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[oldflyer2]

Hi All,

I am just returning to R/C after 30 years or so away. I have a couple of projects on the go and it is time to think about radio gear.

I want to use a Futaba and it will likely be a 2.4. At one time, here in Canada, aircraft frequencies were for aircraft only. Now, it seems, you can use an aircraft radio in a boat. Can someone tell me if that is correct. I haven't found any 6 or 8 channel ground radio's at all and I definitely want a Futaba.

I have acquired a fiberglass hull ( 60" x 14" ) thanks to OldIron on this forum and I am doing a hybrid tug on this hull. I also have the plans for Star Polaris and Star Persius so I am not wanting for something to build.

Cheers,

Tom

[barriew]

I don't know about Canada, but in most of the rest of the world, 2.4Ghz is approved for any R/C use, land or air. I guess this is because it is inherently more secure. Practically all sets, whatever frequency band, are primarily designed for plane or Heli use I have found.

Barrie

[oldflyer2]

Thanks Barrie. That was my take on 2.4 Ghz, but I just wanted to be sure.

Cheers

Tom

[CF-FZG]

There's a chart here http://www.maac.ca/freq_chart.php that lists all frequencies for model use in Canada.

[oldflyer2]

Thanks for the link to the chart. I am assuming that spread spectrum means it is good for all.

Cheers,

Tom

[malcolmfrary]

The only problem with using 2.4 on surface boats is translating the aircraft instructions into something useful.

[oldflyer2]

Malcolm, I agree totally. It is quite frustrating that there isn't just a plain, no mixing, no frills type of radio (that I can find so far). It seems a large waste of money to pay for all the frills that won't be used. I thought that someone might do just that for the large R/C trucks and tanks, but I can't find anything. Am I looking in the wrong places?

Cheers,

Tom

[Chameo]

Well, there is such a radio... it's called FlySky TH9X (also sold under Turnigy, Eurgle, iMax label). It's cheap and can easily be reflashed with a firmware which can be used/programmed for all purposes. See my thread http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=28511.0. There are users all over the world so it's quiete easy to find someone who can do the flashing.

[tigertiger]

What about some of the car/buggy stuff.
I have seen 2.4 GHZ and 2 channel. The only down side of it is that most of it is trigger and steering wheel, but that should not be a problem, just look odd.

[oldflyer2]

Chameo, thank you for the link. I read it all, did some other checking as well ... end result is this product is not for me. Unfortunately, I have been stung too many times by products that cost way less than the known brands. There is a reason! It seems there are a lot of quality control problems that I am not ready to deal with.

TigerTiger, the car/buggy stuff is usually 2 or 3 channel stuff ... I need way more.

I have decided to hold off on the builds until I find the radio gear I want. If I don't find the radio, I just won't do the builds at all. No big deal ... I have many other non R/C projects on the back burner.

Thanks for the links and advice,

Cheers,

Tom

[Chameo]

That's ok Tom... although there are not much quality issues I know about. Bad solderings on the switches can easily be fixed and any software issues are fixed with the new firmware. I guess you only hear about them because there's such a big community on the net.
One reason it is so cheap may be that it's internal components aren't any special parts and controllers but widely available, well known and reliable parts. That's also the reason why you can find at least five different firmware projects for this radio.

 I'm using my TH9x for planes, helicopters and boats... without any problems and I'm really happy with it's possibilities. Isn't it worth giving it a try instead of waiting for the perfect radio (which will probably never come)?

PS: Do you know http://rcmodelreviews.com/? He does great reviews and is using a TH9X too.

[oldflyer2]

This radio also comes under the name "Turnigy" . By all accounts it is the same radio and has had the firmware updated before shipping. Virtually every comment about it was negative, anywhere from loose and unfixable or broken control sticks to 2 or 3 functions that didn't work out of the box.

I am an electronic cripple and have a hard time with a solder joint. I don't know of anyone here in Canada that could do the conversion for me. Also, would it be hard to find a charger here for it as we are on different power than Europe.

Whatever unit I got would never be used in an aircraft, only on a boat so the range is not an issue.

The price, when converted to my money would be almost equal to a no frills car/buggy radio. That was another idea ... two no frills 3channel mounted on a board with a nice comfy neck band. It seems that with the 2.4 system, that could be done.

Still a lot to think about.

Cheers,

Tom

[Chameo]

Well, using two 3 channel radios instead of one better radio sounds like a bad tinkering idea to me...

Maybe you can contact Steven. He's living in canada and has developed a solderless add-on board (http://www.smartieparts.com) with programmer and backlight for the TH9X. I guess he would help you with the new firmware.
If you don't like the Turnigy brand, buy the FlySky version. FlySky is the original manufacturer of this radio. The FlySky version has the big advantage that you can use different 2.4GHz modules without cutting antenna cables (which would be necessary with the Turnigy version).

Here's a loooong thread about the different firmware versions (mostly er9x): http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1266162 . Steven is also present there (user "s_mack").

Michael

[oldflyer2]

That is a long thread Micheal, but informative.

I still don't believe all that tinkering is for me. I appreciate those that enjoy doing that and the results they get.

Since it is now gardening season, I am going to put this all on the back burner until the fall.

Cheers,

Tom

[HUNTER]

Hi Tom,
I cannot see where the problem is. There is the Planet T5 radio on 2.4 gig. Five channel Tx and six channel Rx comes as standard SRP is £49.95. There are a range of Rx's available all low priced. They are available all over the UK and probably the World. No frills - easy to set up and robust, takes most types of servos.
I have them in my boats and my garden railway.
They fly off our shelves (excuse the pun) a good popular Radio System. - SIMPLES!
Regards
Graham

[oldflyer2]

Graham, could you send me a link to where I can get that radio (PM if you prefer).

We have different power over here in the Colonies ... could an adapter be used to alter the power or would another type of charger work?

Cheers,

Tom