It is hard to understand why voice (own recorded or shipped with a radio) call out regarding telemetry or assigned it to switches/dials only must exist in Futaba high end radios (14MZ, FX40, 18MZ). I doubt the Futaba FX-36 tray radio that is supposed to be released in fall 2017 will have it.
I doubt 16SZ will have it.
It is not that uncommon today in also mid range radios to have this among other brands.

At first glance this feature might not seem that important but once You get the taste of it it is a nice safety feature. I use it on my Futaba 14MZ. If Futaba 18SZ had this I had probably switched over to that radio. It feels not reasonable price vise compared to a 18SZ to need to get the 18MZ just to get this feature on a Futaba radio. You can almost get three 18SZ for the price of one 18MZ.
18MZ is still very powerful but it starts to get old (released early 2012) even it had an upgrade "18MZ WC" with just a few features added.
It will probably be some years more until a new Futaba flagship radio is released that replace 18MZ WC. 14MZ was in production for 7 years before it was replaced with 18MZ. If Futaba follow that for 18MZ also it should be in production to about 2019.

/Bo

18SZ software is far from being perfect but the Tx works just well out of the box and it's reliable for your models.
however the new DX20 (1300 USD) continues having hardware defects (doubtful QC) like the other discontinued radios made in Malaysia, Singapore, China... (DX18, DX18SE, DX18QQ...)

https://www.spektrumrc.com/ProdInfo/...0-Bulletin.pdf

''I guess Horizon is no long prvy to my Customer loyalty. Not a good way to build Customer confidence.''

''Friend of mine lost a giant scale warbird and almost a 100cc 3d plane (wise enough to land it right away). He now switched to Futaba''

''By not telling folks what the problem is (simple honesty), many customers will abandon Horizon ship. Sad but true''

''Not to happy with HH at all''

''What really sucks is it is a bit difficult to be in this hobby and not have to purchase items that run through or from Horizon''

''I switched to Futaba last year, several of the guys I fly with use Spektrum and they have all lost planes to "loss of control"

Originally Posted by bossee

I doubt 16SZ will have it.
It is not that uncommon today in also mid range radios to have this among other

As a software/hardware developer I have been caught in this situation. A feature is not deemed importan by some marketing head. Support for it is not built in the original hardware software. Adding it is so difficult and expensive it keeps getting postponed... until the marketing heads decide enough customers willing to pay for it...

FWIW I used the custom voice on my 14MZ and then my 18MZ. Over time I used it less and less. Since switching all my models to my 18SZ I have found that I no longer even notice it is not there. YMMV of course. But for me it is not a deal breaker.

My biggest gripe is they should change the screen on the 18SZ (and perhaps the 16SZ since it appears to be a similar screen) to replace the large aircraft type icon with the aircraft name in large font. I keep asking for this, but so far no joy on that front.

It will be interesting next week to see what additional information comes out about this new radio. The 14SG is long past needing replacement.

Originally Posted by Silent-AV8R

...The 14SG is long past needing replacement...

Hopefully the 14SG becomes the "entry-level" radio if they can lower the price enough...

14sg may go away inquired at a distributor. They said no date of when back in stock

Originally Posted by dntmn

14sg may go away inquired at a distributor. They said no date of when back in stock

Oh well...

I just had my trusty old 8FG gone over at Radio South, so I'm very interested in where the 16SZ comes in price wise. I really DO need a backup radio, don't I??
Pete

I just recently switched away from futaba for all the same reasons mentioned above, they only give the voice and other features with there high end transmitters! 33 years as a futaba user and they lost me I think that says a lot. I dont know why they dont keep up, voice and built in gyro are found on other brands for a really good price, I was never a spektrum fan all these years so I went graupner, I grew tired of waiting for the transmitter I desired under $450, I was excited when I heard about the 16sz but seems like more of the same. I really hope futaba can maintain there presence in our hobby, I am a futaba fan I just want more!

Originally Posted by Tamiya tony

I just recently switched away from futaba for all the same reasons mentioned above, they only give the voice and other features with there high end transmitters! 33 years as a futaba user and they lost me I think that says a lot. I dont know why they dont keep up, voice and built in gyro are found on other brands for a really good price, I was never a spektrum fan all these years so I went graupner, I grew tired of waiting for the transmitter I desired under $450, I was excited when I heard about the 16sz but seems like more of the same. I really hope futaba can maintain there presence in our hobby, I am a futaba fan I just want more!

we don't have actual specs yet... just guesses... educated guesses...

Originally Posted by pilotpete2

I just had my trusty old 8FG gone over at Radio South, so I'm very interested in where the 16SZ comes in price wise. I really DO need a backup radio, don't I??
Pete

Hi,
For people living in US one can get an indication what a Futaba 16SZ will cost there by comparing price from company here in Europe that has already set a price on 16SZ:

Insane RC in France:
16SZ: 756 Euro
18SZ: 1034 Euro

Compare Tower Hobbies:
18SZ: US $1000

3.4% higher number för 18SZ in Euro then US $.

This indicate a 16SZ in US will cost around US $730 give or take some.

18SZ is about 36.8% more expensive then 16SZ in this example.
And compared to Tower Hobbies price of 14SG that cost US $ 550 today a 16SZ would be about 32.7% more expensive then 14SG.
And 18SZ is 81.8% more expensive then a 14SG in US (Tower Hobbies prices).

/Bo

Originally Posted by bossee

This indicate a 16SZ in US will cost around US $730 (756 x 0.967) give or take some.

the cheapest version is close to 500 U$ from Japan http://www.super-rc.co.jp/cp-bin/osc...mkkmhl29o9mjn3

Originally Posted by reverse

the cheapest version is close to 500 U$ from Japan http://www.super-rc.co.jp/cp-bin/osc...mkkmhl29o9mjn3

The cheapest one comes with R3001SB instead of R7008SB and there is no warranty in US, not authorized by FCC,,,whatever same old story about buying from Japan.
And check here daily. https://fccid.io/AZP

Originally Posted by Old NEET

The cheapest one comes with R3001SB instead of R7008SB and there is no warranty in US, not authorized by FCC,,,whatever same old story about buying from Japan.
And check here daily. https://fccid.io/AZP

There is not an entry for 16SZ at all ... so they have not even submitted anything for FCC approval yet... slow... slow...

Important pass the word around