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Ferruz

Looking for a proper Stick transmitter

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After coping with low quality transmitter/receivers for a few years, I would like to get a proper transmitter now, one that I can just bind to multiple receivers. I know there's quite a few brands that allow that, like Flysky: you can just get a new receiver for cheap when you have a new car to add to your fleet, and keep using the same good quality transmitter.

Unfortunately for me, I never liked the feeling of the wheel transmitters and always much preferred the good old stick ones... I might be too old school, but that's it.

Much to my surprise, all the car transmitters that I've seen online in the last few months are wheel ones, it seems that the only stick transmitters available now are for flying models and not on road ones, unless you wanna spend 600 USD for some high end Futaba whose starship-spec features I'll never need.

There's so many good quality and realatively cheap ones out there, but none of them is with sticks.

Could anybody guide me towards a good tx/rx system that features some good old sticks instead of the wheel?

I appreciate any help, thanks everybody.

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It will probably be more difficult for you in Canada because North America has been almost exclusively wheel for a long time. There are stilll a handful of us oldies in the UK that prefer sticks, not many choices though.

Futaba 4GRS is their mid-range stick set. I think Sanwa have had a mid-range stick set in the recent past (a version of the Gemini). And I think some people have successfully adapted low-end aircraft sets for car use (not sure how).

But they are thin on the ground.

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I was in the same position a few months ago, used a Futaba 3TPV wheel but gave up and never really felt comfortable with the wheel.

Wanted to return to the stick but theres not much choice, Futaba 4GRS was on the list but could not justify the price. 

After researching I went for the FLYSKY FS-I6. Requires a little modding but I highly recommend it. I have bound it to all my car's and the kit is cheap as chips. Plus it can handle 4 wheel steering out the box, great for the clod and at the price you can't knock it.

Thought the build quality of the controller would be questionable at the price, but I have no complaints over it. It well worth consideration 👍

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Spent the last decade messing about with budget radios, with the Core RC CR151, being maybe the best value ,unfortunately not available now.

I had a bit of a sell off on eBay recently, and was able to purchase a Sanwa Exzes ZZ ,and wow! A whole different level!! (Once you've got over the shock of paying ,HOW MUCH??, for a radio...) 

You can get SMD or Ruddog antennaless recievers fairly cheap though 🙄

It's got a few features, This is the instruction manual, and yes, it's all in English.....😳

2020-05-28_12-12-04

 

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I use a Turnigy TGY-i6, which is identical to the FlySky FS-i6.  Hobbyking stock them.  Looks like a proper radio (unlike the FS-i6S which is the same kit in a different wrapping looks terrible).  6 channels out of the box, IIRC can be patched to 10 channels but I haven't bothered on mine (I think the i6S already has the 10 channel firmware but I might be wrong).  FlySky / Turnigy iA6 receivers cheap as chips, although as with anything coming from China, stock is a little patchy at the mo (pre-pandemic stock was always excellent).

UI is a bit weird (sometimes I swear at mine for 10 minutes before I remember you have to press cancel to confirm, not OK), but it has all the features you need plus more channels if you want to run light units, 4ws or winches further down the line.

Ideally you want a Mode 1 transmitter, this has the throttle ratchet on the right stick.  If you get a Mode 2 (more commonly available) you can swap the ratchet / spring assembly from the right stick or buy a separate spring return assembly from Hobbyking / ebay.  Dead easy swap.

Got no complaints about build quality - sure, it won't feel as nice as a Sanwa / Spektrum - but it works.  Mine stopped working 2 years ago while crawling in a downpour (should have bagged it) but we opened it up and sat it on the car aircon vents for 20 minutes and it's worked fine ever since.

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What about a Futaba T2HR?  Looks a bit strange, but seems like a good radio by all accounts. Only problem is most places seem to be out of stock, and the RX are half the cost of the radio...

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Thanks folks for the valuable info.

@Wooders28 that Core RC151 Radio system looks great, too bad it's not available anymore.

I've looked up all of what you mentioned, and many look great.

For now the winner is the Futaba T2HR, one I just learned about yesterday, shortly after opening this thread. It looks absolutely fugly but functional, and I like functional. A big bonus is it's currently in stock at RCMart, as I was just waiting for a bigger item to add to a list of small spares I need from them to justify the shipping. It seems like a good radio, and its fugliness can probably be made less obvious by applying some nice vintage rc stickers (?). 

