Quality of tx/rx

[Nada1]

Getting my first build underway and need a Transmitter and RX. I was just wondering how good the quality is on the DJI transmitter and RX, as I see them on e-bay new for $160. I know it seems to work fine on my phantom, but just wondering how it will stand up to others?

thanks

 

[ladykate]

The DR 16 and DT7 are pretty good but limited to 7 channels. Otherwise, almost everyone who has been around the block once respects them. You can't set any fancy bells and whistles or extras - they are a basic setup but the price is right.

They are cheaper if you order from China but not all that much.

There are some pretty good options if you want to go to an expandable tx/rx, control more than one model, set things like throttle curves, mix outputs using switches (e.g. a 'slow gimbal' setting and a 'normal' one) etc. Taranis, Spectrum, and others have good compatibility and a good following - but you probably won't beat the price of the DJI stuff. And, of course, my favorite for multi-rotors is Futaba. However, Futaba isn't as good for me in the RC plane area. I will probably move to Spectrum in the future (lots of reasons - mostly to do with that area and not multi-rotors).

One option that kinda escaped me for a while was the Devention 7 (Devo 7) which can be had for about $100 or less. The range is probably not as good as the DJI but the tx has a lot of features you can play with. I finally broke open the manual on mine and found a wealth of cool stuff. However, like the Futaba and others, the learning curve to control them the way you want is somewhat steep at first... and it is still just seven channels.

What is it you want to do? Putting a vanilla DJI on a 450 or something might not make the best sense since you probably want at least one more channel - but everyone has their own priorities.

 

[Nada1]

For my first build i m looking for easy......it seems many transmitters seem to be lacking 3 position switches, and many receivers lack the return to home....wanted to try the dx6i but no 3 position switch so now looking at the Turnigy 9x with either the orange r6-20 or the frsky d8r II receiver

 

[ladykate]

For my first build i m looking for easy......it seems many transmitters seem to be lacking 3 position switches, and many receivers lack the return to home....wanted to try the dx6i but no 3 position switch so now looking at the Turnigy 9x with either the orange r6-20 or the frsky d8r II receiver

I don't think the dx6i would be a good choice for a NAZA implementation. I would want at least seven channels - eight preferably. The dx6i is great for many RC airplanes but not for a complex multirotor like the Phantom.

RTH is a function of the NAZA. All receivers should be able to use that. Three position switches are a good thing, though. You need/want at least two.

In any case, using a cheaper tx to substitute for the standard DJI tx would probably not be money well spent. If you want a Park Flyer and a multirotor tx, then you might want to go big. I chose to get one of each.

 

[Nada1]

Ok, so give me some ideas/brands....very confusing on what works with what, and the more I look the more confused I get. I was told there are only a few rx's that will drop into return to home on loss of signal.....Like I said....newbee here, my only quad has been my phantom

 

[ladykate]

Ok, so give me some ideas/brands....very confusing on what works with what, and the more I look the more confused I get. I was told there are only a few rx's that will drop into return to home on loss of signal.....Like I said....newbee here, my only quad has been my phantom

The rx is not the thing that should 'drop into home' on loss of signal. The NAZA will do that. You have to program them sometimes (to defeat the built-in failsafe of the rx) and, in the case of Futaba and Phantom (not Futaba and non-Phantom) you don't have to program it - the NAZA figures it out and does the RTH in spite of the rx fixing the inputs.

Ones that work that I know for sure are Taranis (because OlPhotography uses it), Futaba (because I use it), Devention (Devo) 7 (because I have used it), DJI of course, and others. I suspect just about any of the better ones will work. You just want to get the channel control to the Phantom - the NAZA will interpret the inputs for you.

Really - I would go with the Futaba 8fg. There are tons of notes about them on this forum. You can get them to work easily and with proven results. If you just can't stomach the price tag, then get a Taranis. The learning curve is steep on all programming - seems the makers aren't into PC interfaces and help screens - but it can be done. The higher end Spectrum will also work.

Note that for many, you will have to replace the rx in the Phantom. The only known exception is when you use Futaba - it is already compatible with the Phantom rx.

 

[discv]

Recently been round the block on this Tx/Rx issue for my first build F450.

Like yourself, I wanted to focus on the build- I was looking for a cost effective and simple solution.
The answer for me was the DT7/DR16 combo. It works from the box, and the big plus is a good resale value as I progress.

It was a voyage of discovery though. At the time of writing:-
* There is no such thing as a DT7 Tx. You get a DJ6 v1.1.1. There are a couple of small differences- the DJ6 in the DT7 box has an external USB port, and oddly the red LED takes a few moments to come on.

