Radio discussion

I never had a problem with the FM radios at all until someone turned theirs on that was on the same frequency as mine, or left it on at a race etc etc.
The fact that people can take their radios back to their tent and play with them if they want and not affect anyone else sold me.
I would never go back!!

idk what EVERY post was so excuse if im re-stating the obvious
ALL read ALL elctronics is made in china. the factory making futaba makes a dozen other radios. i think spectrum and airtronics etc. is same story. all using whatever components are the best quality/per$ for the time frame they do their sourcing of chips/parts.
there has been an issue with rolling shut downs of factories making chips so the last 2 years has created chaos
its a crap shoot ,google ,read reviews and go for whatever suits ur needs,,dont over spend its ALL trash (compaired to the days of made in japan electronics)
finally -i know these things because i work in electronics repairs,,,,the faulty fone,laptop,tablet screens/parts rate is been really bad for a year or so . factories that shut down re-open with new staff and the teething proccess starts again,,,crazy.
big companies like apple,samsung, and car companies get the stuff they want cause they send people to the factories to stand there n watch em make ****

Tom Foley said:

But there are no problems with all the new fly by wire controls in cars or full size boats so new tech is always better right ??!! 5G lol !!! I have both species FM and 2.4 but still . Hey some people actually don't like beer , imagine that ?

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I'm not a fan of some of the, as you call it, "fly by wire" stuff. It teaches those that start to depend on it to be lazy in their paying attention to what's going on around them. I wonder how much of that is why there's so many traffic accidents?
BEER? What's that? I haven't drank any of that since 1996 BY CHOICE!!! Just came to the realization one day that I couldn't drink it any more and that was it. Wasn't an alcoholic or anything, just couldn't drink it. Does that make me a bad person or just strange?

Wasted wages said:

You know, I never had a radio sent out for tuning...ever. Everything from box wheels to Magnum PCM 1024 radios...switched crystals at will, staying with in 2 channels up or down. Never had issues.

Again, my deal is being forced to switch from a known good working platform, "just because"....

Speaking of 5G...guess what ?
if you have been on a 4G LTE cell phone, you are going to be forced away from that technology very soon. 2G, 3G, 4G are being done away with.. many alarm companies, automobile manufacturers are all scrambling to figure out what to do now..

You know, I really don't need to know what my coffee maker or refrigerator is doing at home,,, some new technology is just stupid and unnecessary..and clutters up the airwaves..

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Had to buy new phones for the wife and I recently. The 3G phones we had worked fine, that is until the repeaters in the buildings where I work were updated. 4G still worked but anything less was unable to be used inside the buildings. The wife was told she had to be able to use specific apps for her job and the 3G wasn't capable of running them. Figured it was best to move up to 5G so, $900 later...................

longballlumber said:

To be clear, I have No issues with the use of FM radios.
Out of curiosity though, those that still use FM crystal based radios, when was the last time you sent the radio out to be “tuned” in? It’s my understanding they can and will de-tune over time loosing valuable range/performance. Additionally, I was always taught they were tuned on the specific crystal frequency they were sold with and you weren’t advised to stray away from that frequency more than one (maybe 2) channels. Otherwise you would be affecting radio performance. Heck I remember the days of transmittres being sent out to get “gold sticker” certifie.

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Wasn't that back in 1991 or 1992, due to the FCC forcing the R/C community to go "narrow band"? I still have two radios that are wide band that I can't use due to the fact they used a 160KHz bandwidth instead of the 80KHz that was phased in during that time frame

Grimracer said:

but. you would not race it....... ?

