Budget TX

[feathering]

Looking for a decent TX that would last me for my first few helis. Ideally around £150 and should be able to fly my prospective fleet: mcpx bl -> oxy 2 (not out yet) -> Gaui X3.

Any suggestions? Here is what I could gather so far:
* Walkera Devo 10 with Deviation (£90). Great value for money, feature-rich and flies Walkera and DSMX. But no support from Walkera at all.
* Taranis (£180 + £20 orangeRX module for DSMX). Powerful 16ch with excellent programming capabilities. A bit over-budget and not sure about manufacturer support.
* Spektrum DX6 G2 (£130). This is a "sensible" TX to purchase with support from manufacturer and club members. But I can't help to compare with the two above and feel that the dx6 is so bare-bones. Perhaps it is just the geek on me...
* Spektrum DX7 G2 (£200+). Do I really need 7ch for now? How common is it to have a set up that requires 2 extra channels, perhaps gyro gain + governor?

Thanks

[Blackout19]

The current gen Spektrum range are hard to fault. They have addressed nearly all of the issues that earlier models had, and in terms of features vs cost vs complication, they are great, and Horizon Hobby are, for the most part, pretty good with customer support and far better than anything you would get from Walkera! The DX7 will last you longer for Helis, for the exact reason you pointed out, especially if you move onto multi rotors and other bits of the hobby.

[bigpops]

I use a Taranis.

If you're willing to put in the time to learn to program it, nothing under a grand comes close. Sbus receivers are cheap, have excellent range and telemtry built in. The X4R sb is perfect for small helis as it's the same size as a Spektrum satellite, but has full diversity and telemetry built in.

I would like to recommend Spektrum, but I simply don't like how they've practically stood still for about 4 years. The only real innovation in all that time was bringing speech to the radio range, starting with the DX9, and now the new DX6 and DX7. The receivers haven't moved on. There's still no built in telemery, full diversity receiver with Sbus out. Orange RX managed to put all that in one of their new DSMX receivers for about £15. They aren't supposed to be the innovators, Spektrum are!

If you do want to go Spektrum, you might need that 7th channel if you intend to use a system with a rescue feature. If not, then you might as well get the DX6. It's really nice for the money.

I'm not familiar with the Devo 10. A guy at our club uses a Devo 8 (the colour touch screen one), with deviation, and he seems to be sticking with it, so he must like it. He's a big fan of the gimbals, as they still centre properly even with a really light tension.

[Blackout19]

If you're willing to put in the time to learn to program it

That's the issue with the Taranis. It's far from plug and play. I have one, hardly use it; my DX9 simply works and does everything and more that I need from a radio. If you do have the time to play with and learn the Taranis, then yes, it's amazing. Just be sure to do some research first so you don't end up frustrated.

[bigpops]

It's not that hard. I set up my first heli from scratch the day I got it. Just a basic one, with throttle triggered timer, 2 idle ups, hold, and gyro gain after watching a few youtube videos.

I still use that first heli I set up. I just copy it, bind it, and tweak gyro gains and subtrims/end points as needed.

Over time I added speech to switches, but on a half second delay so if I switch to idle 2 from normal, it doesn't say Idle 1 as I pass it with the switch. I also made it so I can set a minimum and maximum gyro gain (using a curve) and put it on a slider so I can tweak it in flight if needed. To be honest, I never have, but it's there if I need it. I also run a current sensor on large helis so I don't need a timer.

I came from a DX8 (which I still have for my BNF stuff) to the Taranis, and I'd take the Taranis every time. Only the Vbar Control has the potential to lure me away, but I've decided to hold off on that until at least next year.

[woodsta888]

Hi,

As bigpops says - rescue is becoming more popular a 7 channel will give you that extra channel required though on some FBL systems you can still do it with 6. What you save buying 2nd hand would go towards a FBL unit with rescue. I am assuming you are starting out (apologies if your aren't). I'd get a few more posts under your belt and get into the forsale section and grab yourself a second hand Tx. I've bought tonnes of stuff of the members from here and never had a bad experience. I'd go Spektrum as there are always lots of Tx's RX's and sats for sale on here. Also help with programming may be returned a little more quickly with spektrum maybe having a majority. Whatever happens - here in RCHA you'll never be short of help and advice.

[Zeeflyboy]

Taranis is an excellent radio that also has very affordable rx's... As mentioned there is a slight learning curve, but that is true of most radios and if you are learning a new system anyway then it's not that different and there are plenty of guides and help on the Internet. The advantage of getting to learn the taranis menu is that there is literally almost nothing you can't do, you can use both ppm and sbus rx's and the radio will work for pretty much anything you want to use it for. Great FPV radio too if you ever wanted to get into that.