It'll most likely be that or a Flysky, though I still quite ignore which mods are required for it to be suitable for on road cars.

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2 hours ago, Ferruz said:

It looks absolutely fugly

You're not wrong!! 😳

Doesn't look to have many features though? (As in technical....)

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1 hour ago, Wooders28 said:

You're not wrong!! 😳

Doesn't look to have many features though? (As in technical....)

Yeah looks pretty basic... something like the Sanwa Exzes ZZ would be a completely different level, but I wasn't planning on such a steep purchase at the moment and so I'd have to sleep on it a few nights and then see if I really wanna bite the bullet and just get one... not an easy choice!

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56 minutes ago, Ferruz said:

see if I really wanna bite the bullet and just get one... not an easy choice!

It's not, spent the past year arguing with myself! 

Especially now the Core RC CR151, Tamco TAC330 or the Etronix Pulse ET1110 (All the same radio, just differently badged!?! ) are not available new.

Problem with these now, is you struggle to get recievers (it was only by selling most of my receivers, that enabled me to get the Sanwa).

Might be worth having a look about for a 2nd hand Futaba? 

 

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On 8/1/2020 at 6:11 PM, Ferruz said:

Much to my surprise, all the car transmitters that I've seen online in the last few months are wheel ones, it seems that the only stick transmitters available now are for flying models and not on road ones, unless you wanna spend 600 USD for some high end Futaba whose starship-spec features I'll never need.

Just get a cheaper flying one.  You can use them for cars.  I do.

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6 hours ago, Wongataa said:

Just get a cheaper flying one.  You can use them for cars.  I do.

I'm thinking about it. What exactly are the mods needed to make a flying one work on cars?

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I got this dusty old TX sitting around. It’s got low mileage and is in great shape. The RX can easily be pulled from a shelf queen. Cover shipping and it’s yours.  

9F23F0F2-CE5D-4D58-ADD3-138D65DD9D4A.jpeg

FB8466FF-0B9F-4A27-BB3D-561E562B25AF.jpeg

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8 minutes ago, SupraChrgd82 said:

I got this dusty old TX sitting around. It’s got low mileage and is in great shape. The RX can easily be pulled from a shelf queen. Cover shipping and it’s yours.  

9F23F0F2-CE5D-4D58-ADD3-138D65DD9D4A.jpeg

FB8466FF-0B9F-4A27-BB3D-561E562B25AF.jpeg

I've got one exactly the same, taken out the antenna and the rest is ready is to be taken the dump.

Main issue is, 75mhz is illegal in the UK (It's a ,military only frequency ,not people you want to mess with....)

Other is, it's a wheel.

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1 hour ago, Ferruz said:

I'm thinking about it. What exactly are the mods needed to make a flying one work on cars?

The only modification that may be necessary is to add a return spring to the vertical axis of a stick as the aircraft transmitters can leave this off as the flyers often use it for the throttle control and don't need a reverse.  That is all really.

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On 8/2/2020 at 5:13 PM, Ferruz said:

Thanks folks for the valuable info.

@Wooders28 that Core RC151 Radio system looks great, too bad it's not available anymore.

I've looked up all of what you mentioned, and many look great.

For now the winner is the Futaba T2HR, one I just learned about yesterday, shortly after opening this thread. It looks absolutely fugly but functional, and I like functional. A big bonus is it's currently in stock at RCMart, as I was just waiting for a bigger item to add to a list of small spares I need from them to justify the shipping. It seems like a good radio, and its fugliness can probably be made less obvious by applying some nice vintage rc stickers (?). 

It'll most likely be that or a Flysky, though I still quite ignore which mods are required for it to be suitable for on road cars.

You'll be disappointed in the 2HR. It's spec is similar to a bottom of the range system from the 80s except it now runs on 2.4GHz.

"Computer" radios (with digital trims and model memories) are so much better and are worth the investment.

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7 hours ago, sosidge said:

You'll be disappointed in the 2HR. It's spec is similar to a bottom of the range system from the 80s except it now runs on 2.4GHz.

"Computer" radios (with digital trims and model memories) are so much better and are worth the investment.

Considering the 2HR is under $100 and comes with a receiver and 2 servos,  it’s hardly a disappointment and that’s before even opening the box. It’s a budget surface stick transmitter.. perfect for vintage cars. 

