Originally Posted by jasmine2501

And yeah, while the lawsuit will probably never happen, Spektrum-compatible systems not officially licensed by Spektrum are illegal. But I don't expect the FBI to come to my door and demand I surrender my Orange receivers. At least I hope they don't, those suckers are cheap

Illegal where? In the US yes thanks to the DMCA, but elsewhere it's not because reverse engineering is still legal most places outside the US if you're careful about how you go about doing it.

Another thing to consider would be if you have an accident with your heli that causes someone else injury.
I'm pretty sure Injurylawyers4U or some suchlike would have a field day if you were using a "hacked" TX

I've got the 2801 - I think the original version was released in like 2009 - and it went through several revisions ending with version E. Mine is about 2 yrs old and no longer supported - no more receivers. And no, I'm not gonna pay $20 for a devo adapter that reduces the output from 100mw to 10 mw (walkeras solution).

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand why you'd want to buy a walkera radio and convert it to be compatable with one of the most popular brands out there? It's not like walkera makes a better transmitter tham spectrum.
I'm trying to decide if I want to replace mine with a spectrum like everybody else or add to my collection of futaba.

Originally Posted by Atomic Skull

Illegal where? In the US yes thanks to the DMCA, but elsewhere it's not because reverse engineering is still legal most places outside the US if you're careful about how you go about doing it.

I don't personally care what the law is in foreign countries. I care what it is for me. Sometimes it affects my decision, sometimes it doesn't, but it's always a good idea to know what the law is, so if you decide to break it, you're doing it on purpose.

I would consider using cheap Orange receivers a risky decision to take as well, especially with larger models.

Apparently, it is alright to make equipment that can listen to a particular protocol but not transmit them. There is an transmitter module by Orange as well that will make Turnigy 9 transmitters compatible with Spektrum. There is a similar Spektrum module for Walkera and transmitters of other brands using the trainer port.

In the below video, you can see the module being set up for a Walkera 2801 pro followed by a Futaba T8FG transmitter

Origin 2.4G Spectrum System_tutorial (3 min 25 sec)

Originally Posted by karlik

I'm sorry, but I just don't understand why you'd want to buy a walkera radio and convert it to be compatable with one of the most popular brands out there? It's not like walkera makes a better transmitter tham spectrum

Actually I think there is a pretty good case to be made that Walkera do make as good a transmitter as Spektrum, and maybe better. Spektrum may be more popular in the US but that's not the same thing as 'better', and I believe that Walkera is much more popular than Spektrum in Asia.

I don't have a lot of experience with either brand but based on what I've read here and elsewhere, Walkera quality has improved considerably over the last few years and Spektrum have had their fair share of issues too. It's just that Spektrum (being part of Horizon) have a much larger dealer network in the US, much better customer service in the US, and a huge variety of BNF planes and heli's that are compatible because of Blade, E-Flite, and ParkZone (who are also all part of Horizon so naturally use Spektrum's radio protocol). So their popularity seems to me to be more a matter of the above, than it is based on the quality of their hardware.

At the very least a Devo TX running Deviation is much more flexible than any Spektrum TX as far as support for more protocols is concerned. Also I'm personally not a big fan of companies that practice price fixing. So being in a similar position to the OP right now I'm leaning strongly toward the purchase of a Devo. I'm just holding off a bit to see what the next release of Deviation looks like.

Originally Posted by Byrdwyngs

Spektrum may be more popular in the US but that's not the same thing as 'better', and I believe that Walkera is much more popular than Spektrum in Asia.

And Hyundai is real popular in Korea. Not so sure that really means anything.

Kinda sounds like you pretty much made up your mind before you even asked "what you guys think".

Originally Posted by karlik

And Hyundai is real popular in Korea. Not so sure that really means anything.

That was my point really. I don't see that Spektrum's popularity means anything either.

Originally Posted by karlik

Kinda sounds like you pretty much made up your mind before you even asked "what you guys think".

I wasn't the OP and I wasn't asking, I was just offering my opinion.

