K
Khudson7
Guest
I have a taranis…yes, so you will probably say mine is a very bios opinion. Although I do not own a Futaba, I have read extensively about it’s features on this and other forums. In particular, Ianwood’s posts really opened my eyes as to what can be done with a programmable radio like Futaba. But I went with a FrSky Taranis and have been able to duplicate everything he and others have reported being done on the Futabas, without any problem and in a number of cases even easier because of the excellent MAC/PC computer program used to program the Taranis. And in the 7 months now that I have been working with it, there are several BIG advantages I found over the Futaba.
Advantages of taranis( over Futaba):
1. Voice programable activation and warnings verbally let you know what switch you just clicked, any warnings programmed, timers, etc. It also will tell you when you turn it on of any switches or dials are not set to your pre-determined starting point.
2. Has RSSI(this is the signal strength of the radio to receiver in a % number. You will know and can set up voice warnings if your signal strength is approaching a lost signal(less than 40%), so you can head back before letting it go to RTH and having to depend only on that.)
3. Uses openTX. This comes with a free MAC or windows compatible computer program as I mention above, that lets you do all the programming and testing with a simulator on the MAC/PC and then transfers the file to the radio...much better than trying to fiddle with programming on a tiny screen, and the simulator in this program is excellent, allowing you to test your programmable changes before you put it into the radio, thus eliminating quite a bit of running back and forth to the field to test it. Also last I checked Futaba only worked in windows which was a showstopper for me as I am a Mac guy.
4. Uses openTX. What does this mean…besides providing all of the same programmable features as the Futaba it’s software is openTX which is open source, there are a number of programmers out there that are extending it's functionality. For instance, (I am not a programmer) I found a Lua program that someone wrote that I just plugged into my taranis that sets the pitch of the camera to 3 different speeds via a 3 way switch, and then uses a knob to move it evenly up and down(yes I know this can also be done on the futaba) but THIS program also adds a ratchet up and ratchet down to the movement so no matter where I set the dial at the start and end of this even movement it speeds up and slows down, does not stop/start the movement abruptly. Also there are a number of other useful programs out there that extend the use of the taranis with additional added screens of information etc. There are more useful programs being added everyday by a number of LUA programmers out there...
EDIT: Here is link to how to set this LUA program up that I refer to above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htn64XRH558
5. Programmer timers that I have set to start when I put the two sticks in the down and center position, in other words, when I start my phantom, a timer starts as well and verbally tells me each minute I am in the air. And when I stop the phantom with the throttle stick down, the timer stops and resets itself without any further input from me.
I am sure there are a number of others but this is just off the top of my head.
OH and I almost forgot,the BIG one....HUNDREDS of dollars less than Futaba. The Futabas are WAY WAY overpriced in my opinion, and I firmly believe the taranis offers all the same programming abilities as the Futaba with an number of additional features as listed above making it arguably BETTER than Futabas in my humble opinion.
OK, one argument I keep hearing from some Futaba owners as it relates to a phantom is you do not have to change the receiver in the phantom as you do have to do with the taranis...something that scared me at the beginning with my limited experience then, but with plenty of help here and now in retrospect, it really is a VERY simple task.
OK Futaba owners, if I have mis quoted or are wrong, here is your chance to offer a rebuttal. Please do not get me wrong. Although it may sound like it, I DID NOT MEAN FOR THIS TO BE A BASHING of Futaba as I know they are well proven to be a very fine programmable radio as well. But if there is something out there about the Futaba worthwhile that I have missed, I would really like to hear it. Heck, if it turns out to be THAT good, maybe I might even switch...
Advantages of taranis( over Futaba):
1. Voice programable activation and warnings verbally let you know what switch you just clicked, any warnings programmed, timers, etc. It also will tell you when you turn it on of any switches or dials are not set to your pre-determined starting point.
2. Has RSSI(this is the signal strength of the radio to receiver in a % number. You will know and can set up voice warnings if your signal strength is approaching a lost signal(less than 40%), so you can head back before letting it go to RTH and having to depend only on that.)
3. Uses openTX. This comes with a free MAC or windows compatible computer program as I mention above, that lets you do all the programming and testing with a simulator on the MAC/PC and then transfers the file to the radio...much better than trying to fiddle with programming on a tiny screen, and the simulator in this program is excellent, allowing you to test your programmable changes before you put it into the radio, thus eliminating quite a bit of running back and forth to the field to test it. Also last I checked Futaba only worked in windows which was a showstopper for me as I am a Mac guy.
4. Uses openTX. What does this mean…besides providing all of the same programmable features as the Futaba it’s software is openTX which is open source, there are a number of programmers out there that are extending it's functionality. For instance, (I am not a programmer) I found a Lua program that someone wrote that I just plugged into my taranis that sets the pitch of the camera to 3 different speeds via a 3 way switch, and then uses a knob to move it evenly up and down(yes I know this can also be done on the futaba) but THIS program also adds a ratchet up and ratchet down to the movement so no matter where I set the dial at the start and end of this even movement it speeds up and slows down, does not stop/start the movement abruptly. Also there are a number of other useful programs out there that extend the use of the taranis with additional added screens of information etc. There are more useful programs being added everyday by a number of LUA programmers out there...
EDIT: Here is link to how to set this LUA program up that I refer to above: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htn64XRH558
5. Programmer timers that I have set to start when I put the two sticks in the down and center position, in other words, when I start my phantom, a timer starts as well and verbally tells me each minute I am in the air. And when I stop the phantom with the throttle stick down, the timer stops and resets itself without any further input from me.
I am sure there are a number of others but this is just off the top of my head.
OH and I almost forgot,the BIG one....HUNDREDS of dollars less than Futaba. The Futabas are WAY WAY overpriced in my opinion, and I firmly believe the taranis offers all the same programming abilities as the Futaba with an number of additional features as listed above making it arguably BETTER than Futabas in my humble opinion.
OK, one argument I keep hearing from some Futaba owners as it relates to a phantom is you do not have to change the receiver in the phantom as you do have to do with the taranis...something that scared me at the beginning with my limited experience then, but with plenty of help here and now in retrospect, it really is a VERY simple task.
OK Futaba owners, if I have mis quoted or are wrong, here is your chance to offer a rebuttal. Please do not get me wrong. Although it may sound like it, I DID NOT MEAN FOR THIS TO BE A BASHING of Futaba as I know they are well proven to be a very fine programmable radio as well. But if there is something out there about the Futaba worthwhile that I have missed, I would really like to hear it. Heck, if it turns out to be THAT good, maybe I might even switch...