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Wranger

2023 stick transmitter recommendations please

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Hi all, So I have 4 unbuilt kits in the loft and an old school Monster beetle with a Acoms ( crystal) transmitter from 1985. What I want to do is to be able to control the new 4 unbuilt kits through 1 transmitter. I assume things are digital these days rather than analog. I need your recommendations as to how to do this and what is the best kit to buy. I’ve heard that this can be done.. just don’t know where to start. I can’t use the wheel style transmitters, so am only after the 2stick type transmitter. Based in the UK and getting back into RC’ing after a 38 yr hiatus!! My unbuilt kits are Wild One ( blockhead), 2011Avante, re re Hotshot and rere Sand Scorcher. I’ve also got the front body pillar that I can swap out and put the racing buggy body onto that chassis too. 

Edited by Wranger
Stick only not wheel type
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You have a lot of options which will fit most budgets.  You're right a modern Tx will run all your models.  Multiple model memory means you save the settings for each car in a different slot so you just select the model on the Tx and you're away, no adjusting trim or EPA etc

The more you spend the better you get.  As you go up in the range it becomes more subjective, but this is something that you'll buy once (hopefully) and have it forever.

 

Budget

Flysky GT3C is a good budget option.  It has 10 model memory, comes with a battery (the GT2 or GT3B doesn't)  and receivers are cheap.  It has the functionality you need, but as you know you get what you pay for and it feels cheap in the hand.  The UI is average but it works.

Futaba 3PV is a good budget option from the established brands.  Its quite small in the hand and the UI is a bit annoying, but it works well.  It won't let you down.  Rx cost more, but there are clone ones available which I've used and they work well.

Mid level

Sanwa MT44 / MT5 Futaba 4PV / 4PM (and others) (can you tell I only know a few brands!)

These are a noticeable upgrade from the budget options.  They feel nicer in the hand, have bigger model memory and are great.  This price point gets you a really nice radio.  I use the Sanwa MT4S which predates the MT44 and its brilliant.

Receivers - the MT5 only uses the new FH5 standard and there are no clones available.  The MT44 can't use FH5 but can use Sanwa or clone FH4.  Futaba have clone receivers available

High end

Sanwa M17 - this is what I will buy soon.  It runs the old and new Sanwa Rx, including the clone cheapies.  There is also the Futaba 10PX etc as well at this level.  Others will be able to chime in here.

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Thanks @Jonathon Gillham…. Sorry I have edited the post now. I’m old school and am looking to use the two stick style transmitters rather than the wheel type. I just can’t get used to them. Don’t spose you have any recommendations for the stick type do you..?  ( sorry I wasn’t specific initially!!)

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Stick is harder.

The Flysky FS-i6 is decent but doesn't have a return spring on both sticks, and also both sticks can go both ways.  I use these for yachts and they work really well.

The Futaba 4GRS is the midlevel for surface but I suspect the air radios would work too but need something to lock out the movement.

Sanwa exzess is the high end and there is a Futaba equivalent.

I don't know too much about stick radios though.

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Carson Reflect Pro Stick 3.1 LCD is pretty much the only modern stick with memory at the cheaper end, but it's receiver is not cheap compared to Flysky, etc.

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This Carson (model number 500500085) will do what you're asking, and extra receivers are around £20-£25.

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/carson-reflex-stick-4-channel-pro-31-lcd-with-receiver-434280

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However, I suspect the build quality is going to be the same as the basic Reflex Stick Pro 3.1 transmitter which is pretty average.  I've had one where the steering stick has drifted so that cars turned more in one direction than another  :(

I've found that you can pair multiple receivers to the same Carson transmitter and you don't have to re-bind them every time, so I use the basic Carson Reflex transmitter and re-set the trim etc. on each car when I use it.  I keep a file with the settings for each car on my phone.  I personally don't think the model memory is worth the extra expense if the unit might not last too well.

The receivers I buy from Amazon or Carson in Germany as I want the smallest ones possible (model numbers 500501533 and 500501534):  https://www.carson-modelsport.com/carson_en/home/

I'd love to know if there was a good quality stick unit available anywhere....

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9 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

Flysky FS-i6

Cant say about the i6 (could be the same, check some teardowns to compare, on phone now so i cant easily) but ive got a fs t6 and th9x, to both ive added spring back centering to the other stick, same exact process.

Those two txs are a bit older but have model memory, mixing, inverting, expos, trim, subtrim, cheap receivers(i recently bought a four pack of 3 channel rxs for about 25bucks), etc.

I went with a 3d printed part, used the spring from a mechanical pencil.

This vid shows how its done, except the guy cut the part needed using a saw and does the finishing shaping with a file, rather than going 3d printing.

For a guide he used the same part from the opposite stick, a matter of duplication.

You could probably laminate a couple of layers of styrene sheet together to make the part from, its not a high stress part.