You can even use the taranis with bind and fly spektrum based models by using an orangerx module in the back. I honestly think that at the price range (and significantly above) it can't be beaten.

[fishfiend]

I have a devo 7e, 8s and 12s all running deviation, I believe the 10s runs a very similar version to the 7e.. the GUI on the 8s and 12s is very powerful, and you can assign just about anything to do just about anything..As with the Taranis there is learning curve with the advanced programming, however there is also a Simple menu, which is just that, very intuitive..These radios are cheap and I have never had any signal issues with them on any protocol, although I only use the 7e as a Simulator tx, as it has a known short range without a modification.. I fly a 600 and 700s as well as smaller models using devo rxs and spektrum sats. The 8S is a great Radio, as is the 10s

[French Paul]

I think alot of the choice you make will depend on what flybarless system you choose to use. If you want to keep your mcpx then spectrum or jr dsm2 is the only choice without using different modules in the back which is old school and dsm2 is being pushed out of Europe now anyway.
I bought the new Dx7 as an update to my dx8 as I fly nitro but I still have 1 channels left because I use Msh brain fbl and everything including the governor is controlled and adjustable in the unit with Bluetooth to my phone. Really the Dx6 Is exactly the same tx but with bushed gimbals instead of quad bearing and the Dx7 comes with a rechargeable battery. I would recommend either but for £150 a Dx6 with a receiver is what I would go for.
It's by no means bare bones as it comes with the same software and features as the 7 and 9 but less channels/switches.

[feathering]

Thank you all very much for your input. Most helpful.

Reading the posts I feel that I am "learning" to appreciate Spektrum a bit more. With such large community of users, direct support and simple UI the overall experience must be positive. At the same time, I am quite attracted to the affordability and functionality of FrSky components as a whole: tx, rx, telemetry, etc... It will possibly boil down to dx7 vs taranis. Thanks again

[feathering]

I have a devo 7e, 8s and 12s all running deviation, I believe the 10s runs a very similar version to the 7e.. the GUI on the 8s and 12s is very powerful, and you can assign just about anything to do just about anything..As with the Taranis there is learning curve with the advanced programming, however there is also a Simple menu, which is just that, very intuitive..These radios are cheap and I have never had any signal issues with them on any protocol, although I only use the 7e as a Simulator tx, as it has a known short range without a modification.. I fly a 600 and 700s as well as smaller models using devo rxs and spektrum sats. The 8S is a great Radio, as is the 10s

Interesting sat/rx set up. Tried to read a bit about sats but still not clear. With your set up, do you have the tx talking with sat via dsmx while the sat is physically connected to the devo rx? I thought that the rx protocol needs to match the tx's.

[Peteski]

I started last Christmas with a DX8 for £159 and it's been just great for all my Blade BNF helis. No faffing around whatsoever, simply bind and fly I will certainly be using it for my OXY 3 too and anything else for that matter. I almost went for the newer DX6, but preferred to have the extra channels in hand. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything from the newer models.

[French Paul]

The reason I went from the Dx8 to the new Dx7 was because I was missing out.
The new models look and feel nicer
The software is much simpler and easer to make adjustments.
It speaks to me so I don't have to look

I have can buddy up with a Dx6/7/9 wirelessly.
I can swap models with the above models via sd card.without needing to convert them on my pc, this was a pain with a couple of second hand models I bought bnf.
The biggest fault with the Dx7s and the Dx8 for me was incompatibility with other tx's

[fishfiend]

Interesting sat/rx set up. Tried to read a bit about sats but still not clear. With your set up, do you have the tx talking with sat via dsmx while the sat is physically connected to the devo rx? I thought that the rx protocol needs to match the tx's.

I think you misunderstood me, I have separate set ups which include a full devo rx with a full sized vbar, along with 2 other models, one of which has an ar7200 with dsmx sats and another with a robird g31 fbl controller and single dsmx sat. You can only work with one protocol at a time, and the devo line doesn't require satellites, but you'll need to run separate leads for each servo. Hope this helps.

[myxiplx]

A lot of it depends on how comfortable you are fiddling, working things out on your own, or reading forums online. If you're happy to tinker the Devo 10 w deviation or Taranis would be great choices. I'd recommend the Taranis out of those two, while I love my Devo 10, the Taranis looks to be much higher quality, and the OpenTX firmware has a much more active community working on it.

However for a beginner it's hard to fault Spektrum, and there are plenty of good second hand Spektrum radios out there. While not as capable, there are a lot of advantages for a beginner with a big one being a lower learning curve on the radio, everybody knows Spektrum, so it's easy to get help and advice. There's a ton to learn with RC Helicopters and getting a radio everybody else knows definitely helps.

Also, Blade micros all bind to Spektrum (some even include spektrum radio settings in the manual), so you've a huge choice of small models to learn on that you can just pick up and fly.
-