Thursday 8 March 2012

What I use

Well, lets start with the transmitter (Tx) I'm using at the moment.

I have a Turnigy 9x (also known as eurgle or flysky) with a FrSky module and recievers (Rx). I bought this setup because it is known to be reliable, have good range, and is good value.

The Turnigy 9x has 8 channels and surprisingly good build quality. The 9x comes with a 2.4gHz module and one 8 channel Rx which are quite serviceable, but are lacking a failsafe, antenna diversity and telemetry.

Upgrading with the FrSky can be done in several ways: FrSky DHT module ($55, including an 8ch Rx), DHT-U Telemetry System ($55 with mountable LCD telemetry display, but not including a Rx), or DIY kit ($25). These will give you built in basic telemetry for low signal and low Rx voltage warnings - definately model saving features -  and can handle low Rx voltage with a very fast reboot speed, which has saved me in the past too. You also have a better range of Rx to choose from, from 4 to 8 ch.

After using this setup for two years now, I would trust any model to it and have never had a glitch, brownout or issue. I have several times heard the beep-beep of low signal warning, when I had my antenna pointing directly at the model, but never loss of control. Turn the antenna side-on (as it should be) and the beeps dissapear. Very reassuring. I have flown models to the limit of vision, perhaps 1km, and with the antenna correctly oriented I don't even get a level 1 low signal warning, which kicks in well before the model will lose signal. In ground tests, failsafe kicks in immediately, the model powers down and control surfaces move to where I had set them (a descending left turn), and when the Tx is powered back on, reboot is almost instantaneous.

The 9x can also easily be highly modified and customised. Although it is fine in stock form and has the basics like mixing, expo and dual rates, the menus can be a little hard to get used to and have limited advanced mixes. The FrSky protocols are open source, and so a huge community is forming with various mods, including custom firmware and telemetry sensors. You can even buy 3rd party upgrade boards which increase the memory and proccessing capacity, and add usb, SD card and various other features.

I have compiled a list of links to how-to's and reviews below. I highly reccomend this Tx.

Reviews:
Video - FrSky 2.4GHz review

How-to's
Video - Installing the FrSky DIY kit in the Turnigy 9x 

Forums
http://9xforums.com

Links
http://www.frsky-rc.com/
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=309
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__402__190__Tx_Rx_Systems_Parts-2_4Ghz_FrSky_ACCST.html

3 comments:

  1. five people use these at our club. Very good.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Change the firmware to gruvin9x and you will be impressed. Stock firmware is OK but gruvin is awesome.

    ReplyDelete
  3. FrSky is the best radio link out there IMO, and the price makes it well worth the tinkering.

    ReplyDelete