Heli Radios

[basicboy]

Hello there everyone...

I've been considering getting a heli, but still have some saving to do :) I fly sport and pattern type airplanes, so I'm not really new to R/C. But I am rather confused about a heli radio. To fly a R/C helicopter, do I have to have a special heli radio or will any 5-6 channel radio work? For example.... my Laser 6 by Hitec. Will that work or will I have to purchase a new radio also?


Thanks for your time,

Aaron

[dru]

Helicopters can be flown with a 4 channel radio. If you rtry it you will be making some serious head aches for yourself. I fly two helicopters with an Airtronics RD6000. It is a good radio that has lots of bells and whistles. It does not cost any where near that of a 9Z or 10x. It is easy to program and you can use any brand of receiver and servo. There are some good site around the net for helicopters. Try heliproz.com for one. Then there is ronlund.com. Radios are like shoes, if they fit you then you havbe the right one.

Dru.

[basicboy]

Thanks. That seems like some good advice. So I should just keep saving and go for a specific heli radio?

Just to make things interesting, do you have any idea how I would fly a heli with my 6 channel airplane radio? It seems like i could link the throttle and pitch control servos together with a "y".... but this is just a speculation from a newbie to helicopters.


Thanks again...

[dru]

That is the way they used to do it. You would have to adjust the amount of throw of each servo with a mechanical adjust ment. You would have to adjust a push rod, angle of the servo horn to change the amopunt of travel at a given point to change the mixing ratio of the two channels. All of this equals a really big head ache. With the new radios all you have to do is press a couple of buttons and it is done.

I like my Airtronics RD6000. It has all of the features needed for flying heli's, planks in one radio. I have played with a JR radio, they seem nice. I don't recomend Hitec. I had a real bad experiance with them. Futaba is also good.

For my money I am very satisfied with the RD.


Dru.


P.S. I can not justify $600.00 or more for a radio setup.

[basicboy]

Thank you very much!

Ill look into the RD6000... sure sounds like a good radio.


thanks for your help!

[RMihara]

And what 'bad' experience with a Hitec might that be Dru? Are you referring to the Eclipse 7?

Aaron,

Not to make you're decision difficult but there are several radios out there which will work well for you.

I myself have the Hitec Eclipse (w/Spectra Module) and I have had only one problem with the TX itself, that being a loose battery connector. This was actually my fault as I used an incorrect plug to mate with the battery (I was out at the field and had to re-charge my Tx Batt.)

I've been flying with mine for about a year now with no problems, I've used the Spectra Module (switching from three different channels across the board), used the Acro, Heli and Glider modes, and have played with all the trims, adjustments, mixes without any difficulties. I love this radio - for it's price range I think it's excellent!

Of course it would be nice to have a Futaba 9Z or 10X, but at ~ $250.00 for the Tx, I'm not complaining.

BTW, a little known fact is emerging from the depths of secrecy regarding the front plate of the Eclipse 7. It hides a plug in system ROM board, it is apparent this was incorporated into the Eclipse's design for future updating of the Tx's programming. Something to keep in mind...

[basicboy]

Thanks wild moose! Looks like i have another radio to check out, but hey no complaints here. :) i guess thats half the fun.... deciding what you are going to buy!

So many choices, so little money :D

[basicboy]

After doing a little research on the Eclipse, im a bit confused about the Spectra module. Does it just let you choose which frequency you operate on or is there more to it?

Thanks for you r help

[dru]

I will give the short version.

When I bought the radio I also bought another complete flight pack, so I could have two planes flying on the same radio.

I had a Super 7 radio. I loved that radio as the best thing under the sun for 14 months. I was flying my CG Super Chimpmonk. It started to do a slow roll into the ground at full throttle. Well I walked away with a battery, Rx, and two servos.

I took the radio to Hitech service station. It was on my way home. I told them what had happened. I gave them BOTH flight packs just in case. This was Monday. On Friday I picked up the radio gear. It cost over a hundred bucks to get it fixed. Not bad for what they say they did and at the time they did it.

I put the radio in my trusty Falcon 56MK11. It flew for less then a minute when I lost all radio contact. It flew for almost 5 minutes before hitting the ground. Yes I did a range check.

I took ALL of the gear back to Hitech and told them what happened. It cost me another 70 or so dollars to fix it again.

I went through one plane a week for FIVE weeks with this radio. After number 5 went in I left the radio with the service manager.

The one question that he could not answer is WHY the one Rx that I never took out of the box after the first time I took it to Hitech, needed to be repaired? If it had been repaired and never taken out of the box, why did it need to be worked on again???

I got a couple of calls from them telling me my radio was fixed, but I never wanted it back so they still have it.

That is why I am not fond of Hitech radios. I have had trouble with Futaba radios but they MADE it right. For me Airtronics have not let me down.

Dru.

[basicboy]

yuck.... i dont blame you. sorry to hear that dru.

[mdean]

I bought the Hobby-Lobby Eco8 kist which included a Hitec Laser 4 tx. The radio seemed ok, but when I broke a ball off the swashplate and upgraded to the aluminum swash, I decided to go with 120' CCPM. I bought a JR XP-652 through Ebay. Very good radio, and similar to the latest XP-662 (I think the 662 has more model memory). The 662 new costs arount $250 and I think is one of the best "bargain" radios you can get.

[basicboy]

Thanks mdean... theres another one ill have to look into. :) So many great toys...