[bobmic]

Hey Guys,

Looking for opinions for upgrading my radio - I currently own a Futaba 8UHPS which I had for many years. Everyone will agree that it is not an easy to program Tx but I never had one glitch with it.
But it is time to move a 2.4Ghz, have the flexibility to Bind-N-Fly and also use smaller receivers.
I want to have the option of multiple mixes and flight modes which will change will change all DR settings (and hopefully a couple of mixes and Expos) with a flip of one switch.
Built in telemetry is nice but not a must as I have the Quanum unit from Hobby king (which interferes with 72Mhz ) and I noticed that Spektrum has an iPhone adapter.
I don't want to buy something that I will that have second thoughts about it in a couple of years.
So the options are:
* Spektrum DX8 $430 (With AS8000)
* JR x9503 2.4 $550 (With R921x Rx)
* DX7s $300 (With AR8000 - i am not sure if this unit has flight modes etc..)
or Maybe the JR XG8 $390 (With RG831B) - even though I think that Bind-N-Fly will not work with the DMSS system.

And I do want to have the possibility to but a few cheap HK receivers..

Thank you

[bartman]

I think the best radio (price/value) was my 9503. I have had all of them except DX8. Lots of people moving to Dx8 due mostly to telemetry feature with electric models. I prefer gas and glow so not a big deal for me either. My opinions so far.

Dx4 and Dx5. Entry level and you get what you pay for.
Dx6i. First step into computer radio, small screen and complicated menus.
Dx7. Much better screen and navigation. Excellent trainer /buddy box system.Crappy trainer button.
Dx8. Have not tried out yet.
9503. Favorite so far for the money.
11x Not a fan of the look. Was going to buy one but trainer button was not reassign able .
12x. Very sturdy metal case. Costly to buy and pair. Will do more than I would ever need at this time.

Comes down to what feature you need. 9503 allows a lot of functions be set direcly to the flight mode switch. The backlight and throttle activated timer are nice also.

[bartman]

Just saw this too,

https://www.rccanada.ca/rccforum/showthread.php?t=132285

[bobmic]

...price wise seems good but these firmware "upgrades" which I assume are software fixes to a product released with bugs... I don't have any experience with Spektrum any one can add some info about the issues with the DX8?
Are there similar issues with JR?

[philipa_240sx]

Re DX8 issues:

There were a few issues with some of the early DX8's, the biggest of which was lockouts with older AR6xxx RX's. This problem affected all of the new DSMX TX's, not just the DX8. This has been long since resolved... Horizon Hobby has been very good and affected radio's were eligible for free warranty repairs.

I purchased my DX8 new in Oct '10 just when they were released. I did send it in for the recall which was dealt with quickly. Regardless, my DX8 has been rock solid... even before the repair. I would not hesitate to buy another and would recommend it to anyone.

[philipa_240sx]

Edit:

The DSMX recall I mentioned above affected the following Spektrum and JR radios:

DX6i/DX5e/DX4e:
PID's beginning with one of the following prefixes: HS, HH, HT, HE, HA
DX8:
PID's beginning with one of the following prefixes: HS, HH, HT, HE, HA, HO, HM, HR
DX7:
PID's beginning with the following prefix: HA
JRP9503/JPR9309:
PID's beginning with the following prefix: TM

As I indicated earlier, this issue has been resolved several months ago.

[Guest]

I went from a JR9303 to the DX8. I haven't had the chance to play with a JR9503 but the DX8 is way more intuitive to program than my old 9303.

The 9503 seemed a little on the pricey side (for one extra channel) compared to the DX8, BUT the question always is: How does the quality of componenets you can't see compare!

I toyed with the idea of a Hitec Aurora 9, but as I fly in the winter too, the touch screen concerned me, especially in the cold.

[JimMcIntyre]

I have both a Dx7 and a 9503, the Dx7 is my everyday/ park flyer radio. Bulletproof despite my many mistreatements (flying in light rain, bouncing around in the back of the camper etc.

My 9503 is more flexible in programming imho and flight modes seem to make more sense and have more flexibility. I tend to use this radio more for aircraft I care about (non-ARF scale).

I do leverage the cheap orange rx in my backyard flyers, this is a real benefit in my current time-challenged parafigm. I'm also enjoying the DSM compatible BNF ultra micros like the Sukhoi and P51....

Both are good radios, and I do plan for a DX8 for the telemetry as I can see the benefits with my interests gravitating more to electric scale.

HTH.
Jim

[Old School Flyer]

I'm starting to hate this, I should have stuck with FM


JR XG8
Will I be able to use DSM2 receivers with my MacGregor/JR DMSS transmitter?

No. JR DMSS is a completely new 2.4 protocol and so DMSS transmitters will not work with earlier 2.4 receivers

[Flypaper]

Couple of other cool little things with the DX8. Has its own built in batt charger. Will take either nimh or a 4000 ma lipo which I installed. Came from HK made for this radio. 18 bucks.The trans sees the change in batt voltage and changes the charger from nimh to lipo charge method on its own. Uses a wallwart that came with it but takes to long so can be charged with a normal lipo charger. The batt has a couple of built in safety features where if you accidently left it on say, overnight, it will shut off the trans. at 2.9 volts to save the batt. Backlit screen which I really like. You can change the servo speed of any servo for retracts or flaps for instance. It can change from DSM2 to DSMX depending on what rcvr is connected to it. I have 9 of the HKorange rcvrs and 2 of their 2 gram micro rcvrs and they all work faultlessly with it. And the list goes on.

Gord.