Radio gear needed - newbie advice

[Nobbi1977]

I have a hornet with an Attack 2ER radio.it seems ok but I have now "acquired" a few more kits so need a second set of gear. Is there a comprehensive newbie post about radio gear or can someone recommend a cheap reliable setup and the best place to by at the best price.

I have a stick setup now but the Raygun looking radios look cheaper, I cannot fathom who they work though.

Any advice for a numpty?

[Butler]

Are you sure you can control a car with the pistol style?

I grew up on sticks, and tried a pistol for a while and couldn't adapt to it.

So first step is to be sure whether you want pistol or sticks.

[lentner3]

Where are you based? I have some 27mhz stuff you can have if your close enough.

[B.M.T.]

My one piece of advice on radios. They are your hands and feet in the model. Depending on how much you care, get the best you can afford (and by best, I don't mean the most features).

[Nobbi1977]

My one piece of advice on radios. They are your hands and feet in the model. Depending on how much you care, get the best you can afford (and by best, I don't mean the most features).

Sounds like most things in life. What I am looking for is advice on MHZ, type, brand and places to buy from. I can google but nothing is better than personal recommendations.

I am happy to go with cheaper gear (i have no idea what is cheap or expensive at the moment) and then move on to better equipment as I move in to the hobby. I am never going to race and most of my time will be building or teaching my son (and daughter later on) to drive them.

[oz-trash-cowboy]

AM (27MHz surface / depending on your country of operation). Has been around the longest. Its fine if you are operating the model in a low density / low chance of interference environment. Do your servos ever twitch / move uncommanded??

FM was introduced as an alternative to AM, less interference, better signal to noise ratio over distance. Typlically more $.

PCM came next, with the ability to have multiple models on the same frequency. $$.

As intergated circuits / computer technology became cheaper, the use of cordless phones became more widespread. The need to have many phones operating in the same area using only a narrow section of the radio frequency spectrum, brough about the concept of pairing handset to baseset with the use of a psuedo-random code. Ladies and gentlemen 2.4GHz was born.

Brands. They are mostly made in china now. The features are very similar per unit per price. Try and hold before you buy, feel if its comfortable. Buying online make this a tad difficult. If they are going to be used by your children, perhaps a lighter unit would be better.

[XV Pilot]

If your fleet of models is growing, and you intend to grow it further, there are two things you might want to look for in a radio.

First is multiple model memories. Many radios these days have the ability to store the settings for multiple models. This makes it much easier to switch between models, as you don't need to set the radio up afresh each time.

Second is affordable receivers. If you have multiple models and plans to buy more, you'll also be wanting multiple receivers.

[Nobbi1977]

If your fleet of models is growing, and you intend to grow it further, there are two things you might want to look for in a radio.

First is multiple model memories. Many radios these days have the ability to store the settings for multiple models. This makes it much easier to switch between models, as you don't need to set the radio up afresh each time.

Second is affordable receivers. If you have multiple models and plans to buy more, you'll also be wanting multiple receivers.

Thanks I will look in to that. I had started to look at transmitters and receivers as separate items rather than just getting a box set.

[nodtec]

I'm with the old school crowd, always had stick one's. I've tried pistol grip one's but after years of the older type it's hard to get your head around it. Sometimes you'll see the stick units cheap on eBay, if that's the way for you. I just have a couple of transmitters as it's just me who uses it, so one to use and a spare. You might want enough for you and the kids to avoid screaming matches.:-)

I just keep an eye on ebay etc and if there's cheap receivers or servos, I'll buy half a dozen, that saves on postage and then you have them one hand for the next build. RX / TX crystals in AM are getting a little harder to find at reasonable prices but again, when you find them grab a few.

[XV Pilot]

I too started on sticks - flew planes on them for years before getting into cars, and then drove with sticks for a good 15 years before getting my first pistol grip radio. The only reason I switched was because I couldn't find a stick radio with the features I wanted at a price I considered reasonable.

It took several months of regular use to get used to the pistol layout, but now I find I am just as quick with it as I was with sticks - I won my class at the A1 Revival meeting with my pistol grip Spektrum DX3C.

Nowadays I primarily use a Spektrum DX4S, which is very well-suited to my needs. It has all the features and adjustability I want for anything from a simple Hornet to a 4WS twin-motor truck or a scaler with working lights and winch. 30 model memories are enough to store settings for all my runners, and since it is compatible with all Spektrum surface receivers, even the older ones, picking up cheap 2nd hand receivers off EBay is easy.

It is a mid-range radio in terms of price, but pretty high-end in terms of features, making it good value even though it costs a bit more than the Chinese cheapies. Maybe worth considering?

[Nobbi1977]

I have added spektrum to my search. Their stick stuff looks good as well

[Terz1]

I'm in the same boat as you and new to all this. All my radio gear is the old 27mhz type and stick controllers. I really want to move to 2.4ghz but do wonder how I'll be with the pistol type controller. After a brief look I found this transmitter and receiver set by flysky. It's cheap at £30 and the receivers are only £5 each. It's got 10 different memory settings so could be programmed to each of my cars with this single controller.

Transmitter....

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/181465158199?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Receivers...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/310692339146?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Any experienced guys feel free to say whether this is a good unit or not as it would help me too. As I said I've just started looking into this as I'm new to it too and wouldn't want to lead the original poster down the wrong path.

[Nobbi1977]

I went for a ACOMS cheap unit in the end. The price was only just more than buying two servos that I needed so I will give it a go. Cheap units mean I can let the kids play without worrying to much. Will go for something nicer when I build more models for me. That 2.4ghz looks good for the money, another member is trying out a dirt cheap 2.4 stick setup so I was waiting for a write up on that.