transmitter decision

[kaiser]

hobbywing is one thing, they make alot of esc's for the oems. (which really makes hobbywing the true oem i guess).
i love hobbywing, and turnigy for that matter.

[abailey21]

Told you I'd find someone to flame me....

So sure, my ratio's might be slightly altered (I was told there'd be no math!!!)

But here's my first hand experiences....

First Flysky radio display never worked from the first time I turned it on. Obtained an RMA to send it back, mailed it off with tracking and saw that it was delivered (I forget the name) but saw who signed for it. They claim they never received it. Bought a second one that I snapped the wheel off while turning on my second race day with it. Didn't bother to try and get it fixed.

Went to Hobby King and picked up 8 EZ-Run combo's for my various cars (all 13.5)

2 motors came without sensor boards, 1 had a bad sensor out of the gate, 1 had a chunk of rotor missing (chipped off)
1 ESC never powered on, 1 ESC had the red wire on NEG and Black on POS, obviously you know the result of that.

First and last time I'll buy the knock off crap, my argument is that there is ZERO quality control on that stuff.

I've never had any of these issues with any LRP, Novak, Tekin and hell even Speed Passion when I was helping develop their systems

Thanks for the mid-range suggestions, guys. I'll check into the Sanwa MT-4. My argument above was with regards to the claim that the FlySkys and EZRuns are crap and defective/failing all the time (at a 10:1 failed:good ratio, which is ridiculous). That's simply untrue. No doubt the "feel" with the FlySkys is lacking compared to the big brands, and I mentioned that a couple times already.

[Lonestar]

holy cow what a string of bad luck

sorry to hear...

Told you I'd find someone to flame me....

So sure, my ratio's might be slightly altered (I was told there'd be no math!!!)

But here's my first hand experiences....

First Flysky radio display never worked from the first time I turned it on. Obtained an RMA to send it back, mailed it off with tracking and saw that it was delivered (I forget the name) but saw who signed for it. They claim they never received it. Bought a second one that I snapped the wheel off while turning on my second race day with it. Didn't bother to try and get it fixed.

Went to Hobby King and picked up 8 EZ-Run combo's for my various cars (all 13.5)

2 motors came without sensor boards, 1 had a bad sensor out of the gate, 1 had a chunk of rotor missing (chipped off)
1 ESC never powered on, 1 ESC had the red wire on NEG and Black on POS, obviously you know the result of that.

First and last time I'll buy the knock off crap, my argument is that there is ZERO quality control on that stuff.

I've never had any of these issues with any LRP, Novak, Tekin and hell even Speed Passion when I was helping develop their systems

Thanks for the mid-range suggestions, guys. I'll check into the Sanwa MT-4. My argument above was with regards to the claim that the FlySkys and EZRuns are crap and defective/failing all the time (at a 10:1 failed:good ratio, which is ridiculous). That's simply untrue. No doubt the "feel" with the FlySkys is lacking compared to the big brands, and I mentioned that a couple times already.

[Coelacanth]

No kidding, that's quite a spot of bad luck. I'd probably have the same opinion if I encountered all of those issues...but if that were the norm, you'd see a lot more negative feedback from those sellers on eBay, who sell hundreds of the items with routinely 99%+ positive feedback and thousands of sales of items. I doubt anybody would be recommending FlySky/HobbyWing/EZRun/Tacon/Leopard electronics if everyone had that extent of bad experiences with them....

[abailey21]

No kidding, that's quite a spot of bad luck. I'd probably have the same opinion if I encountered all of those issues...but if that were the norm, you'd see a lot more negative feedback from those sellers on eBay, who sell hundreds of the items with routinely 99%+ positive feedback and thousands of sales of items. I doubt anybody would be recommending FlySky/HobbyWing/EZRun/Tacon/Leopard electronics if everyone had that extent of bad experiences with them....

You make an interesting point there. I would think if I bought a (insert EZRun/Tacon whatever system in here) from X seller on ebay and I had the same experience I wouldn't have left the seller negative feedback on the premise that I bought the equipment new and not used. Just like if I bought a Tekin system from A Main, I wouldn't leave A Main a bad review, I'd contact Tekin.

That might be why you don't see as much negative feedback on the products. It's not the sellers fault he sold an item with a manufacturer defect

I'm just using general examples of course.

[joshco84]

I will be racing, so sounds like i will be getting a futuba 3pl for a starter system.

I will however be getting the hobbyking xcar esc and turnigy trackstar 17.5t motor. have heard zero complaints and nothing but rave reviews about how good they run.

