I don't have hate anything, especially not in the RC world, but consider Futaba a much better radio for the money. If it wasn't for the BNF disposable foam stuff, I doubt you would see as many Spektrum. As I stated in the other forum (Futaba vs Spektrum), I have to have a radio that works 100% of the time - I use Futaba.

You have to have a radio that works 100% of the time? Me too.

We have some similar interests. I couldn't find a shot of my Northstar by itself, awesome plane.

Originally Posted by Dave H.

Based on the local flying clubs, it appears they have around 70% of the 2.4GHz market. I guess that makes them a big target on web forums though there seem to be relatively few problems in person.

Most people seem to get along with Microsoft products too but you wouldn't think so from web forums.

But everytime my Windows "Dont Open" I dont risk losing a plane or hurting someone.

VP

Each manufacturer has it's fans. How many who complain about one brand or another own one of each brand he is commenting on. I personally have Futaba, FrSky, Spectrum and Airtronics. The only one I've ever had a problem with is the Spectrum although even it is quite good for the most part. From a quality of product, all vary depending on the price range. In general Spectrum is the poorest but even their poorest end is quite qood. At the high end, you will find it hard to beat Futaba for reliability but all the companies cut lots of corners on the low cost end of the products.

No wonder you are having issues. You are using a clone brand.

The real brand is Spektrum not spectrum

Originally Posted by freechip

No wonder your having issues. Your using a nock off brand.
The real good brand is Spektrum not spectrum

freechip, "your" need to get a "nock off" spelling checker.

Ya, phone predictive text is not 100%.

When I first saw Spektrum 2 1/2 years ago online, my first thought was that the spelling "Compromised" the radios. Also I didnt like the "Punkin" color either.

VP

PS: I cant recall any of their songs but the band "Korn" seems to rub me the wrong way also.

Why all the hate for Spektrum? People are tired of being let down. Literally.

Funny thing is that a lot of Spektrum mishaps are due to owner mistakes in the form of installation errors. New systems with RSSI help to identify such issues before you loose your investment.

But seems a major player or two failed to add this key ingredient to their latest and greatest forced upgrades.

Lets see some other reasons - a chaotic flow of receivers that seem to specialized for every use, yet no real need for. "Carbon Friendly" receivers.. Satellites. LOL

The only reason Spektrum stepped up with their latest effort was because they were loosing customers at an alarming rate. They were forced into improving their product.

Horizon Hobbies has grown into a very large distributor in the US market due mostly to Spektrum success. They have a large fleet of BNF models that they didn't want to have to update to a more reliable system. They had to figure out a way they could support the flawed DSM2, yet offer a better setup also. They achieved that goal. But, in the long run was that really the correct goal to go after?

Now that the Horizon Hobbies JR/SPektrum contract has finally expired, JR has a bit more power to do what they need, but they are still tied to HH to distribute their radios in the US, and now that Spektrum can compete directly with JR, it should be interesting. If I were JR I'd consider other distribution in the US market. Why will HH want to sell JR when they can sell their own home brand for more profit? Also, you will notice that JR immediately offered their own 2.4 system to remove themselves from the Spektrum issues.

-Wayne

I bought a DX7 last year to use with 2 micro helis (mCX2 and mSR) and have since converted my 3 aircraft over to Spektrum RXs. Have found that when properly installed the system works perfectlyup to a fairly decent range. I have also removed the stock antenna and added a screw fit one so i can run the TX through a 1W wifi amplifier if i need to get more range of the system; or if im flying low in a high interference area.

Can't see any trouble with the build quality either. I have just orderd my first OrangeRX to test with the system because AR7001s are quite expensive.

As for people hating Spektrum, im quite certain im my own mind that if i had lost a much lovved model due to radio lockout theni may loose faith in that radio and develop a level of hate towards it. but over the years im sure there have been more planes chrash due to interference and frequency mishaps on the 35 / 72Mhz bands than there have been DSM2 lockouts.

I was an exclusive Futaba user my entire R/C career (all 72mhz) until I took a break from things in the early 2000s. when I came back to the hobby last year, everything had moved to 2.4Ghz. I would have gone Futaba but was lured to Spektrum both by the low cost and the availability of BNF models. The high cost of Futaba equipment had a hand in it. Even though the transmitters I tried felt cheap i thought "everyone has spektrum so I guess it must be good."

3 transmitters, endless glitches, and two crashed planes later I was frustrated and was ready to move back to Futaba, and I would have, had I not had a little extra cash and decided to order an Aurora 9 just to fulfill my curiosity. I will be honest that I didnt have much faith in it given the relatively low price point for what was supposed to be a top of the line TX. In the 90's i would have never used a Hitec radio. the servos were great but the radios.. uh uh. but i figured i would just buy it and if it sucked i would send it back.. "there is always futaba."

how wrong i was. when i got the unit and felt how much more substantial it felt; not simply "heavy" but well built, i was impressed. the feel of the gymbals alone is what impresses most people. it reminded me of my Futabas from back in the day. well built and sturdy and glitch free. I still use it, and have invested three times over what i paid for the TX just in receivers because I plan to use this tx for the forseeable future.

the fact that i can call Hitec at any time and get a person who is not only familiar with my radio, but uses it, and knows what the heck they are talking about is great too.

best part is when people at the field say "THATS a Hitec??" and they are intregued enough to try it out.. and then they are completely impressed and end up wanting to buy one.

im sure lots of people have that same story about spektrum, and thats awesome. I dont. Horizon Hobby forever has my patronage because of their customer service.. but I will never buy another Spektrum radio. my money is best spent elsewhere.

