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My review of the Graupner MZ-24 Transmitter
I recently bought this transmitter having tried most of those available on the market today for feel and liking this the most. The technical specifications are on the link below, so I’ll limit this to my observations.
Logic RC - MZ-24 12Ch 2.4GHz HoTT Radio w/GR-24
I’m not gadget mad, I was looking for a transmitter that felt right in my hands (which are not massive). I’ve been quite happy using the older DX7 for years now, but it has been getting a bit worn, gimbals sloppy about the centre. I’ve played with the various JR, Spectrum & Futaba transmitters and even the new vbar (worst for feel, too big) and eventually came across this radio at Venlo this year. Love at first grope! Nice weight, grips well, smooth gimbals and heaps of versatility.
I was warned in advance that this radio was going to be a pain to set up. Having spent a few days playing with it and setting it up on two heli’s and RealFlight, I can say that it is now intuitive to adjust settings and assign switches, voice commands, telemetry etc. However, the manual really lets the product down badly – the US Graupner support says that this is in the process of a rewrite and supporting videos being made. If it weren’t for some helpful advice from the US I’d still be trying to work out a couple of simple issues that are not made clear in the manual.
As with most transmitters, you need to know what you want to do, to get the functionality you need. The manual will not walk you through the process. Maybe as these become more widely available the (forum) support will get better.
Moving from Spectrum it was a bit disconcerting not to have model-match. Meaning it is possible to fly model B when the Tx is set to model A. I understand that this is a patented feature of the Spectrum system, so only they have it.
In summary;
1. Quality of the hardware is excellent (I have heard of concern over switches on early production, not an issue here).
2. Overall feel.. I have only heard of concerns about the switches at the front being a bit too close together for some folk, I like this so it’s all very subjective. IMHO a good weight, really nice rubber grips and I like the switch layout.
3. Service support is available in the UK, hopefully I won’t need to test this.
4. Software updates seem to be coming through regularly since the product launch late 2013, so development is still under way – they do seem to react to the voice of the customer.
5. Supporting documentation poor, very poor. There is so much functionality that it is easy to get lost in the menus at times. But after a while the logic does appear and it becomes quite quick and easy to navigate the colour touch screen.
6. Availability is good, there are a number of model shops in the UK (inc.FastLad) and they are even available on Amazon now.
7. Functionality is pretty impressive. Fully assignable switches, access to stick tension without opening the box, voice alarms, telemetry focused design, MP3 player… far more than any heli pilot needs.
8. Battery life – the jury is out on this as I’ve had it on for long periods at a time while setting up and learning. It could certainly do with a larger lipo IMHO. But should be plenty for a day’s flying.
9. Value for money is well above average. LiPo battery, two Rx’s (6 & 12ch) and a Tx carry case included in the price. The MZ-24 (12ch) is around £360 and MZ-18 (9ch) at ~£300. Graupner MZ-24 12Ch 2.4GHz HoTT Radio Combo
I’m just getting used to flying with this radio still, but already it feels really good and I’m pleased that I made a good choice (or I wouldn’t spend a lunchtime at work writing this).
For those who want to get this radio, here are a couple of things I picked up from the forums and through tinkering that may save you some headaches;
1. Set vbar up to ‘Universal’ not ‘HoTT’ receiver (port ‘C’ in mini vbar)
2. SUMD is the single line setting between Rx and FBL, this needs to be set in the Rx under the telemetry page in the Tx
3. The Rx GR-12 uses port #6, the GR-16 uses port #8 and the GR-24 uses port #8 (manual says use last port for SUMD, but this is not the case for the GR-24)
4. To use the simulator (not in the manual);
4.1 Increase the PPM to 18 on the Tx ctl page
4.2 In the trainer menu, set the channels to ‘pupil’ and type to DSC-S
4.3 In RealFlight use the ‘JR’ transmitter and assign channels
5. The default for throttle is set up weird (the manual does highlight this). Under channel setup (Tx Ch) set channel 12 from DIV1 to null – must be a plank thing
6. Do not assign a channel for the throttle, it does this itself.
I recently bought this transmitter having tried most of those available on the market today for feel and liking this the most. The technical specifications are on the link below, so I’ll limit this to my observations.
