Radios for beginners

Radios for beginners

I'm just getting into the hobby. Have flown real planes and am starting on a cheap Esky simulator. I'm thinking of getting the Phoenix flight simulator and an electric powered glider (a PNP or ARF setup).
I was just wondering about radio transmitters. I live in a rural area of Idaho and don't have to worry about mixing signals and interference from other fliers as I will not be doing 'park flying". So, is that why they went to 2.4GHz? Or do those radios have more range than a 72MHz?
I'm just looking for a reliable radio that can fly both helis and aircraft and has good range. Any recommendations? There are some good deals on Ebay for JR, Futaba radios in 72mhz. Should I get one or are the 2.4's better all the way around?

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Radios for beginners

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Dec 19, 2009

Re: Radios for beginners
by: Pete

Hi - if you're in the market for a new radio system then I'd recommend getting a 2.4GHz set. The signal is stronger and safer; even though you're not flying with others or near a club, MHz systems can still encounter interference issues now and again. 2.4gig isn't 100% perfect of course, but it's much better.

I have the Spektrum DX6i and it's a very nice set, I can recommend that one. Futaba stuff is good also but if you have a Spektrum Tx then you will have the option of the ParkZone and E-flite Bind-N-Fly models, as well as Plug-N-Play.

The Spektrum DX7 is more serious if you have a bigger budget, while the DX5e is basic and doesn't have multi-model memory. I wouldn't recommend that one simply because of that.

Dec 20, 2009

Choice of radios
by: Mark

Depends on how much money you want to spend, the 2.4 gig radios are nice but pricey. The 72 meg radios are abundant reasonably priced and have a range of one mile (you will lose sight of your bird way before that!) so range is not an issue!

Interference is rare and if you are in a rural
area should not be a problem - the 72 meg FM radio
has been in use for many years now ( I have a buddy who lives in a rural area and STILL uses a AM radio (real old stuff!). So an FM radio would be a good training radio and if you want to get deeper into it later then it would be advisable
to go to the new technology.
As far as a simulator goes I used a Realflight G3 and I was very pleased with it and I've seen these on e-bay cheap - hope this helps.

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