Hey folks-

I've been lurking and reading here for a while, but I finally felt like I had a good reason to post today. I've just recently gotten back into R/C after about a ten year hiatus. I started medical school this last year, so building kits has turned into a relaxing way to unwind for me.

The thing that prompted me to post: I wanted to warn anyone else off of the CSRC Spektrum-clone receivers. They look just like an AR61XX series, but they are evidently nowhere near identical. I'm a sucker for a bargain, so I ordered a couple off of Amazon. My Dad is an R/C builder as well, so he got a couple.

Fast forward a couple of weeks... The first time a plane went down, I thought I had an overloaded BEC. Bought a UBEC, swapped the receiver (to another brand new CSRC...), used a new ESC... Lost the plane again. Fixed it, lost it again. Every time, it would lose power and plunge down. When I found the plane, its receiver would have a blinking light and be locked in fail safe mode.

I finally decided to do a comprehensive range test of the CSRC receivers. I had no fewer than 5(!!!) at my disposal between mine and my Dad's. Two had never been used. I also had a stock Spektrum AR6115E for comparison. I realize I should have done this at the start, but 2.4 ghz is totally new to me- when I quit flying, computerized 72mhz was all the rage. I had no idea what 'range check' mode was until I started reading online.

Turns out that the CSRC units start glitching 15 feet from the plane in range check mode. ALL of them, every last one. They are total unreliable garbage. I googled them and did some reading, and I found a couple of threads from the heli forums where people had the same problems with them. On the SAME plane with the SAME setup, the real Spektrum AR6115 would have a flawless range check out to 120 feet.

I hate to be redundant, but I didn't see a similar thread about them here. If nothing else, a fresh thread should be a good warning to folks not to cheap out on their receivers. Has anyone else had similar problems? Anyone have a solution or any suggestions? Are there any 'cheap' electronics sources that are actually reliable?

No experiance with that RX. I use the Orange RX with satillite in a number of my planes on a 6 cell NIMH battery and have never had a problem, fly it as far as I care to.

I've been using these and they work great in all of my planes. Awesome pricing also.
http://www.targethobby.com/transmitt...iver-c-72.html

Anything in 30" wingspan range I use these and have definitely hit 1000 foot range with no issue.
http://www.targethobby.com/spectrum-...p-4161774.html

For larger planes these have been working out nicely also
http://www.targethobby.com/spectrum-...p-4162037.html

Ive have had two of these recievers in a couple of my foamies and have had nothing but problems with them. One of them lock out and crashed one of my planes and I sent another back to Horizon because it wouldnt power up anymore ( solid red light ). A friend of mine had the same thing happened. They are junk.

Originally Posted by Syner01

I've been using these and they work great in all of my planes. Awesome pricing also.
http://www.targethobby.com/transmitt...iver-c-72.html

Anything in 30" wingspan range I use these and have definitely hit 1000 foot range with no issue.
http://www.targethobby.com/spectrum-...p-4161774.html

For larger planes these have been working out nicely also
http://www.targethobby.com/spectrum-...p-4162037.html

All of those RXs are knock offs and not true Spektrum RXs. I guess the first clue is the spelling, Spectrum instead of Spektrum.
I like this disclaimer they have regarding the RX
"Targethobby disclaims all support and warranty with regards, but not able to tell it is an original receiver or not"

and this too
"Targethobby will not be liable for damages arising products included on this site"

And I got a good laugh out of this statement
"When using this receiver, try to fit the satellite receiver outside plane or helicopter body or canopy, to avoid accidental signal lost"
A true Spektrum satellite doesn't require being located outside of the fuselage in order to receive a signal.

Not sure anyone said they were anything else...
As far as being outside this is common nomenclature for the antennas. I poke holes through my foam on some thicker ones so antenna sticks out. Just my preference on some models to do so. Especially for longer range planes.

Originally Posted by Herman Munster

All of those RXs are knock offs and not true Spektrum RXs. I guess the first clue is the spelling, Spectrum instead of Spektrum.
I like this disclaimer they have regarding the RX
"Targethobby disclaims all support and warranty with regards, but not able to tell it is an original receiver or not"

and this too
"Targethobby will not be liable for damages arising products included on this site"

And I got a good laugh out of this statement
"When using this receiver, try to fit the satellite receiver outside plane or helicopter body or canopy, to avoid accidental signal lost"
A true Spektrum satellite doesn't require being located outside of the fuselage in order to receive a signal.

Originally Posted by Syner01

Not sure anyone said they were anything else...
As far as being outside this is common nomenclature for the antennas. I poke holes through my foam on some thicker ones so antenna sticks out. Just my preference on some models to do so. Especially for longer range planes.

No one did, I was just pointing out the fact that they are counterfeit Receivers

Originally Posted by Herman Munster

No one did, I was just pointing out the fact that they are counterfeit Receivers

Ok thanks. This thread was about clones which was why I posted it.

Originally Posted by dhf23

Ive have had two of these recievers in a couple of my foamies and have had nothing but problems with them. One of them lock out and crashed one of my planes and I sent another back to Horizon because it wouldnt power up anymore ( solid red light ). A friend of mine had the same thing happened. They are junk.

The receivers the original poster mentioned aren't sold by Horizon are they?

Originally Posted by Herman Munster

And I got a good laugh out of this statement
"When using this receiver, try to fit the satellite receiver outside plane or helicopter body or canopy, to avoid accidental signal lost"
A true Spektrum satellite doesn't require being located outside of the fuselage in order to receive a signal.

Not entirely true. A Spektrum RX does not work reliably inside a carbon fiber helicopter frame.

Originally Posted by 600Bob

Not entirely true. A Spektrum RX does not work reliably inside a carbon fiber helicopter frame.

I was referring to your standard foam or balsa aircraft.

Originally Posted by Herman Munster

I was referring to your standard foam or balsa aircraft.

I think the quote you made from the retailer of the RX was a general warning that on some aircraft the antenna should not be inside. And your comment made it seem that the clone RX was inferior because of that warning. Now that particular clone may be inferior but their warning is not the deciding factor since Spektrum will warn you not to mount the antenna inside certain air frames e.g helicopters.

I didn't want someone to think that a genuine Spektrum could be mounted inside all types of air frames.

http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=395663

These look very similar to RX's sold by www.giantcod.co.uk, but far more expensive ($29.95?) http://www.giantcod.co.uk/dsm2-ar610...-p-405873.html

Originally Posted by 600Bob

I think the quote you made from the retailer of the RX was a general warning that on some aircraft the antenna should not be inside. And your comment made it seem that the clone RX was inferior because of that warning. Now that particular clone may be inferior but their warning is not the deciding factor since Spektrum will warn you not to mount the antenna inside certain air frames e.g helicopters.

I didn't want someone to think that a genuine Spektrum could be mounted inside all types of air frames.

good point there