What makes a radio "Ideal"?

[Hydro Junkie]

I know this may be opening up a can of worms but, after being accused of giving bad info and buying a "less than ideal" radio, it has me curious.

To get to the point, I have told people that, when it comes to buying a radio, buy the best you can afford that meets or, preferably, exceeds your minimum needs. If that means buying an FHSS system rather than a FASST, so be it since they're just as good. This is based on what I read about the Futaba FHSS when they first came out, that they were developed as a less expensive option for those on a budget. I was recently informed that I AM WRONG TO SAY THIS and that I'm giving out bad information. I was also informed that I bought a "less than ideal" radio when I bought a Futaba 4PLS telemetry system rather than a more expensive FASST system.

What has me confused about this is that all radios work the same, be it an R/C system or an airborne communication system on a military jet. The simplified basics are:

1) Transmitter broadcasts a continuous RF carrier wave while in transmit mode. In the case of R/C, the transmitter is in transmit mode upon being turned on

2) Operator input(audio, video or mechanical) modulates the carrier wave's height(AM) or frequency(FM), encoding the carrier with the desired information

3) The modulated carrier is then picked up by the receiver which filters out the carrier wave and decodes the modulation

4) The receiver converts the decoded information into a usable output(audio, video or mechanical)

To go one step further on this, the only real difference between the older AM, FM, FM/PCM and the new 2.4 transmitters is that the 2.4 carrier wave bounces around the band where the older systems didn't. This means that the 2.4 receiver is scanning the bandwidth, looking for a specific transmitter's ID before reacting to a received signal. Since this is the case with all of the 2.4 systems, how can the FASST system be better or "more ideal" than the FHSS or, for that matter, a Spectrum? Anyone have any ideas on this? I'd love to hear them since I know several in the forum use FHSS radios

 

[Duck899]

Some information on the futaba systems here; http://www.futaba-rc.com/technology/fasst.html

 

[Hydro Junkie]

I actually quoted some of the information on that site to the person that told me told me my radio wasn't worth buying. Needless to say, it didn't make a difference

 

[HTV Boats]

The inexpensive radios today are far better than some of the top crystal AM and FM radios of not too many years ago the were trusted to operate our most valuable boats.

Mic

 

[anthony_marquart]

I agree,.. I use a REAL cheap 2.4 3 channel, modded for linear needle control.. it works very well.. but I do think the radios that are intended to be used the way we use them are better.. this one is hard to set up.

 

[57fairlane500]

The FHSS radios work just fine in our application.

Are you actually having a problem with your radio or just getting grief from someone?

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Radio works fine, Kelly. Now it's just a matter of getting both the radio and driver dialed in, then look out

At this point, I'm looking for feedback on whether the FHSS is considered a good operating system or not by those that know radios, considering what I was told last night. I figure it's someone just taking a cheap shot but, with the abundance of 2.4 systems on the market and this person claiming that the FASST series of radios are what we all should be using, I'm hoping this is an isolated opinion and not the norm

 

[Grimracer]

Ask Brain Buaas on here about FHSS.. right now I dont think i could talk him into FAST.. he loves his FHSS!

Grim

 

[Duck899]

Myself, I think you can use whatever radio system you wish. Just be sure its in top notch condition. I use the futaba fasst 2.4 system with the 7C transmitter and the 617 FS receivers. I'm an old school stick guy so thats my choice. I also use these same transmitters with my dozen airplanes which also have their own receivers. I have about 4 transmitters and the only issue is finding the correct one when its time to fly or race.

With the dual antennas on the 617 receiver, signal loss is a thing of the past. No goofy antenna tubes on any of my scales.

