The future - Spektrum DX6 is here!

[Jim_Marconnet]

I got a call from R/C Hobbies Rick today that they just got in their first order of Spektrum DX6 radios. They are the $200 complete setup with transmitter, receiver, and 4 servos. He has not gotten in any of the separate receivers yet, but he hopes to get some sometime soon.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Explore/Article.aspx?ArticleID=1535

Sadly I spent my $$ (and more!) at the Grand Opening Sale when I had instant gratification in sight and no real idea when this new radio set would actually come in.

So I get to watch and listen and read from the sidelines as this new technology flies out the door and into the air. I think it will be glorious!

Get 'em while they're hot! The calls have already been made to those who expressed strong interest in this new system.

[ghee-grose]

So after all this talk about this radio... you're not getting one??? So what are you gonna fly your plane with? Wanna rent a radio? :D

[GLIDERGIDER]

So I get to watch and listen and read from the sidelines as this new technology flies out the door and into the air.
Hey Rocket,
You aren't missing anything by not having this radio. Sure its the great advancement in channel management, but other then that, its really no big deal. I go to the slope or the flying field and meet with you guys and fly for as long as my batteries last. I never have a conflict in radio signals, (knock on wood) and on the very rare times there is somebody on my same channel, we just take turns.

So the moral of this story is, don't fret about not have this radio. Use the radios you bought at RCH and go fly, and go have fun!!!!
Dave

[atjurhs]

Someday I too will probably get one of these babies, but why pay $200 to be a beta tester? Let them be out on the market for a year or two, and let others have the latest and greatest and find all the bugs.

[Jim_Marconnet]

The RTF and ARF planes under my Christmas tree are 27 Mhz. The SS combo I have on order from a guy is 72 Mhz. So I'll be OK radio-wise for a while, regardless how this new DX6 system works out for folks.

Rick at R/C Hobbies must have really heard some good press and/or local "wants" on this one since he bought 10 in his very first order. And some loose receivers, but they are not in yet.

While I was Waiting, Waiting, Waiting, as an alternative, I looked at a Futaba 6-channel computer radio with 4 real small servos at about $170. So this new system would have had a $30 price penalty for the new technology, plus the first-adopter risk that was not there with the Futaba. Plus less range capability.

Someday I'd like to be completely away from keeping track of who's on what frequency. Here or over the hill. In our Renegade lifestyle, who knows what or who is right over the hill on what freq. Or even on a formal flying field, for that matter!

The biggest issue I see with them is range - parkflyer range - whatever that is. I hope someday to have an Easy Star, and I don't think that counts as a parkflyer by any stretch of the imagination!

[Jim_Marconnet]

I've been reading the various threads on the DX6, and so far it looks like all thumbs-up by users who paid their $$ and bought one. They would certainly be the toughest reviewers!

Yes, people have a few gripes, they always always will.

The only real caveats I've seen so far are:
1) charge/discharge cycle the transmitter batteries several times before first use to get them up to a reasonable run time and
2) don't point the transmitter antenna directly at the plane when it's 500 feet away or further.

The parkflyer range issue seems to be a discussion-point but a non-issue, as long as you don't aim the transmitter at the plane. And the transmitter antenna can be angled in several positions to make it even less likely you would do that.

Someday....

But in the meantime, I'm thankful for the flying friends, equipment, and locations I have.

[Ken Fidler]

Jim,
Best advice I would give you is to pick one type of radio and stick with it. I have used Futaba, Airtronics, Kraft (guess that really dates me as to how long I have been flying), Hitec, and JR with no problems. Many years ago, I was using JR radios for pattern and Futaba for racing, which meant I needed different chargers and/or different connectors for each setup. Then I switched to just one radio type since it makes swapping equipment easier in addition too some other reasons.

With range on park flyers, if you use a signal conversion receiver then yes you will see problems however; manufacturers do sell dual conversion receivers that can be used with park flyers.

Have fun and get your Slow Stick flying!

Ken

[Jim_Marconnet]

I asked about the DX6 units at R/C Hobbies yesterday. Rick said they had sold some, but he had no feedback so far. That that was good news, no problems!

Of course some of them might be wrapped up and under Christmas trees, sold but out of circulation. Here's hoping - but probably not!

