Any advice on a reliable radio system ???

[sanyijr]

Well, since everyone else is weighing in: I had beena Futaba guy since about 1985-ish. My first cars, then boats were all Futaba controlled. Then in the 90's nitro cars. Then 2000's my planes and gliders, all Futaba controlled. I started having issues with reception in land nitro cars, so i switched to Spectrum 2.4 system that is now on water. I have 100 hrs or so in my boats and happy to say zero glitches or issues.

If you have concerns about range, antenna penetration in hull or whatever- Come on... its SO easy to do a range check. Glider guys do it ALL the time! Walk out 200 feet along the shore or whatever and do your due diligence, but there is no excuse to have preventable issues like poor reception or interference. (that is not to say they are all preventable)

But anyways, my vote is Spectrum or Futaba 2.4 ghz. The few cheapoze i have had were very temporary.

[Punisher 67]

Maybe your Flysky transmitter is having some issues - we have two in our boating group and the range is very good , well past the 500 foot mark . But I have to agree with some of the guys here on cutting corners with cheap radios . my high $$$$$ boats all use the Futaba Fasst system . not a single glitch in the 4 years I have been using mine but yes very pricey .

[NativePaul]

When I first got my AQ Rio EP last May, I had one TH rx in my Stampede and put the other one in the Rio. That thing would not get very far from shore and just go stupid (even on fresh batts), so that wasn't the issue. When I found out how popular the Tactic TTX-240 is here on OSE, I listed mine and it sold in a few hours.

Personally I would not have sold on a radio that I was having issues with, especially not here! I would have sent it back, binned it, or if I was REALLY desperate for money, maybe Ebayed it stating that it works fine on land but not on water and let a car guy take his chances with it in the rain.

[NativePaul]

Billy, from post 34 I took the "Tower Hobbies copy of the Tactic TTX-240" system in the first paragraph and the "Tactic TTX-240" in the second paragraph to be the same unit, for what its worth it still reads like that to me as if it is long I (and others) will only use the full name for something once and then shorten it thereafter, your point 1 in post 36 got me confused about whether what I was thinking was correct so I checked your post history and found it not to be, the radio you are talking about to be an unused (real) tactic TTX-240, I thought you had sold the TH copy you had troubles with and had no idea that you even had a real one. I did read your whole post, but I took the wrong information from it, sorry.

Nothing gives me the right to lambaste you, which is why I did not. There are no derogatory comments about you, or any comments at all about you for that matter. I merely stated what I would have done with a radio I was having issues with.

[millzee]

I have 2 dx3s's, the earlier model that come with my losi XXL and the newer marine capable version that I bought when I got into boats. They are a great radio system and very simple to use. I've only ever had one issue and it was a faulty mr3000 rx that horizon hobbies (ozzie distributor) replaced promptly with excellent service. I now have 7 rc models running off the one TX and it's made my rc experience a hassle free time, means more time for driving.

[silvermansteve]

billy, don't give up posting here! because you are a treasure. by the way, in certain jurisdictions it's illegal to record calls without the other party's knowledge! but i have no idea whatsoever about your situation, of course. again, no idea whatsoever. anyway, i hope you never get banned.

[gsbuickman]

Oh wow, please no jerry springer here at OSE he he he he he he he. To get back on track i did not specifically buy a fs-gt3b for my boats. I bought it to save money on batteries for all my land vehicles. I used to have 10 radio's for different rig's. That's 80 batteries total, i said piss on that.

So i bought a flysky, rechargeable batt's and a pile o' rx's. I thought it was convenient when it was suppose to work for boats too. Turns out the fs was junk, right outta the box. Not only did the range suck on land and water, the expo & endpoint adjustments didn't even work on that pos. Apparently they have faulty programming from the factory and need to be flashed.

I sold the rx's locally and gave the radio away. I picked up a spekky radio as well as a Tactic TTX-240 w/ multiple rx's, and they work without issue. Now a nice 3 channel futaba with a flysky module in it, that would probably be a sweet deal ?. i also like the synthesized fm radios as well. Multiple channels and model memory without crystals.

How about a JR radio with a flysky module in it ?, wouldn't that basically be a spekky radio that runs fs receivers ?. After all a lot of spekky radios, and JR radios come from the same factory.

Thought that would be something interesting to think about. I think I'll have to grab an R/C and go play in the white stuff outside !!.

[jamie]

Flysky all the way BUT run the Antenna outside the boat about 3/4 inches.
For me they delivered better range than Spectrum (with marine reciever) & Tactic.
Ran my boat across a lake to my friend over 250 meters away once, then turned it around and drove it back to me .... I made sure the signal cutout worked before thou lol.
I have these radios in 2 separate boats and they both work great.