As for limiting the sticks to a single axis each if that is wanted you can look into limiter discs:

https://www.flitetest.com/articles/limiter...

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Hi @Wranger, I was in a very similar position to you a little while back. I had a thread where I went through various choices and my learning on the subject here

 

I ended up getting the Frsky Taranis x9D+ transmitter which I think does everything you want it to. It runs the OpenTX operating system and there is a lot of info online. Basically you can program your controller of a vehicle to do pretty much anything. For example at one point my left/right stick was reversed and it was a simple menu option for that car to reverse the horizontal axis. Any transmitter that uses OpenTx should be able to support multiple vehicles and then on the screen you choose which vehicle to control at any time.

@Jonathon Gillham mentions the "return spring". Some of the fancier controllers are primarily aimed at the aircraft rc hobby and as such one of the sticks may not spring back to centre when released. I found with my controller it was extremely simple to open the back of the case and you adjust a single screw to affect the return spring on each controller. There are some good explanation videos such as 

 

Something you will want to consider is the communication "protocol". Transmitters and receivers will use one of a range of protocols and you will need to make sure your transmitter and receiver are using the same protocol. Some transmitters will only use a single protocol (and so not work with receivers using a different protocol) whereas some transmitters will be "multi-protocol" and can communicate with receivers from multiple different manufacturers which is really handy. You can also get additional modules that add in the multi-protocol support. For example there is a multi-protocol module for my transmitter and it clips into the back.

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If you want budget, my personal recommendation is the FlySky FS-i6 or newer variants like the FS-i6S (all smooth and round for the iPhone generation) or the FS-i6X which is basically the same but with more channels, which you might not need right now but you might decide you want later.

These are designed for aircraft, so as mentioned above, one of the vertical axes will have a ratchet, so the stick doesn't return to the centre (aircraft flyers use this for the throttle).  If you buy a Mode 1 transmitter, the throttle ratchet will be on the right-hand vertical axis, so it won't affect driving RC cars (unless you want to add other stuff like winches or whatever later on).  In this case, you save the hassle of having to open the transmitter up and fiddle around with tiny parts and springs.

The transmitter has loads of extra aircraft type functions that you won't need, but you can just ignore those.

If you don't like that the sticks move in all directions, you can cut some plastic to limit the stick movement.  See my thread here where I converted an FS-i6 transmitter for my daughter's car:

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/97556-ftx-outback-mini-x-lc90/&do=findComment&comment=847473

You can then buy enough receivers for all your cars, set each one up on a different profile, and easily switch between cars without having to set up your subtrims, endpoints, expo settings or throttle profiles - if you've been using a 1985 Acoms then you've probably not used endpoints, subtrims, expos or anything like that anyway, but with an FS-i6, you'll have that option.  Just the basic stuff like subtrim and endpoint adjustment hugely improves the RC experience.

All those extra functions and channels will go unused for now, but you'll have the option of running independent 4 wheel steering, operating winches, controlling light and sound systems, or just about anything else you can come up with - it's nice to be able to experiment when you want to.

I've had a Carson Reflex system before (it was a 6 channel version) but I didn't really like it, although it was more expensive than the FS-i6 it felt a lot cheaper, had way less functionality and a big dead zone in the middle of the sticks which made it quite hard to drive with, I'd personally recommend FlySky over Carson.

There are other cheap 2-channel stick transmitters out there, but I'm not sure how many support multiple car memories, and for the tiny price difference, I think you'd be better with a FlySky.

Obviously if you do want to spend more then the world is your oyster - Taranis, FrSky, Futaba and Spektrum and others all make good quality stick radio systems, but in some cases a receiver alone costs more than an FS-i6 transmitter & receiver combo.

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hello

i,ve got absima sr2s,its 2.4ghz,has duel rate for steering normal reverse for servos,binds to absima.flysky and others.about 40 pounds,recivers about 8 to 25,latley the absima have gone up in price.

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Yep, for the longest time I resisted going for a pistol grip style transmitters - but once you use them, it soon becomes far more intuitive to use, especially for cars...

I'd buy a cheap one (Flysky GT3C as Jonathon suggests) and see how you get on with it for a while - you can always sell it on if you honestly can't get used to it.

Jx

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Yeah, I too think now is a good time to go pistol grip.. especially if going forward building several cars.   Stick is cool for like Bruisers with gear changes, but even so one can program that on pistol grip.

 

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45 minutes ago, JennyMo said:

Yep, for the longest time I resisted going for a pistol grip style transmitters - but once you use them, it soon becomes far more intuitive to use, especially for cars...

I'd buy a cheap one (Flysky GT3C as Jonathon suggests) and see how you get on with it for a while - you can always sell it on if you honestly can't get used to it.

