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May 02
2008
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The 2.4Ghz conundrumPosted by 0 in helicopters, 2.4Ghz radios   |
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2.4Ghz Spread Spektrum radios are definite improvement over 72Mhz FM radios. Worries about someone else turning on the radio on the same frequency and "shooting down" your helicopter are gone.
However, we soon forget about the bad old days of having to put up a peg with your frequency on the board at the local flying field. Now we have to deal with the decision as to which of the three main systems that are available on the market today, namely
Futaba FAAST
XPS
On paper they all have their respective advantages, some more than others, that is the theory. The reality is, if you read the various online forums they all seem to have their failings and indeed failures.
I already own a JR XP9303 radio which is Spektrum technology, a JR X9303 with a XPS module and now I am seriously considering a Futaba 12Z radio with their FAAST technology, which on paper seem to have a lot of advantages over Spektrum.
The reason to own the 12Z is for the extra flexibility over the 9303 which I will use on my Aistar JetCopter (see previous article on seeting up the JetCopter with the 9303 radio.
XPS according to their website is also a strong system, but if you read the forum on RC Groups you could be lead to beleive that it does not work as advertised.
To date I have not had any lock outs on the XPS system, but I did experience a lockout on the JR XP9303 Spektrum system that the crash of a Raptor 90. We will see what my experience will be with FAAST when I buy the 12z.
Rightly or wrongly we now expect a 100% bullet proof system. We may already be near that, but I suspect that a majority of lockouts with 2.4Ghz systems are owing to failing elsewhere in the ever more complex helicopters (batteries, regulators, switches etc.)
I guess time will tell.
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