Originally Posted by karlik

And Hyundai is real popular in Korea. Not so sure that really means anything.

Kinda sounds like you pretty much made up your mind before you even asked "what you guys think".

um hyundai is really popular here too what the heck is your point?
http://www.edmunds.com/autoobserver-...midsizers.html

also as was already pointed out he wasn't the OP I am and I've been reading all the responses and haven't ordered anything yet.

Originally Posted by Byrdwyngs

That was my point really. I don't see that Spektrum's popularity means anything either.

I wasn't the OP and I wasn't asking, I was just offering my opinion.

My bad - sorry

The Spektrum transmission standard is actually quite popular in Asia but is associated with JR rather than Spektrum transmitters. It appeared that there was an agreement between HH and JR that prohibited the sales of cheaper transmitters with 8 channels or less in the US. Whereas Spektrum branded transmitters were rarely available in Asia. It was during this period of DSM and DSM2 that a lot of problems were reported. Some of which were due to incorrect installation and there was also a problem with interference since Asian cities probably have the highest concentration of 2.4G equipment in the world. Even now, there are still JR owners who prefer to keep using their 72mHZ equipment rather than to switch to 2.4G.

There was also a big problem for JR. Japanese law does not allow the use of non-hopping frequency 2.4G equipment beyond 10mW. This makes it basically impossible for DSM2 equipment to be sold as standalone transmitters in Japan. This actually also applies the the current line of Wakera Devo transmitters. (Again, the Walkera 10mW versions can be hacked to transmit 100mW.) Anyway, JR then developed the DSM-J standard and now the DMSS standard that are incompatible with Spektrum. Now JR is completely divorced from Spektrum. It will be interesting to see how things go from here. Neither Blade helis and Eflight planes were ever that popular or even sold. This is mainly because of the high price and lack of service. If HH wants to maintain a foothold and expand in Asia, they really must let vendors lower their prices accordingly. For a start, they should allow them to buy directly from China rather than the US. HH opened an office in China last year so it seems that they are taking the China market seriously. The only street vendor left in Hong Kong who sells the mCPX and 130X have just started selling the V120D02S. This is really indicative of where things are heading over here.

Originally Posted by karlik

My bad - sorry

No problem.

Although I am leaning towards the Devo and Deviation, I'm not quite convinced that Deviation is completely ready for prime time yet. I love the idea, and I think what PB and the rest of the team have accomplished in just a few months is amazing. It does seem though that it still needs a bit of work to have all of the protocols working solidly.

It seems like I might be stuck with a Devo regardless though since I've become kind of smitten by the smaller form factor of the 6s and 7e, and neither Spektrum nor anyone else is making anything comparable that I've been able to find.

There is nothing equivalent in size to the Devo 6 from other manufacturers. This reflects the fact that Walkera transmitters are usually bundled with their helis rather than sold as standalone transmitters. There is now an increasing number of people using their Devo transmitters to control the Nano CPX. Walkera will be watching the situation the situation carefully because they don't have anything equivalent to the Nano CPX at the moment.

Here is a video of a RCG member using his Devo !0 to control the Nano CPX. This looks good bearing in mind that the deviation firmware for the Devo 10 is an Alpha release. However, I still think it is sensible to fly helis that are at or below the 130 size.

Deviation Of DEVO10 Playing With Blades NANO CPX (6 min 9 sec)

i love my devo 8, i sold my dx7 and i dont think the quality was as good as walkeras. dollar for dollar walkera gives you the best tx. Now that you can run spektrum we are able to get the 8 orange rxs and have a sweet remote. i think the touch screen makes it very easy to navigate.

Originally Posted by Hot_Wheels

i love my devo 8, i sold my dx7 and i dont think the quality was as good as walkeras. dollar for dollar walkera gives you the best tx. Now that you can run spektrum we are able to get the 8 orange rxs and have a sweet remote. i think the touch screen makes it very easy to navigate.

So you've used two of the ones I'm interested in. In your opinion the devo is better made? Or it's similar but you like the added functionality of devo?
Thanks