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On 8/2/2020 at 9:13 AM, Ferruz said:

Thanks folks for the valuable info.

@Wooders28 that Core RC151 Radio system looks great, too bad it's not available anymore.

I've looked up all of what you mentioned, and many look great.

For now the winner is the Futaba T2HR, one I just learned about yesterday, shortly after opening this thread. It looks absolutely fugly but functional, and I like functional. A big bonus is it's currently in stock at RCMart, as I was just waiting for a bigger item to add to a list of small spares I need from them to justify the shipping. It seems like a good radio, and its fugliness can probably be made less obvious by applying some nice vintage rc stickers (?). 

It'll most likely be that or a Flysky, though I still quite ignore which mods are required for it to be suitable for on road cars.

Comes with 2 servos and the receiver too. Risk free pretty much. 

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@SupraChrgd82 cheers mate, that's really nice of you. Believe it or not, I too have that old transmitter! It came with an RC10 I found last year, might be a slightly different version but pretty much the same, the reason I don't use it is it's a wheel and I want a stick one, but thank you none the less!

@sosidge I see what you mean. I'm sure computer radios are worth the coin, thing is, the price difference between them and a basic stick one like that Futaba is enormous, and I can't deny that my current needs can be pretty much fulfilled by the latter. I do want a good radio system someday, but I'm not sure I wanna spend that much on a radio right now.

@rwordenjr brought in pretty good points too in favour of the Futaba, and I've got something to add: considering the recreational way I'm currently using most of my cars, I would benefit from a radio that comes cheap and can take a hit. I often run after the moving car, sometimes filming, and sometimes fall/trip on stuff, or beer suddenly gets spilled all over the place... my point is, quite some responsibility would come with an expensive radio, and that fugly Futaba looks sturdy and guilt free ^_^ one thing I'd like to know: would any 2.4GHz Futaba receiver be good to work with that radio, or only specific ones would do? 

 

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Looks like now my choice is narrowed between the infamous Futaba and a flying one, still cheap but with more feats.

On 8/3/2020 at 11:38 AM, Wongataa said:

The only modification that may be necessary is to add a return spring to the vertical axis of a stick as the aircraft transmitters can leave this off as the flyers often use it for the throttle control and don't need a reverse.  That is all really.

Is this really the only mod needed? If that's the case, it seems doable. By what I see in the photos, it looked to me like both sticks are in an horizontal axis in the flying radios... guess I was wrong?

Just to know what to expect, would I be looking at a ghetto mod or are the sticks predisposed for a return spring to be installed? 

I like ghetto mods, I'm just not sure I would feel like butchering a brand new radio set right away.

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3 hours ago, Ferruz said:

@SupraChrgd82 cheers mate, that's really nice of you. Believe it or not, I too have that old transmitter! It came with an RC10 I found last year, might be a slightly different version but pretty much the same, the reason I don't use it is it's a wheel and I want a stick one, but thank you none the less!

@sosidge I see what you mean. I'm sure computer radios are worth the coin, thing is, the price difference between them and a basic stick one like that Futaba is enormous, and I can't deny that my current needs can be pretty much fulfilled by the latter. I do want a good radio system someday, but I'm not sure I wanna spend that much on a radio right now.

@rwordenjr brought in pretty good points too in favour of the Futaba, and I've got something to add: considering the recreational way I'm currently using most of my cars, I would benefit from a radio that comes cheap and can take a hit. I often run after the moving car, sometimes filming, and sometimes fall/trip on stuff, or beer suddenly gets spilled all over the place... my point is, quite some responsibility would come with an expensive radio, and that fugly Futaba looks sturdy and guilt free ^_^ one thing I'd like to know: would any 2.4GHz Futaba receiver be good to work with that radio, or only specific ones would do? 

 

The included receiver and also r203gf. Maybe more but those 2 for sure 

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I had a radiolink 8 channel stick radio. It comes with the return spring so just needs fitting. 

Cheap as chips but instructions were Chinese, worked fine but couldn't play with many settings, not that I needed to.

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I wanted a nice looking stick transmitter a while ago, had money before the Fine Spec was announced. Got a Tamiya Attack 4YWD, not necessarily great but looked good to me. Presuming it was a rebranded Futaba 4YWD Attack, only 4 channels.

Probably do a lot less than others for the money...

Some like them and some absolutely hate them, very big in the hands.

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