Hi all , jumping right in

[bigholty]

Hi there the names Ian , new to flying but very keen to learn the basics up to the final build , im looking at the TBS Discovery ARTF kit , what are your views on this kit.
Also the transmitters whats the main reason to have so many channels , some ive looked at have 12 channels ?? is it for switching extra parts on /off or is it for control of the gps system etc , as im a beginner ( my limited flying skills are down to the hubsan x4 ) im wanting to be ale to fly with full fpv system in the future ,but for now a basic quad ( i really only want to build one good one and upgrade parts as i progress and brake them ) , the prices seem to differ massively from £60.00 to more than £500 for a good controller and receiver , on my hpi baja rc car i use the futuba 3pl system , which is an excellent controller , its never glitched on me the range for a surface controller is 500 over meters or until i cant see the car any more ....ive never gone out of range with it yet !!
SO with an ARTF kit whats your thinking behind what you use and what i should buy , bearing in mind its probably going to get ground rash on it few times lol .
i have a budget of around £500.00 to build my own quad ,( excluding the controller and receiver ) its just knowing what to get and buy it once , not buy this thinking i wish id bought that etc ...for an example my HPI 1/5th scale 26cc baja i bought not knowing that much about the problems these cars come with , i very quickly found out what they were , but buying upgrades soon became a minefield , but i joined a forum and all my questions where answered and hopefully like this forum it info wasn't with bias towards a singular manufacturer..
So please be gentle and with out insulting anyone please say it english lol not abbreviations although i know what fpv,gps and RTH is so far , the rest im learning lol and theres lot of em
thanks people .
Ian

 

[bigholty]

lol having just read the very next thread , its seems to have answered nearly every thing i wanted to know ...apart from is the TBS airframe a good option to start with ??

 

[Motopreserve]

People seem to love the TBS products. There are a ton of successful builds with them. The key will be determining whether you want to buy something almost complete (as you've mentioned) or want to dive in the deep end and build it yourself. We should invent this acronym - NNRTF - nowhere NEAR ready to fly! . It saves money but of course takes more time and research.

As as far as a transmitter - you will want one with at least 6 channels (maybe more) for eventual FPV/AP flying. The first 4 channels control your stick signals , the rest are for flight modes, camera control etc. so if you want to buy once, don't skimp on this.

Good luck!

 

[PeteDee]

Whatever you do don't buy a six channel radio, in the end you will have to buy again and that is never good. If the only premium component you buy is you radio you will have a good experience.

What to look for in a radio.

1. Minimum 8 channels.
2. Minimum two 3 position switches, more is may be better but mostly not required.
3. Minimum 1 slider or rotary control.
4. Ability to change what channel and what switch is used for whatever you want it to be used for.
5. Some mixing ability, most computer based radios are pretty good these days.

Some radios can be upgraded later, if you are comfortable doing this and have done your research before buying and are confident you will end up with the above if mods are needed then go for it.

I am currently using a Spektrum DX18 mostly for my heli's and planes and a Futaba 14SG, mostly for my MR's and FPVing. There are cheaper options that are very well specified such as the FrSky Taranis and if you are on a very tight budget then the Hobby King/Turnigy 9XR is okay as long as you are prepared to tinker.

Cheers

Pete