* I can confirm that the Phantom version of the DJ6 does work with the DR16 Rx- but it cannot be sourced on it's own.
This is contrary to DJI blurb that the DR16 will only pair with a DT7 Tx.

Confused? :?

Let me speculate. I think that the DJI DEEST system is a figment of imagination. I think that the DR16 Rx is in fact FAAST.
If I am right- then the DR16 is Futaba compatible. Repeat- this is speculation.

Finally, China did not prove to be the best shopping site. In UK money, Helipal wanted £108 + shipping. I bought from local dealer and paid £89 shipped.

Good luck!

 

[ladykate]

Let me speculate. I think that the DJI DEEST system is a figment of imagination. I think that the DR16 Rx is in fact FAAST.
If I am right- then the DR16 is Futaba compatible. Repeat- this is speculation.

Not too speculative. The DR 16 is the rx in the A2 system. DJI says it is FASST compatible in that manual and probably does elsewhere but there is at least one positive reference.

This from the A2 manual, page 8:

The DR16 Receiver is compatible with the Futaba transmitters which have optional FASS MODE MULT,
MLT2 or 7CH. Users can find out more available Futaba transmitters and configuration requirements
refer to the FAQ->The Transmitter setup of FUTABA.

So... it is the rx in a $1400 control system. Can't be too bad.

You will have a robust but simple system if you go with the DR16 combo.

 

[discv]

"The DT7 remote controller is a wireless communication device using the 2.4GHz frequency band. It is only
compatible with the DR16 receiver. "

Above quoted from manual. Under any circumstance, a bit rich, since the DT7 does not exist.

 

[Nada1]

Do it sounds like the dra6 is possible, so how about the devo 10 and its receiver by comparison ?

 

[ladykate]

Do it sounds like the dra6 is possible, so how about the devo 10 and its receiver by comparison ?

Did you mean DR16 or ??

Devo 7 works with the 550. However, I didn't fly it much - changed to a Futaba for several reasons (extra channel, more features, etc). I'm currently using the Devo 7 on RC airplanes - works great. Devo 10 should work just as well.

However, there are some who dislike the Devo (not me) - if you look on the RC forums there are those who complain about range with them. I've flown RC airplanes out to 200-300 meters (a long way for an RC airplane with me at the stick and no FPV) and had no problems.

 

[Nada1]

yes, typo, I meant the 16, it seems the Devo 10 with the Walkers 350 pro is advertising a 2km range, not saying it will, just thats what they say

 

[ladykate]

yes, typo, I meant the 16, it seems the Devo 10 with the Walkers 350 pro is advertising a 2km range, not saying it will, just thats what they say

2km is not bad but not what many are getting with Futaba and (especially) the stock DJI ( or DR16 combo). However, it is WAAAAYY farther than I take any of mine. I would be happy with that if it was fairly accurate.

 

[Nada1]

Yea, I agree, thats around 6500'...no way am I going out that far...I know my phantom is not capable of that but it's on 5.8

 

[Nada1]

So is this the Taranis to order? seems like a good price. And what receiver do I pick of the two offered

http://www.readymaderc.com/store/index. ... ts_id=2987

 

[ladykate]

PM Ol Photography. He is a moderator here so you can find him at the top of this thread. He uses Taranis and seems to have good luck with it.

 

[OI Photography]

You would want the X8R receiver to use with the Phantom (it has S-Bus as well as telemetry options).

ReadymadeRC is a great vendor, but here's the same combo for a few dollars less (this is the place I bought mine from): http://www.alofthobbies.com/frsky-taran ... combo.html

Also, RaveCreative, who makes the great FPV monitor mount for the Phantom controller you'll find in the classifieds section here, is just about to release a model for the Taranis as well.

 

[Nada1]

Thanks for the info....this is going to be used on a F450 with naza, so my guess it it would still work fine, not being a phantom that is?

 

[OI Photography]

Thanks for the info....this is going to be used on a F450 with naza, so my guess it it would still work fine, not being a phantom that is?

You bet, I use it on my Phantom and my 550 with a Wookong and it's great. If you add more aircraft to your fleet in the future, you just need to put a new X8R on each and then you can run them all from one controller.

Once you get the Taranis, this page has a lot of great how-to vids starting at the beginner level (you can ignore all the ones about airplane controls and such): https://www.youtube.com/user/PagesFlyingCircus/videos

If you don't want to get into programming it right away, at least learn how to flash new ROM's to it, and you can use the one I've attached to this post, it's already setup with the common control scheme for a Phantom.

 

[Nada1]

Thanks, got the radio ordered.....downloaded the file, not sure what I am going to do with it.....but I got it....can't be that hard to figure out.