Continuing the furious pace of new releases from Walkera and coming hot on the heels of the superb Devo 10 radio is the new smaller format, telemetry enabled, Devo 7E.



This new radio is a combination of the Devo 6/6S case format with the display and menus of the Devo 10. The display is really great, it feels even clearer than the Devo 10 because of the slightly smaller size but identical resolution, it's backlit so great for indoors and easy to see even in bright midday sun as shown here:


It provides full a 7 channels: Elevator, Aileron, Throttle, Rudder, Pitch, Gear(Throttle Hold switch) and Aux2(Flight Mode switch). The size of course is great for smaller hands (kids and ladies) who find difficulty with reaching around a larger TX. It sports (unlike the Devo 10) those nice rubberised grips too,

Around the back are the familiar charging and DSC ports so you can use it with your PC Sim. It uses 4 AA cells and has a JST plug if you want to use an alternative power pack.

The menu format/navigation, while not as easy as the great Colour LCD Screens in the 6, 8 and 12, is very easy to navigate once you get used to the button combinations and where things are in the menus.
There's the familiar SYSTEM for all the controls of the TX which affect everything, Display, Buzzer, Vibration Alert (another great addition!!).
Then there's the MODEL menu which controls which model is selected and their names, the copy, receive functions etc.
Finally the FUNCTION menu which controls all the model specific settings like throttle curves and dual rates etc.
There are set out in the reverse of the order above so the things you're most likely to want to change are accessible most easily (which is a nice touch and shows good thinking by the R&D guys).

A couple of things which are different between it and the 6/6S are that it has more model memories - so if you are approaching 30 models in your collection you can still use just this one TX to fly them all! The vibrating alert and stick programmable switches (to turn on timers etc) are great touches too.

Of course, as per all new releases from Walkera, you have a telemetry capability. I've only really used the LiPo alarm function for battery status so far but already I find it gives me peace of mind when flying - not least because I'm bad at starting and hearing my timers! If you have more sensors then you can get additional information direct to your TX.

Like the rest of the Devo series it's upgradable online so you can always get the latest available features that the Techies at Walkera are working on. The best thing here is that they have followed the 6, 8, 10, 12 and given it a proper USB port! No more messing about with UP02 adaptors like for the Devo 7, just connect it up with a standard cable that, if you're anything like me, you have millions of already. Great! (Also, a note on that, the upgrade process it very well done, the boot part of the chip isn't affected so the risk of damaging the TX during an upgrade is much reduced compared with flashing a PC BIOS 5 or 10 years ago. Don't be nervous about upgrading!))

Missing is the AMPLI menu, you operate at the units full power mode all the time I expect ~10mW but this should be good for flying most models up to 500m away or so without any difficulty and keeps the unit simple.
If you travel, you benefit from a familiar TX with almost half the weight compared to a Devo 10.

The only thing I wish it really had is a power light behind the Devention logo which showed when the power was on. The WK2801Pro had this and it saved me from flat batteries a couple of times.

Basically it is a small TX with a big TX punch!

Here are some more photos of this new arrival.

Classic. I just got the Devo 10 with my Ladybird around a week ago. Not that I have anything against the Devo 10, it's a great radio from what I can see so far, but yeah, it would have been nice to have a smaller, lighter radio with Devo 10 menus instead of the previous Devil 7 menus.

I know most people don't like to have multiple radios, but I wouldn't mind having this as a backup radio. If they end up pricing it similar to the current Devo 7, I might just buy an RTF heli bundled with this Tx just to have it.

I definitely think it's a great backup - 4x AA cells, small size makes it convenient to have around - especially good for if you're travelling. Plus, if you know your way around the Devo 10 then it's the same menu system in this 7E too.

IMO you haven't made a mistake in getting the 10 if you're going to fly other, more complex things in the future, you can control lights or a camera gimbal etc with the 10 which the 7E isn't designed to do.

It seems to be priced right for park fliers. The standalone transmitter is $95 at RC711

http://www.rc711.com/shop/walkera-de...l?cPath=167_24

Originally Posted by thwaitm

IMO you haven't made a mistake in getting the 10 if you're going to fly other, more complex things in the future, you can control lights or a camera gimbal etc with the 10 which the 7E isn't designed to do.

To be honest, I have no regrets about it - I'm a 'here and now and look towards the future' kinda guy rather than waste time dwelling on the what might have beens. This is exactly why I wanted the Devo 10, to 'future proof' myself since I plan on expanding at some point to more complex helis, planks, and FPV. It's just that at the moment I have to rely on public transport to get around so smaller and lighter would have been nice for now.