Well, I think the key issue is that Spektrum had several technical constraints about which they left the users in the dark.
Let's start at the beginning:
Spektrum's DSM2 recievers were prone to monentary shut-downs when used with standard setups.
This has two reasons: Firstly, their recievers started to reboot at a voltage around 3.2V (Fasst: 2.8V).
Secondly, they chose to synchronize the servo outputs (Fasst: sequential), putting an even greater momentary load on the RX battery.
I have written a little about this here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...4#post12913918

This behaviour was the source of the myth that 2.4GHz systems in general need more power than the old MHz systems, when in fact, only Spektrum, and XPS, had this problem.

These momentary shutdowns exposed a flaw in the RF link: As Spektrum DSM2 uses only 2 channels in the band, the RX needs some time to find them.
If the RX finds at least one channel after the reboot fast enough, you may regain control, but if the plane crashed in the time the RX spent searching the band...

Compare Fasst: It regained control between 0.5 and 0.8s.

These issues made all 2.4GHz system appear flawed or unsophisticated, and many people shunned back.

Finally, after more and more 2.4GHz systems were in use, the problems of using only a very limited part of the band became obvious, and people started crashing at large events.
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show....php?t=1049159

I have explained this here:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...=5#post9492828

Only after a long time Spektrum finally updated to DSMX, a frequency hopping system.
So, at the end, they are there where Fasst started right away in 2007.
Of course, this sounds different when Spektrum representatives explain it:
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...10&postcount=4


I think what people would like to see is a little more innovation. So far, ist seems that Spektrum is only willing to innovate when its lagging behind cannot be overseen anymore, and in between they are trying to cash in on outdated techonogy, even when this means to risk their customer's planes.

Trying to find out why people hate can be an easy or difficult task. It depends on the individual. At the same time, knowing the reasons can help you respond.

One of the most frequent reasons for hate is the feeling of betrayal. This feeling is very powerful, and it can lead to drastic actions. Not only is this one of the most common reasons why people hate, it is also one of the hardest situations to control. It’s due to the fact that the betrayed party will feel “justified” in taking revenge. As such, it takes a lot of willpower to act and respond in a rational manner.

A lot of hate for spektrum is because they had a bad experience with them and feel good when they talk crap about it. Since it's one of the most popular brand out there, there are bound to have a couple of users who have a bad experience which sometimes leads to hate.

Still doesn't mean the brand is bad for everyone, many have never had issues and use them not just on foamies. Couple thousand dollar planes fly very well on my spektrum gear, never had an issue. I don't fly at major events so never experience DSM2 faults at large events.

Just find the right radio for you, go fly and have fun..

Originally Posted by iCrap

I've been reading on several forums, including this one and it seems like people have a lot of hate towards spektrum / DSM2. Why is this? I own a DX7 and several DSM2 / OrangeRX receivers and have never had any issues at all.

- Spektrum products are often bundled with beginner aircrafts (while most of the other brands are standalone products only).

- BNF aircrafts are usually Spektrum (and are usually bought by beginners even if many of those BNF are NOT beginners aircrafts)

End results: thousands and thousands of reports on the web, about crashes "due to Spektrum glitches, lockups, and other problems". Almost never because a beginner simply crashed it's airplane. Never because he flew until the battery was dead. Or (I've seen it too many times), because he didn't even bother to charge the included battery before putting it in the aircraft!

The only bad reports you see for the other brand are like: My Futaba 6EX locked up. Why? because it's an entry Tx that if often used for beginners as well. That market is not as big, so the "noise" is not as bad. (not many BNF Futaba airplane sold...)

But you rarely see bad reports for top end Tx because those are not something that usually get into the hands of the beginners. A top JR Tx or a $2000 Futaba MZH will see very few bad reports.

I've seen too many people walking out of hobby shop with a shinny DX6i, and an aircraft that is not a great beginner aircraft for them (and often, it's not the HS fault, they did their best to convince the customer to get another "uglier" aircraft...)

Originally Posted by RealGambler

End results: thousands and thousands of reports on the web, about crashes "due to Spektrum glitches, lockups, and other problems". Almost never because a beginner simply crashed it's airplane.

I've seen this a lot. What are often called radio problems at unofficial sites look just like the things we call stalls at club sites. The whole BNF thing is both a great help (market share) and hindrance (perceived problems) to Spektrum.