[Johnnie Paul]

I asked about the DX6 units at R/C Hobbies yesterday. Rick said they had sold some, but he had no feedback so far. That that was good news, no problems!

Of course some of them might be wrapped up and under Christmas trees, sold but out of circulation. Here's hoping - but probably not!


Heres to hoping that one is under my tree right now *fingers crossed* but I will not hold my breath...it came highly reccomended by Rick,but the wife was not to keen on the price tag...D'oh!

[ChromeDome]

Heres to hoping that one is under my tree right now *fingers crossed* but I will not hold my breath...it came highly reccomended by Rick,but the wife was not to keen on the price tag...D'oh!

Same thing at my house. My fingers are crossed also. We will see.

[Jim_Marconnet]

With all the folks trying, they finally found something wrong with the new DX6:

"I do miss the long 72MHz antenna because that's where my wind direction/thermal indicator (fuzzy string) would be normally hanging from. And also in the middle of flying, all of a sudden I think I've forgotten to raise the antenna and I reach for it, then realize there's no antenna to raise and that I'm more dystracted and I'm about to crash my plane."

I guess he needs to add another item to his preflight checklist: The Tx antenna is short, live with it!

Looking forward to hearing more from Chrome Dome when he gets some stick-time on his Christmas DX6.

[Jim_Marconnet]

Pullled together some Christmas cash and some clothing returns cash and got the DX6 I've been wanting so bad for so long! That makes me the third Dx6 first-adopter I know of in the Renegades.

I already have a SS kit, a brushless motor, a brushless LiPo-aware ESC, and a 3S LiPo to use it with. And yes a LiPo charger. Will assemble my originally-intended First Class Brushless (perhaps not so) Slow Stick.

Too bad my holiday/vacation time is all used up and the weather is turning really bad. But it is winter, after all. The record warm weather today was so nice that I threatened to have a cookout! I did manage to take down the outside Christmas lights.

[ghee-grose]

Threatend!?!?!? I did grill out today! I grilled out some deer burgers...MMMmmmm!!!

[Jim_Marconnet]

I put my DX6 Tx on charge for the recommended 24 hours before first use. Am grinding my way thru parts of the manual.

I know that only 3 Renegades have this radio so far, but I would appreciate anything significant/helpful you run into during setup and use. And I'm sure others following us will benefit.

I read with some interest the part about throttle cut button - then read about how it is for glow engines, and "will not be a commonly used feature for parkflyer aircraft." I certainly hope not! :)

Several things that I noticed right away are that:
(1) The charger will also operate the Rx. Does not seem to be mentioned in the manual, but a nice feature. and
(2) If you turn on the Tx, that disconnects the charger. So don't expect to play with the Tx till it's charged the first time. Again, apparently not mentioned in the manual. and
(3) They tell you in the manual how to "trick it" into a Dual-Rate Rudder using the programming. Sounds great to me, after reading so many complains about how it only has dual rate for aileron and elevator.

[Johnnie Paul]

Threatend!?!?!? I did grill out today! I grilled out some deer burgers...MMMmmmm!!!


Amen!! Brats, Turkey bugers, hotdogs...some of the best grilling comes from a winter pit.

Johnnie

[Johnnie Paul]

I put my DX6 Tx on charge for the recommended 24 hours before first use. Am grinding my way thru parts of the manual.

I know that only 3 Renegades have this radio so far, but I would appreciate anything significant/helpful you run into during setup and use. And I'm sure others following us will benefit.

I read with some interest the part about throttle cut button - then read about how it is for glow engines, and "will not be a commonly used feature for parkflyer aircraft." I certainly hope not! :)

Several things that I noticed right away are that:
(1) The charger will also operate the Rx. Does not seem to be mentioned in the manual, but a nice feature. and
(2) If you turn on the Tx, that disconnects the charger. So don't expect to play with the Tx till it's charged the first time. Again, apparently not mentioned in the manual. and
(3) They tell you in the manual how to "trick it" into a Dual-Rate Rudder using the programming. Sounds great to me, after reading so many complains about how it only has dual rate for aileron and elevator.

I believe one of the servos needs to be reversed when flying the SS, that was the only set-up I messed with.

