I would agree that that looks like an antenna. I actually like that design, as a lot of people have been busting their antenna's lately.

i do care about looking and i must say i dont like what i see now
maybe i end up changing my mind but thats my first impression: quite ugly and this handle make it bulky

without any idea about the look of the frsky bet, i have the felling Frsky is going to win the race between 9xr and x12d

I don't think the top is a handle I think it's an LCD screen with telemetry info.. well maybe not looking at the shadows... either way he should clean his desk

It would be silly to put the antenna inside a handle where you can't change it's orientation. Agree, I also hope it has a top LCD, can't tell in the photo. The handle on the original 9x is the best design, keeps my FrSky antenna off the ground when I set it down.

Anybody notice the 9x without the plastic case sitting at the bottom right of the monitor in that picture? Probably using it for software testing.

Originally Posted by SleepySean

The handle on the original 9x is the best design, keeps my FrSky antenna off the ground when I set it down.

if cutting your signal in half is a good thing then you are correct. my theory is better to make a handle out of plastic instead of metal.

Originally Posted by dave1993

if cutting your signal in half is a good thing then you are correct. my theory is better to make a handle out of plastic instead of metal.

Is this a proven engineering fact or a urban legend collected on the internet ?

Why is there that almost all of the big brand high end radios have a metal handle at the back of the case ?

You are telling me that Futaba, Jr, Hitec's etc. engineers are bunch of noobs that do make radios that by design have their output halved because of the handle they use ?

Maybe as years pass, they should have got it now, don't you think ?

http://www.futaba-rc.com/systems/air.html

http://www.jrradios.com/Products/Radios-DSMX.aspx

http://www.multiplex-rc.de/produkte/...wshopitems_pi1[action]=show&tx_lwshopitems_pi1[controller]=Product&cHash=8d29418e95293adabc4d29b3be48979c

http://www.hitecrcd.com/products/air...aft/index.html

I'll stop here, you should get the picture...

Originally Posted by blackmoon

Is this a proven engineering fact or a urban legend collected on the internet ?

maybe not fact depending on what you mean but actual field range tests on my 9x w/frsky module. rssi and field strength meter was used as apposed to the more popular wag. anyway i appreciate the time you took to dig up those links but not one shows a radio with module installed ala turnigy/frsky.

when the handle extends significantly above the balun/decoupler part of the ducky there WILL be signal loss. not to mention distortion of that lovely toroidal polar plot many here are attached to.

Originally Posted by blackmoon

Why is there that almost all of the big brand high end radios have a metal handle at the back of the case ?

You are telling me that Futaba, Jr, Hitec's etc. engineers a bunch of noobs that do make radios that by design have their output halved because of the handle they use ?

I'll stop here, you should get the picture...

well since you asked nicely i will get you one. it shows the extreme i had to go to in order to restore range compared to the common approach of poking a hole for rt angle adapter. you may continue to believe metal handles do not interfere with rf module antennas. im glad flysky saw fit to improve that aspect of their design.

Originally Posted by dave1993

when the handle extends significantly above the balun/decoupler part of the ducky there WILL be signal loss. not to mention distortion of that lovely toroidal polar plot many here are attached to.

well since you asked nicely i will get you one. it shows the extreme i had to go to in order to restore range compared to the common approach of poking a hole for rt angle adapter. you may continue to believe metal handles do not interfere with rf module antennas. im glad flysky saw fit to improve that aspect of their design.

Fair enough .

Since I have no knowledge about radio waves stuff, I was not getting the all picture, you were talking about antenna that are almost below the handle not the one's where the antenna is above the handle.

I'll go to bed less stupid, thank you.

Originally Posted by blackmoon

...You are telling me that Futaba, Jr, Hitec's etc. engineers are bunch of noobs that do make radios that by design have their output halved because of the handle they use ?
...
I'll stop here, you should get the picture...

YES !
It's enough to look and analyze everything the brands launched in the last 3 years to conclude they are either gone crazy, or engineers are no more let to make do their jobs, and are only puppets operated from marketing departments that request them only stupid things, not useful to real hobbyists, but full of bling factor.

Back to radio handles, those were designed 20 years ago, when in FM that handle is really without influence. You request them too much to change according to GHz requirements.

I like the embedded antenna, since flat+horizontal is the only orientation I ever use - it might as well be protected inside a robust handle.

The rest of it is a bit cosmetically pants IMHO. Here's hoping they'll tone down the bling before release.

Originally Posted by H2SO4

I like the embedded antenna, since flat+horizontal is the only orientation I ever use - it might as well be protected inside a robust handle.

The rest of it is a bit cosmetically pants IMHO. Here's hoping they'll tone down the bling before release.

It's ok looking, but I would much rather see a Turnigy 11X (or higher) and 6X rather han a new 9X. What's wrong with the current one? It's extremely customizable. I kind of like the idea of cheap receivers and no brown outs (unlike spektrum).

Also, does anybody know if it will be compatible with the old V2 receivers which are currently on the market? I'm getting sick of spektrum. I won't switch though if the system won't be around for much longer.

I see your point, but in many cases 9 true channels will be more than the majority of users would ever use and it would help to keep the price down.

I'd guess people wanting more channels might skip the Turnigy radios anyway, although the custom firmware stuff has it's obvious benefits.

With custom firmware more channels would be added right? so all we have to do is wait for FRsky to come up with a 16channel telemitry module

I would hope that the new transmitter is vastly better than the current 9x from various markets. The current 9x is the biggest heap of @#$* I know, & sorry you cant polish a turd.

Unless it can be as good as the likes of Hitec, JR & Futaba hardware & software wise....