dynomatt

Hi guys...I'll confess to losing just a little bit of patience trawling through the various 2.4Ghz threads around the various forums.

So I thought I'd get some hands-on Aussie experience...particularly with a bit of park flyer flavour if possible.

I've already got a 9CAP...and I quite like it...but am keen to go to 2.4Ghz due to ever increasing number of glitches.

I understand the Futaba 2.4Ghz for the 9CAP isn't available in Australia (according to my LHS who spoke to distributor) yet. I believe the Spektrum one is...not sure about Xtreme. I've also looked at a complete DX7 which is about $550.

Has anybody looked into this? Has anybody tried it...got comments about it in Australia?

The research I did also shows that receivers are not cheap...compared to the 36Mhz variants which can now be had for $40.

Thanks in advance,
Matt

gfdengine204

Matt,

I have the DX7 and love it. (Knock on wood) never had a glitch, and never have to worry about being shot down or shooting someone down. I love it, did I mention that?

Oh, and if I wasn't clear, I LOVE IT! LOL

olmod

If you have a rx that your happy with and one of the extremelink units can be fitted to,thats what my choice was ,so far i have flown it in an epp parkflyer with no problems whatsoever.
that being said it would pay to wait for the end pin 8ch recievers as i am before buying,Model engines have the agency btw.
[email protected]

Sam_K

I just got into RC and a DX7 is the only (decent) radio I've ever owned. I am very happy with it so far and have not experienced a single problem after 7 hours of stick time.

The only negative, as you've already mentioned, is the cost of receivers, but I am hoping these will come down when competing products become more widely available.

Which leads me onto another question I've been wondering about. I know you have to buy an Australian version TX to get the C Tick for legal and insurance reasons, but does the same apply for RXs?

The RX doesn't transmit anything, it's just a passive device, so I don't see why there would need to be any regulation on it anymore than say an ESC.

If it's OK to use imported RXs then you can buy them at overseas online stores for about half the cost from hobby shops herein oz

dynomatt

Cheers for the response. I emailed Darrin yesterday who advised the Xtremelink weren't available yet.

Anybody have any idea what RRP might likely be in Australia? Reading a bit, the Xtreme seem be preferred over the Spektrum Futaba module.

It's hard if the modules are $300, and a complete DX7 is $500.

M

olmod

about au$220 landed with a 3 week wait for a JR.

Little Black Duck

Not with our dollar going South at the moment, Sam mate. ...
I also checked prices at Esprit Model in FLA - one of the cheaper reliable US shops - a couple of weeks ago when our dollar exch. rate was around US90c, and even allowing for shipping, the price was about the same as here from some Oz shops then.

(I'll put in a plug here for David Pratley at Hyperion Australia, who sold me, because of the reasons below, my new Oz DX6i set - excellent service.)

Now with our dollar in the mid-60c ball-park and still going down, I'd get in quick and buy one or two here in Oz before the importers put the price up, which they undoubtedly will!!!

I was also forced - and I mean forced .... - to buy an additional DX6i set to replace one bought from Esprit, purely because of this mandatory 'C' tick proviso, purely because of the applied 'No 'C' tick - No Fly' rule imposed for insurance protection by the MAAA, and therefore by most clubs as well.

Now I hate to be cynical ... ... yeah right! - But as you would undoubtedly be aware this 'rule' protects our importers as well.

For Spektrum/JR the importer/distributor is Modelflight/O'Reilly's.
I have it in writing from Horizons Hobbies, who supplies these sets exclusively, and which are sold and distributed by Modelflight to model shops in Oz, that there is only one type of each Spektrum set made, and which are exported worldwide by Horizons.
However when I asked O'Reilly's if they would 'test' my imported identical radio for compliance to Aussie specs - for a reasonable fee, of course - and then attach some 'C' tick stickers, I received a very terse emailed reply - quote -'Sorry we can't help you'.
So that option was out, even though my replacement DX6i set that I then had to buy, and the one originally bought from Esprit Model in FLA USA, are absolutely identical in every way. The packaging and the bar code on both boxes are the same, as are both the Horizons Hobbies produced Instruction Manuals. ... (which, incidentally, are excellent).
Even the Horizon Hobbies Warranty Card is there in the Oz set's box too, in addition to O'Reilly's warranty card.

While I applaud the vigilance of ACMA and our Modelling Governing Body in protecting us from ourselves ... ... and definitely from some other probably dubious imports, the Spektrum radios, apart from being identical in every way to those sold everywhere else, to those sold here, with both having FCC and CE compliance marks moulded into the Rx body, with a Tx label as well, and which, I'm sure, would have been far more rigourously tested.
This most probably applies to the Futaba Fasst and X-Treme systems as well.