Grim

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Good response my friend , and i take your point as it is a valid one, but even though i used even AM gear in smaller race boats well into the early 2000s, AM systems were historically prone to glitches, interference, etc, and yes even the best radios in the world.......FUTABA had the issues.....when FM and PCM system's came on the market there was a huge reduction in those events.......i.e. better equipment AND we weren't being FORCED to use them by making AM obsolete for years! There are still a number of folks who race Twins, Scale boats, and faster high dollar race boats with FM/PCM because the FM/PCM gear they STILL use, myself included are pitching a fit because it has been so DEPENDABLE! I am not anti DSM or anti FUTABA in the least as i use BOTH, but its nice to have the choice and not make our older systems that work just fine......obsolete. And i hate to say this but id betcha that there will be a small number of racers already on a very tight budget that will call it a day in a hobby that that numbers are already dwindling because of the cost of replacing their radio gear.........especially in the messed up times we are living in at present. I am aware that im slowly becoming something of an old geezer though as i do find myself becoming more and more resistant
to change! Its a human thing........you still got that old Rambler/ AMC muscle car? What if the Government said you cant play with it anymore? hmmmmmm i know id be pissed. I find it is always a pleasure to have discussions like this with you Grim.........!

Hydro Junkie said:

Wasn't that back in 1991 or 1992, due to the FCC forcing the R/C community to go "narrow band"? I still have two radios that are wide band that I can't use due to the fact they used a 160KHz bandwidth instead of the 80KHz that was phased in during that time frame

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Going to narrow band opened up a TON of new frequencies for all modelers...it was a HUGE improvement to all forms of R/C..........! It was a good thing to be sure.

Not saying if it was good or bad, Bill. IIRC(after all, we are talking 30+ years ago) all existing radios had to be "gold stickered" to show it was updated or be one of certain new models to be legal to use. My Futaba Conquest four channel was a legal system on 72.160MHz, then the updated rule made it illegal. By the time I got the cash to get it updated, there were no factory parts available to do so. I still have it and may see about getting it updated with 2.4GHz guts, some day. In the meantime, I have a 75MHz Futaba 9C that I need to get a new module for, that is if they are still available, to use for aircraft

Hydro Junkie said:

I'm not a fan of some of the, as you call it, "fly by wire" stuff. It teaches those that start to depend on it to be lazy in their paying attention to what's going on around them. I wonder how much of that is why there's so many traffic accidents?
BEER? What's that? I haven't drank any of that since 1996 BY CHOICE!!! Just came to the realization one day that I couldn't drink it any more and that was it. Wasn't an alcoholic or anything, just couldn't drink it. Does that make me a bad person or just strange?

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It was a joke .... whatever works Mark , just a joke ....

Bill Gibson said:

Going to narrow band opened up a TON of new frequencies for all modelers...it was a HUGE improvement to all forms of R/C..........! It was a good thing to be sure.

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1991 Gold sticker . Still have 2 good Futaba G series radios that function perfectly . They need batteries so I don't use them .

The question was. (see below)
He had made the decision to go to 2.4g and laid out his argument quite well
He understands the cost and wants his best option
He is asking what others are using (all brands).. no Amazon Junk


"OK... let me start by saying it really bothers me to even have to make this post, but being that NAMBA is going to DSM and I'm sure IMPBA will soon be following suite,,, it's just a matter of time until crystal radios will no longer be legal to race with.

I still think that crystal radios work fine, and I will continue to use mine for as long as possible.
But I also feel like it's not safe or fair to others when we all spend big money on our boats to race, and a radio failure or interference could wipe out another person's boat.

So, time has come for me to get some new radio gear. Typically, I wouldn't even question it and go straight to Futaba.

But, I would like to hear some other points of view on what others are using...I'm not interested in telemetry or all the bells and whistles, 7 channels, stick radios, etc.
4 channels tops... No Amazon garbage.

So what's everyone using for DSM ?"

Then back to the off track part of this thread, Bill, there WAS a reason you (me too) switched out of 27 band (truth is they too are quite reliable)..

Then trucker Dan ques up his 100W mic.. WHAM!

I also have a reason to switch to 2.4.. To me the "Tool Box" use of the radio AND.. eliminating me from a "impound" were the largest sellers. It had NOTHING to do with performance... at first... (I am far from A Team material). Now.. with surface mount parts, new designed, new programing methods.. Model copy, and ON AND ON.. its just progression.