[Lonestar]

3PL is perfect as a budget racing radio too

I also race a trackstar 8.5 in my xb4 and it does the job more than fine! And although I've never cabled it I have a xcar 120A as one of my many backups I also tried the trackstar turbo (genI) and it worked wonderfully for the price. Net, never had an issue with hobbyking electronics so far (including servos too). Knocking on wood...

Pauk

[kaiser]

i'll be trying out a turnigy trackstar turbo 120amp and trackstar 17.5 tonight. i'll report back on them in the morning.

3pl is a great choice. dead nuts reliable.

[joshco84]

i'll be trying out a turnigy trackstar turbo 120amp and trackstar 17.5 tonight. i'll report back on them in the morning.

3pl is a great choice. dead nuts reliable.

That is great, let me know how it runs!

[Coelacanth]

No kidding, that's quite a spot of bad luck. I'd probably have the same opinion if I encountered all of those issues...but if that were the norm, you'd see a lot more negative feedback from those sellers on eBay, who sell hundreds of the items with routinely 99%+ positive feedback and thousands of sales of items. I doubt anybody would be recommending FlySky/HobbyWing/EZRun/Tacon/Leopard electronics if everyone had that extent of bad experiences with them....

That might be why you don't see as much negative feedback on the products. It's not the sellers fault he sold an item with a manufacturer defect

That's also a good point.

I checked out some of the transmitters already suggested. Over $175 (plus a very unfavorable CAD-to-USD exchange rate at 1.27+ presently) for a single radio is out-of-the-question, let alone the ones that are north of $250. I'd have to be a SERIOUS racer to even remotely consider one of those. I'd have to sell a car or two just to fund the transmitter!

I checked out the Futaba 3PL, I like the specs on that unit...pretty comparable to the GT3B; 10-model memory, adjustable endpoints, etc...it's about triple the price, but I might be able to find one cheap.

[kaiser]

for $115 usd the 3pl is tough to beat.

i'm not the most serious racer but i don't have a problem with the $250.00 4pls.
it's got a much bigger model memory (which is great when like me you have 20+ cars ready to go) all the fine adjustments are a bonus.
but like i said i keep buying cars with the $$ i save for the 4pls. lol
the $500 4pks, now that's out of my range.

is $250 really too much? i mean how much is spent on all the cars that it can control? say you mate 20 cars that the average price totals 4K then 250 doesn't seem so bad.
my .02

[Coelacanth]

I only expect to have about a half-dozen cars so more than a 10-model memory is overkill. All I really need for special features is adjustable endpoints and accurate servo centering. All that funky stuff like exponential/variable rate rotation is something only racers would use. $250 really is a lot of dough when you've already spent a whack of money on LiPos, ESCs, brushless motors...not to mention the parts to fix up the cars. I've driven some of my cars with the GT3B and for a $40 radio, I've had no issues and was very pleased with the features. Sure, there's a big difference in quality, even when comparing to a vintage Futaba Magnum Junior transmitter...but for the budget-minded, you can't go wrong, really...

[Lonestar]

you're missing the point it's not about the adjustments, it's about the quality of the signal, which make you feel like YOU are driving the car, instead of partly you, partly some eerie entity floating in the air around you. Yes, that's what driving a flysky radio feels like vs. driving a proper brand radio. As soon as you try it, you will know what I'm talking about!

So if you have $70 in your wallet, you can either spend them on a perfect-on-paper GT3B with 10 model memory but that feels you're driving the car through some weird cottonized cloud, or buy a less adjustable, old-school brand-name FM radio which will have less adjustments but help you feel like you're actually driving the car via a "direct" link. If you want both 2.4GHz, 10-model memory, adjustability, AND the right driving feel, this will set you back $150+, and in this case the Mt4 is the best value for money on the market atm.

Applies to racers (who usually have it figured out pretty quick) and bashers (this is a bit more of a journey ) alike in the end

Note that the same discussion also applies to servos. when one drops in heaps of cash and time to put a runner together (be it multicolored alloy or not ), it always pains me to see the steering duties handled by a 148

Best
Paul

[GoMachV]

Note that the same discussion also applies to servos. when one drops in heaps of cash and time to put a runner together (be it multicolored alloy or not ), it always pains me to see the steering duties handled by a 148

Best
Paul

Sometimes I go crazy and use a S3004

[Lonestar]

Note that the same discussion also applies to servos. when one drops in heaps of cash and time to put a runner together (be it multicolored alloy or not ), it always pains me to see the steering duties handled by a 148

Best
Paul

Sometimes I go crazy and use a S3004

now, you ARE crazy for sure

(I mean, c'mon guys... we're all spending crazy dollar in this obsess... sorry, hobby of ours, typically on insignificant details ... skimping on the key performance elements such as servos, radios, tires, how much more nonsensical than this can we get )