Johnnie

[Jim_Marconnet]

Charged and discharged my Tx batteries several times, and now it seems to run quite a while on a charge. Have not timed it.

Just swapped out my GWS Tx and Rx from the SS and put in the DX6.

All I really had to do was reverse the Aileron (er, rudder).

Went ahead and played around with the settings and ended up setting up dual-rates and exponentials. Also adjusted the throttle throw limits so nearly all the stick is useful, instead of most of the bottom half of the stick being zero throttle.

I also tried the failsafe with the motor running, holding the plane, and turning off the Tx. The throttle went back to zero. When I turned the Tx back on, the throttle slowly went back to it's earlier setting. Just like I'd want it to do.

Cannot wait to see how this all works in the air.

[hilgert]

Don't mean to hijack your Rocket City Regegade thread. Let us know your actual field results - trying to collect as much real range information as possible. Perhaps you can combine some results and post them. What we are trying to do is gather actual, real results from DX6 users to help establish the "boundaries" (if any) of this system. So far I have tested it on the ground, rooftop-to-rooftop, at 3200 feet (which would turn most planes into a dot, or smaller, at that distance). Have fun - it's a great system.

Spektrum DX6 - Actual Field Results (http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=452817)

[Jim_Marconnet]

I asked Rick yesterday at R/C Hobbies about the DX6. He said he has sold more and more of them. Now getting sales from word of mouth from those who bought one. No complaints so far. Says he thinks this technology is the way it will all be in just a few years. Well it won't ever completely change, as existing radios will work just fine for a long long time.

He said the Spektrum car radio units had a lot of problems at first, but eventually they got it all straightened out. Not so on this unit. It just works right out of the box, so far.

The only complaint I've read about so far was that some servos are not as good as others. I've not tried mine yet, so no personal experience there to share.

Now I 'm sorry I bought the Cessna and the BeginAir for the radios that now look like much less of a good deal than when I impulsively bought them at the Grand Opening Sale. Live and learn!

The $60 DX6 receivers-only are not yet available, so it looks like a month or so yet till a person could reasonably convert over their whole fleet of planes. Or is a Gaggle of planes like a gaggle of geese?

[Jim_Marconnet]

Today there are finally some answers to important technical and marketing questions on the DX6 from technical folks at the AMA Convention:

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=464825

This is an interesting thread covering long-discussed but until now very open issues like:
Range?
What is a Parkflyer?
What is the fundamental limitation of this system?
How does its performance compare with military use of this band?
Will there be modules for other radios?
When will there be a do-all, end-all, fly-all system?
How come the transmitter module fits some existing JR transmitters?
How many units can work at one time in a single location?
What is spread spectrum without frequency hopping?
What about using digital servos?
How important is antenna orientations?

Finally! I'm relieved to learn the very encouraging even though unofficial answers to these important questions.

[Mars Flyer]

Jim,

Thanks for the link. I have a much better understanding of the DX-6 now. I'm betting that the next generation will have antenna cables that will allow locating the antennae outside of the plane to get around the metal blockage problem.

I haven't seen any mention of the slight delay in control surface motion I thought I detected with you Slow Stick. Perhaps it was the expo - or my imagination. I thought that might be the reason they were not recommending the radio for the larger, faster planes.

1600 ft is plenty of range for any flying except the really big planes since you can't see small ones at anywhere near that range.

I'm sorry to hear that Spektrum doesn't plan to license the technology. That means that as the other manufacturers move to the 2.4 GHz band (as they are sure to do) the hardware won't be compatible. You'll either have to go all Spektrum/JR, all Hitec, etc.

It was also good to get a hint at why they call it "spread spectrum" when it doesn't frequency hop. Another type of spread spectrum is Direct Sequence Modulation which is a very broadband signal modulated primarily by a pseudo random number. The 6 channels of control info ride on that signal. I'd still love to see more about that but they may not want to share it. It is interesting that a single transmit channel takes up a MHz of bandwidth. We only have 1 MHz for all 50 of our 72 MHz signals. There are 80 of those 1 MHz channels in the 2.4 GHz band. Cool.

I may try to fly tomorrow afternoon. I'll be up all night supporting my team in Nevada trying to record the Stardust sample return capsule reentry. I won't be awake for a morning session.

Rob