My SC/Rambler WAS a factory "A" class drag car. And for it times changed too.... (trust me I AM A HOLD OUT, LOL. If Nitro RC boat racing goes away then so do I.. have no interest in racing FE or Gas.. (that's just me.. its OK... I am OK with it!).. I don't (wont) fly electric airplanes but do fly scale electric helicopters.. (Go figure!) It has to meet the utility to me.

None the less.. it looks like the time has come, and NAMBA breaks the ice.. ya all saw the righting on the wall.. it was coming.. we have had 15+ years to make an adjustment. Funny.. what most of us have bought in boats and fuel or battery's.. we could have bought that new radio over a few times!

Not saying right or wrong.. just factual!

I then.. really get a kick out of the radio part of RC boat racing. I like learning new systems and man.. the first time you get your hands on a "good" system and drive it.. its like that new car smell.. its pride, its performance, its AWESOME!.. then it comes back and tells ya how fast you were in that heat.. how far out you were on the course.. or how hot stuff got.. HARD NIPPLES! (I like to capture data in my hobbies.. I do in Golf too!)

Party on!

Grim

Guilty as charged for off topic rambling . I will be using the 3 PK with module 2.4 platform . Yes I know it's old but I like it .

The 3PK is (was) an AWESOME radio.. When the 3PK came out I was driving for Airtronics.. VERY comparable. Both SOLID! Loved em!

I remember the first time I drove a 4PK.. it was like WHOW.. (say it like Lando Calrissian) .....what have we here!...

Grim

Tom Foley said:

It was a joke .... whatever works Mark , just a joke ....

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It's all good, Tom. I wasn't sure if you were joking or serious so I tried to go for the middle ground.
That said, I know people that can't go an evening without a beer(or something harder) before heading for home after work. Not saying they are right or wrong in that, that's just how they roll.

Apologies to Frank and Grim.........no offense was intended on my part. Lively debate is healthy, but i shouldnt have used Franks topic to express my feelings on a sore subject for me, and i was wrong for doing that.......very sorry!

Wasted wages said:

OK... let me start by saying it really bothers me to even have to make this post, but being that NAMBA is going to DSM and I'm sure IMPBA will soon be following suite,,, it's just a matter of time until crystal radios will no longer be legal

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Wasted wages said:

to race with.

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Just because NAMBA has initiated this rule doesn’t mean IMPBA will. I can tell you, there has been zero discussion at the IMPBA board level regarding making 2.4 mandatory for racing.

Could it happen? It certainly could and to be honest, I hope it does.
I see this as a safety issue. Modern 2.4 is safer than old school crystals.
The 2.4 radio rule also stops two buddies from entering the same class on their same channel crystals so that they don’t have to race against each other. (Which in my opinion is poor sportsmanship).

Good for you NAMBA, forcing the 1 or 2 percent of racers to get with the times and make racing safer.

Hydro Junkie said:

It's all good, Tom. I wasn't sure if you were joking or serious so I tried to go for the middle ground.
That said, I know people that can't go an evening without a beer(or something harder) before heading for home after work. Not saying they are right or wrong in that, that's just how they roll.

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Hardly ever serious abut things like this . Guys know I like beer and thats ok .

Bill Gibson said:

Apologies to Frank and Grim.........no offense was intended on my part. Lively debate is healthy, but i shouldnt have used Franks topic to express my feelings on a sore subject for me, and i was wrong for doing that.......very sorry!

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Lighten up guys!!
No bad feelings, I enjoy all parts of a lively debate...We always seem to get it back on track!!

I actually have a new Futaba 3Psomething...
I bought it here on IW, just on a whim..

Feels cheap in the hand compared to the older radios, I played with it on the bench trying to figure out how the third channel works to run a needle valve proportionally, and then put all back in the box.

I guess it would be ok for a two channel gas boat...not sure I like the arrangement of the buttons for the third channel, I really like the knob on my current radios...

Frank, let me know what that number is and I will see if i can help.

Grim