Jx

I tried that.  Hated the pistol grip, just didn't feel natural to me after having stick as a kid and I couldn't adapt.  Or maybe my brain didn't want to as it likes the nostalgia of sticks  ;)

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2 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

I tried that.  Hated the pistol grip, just didn't feel natural to me after having stick as a kid and I couldn't adapt.  Or maybe my brain didn't want to as it likes the nostalgia of sticks  ;)

Dood I thought I was old and stubborn.  lol. :lol: ;) 

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16 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Carson Reflect Pro Stick 3.1 is pretty much the only modern stick with memory at the cheaper end, but it's receiver is not cheap compared to Flysky, etc.

I just looked at it on their website. It says that the tx is 2 channel, does this mean the sticks will only move in one direction (which is what I want)? Left stick moving up and down for throttle and right stick moving left and right for steering?

I have been using my aircraft/helicopter tx and the fact that the stick move both ways really annoys me for anything more accurate than bashing. At the same time I am unwilling to modify it in a permanent way as I want to use it for my helicopter as well. Also stick limiting disks just seem a bit crummy to me.

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11 minutes ago, Pylon80 said:

I just looked at it on their website. It says that the tx is 2 channel, does this mean the sticks will only move in one direction (which is what I want)? Left stick moving up and down for throttle and right stick moving left and right for steering?

I have been using my aircraft/helicopter tx and the fact that the stick move both ways really annoys me for anything more accurate than bashing. At the same time I am unwilling to modify it in a permanent way as I want to use it for my helicopter as well. Also stick limiting disks just seem a bit crummy to me.

Yes, but I was meaning to say Carson Reflect Pro Stick 3.1 LCD, which is better as it has memory, DR, EPA, etc adjustments as one will expect with a modern TX. It has 4ch, but it's 2 extra ch are pretty much useless.

Completely a surface TX, no troublesome mods needed at all 

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Since the OP has a nice selection of kits waiting to be built, I feel that budget might not be an issue. I’d recommend the Futaba 4GRS. 

 

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@one_hit money is kind of an object...in these cost of living times...however, if this controller can handle multiple  vehicles, has spring loaded sticks, and the receivers aren't too exorbitant then you may have hit the nail on the head...Thanks :)

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24 minutes ago, Wranger said:

@one_hit money is kind of an object...in these cost of living times...however, if this controller can handle multiple  vehicles, has spring loaded sticks, and the receivers aren't too exorbitant then you may have hit the nail on the head...Thanks :)

I know what you mean. However if you know you will be in this hobby for the long haul then I suggest investing in a good radio. My Futaba 4PK from 2009 still works great and looks and feels a lot more premium that the Spektrum DX5C I bought last month. I’d dare say even my Futaba Magnum from the 90’s has a better build quality than the Spektrum and the other cheap radios I have tried. 
 

The 4GRS comes with a telemetry receiver but is also compatible with the cheaper S-FHSS receivers (the 2 channel R202GF is $35 from RCMart). The sticks are self-centering and it has 40 model memory. 
 

 

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Being a novice at all this (,Well since my stint of owning a monster beetle in 1985). I was wondering if most ERC’s and receivers are pretty similar in size. If I buy the Futaba that comes with a receiver…. Is that guaranteed to fit into the car..??  Thanks

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1 hour ago, Wranger said:

Being a novice at all this (,Well since my stint of owning a monster beetle in 1985). I was wondering if most ERC’s and receivers are pretty similar in size. If I buy the Futaba that comes with a receiver…. Is that guaranteed to fit into the car..??  Thanks

Yes the newer Futaba receivers are pretty small. Here’s a size comparison

5489D798-3077-452E-84FE-FAACF96CA759.thumb.jpeg.44d8aca6f39e8b814705cfeaf6208303.jpeg

9326C9F6-5615-4FEE-8339-F940AC2BF3F1.thumb.jpeg.dbd6e11e1dd7ec8ba11354dd866c88a4.jpeg

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I was thinking of using the R304SB-E in all four of my upcoming builds, so that’s good. Thanks for the reassurance;)

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I am glad the subject of stick transmitters is still being discussed and the sticks are still being used. This has been discussed many times over but I strongly believe that wheel transmitter are only here because the 'wow factor' made them unavoidable for RTR RC cars at some point in history. And now they are everywhere, in most countries. It's a little sad because people are probably missing out on the finesse you get from stick transmitters - and it's frustrating that this causes the market to have so few and so expensive options.

At about 400$ the 4GRS is not what I would call budget, well it is outrageous actually, but still probably the best quality option. If and when I pull the trigger (haha) on it I will probably resale the Rx immediately and get a compatible antennaless Rx. It seems that Dasmikro are making a T-FHSS compatible one. It's 2023... they invented antennaless Rx...let's just use them :D

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I’m re instigating the hobby that I left in the late 80’s. I have tried the trigger type and really didn’t get “the feel”, so I thought it strange there weren’t many stick TX’s around. Glad I’ve found a good’un tho. ;)

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