[cuppa]

I don't have any answers to the issues cited in this thread but have had issues with 2.4GHZ radios. Intermittent loss of range was what i experienced and I am pretty sure it was due to water (In the form of spray/rooster tail) getting in between the transmitter and receiver and forming a 'screen'.

Must admit I got frustrated with this and went back in time a little by swapping my 2.4GHZ system for a 40MHZ one. True I need to use crystals again now but I have not had any radio issues since doing this.

Way back when before 2.4GHZ appeared I used to race IC boats and can honestly say that I never had an issue with 40MHZ and was surprised to have issues with my new 2.4GHZ system.

I may get shot down in flames for saying this but to me it seems that 2.4GHZ in marine applications has the feel of needing further development.

On the other hand there seem to be many 2.4GHZ users who are perfectly happy with their systems............So maybe i should try again but it is now a confidence thing with me.

[sailr]

What brand radio did you have the range issues with? I know the early Spektrum radios were terrible in that regard and I had trouble with range with the cheap Chinese radios out there right now. I never had an issue with Airtronics or Futaba 2.4ghz radios.

I don't have any answers to the issues cited in this thread but have had issues with 2.4GHZ radios. Intermittent loss of range was what i experienced and I am pretty sure it was due to water (In the form of spray/rooster tail) getting in between the transmitter and receiver and forming a 'screen'.

Must admit I got frustrated with this and went back in time a little by swapping my 2.4GHZ system for a 40MHZ one. True I need to use crystals again now but I have not had any radio issues since doing this.

Way back when before 2.4GHZ appeared I used to race IC boats and can honestly say that I never had an issue with 40MHZ and was surprised to have issues with my new 2.4GHZ system.

I may get shot down in flames for saying this but to me it seems that 2.4GHZ in marine applications has the feel of needing further development.

On the other hand there seem to be many 2.4GHZ users who are perfectly happy with their systems............So maybe i should try again but it is now a confidence thing with me.

[Punisher 67]

I have to second that one Jim with the Futaba 2.4's

[gsbuickman]

I have heard there is a trend going on with a lot of rc boaters and land vehicle owners. Apparently there are studies going on, and they are finding out people are getting tired of 2.4 ghz issues over and under water. I guess even traxxas has pulled their recommendation for the reliability of their 2.4 in relation to water. A lot of this applies to the Summit and being able to drive it under water I guess.

These people are going back to high power Am and Fm systems, cause their based on radio wave principle and not the line of sight principle.

Has anybody read these studies ?. I guess my pal was reading up on all of them online.

[cuppa]

What brand radio did you have the range issues with? I know the early Spektrum radios were terrible in that regard and I had trouble with range with the cheap Chinese radios out there right now. I never had an issue with Airtronics or Futaba 2.4ghz radios.

It was a cheap Chinese set that came highly recommended. I never had a problem with it running slow model boats but as soon as spray was involved problems occurred. It was not a range issue as such (the range was fine in a slow model) - more of an apparent issue if water in the form of spray was in between the TX and RX.

For the time being i am going to stick to 40mhz. Just a personal thing but my confidence in the technology has taken a knock and I don't feel at ease running fast boats unless I have total confidence in the control system.

Here is a link to website (no connection to me) that has a review of a mid-range 2.4ghz system: http://www.fastelectrics.net/futaba-3gr-24ghz.php
I was thinking of replacing the cheap Chinese set with a more 'upmarket' system but having read that and some other comments on other sites and after my experience with my cheap set I made the decision to return to 40mhz. Perhaps i am a little behind the times but historically I have never had a problem with 40mhz and so i just have more confidence.

Cheers
Jon

[gsbuickman]

Hey Billy, your funny, I am gonna sell you to readers digest, I hear they pay good money for funny things. This forum is for r/c boaters, therefore I'll use the cash and buy a new hydro. As of right now, I got 6 boats and a rescue rig. Check my profile pics and threads and get up to date.

Yeah I already know about those sites. I have them bookmarked for the niece's, nephew's and grandmonsters. You did forget nickelodeon and pbs kids.

Since I started this thread, and it's on reliable radio systems, I am picking up a new one. I am buying a new futaba super 3PK with a corona dsss module and multiple rx's. it will compliment my Tactic TTX-240 and my Spekky as well. I ran my sportwerks turmoil pro today, until it was outta sight for a range test on the tactic. It worked flawlessly.

[Rumdog]

Hahahahahhaha! ^^ this guy is my new favorite!

[Howard]

My tactic that came with the UL-1 has worked great so far