Logic RC - MZ-24 12Ch 2.4GHz HoTT Radio w/GR-24
I’m not gadget mad, I was looking for a transmitter that felt right in my hands (which are not massive). I’ve been quite happy using the older DX7 for years now, but it has been getting a bit worn, gimbals sloppy about the centre. I’ve played with the various JR, Spectrum & Futaba transmitters and even the new vbar (worst for feel, too big) and eventually came across this radio at Venlo this year. Love at first grope! Nice weight, grips well, smooth gimbals and heaps of versatility.
I was warned in advance that this radio was going to be a pain to set up. Having spent a few days playing with it and setting it up on two heli’s and RealFlight, I can say that it is now intuitive to adjust settings and assign switches, voice commands, telemetry etc. However, the manual really lets the product down badly – the US Graupner support says that this is in the process of a rewrite and supporting videos being made. If it weren’t for some helpful advice from the US I’d still be trying to work out a couple of simple issues that are not made clear in the manual.
As with most transmitters, you need to know what you want to do, to get the functionality you need. The manual will not walk you through the process. Maybe as these become more widely available the (forum) support will get better.
Moving from Spectrum it was a bit disconcerting not to have model-match. Meaning it is possible to fly model B when the Tx is set to model A. I understand that this is a patented feature of the Spectrum system, so only they have it.
In summary;
1. Quality of the hardware is excellent (I have heard of concern over switches on early production, not an issue here).
2. Overall feel.. I have only heard of concerns about the switches at the front being a bit too close together for some folk, I like this so it’s all very subjective. IMHO a good weight, really nice rubber grips and I like the switch layout.
3. Service support is available in the UK, hopefully I won’t need to test this.
4. Software updates seem to be coming through regularly since the product launch late 2013, so development is still under way – they do seem to react to the voice of the customer.
5. Supporting documentation poor, very poor. There is so much functionality that it is easy to get lost in the menus at times. But after a while the logic does appear and it becomes quite quick and easy to navigate the colour touch screen.
6. Availability is good, there are a number of model shops in the UK (inc.FastLad) and they are even available on Amazon now.
7. Functionality is pretty impressive. Fully assignable switches, access to stick tension without opening the box, voice alarms, telemetry focused design, MP3 player… far more than any heli pilot needs.
8. Battery life – the jury is out on this as I’ve had it on for long periods at a time while setting up and learning. It could certainly do with a larger lipo IMHO. But should be plenty for a day’s flying.
9. Value for money is well above average. LiPo battery, two Rx’s (6 & 12ch) and a Tx carry case included in the price. The MZ-24 (12ch) is around £360 and MZ-18 (9ch) at ~£300. Graupner MZ-24 12Ch 2.4GHz HoTT Radio Combo
I’m just getting used to flying with this radio still, but already it feels really good and I’m pleased that I made a good choice (or I wouldn’t spend a lunchtime at work writing this).
For those who want to get this radio, here are a couple of things I picked up from the forums and through tinkering that may save you some headaches;
1. Set vbar up to ‘Universal’ not ‘HoTT’ receiver (port ‘C’ in mini vbar)
2. SUMD is the single line setting between Rx and FBL, this needs to be set in the Rx under the telemetry page in the Tx
3. The Rx GR-12 uses port #6, the GR-16 uses port #8 and the GR-24 uses port #8 (manual says use last port for SUMD, but this is not the case for the GR-24)
4. To use the simulator (not in the manual);
4.1 Increase the PPM to 18 on the Tx ctl page
4.2 In the trainer menu, set the channels to ‘pupil’ and type to DSC-S
4.3 In RealFlight use the ‘JR’ transmitter and assign channels
5. The default for throttle is set up weird (the manual does highlight this). Under channel setup (Tx Ch) set channel 12 from DIV1 to null – must be a plank thing
6. Do not assign a channel for the throttle, it does this itself.
+ 7 x Eddies finest EGS's
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