Turnigy FBL controller

[SGD]

HK doing a FBL controller that looks a lot like a BeastX with the menu lights rearranged. At $49.99 I wonder what it will work like?

Turnigy 3D-H 3-Axis Flybarless Helicopter Control System

[RcRotaryMadness]

hmm.. well it looks the part, but not sure I could trust it as the central part of your control system.. very very cheap though!

[sacko]

Turnigy FBL controller

Got to feel sorry for the people that spend hours of their time developing these innovative products at excellent and affordable prices...

... only for it to be reverse engineered, copied and sold for a quarter of the price :/

[SGD]

Got to feel sorry for the people that spend hours of their time developing these innovative products at excellent and affordable prices...

... only for it to be reverse engineered, copied and sold for a quarter of the price :/

Totally agree.
But I think the majority of people that would buy these products wouldn't buy the original anyway or buy one just out of curiosity. So probably only has a very small impact on sales of the originals.

[pgkevet]

Got to feel sorry for the people that spend hours of their time developing these innovative products at excellent and affordable prices...

... only for it to be reverse engineered, copied and sold for a quarter of the price :/

That's a modern commercial reality. Another cynical way to look at it is that it wouldn't be cloned if volume sales weren't high enough so perhaps if the inventor/originator had dropped his price once he'd recovered the R&D then this wouldn't be viable for the clone guys... Just saying..
The other realities also apply..that the clone item will possibly be a cheaper materials and unlikely to get updates - or may even be better designed with the benefit of the head start..

If archimedes had patented the screw thread or Mr vanWindmill had patented the idea of wind power we'ld all be paying a Dyson-load more

[RcRotaryMadness]

China is prolific at cloning things, but there is a market for cheap goods these days and if people will buy it they'll make it.

I agree its unfair on the original makers though, as a lot of the cost is down to R&D, not the manufacture of the product itself.

[IanC]

Turnigy FBL controller

From a purely personal point of view I will and alway have supported the innovaters of the industry.

And will continue to do so, helis have come a long way in technology in the last few years I would hate that to be hampered in any way

But I do understand that some people wouldn't have been able to enter the fun of helis without them.

Probably there's an argument for both side, but I know the side I'm on.
Thanks

Ian

[r4nd0m]

Interestingly they also reference the microbeast manual in the files menu - so I wonder if this may be a licensed product - doubt it but there are options to doing so ...

[dogbiscuit]

if you fly clones then you will probably not worry about using it......

or, as my blade 400 is now virtually worthless and just sitting there gathering dust...... tarrot fbl head and one of these.....could be worth a try without wasting too much money to see how they are, for a bit of fun. i dont think i would use it on a bigger heli though

[sacko]

Turnigy FBL controller

Don't get me wrong I'm not naive in regards to Chinese clones. When I first started flying 6 years ago, clones looked poor quality, cheap and were accompanied by a whole host of manufacturing defects; now they are starting to look like a plausible purchase flyers may actually consider.

Agree with the Ian though, I will always support the innovative individual/company.

[Mikej]

At the risk of starting a flame-war, one of the aspects that I find very interesting is that some of the cloners (notably Tarot) are now making upgrades to the original designs that improve the original (bearing towers that pivot for improved access, CNC battery trays, innovative FBL heads and some FBL electronics to name a few) and are taking the hobby forward in a way that the mainstream manufacturers don't seem to be.

[waveydavey]

I do wonder if Hobbyking do buy the rights to the software though on things like this. With Freakware doing nothing but licensing their technology to the like of Horizon Hobby and TSA Hobbyking is another good revenue stream. Take a look at their PL8 copy reputedly made by revolectrix. This Fbl controller is released some 3 years down the line from tech original Beastx so I think there is some agreement in place

[Gixxer]

It's the same as the Hobbymate HB800



Hobbymate FBL 3-Axis Gyro 3 axis Flybarless Rc Helicopter Gyro MEMS


... and the Hobbymate HB800 is a BeastX v1

The way it usually works in China is, whoever is getting the goods manufactured there has an agreement with the manufacturer that the goods won't be copied for a specified time and after that, it's open season.

I don't see any harm in it. It encourages progression and gives newcomers/people with less money to spend, a way into the market.

[JoeBailey]

Turnigy FBL controller

Or maybe beastx are planning a new controller and are selling off rebranding to milk what's left out the current version.

[maddog7]

I wondered about this controller when I saw it a few days ago.
Strangely the thing that drew my attention was the unusual finish on the aluminum bottom part, it looks the same as that on the beastx AND the GT5.

I've always wondered who makes the GT5 especially since the GT stands for "German Technology"

D