 

[Rudy Formanek]

Surely many consider the FAAST systems, the gold standard for high performance boats. There are a huge amount of FAAST sets out there, being abused in oh so many ways, old corroded switch harnesses, 5 season old battery packs, servos driven to flames, antennaes buried in the bottom of radio boxes. Futaba has fixed the temperature problem with FAAST receivers. There are cheap Chinese freq hopping radios that are unsuitable for model boats (trans are low power), there are cheap and not so cheap Chinese radios that don't freq hop. There are cheap Chinese radios that hop and work just fine in boats. Seen a few Futaba FHSS stick radios and pistol grips that work just perfectly. I use an Airtronics FHSS RDS-8000 (stick) that works perfectly. How much better than perfect does it gotta work?? Telemetry will be the next big thing in radios. A nice safety feature to get a real time measure of the receiver voltage. If tucking your antenna into the radio box is a big deal for you, I suggest FAAST, only cause I haven't seen it done a lot on FHSS.

 

[Duck899]

Futaba for me

 

[Grimracer]

I can not stand my Ant outside the box...lol

Grim

 

[Andy Greene]

I can not stand my Ant outside the box...lol

Grim

Its SOOOO easy to get spoiled on that with the FASST system- plus it makes the Scale look cleaner

 

[Grimracer]

I remember the first time I used a FAST.. I cut the antanna tube down on my tunnel boat for the new lenght.. lol.. I could not get the dam tube throught the hole in the cowl.. it was to short.. I just stuffed it in the box.. never went back.

Grim

 

[brad nichols]

It's what you feel comfortable with, be it stick, wheel, FASST, FHSS as long as you take care of them.

Brad

 

[JimZaremski]

I can't speak to an "ideal" radio, but ever since switching to 2.4 GHz (Spektrum DSM2, if you must know) I've stopped having any problems whatsoever with loss of link between Tx and Rx. the problem IMO with analog (AM or FM) systems is the receivers have trim pots, and the slightest bit of moisture will send those things off into the weeds. A digital Rx is a chip or two (a microcontroller and DSP) with a handful of resistors and capacitors, and the boards are usually conformal coated. Plus you don't have to worry about radio impound.

I'm not claiming they're perfect, but in my experience they're far less hassle. As for the difference between FHSS, FASST, and whatever, I've no clue. I only need two channels so I don't give a rip what the encoding technology is

 

[Tim Kish]

A right and left stick.

 

[raptor347]

Since Grim threw me under the bus

. Disclaimer: I'm a Futaba team member and I've had a chance to run most of the boat friendly radios in the line (Ok, no 18 MZ's or 14SG's for us boat guys).

In 2007 I ran a 3PK, great wheel radio and I had good luck with it. 2009 I went back to running sticks with Grim's old 3VCS (team recycling program

), same deal it was a great radio and added a 3GR as a backup. 2012 rolls around and the old VCS is really due for an update/rebuild. Unfortunately the 3VCS wasn't making it to NA anymore so the search was on for a new radio. Enter the 8J.

I've been running the Futaba FHSS system for a couple seasons now. It's a fantastic system. Every bit as reliable as my old FASST radios. I can't say if one is a better system or not, I've never had either system fail to perform. It has more bells and whistles than you can possibly use in a boat. It has a knob for 3rd channel needle, but I've found I like to use one of the spare digital trim switches for mixture. The gimbals are smooth and the programing is pretty simple once you work through it.

I'm even running FHSS in my airplanes. I even picked up an FHSS module for my 10C.

So, there's my biased .02. I just don't have anything to complain about.

 

[Ron Olson]

I've been using the PL's, a 2, a 3 and two 4's. My FM's are still to this day trusty and use them in cheaper boats. They seem to take a couple of seconds to bind but by the time you've turned it on then ready to fire up, they're working.

I really don't need all of the features on the 3- and 4-channel systems which I feel is more overkill for us, 30 model memory, and things that we'd only need on Crawlers. Sure, a 3rd channel is OK if you're using one for fuel mixture but don't need that anymore.

Call me paranoid but I like having that antenna sticking up outside of the radio box. I mount the RX's on the radio box lids then run the antenna up through the tube as far as possible.

 

[chris1088]

Here is my 2 pennies.

Futaba has been in the business how long? I dont think they are capable of putting out anything less than ideal.I bought my 4pl in 2010 it has been the best system and has been glitch free for me to date . This radio has more features than I need or will use . I use it for all my boats and cars ....heck I even flu a 3ch plane with my 4pl (just to say I could). FHSS has worked great for me and like I said it has been glitch free.

Chris