However to answer your question about the Rx requiring a 'C' tick, I don't think it should either, because as you say, it is passive until bound to the Tx.
But the modules of the 6200 Rx that came with my Aussiefied DX6i actually both had 'C' stickers attached, so apparently they have to be compliant as well.

And there's the rub, because practically speaking you should have individual Spektrum Rxs for each model, and at about $120 a pop for the 6200, it's gonna be expensive if you have a small fleet. ... :o
Having said that though, the considerable safety margin that goes with the Modelmatch facility that Spektrum radios provide, might be an overall saving from inadvertant shoot downs.

All points to ponder, although I'm not a happy camper with this unnecessary Oz red-tape.

David.

Sam_K

Yeah it was some time ago that I posted that and things have definitely changed now.

You haven't got it quite right with the statement regarding the MAAA though. The rule is not "No C-Tick, no fly", it's more like "No C-Tick, no insurance". The MAAA actually have no authority to tell anyone they can't fly, you simply don't get their support if you don't follow their guidelines (note they are guidelines, not laws). I can imagine many clubs having a "No C-Tick, No Fly" rule because they wan't to ensure that all flying is covered by insurance.

Even CASA CASR 101g (the actual laws covering R/C flying in Australia) does not (as far as I can find) contain anything at all about what sort of radio equipment you should or should not use.

By using non C-Tick compliant gear you are breaking the law however, your chances of getting caught out on Spektrum gear though are practically nil.

As far as I understand it, O'Reilly Model Products would have paid a decent chunk of money (at least 4 if not 5 digits AFAIK) to have the Spektrum equipment tested and approved so that they could be sold in Australia. They make that money back from the profits of their sales. I totally understand them being cheesed off with you asking them for a free C-Tick on your grey imported gear.

ExtremeRC

Actually from what I have read the ACMA will accept the lab tests for the Spectrum and Futaba gear from the FCC in the US. All you need to do is go onto the FCC website and with some code on your spectrum radio you can look up the documentation and print it all out. The other thing I heard was the insurance company of the MAAA will accept the radio as being compliant if this paperwork is provided as proof that your unit complies.

With all this info I cannot see why one could not C-tick their own spectrum radio/s if the ACMA will accept the lab reports done for the FCC, supposedly the FCC report is more stringent on 2.4 than ours...

There was a thread on this in a heli forum with links to the FCC pages for futaba and spectrum radios..

Little Black Duck

Thanks to both my responders - Sam_K and ExtremeRC

I've edited some of Sam_K's reply, and thanks Sam for your comments, although I don't altogether agree with you.

Firstly - If the MAAA says you're not insured without compliance, then the clubs are just following through logically with their 'No Fly' decision - which is what I was trying to say originally.

Secondly - How can I be 'breaking the law' if ACMA has accepted this 2.4GHz equipt in principle, and the MAAA only puts out the MOP 058 as 'Guidelines'.

As to that last comment about O'Reilly's being 'Cheesed off' - In my original post, I stated that I had offered to pay a reasonable fee to get my completely identical, down to the last circuit board, but unfortunately 'grey' imported set 'legalised'.
IMO O'Reilly's were really only annoyed that I hadn't bought it either directly, or indirectly from them.
I still think this Compliance is a scam to protect the MAAA against any highly unlikely radio related insurance claims, but that it has also been picked up and accepted with open arms by the importers to force purchasers into the home market, knowing that they'd be able to easily recoup any initial compliance costs by adding to the retail price, also knowing that a buyer could not buy a 'legal' set overseas.


Thanks ExtremeRC - I'd be keen to find out what the Code for the Spektrum is and then try to access the FCC website to find that lab test documentation to copy for verification for both ACMA and the MAAA's Insurer.
If anyone else who knows how to do this and where the code is located is reading this thread, I hope they'll post the info so that a perfectly good DX6i set is not forced to be made redundant.

I'm the one that's cheesed off! So much so that I couldn't be bothered using any humouros Icons in this reply.

David.

Sam_K

Sorry mate, that's what I get when I try to quickly write a post when I should be getting ready to go out. If it is that easy to get C-Tick certification then yeah I agree it's a bit of a protection scam.

Little Black Duck

This is only my opinion Sam, although it has more than a grain of truth. The MAAA have apparently been advised by the importers that the 2.4GHz have to be compliant to Oz standards to be safe for us to use here!
The MAAA in fear and trembling of any possible litigation, have put out MOP 058, which on one hand says that most of the types of this equipt is acceptable, but in effect feels we should be using Oz compliant 'legal' sets on the other. ...
But what really concerns me is that the Clubs have gone along with this instead of challenging it. ...
Although I don't think I'm a lone voice in regard to this unnecessary problem, especially when I receive a reply like the one from Extreme RC, which I'll be doing my best to follow up.

David.