In any case I've grown accustomed to this from the whole computer 'upgradeitis' syndrome. Any CPU or graphics card is quickly superseded by the 'latest and greatest', so at some point you have to bite the bullet and actually purchase something or you'll forever be in perpetual wait mode.

One thing's for sure, this hobby has come a loooong way since I last dabbled with it during the 80s! One thing I can admit to feeling regrets about is having gotten rid of my Kalt Baron some ten years back when I relocated... sigh. Hey, snap out of it, no dwelling on the past!

There is a project working on an alternative firmware for these radios that has support for DSM2 and DSMX as well as the old WK-2x01 protocols in addition to Devo. Getting very close to release now. They are primarily working on the Devo 8/12 but they have shown a lot of interest in the Devo 10 and I imagine that this radio won't be hard to support either seeing as it has the same screen and would be able to use the same UI.

You can fix the limited range on the Devo 6 by putting a real 2.4ghz antenna on it and I'm certain the same method will work for this radio as well.

I like it. I dislike the low quality colour screens by Walkera. I prefer and old display. I like DEVO 10, but this size could be better.

Originally Posted by Atomic Skull

There is a project working on an alternative firmware for these radios that has support for DSM2 and DSMX as well as the old WK-2x01 protocols in addition to Devo. Getting very close to release now. They are primarily working on the Devo 8/12 but they have shown a lot of interest in the Devo 10 and I imagine that this radio won't be hard to support either seeing as it has the same screen and would be able to use the same UI.

You can fix the limited range on the Devo 6 by putting a real 2.4ghz antenna on it and I'm certain the same method will work for this radio as well.

Yep - I think it the deviation FW works on Devo 10 then it should be a 10 min job for PB to port it to the 7E (at least at the speed he works!).

For the aerial mod... as long as when you do it you make the true 2.4GHz antenna removable it seems interesting - one of the real beauties about this TX is it's small size. Not sure what the current full range on this is though. I'd need a bigger, open field to test (this might happen in August)

Originally Posted by flyerinside

I like it. I dislike the low quality colour screens by Walkera. I prefer and old display. I like DEVO 10, but this size could be better.

Interesting... I have a Devo 8 as well and I think the colour LCD is actually pretty good. It's actually a very good interface for setting up a new model - much faster access to all the functions than any other radio I have.
The contrast is always going to be less than black and white, but this is true of any colour display. With a FDR_ library installed (less fancy than the original Walkera) the display is quite readable even in sunlight and has a finer resolution than the Devo10/7E display.
That said, the 10 and 7E are perfectly up to the job and if you always fly in bright sunlight will possibly be the simplest to use - they really are very clear and easy to read displays and the Devo 10 backlight is bright enough to use as a torch!

I have seen that Devo 7E has a very good price, 78 $ free shipping in Banggood. If Walkera would launch an improved version of MINI CP with longest fly time and brushless motors and with this radio, it could be a bestseller.

I like brushless motors too but they add complexity, ESC is more expensive for a start... but it's possible that they might do an 'upgrade kit' for this. WOW hobbies is a place that might take the stock one step further... maybe tricky to do it yourself unless you're an experienced modder.

Originally Posted by flyerinside

I like it. I dislike the low quality colour screens by Walkera. I prefer and old display. I like DEVO 10, but this size could be better.

Ah what? low quality color screen? my devo 12 its screen is very nice...

Originally Posted by thwaitm

I like brushless motors too but they add complexity, ESC is more expensive for a start... but it's possible that they might do an 'upgrade kit' for this. WOW hobbies is a place that might take the stock one step further... maybe tricky to do it yourself unless you're an experienced modder.

Brushless upgrade on a mini CP couldnt be easier...cheap too, it is almost as plug and play as it gets. All you need is a motor and the walkera tail esc

Originally Posted by flyerinside

I have seen that Devo 7E has a very good price, 78 $ free shipping in Banggood. If Walkera would launch an improved version of MINI CP with longest fly time and brushless motors and with this radio, it could be a bestseller.

Damn! Just bought one then realised I've got nothing to fly with it....hmm what next I wonder? I don't think it even comes with an rx

Originally Posted by indoorheli

Brushless upgrade on a mini CP couldnt be easier...cheap too, it is almost as plug and play as it gets. All you need is a motor and the walkera tail esc

I don't own one, not following Mini CP thread either - so thanks for clarifying.

Originally Posted by fishfiend

Damn! Just bought one then realised I've got nothing to fly with it....hmm what next I wonder? I don't think it even comes with an rx

Bah..just checked order progress, and it's on backorder! I wish they'd show it on the product page..At least they're gonna send out my v939, but they say 5 days for stock to arrive for the transmitters...yeah right!!