learning open tx if you are new to it. Don't let it scare you it's extremely easy to use and very versatile. The best part is you can bind to any protocol out there. I tested it on everything from spectrum to Walmart toys. Raidomaster t16 it the exact clone to this. You won't be disappointed
what do you mean low rates and expo???

DoverSail
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Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by DoverSail » Tue Dec 08, 2020 11:19 am

I am planning to try a TX16S myself, mainly because for $200 you get:
multiprotocol
full telemetry
fully programmable logic
16 channels!
hall-effect sensors


compare that to a Spektrum DX8 for $350 or so, you get 8 channels and you're stuck in the closed ecosystem

I have no complaints at all about any of the Spektrum gear I have used, but the value of the TX16S seems to be pretty high.

Ivan
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Joined: Mon Jun 13, 2016 7:53 pm

Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by Ivan » Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:24 pm

DoverSail As a person that been with a Taranis as my 2nd radio for a Few years i can tell you the only real bonus to these radios (jumper) is that they are Open source (openTX) and the multi (for BNF) most ppl never use 16 channel (8 most times) as for telemetry For line LOS (never understood that ) But its always Been Price Spektrum is solid but the problem is even with there new radios the old haven't come down in price

DoverSail
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Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by DoverSail » Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:57 pm

Hey Ivan,

My interest in the TX16S is driven by the telemetry data.
As I am primarily a sailplane pilot, I am very interested in getting periodically announced altitude and tonal sink/rise data from my receiver. There are a few affordable options for receivers that have built in barometer telemetry. But the cheapest spektrum transmitter that has telemetry is (I assume) the newer dx8. The TX16s on the other hand can do it all for less than $250.

Do you have any specific likes/dislikes about the opentx gear? I would be interested to hear.

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AndrewS
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Location: Bedford, Nova Scotia

Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by AndrewS » Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:24 am

I have telemetry in several of my sailplanes for altitude and battery voltage.
Variometers are nice but can be a bit behind the time line, so they work better as a confirmer of lift than a detector of it.
Andrew Smith,
HEFA 3
MAAC 76250

DoverSail
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Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by DoverSail » Wed Dec 09, 2020 7:29 am

I’ve heard this comment about the delayed variometer response as well, but I’m not sure I buy the argument that they aren’t useful for real-time work. Lots of experienced sailplane pilots make constant use of various, Søren the ArtHobby addict among them. If your sailplane is flying in thermal mode at just a few m/s forward velocity, even 1 second latency (which is pretty high) would still give you a pretty good indication of the air 1 metre behind you; useful information!

Perhaps latency on these systems has decreased as radio systems improve? Considering that many perfectly affordable receivers just come with integrated varios now, I think it’s worth having a radio that can use that data.

DoverSail
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Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by DoverSail » Wed Dec 09, 2020 8:38 am

Further to my previous comment about the vario functions on the TX16S, this short youtube video really illustrates how easy it is to set up (along with any other telemetry your receiver has available to it). Finally, at the end of the video, you can hear the variometer beep tones rising and falling pretty much in time with him moving the receiver up and down in his hand. I would say that the latency appears to be well under 1 second, at least with that receiver. I think I am sold; though I have never used "banggood" before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOjiwb8fm_E

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AndrewS
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Location: Bedford, Nova Scotia

Re: Buying Radios and Gear

Unread post by AndrewS » Wed Dec 09, 2020 11:41 am

I feel they are better for long distances where seeing the plane's attitude is more difficult. Closer in lift is just as easy to judge based on what the plane shows. It is nice to have it logged to look at later.
I use Spektrum's vario, which gives you both vs and altitude.
Andrew Smith,
HEFA 3
MAAC 76250

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