NEW- Spektrum DX7s - What do we know about this radio?

[kenchiroalpha]

Originally Posted by rcers

Sorry Hank - discussion forums are for just that discussion.

I looked at great interest in the DX7s system, and was very disappointed Spektrum didn't take the ball, and learn from the release of the DX8.

I think my comments are spot on - why my money won't go to them - again.

As I point out it is not a brand war, I have and really like my DX7 but this system does not make the cut for buy.

I was saying why sorry you feel that is off - but I don't.

Mike

Hi Mike
Not that i think that it is off base
But we are discussing a product that is not even out yet, i for one will wait and make a decision only after release
And i was also mainly refering to the postings that dont offer any useful info on the system in question whether it be good or bad
Take care dear friend
Yours Hank

[kenchiroalpha]

Originally Posted by Gohmer

What kind of useful info on the system in question have we obtained from your two posts?

Unsubscribed
And your reply helps in what way

[Simon]

Yes indeed Hank. I must admit to being guilty as charged.

Thank-you for your gentle reminder and conciliatory attitude. It's posts like yours that more-often-than-not prevent such a discussion from becoming derailed and a steaming pile..

I do like the fact that the DX7 has DSMX, which is a marked improvement over DSM2 (which, admittedly has been superceeded since at least Oct 2010, if not before)

It's nice to see that frequency-hopping is now available to (the masses of) Spektrum users.


To be fair to Spektrum - it's pretty hard to run a race if you're in front and there's no clear and distinct direction that should be followed next. Anybody can play chase and catch-up like many other Chinese companies have been doing. The hard job is working the cutting edge the whole time. Only number 2 and later get the chance to copy. The first must innovate. Cheating often involves copying, simply because it IS easier to copy than it is to innovate.
I certainly couldn't do as well as they are.

I'm just tight-fisted and no longer feel the urge to be among the early adopters, with the associated premium it commands. BUT I will VERY happily use the tech once it has trickled down to some other vendors.

[megajon]

I was very excited to hear about the DX7. I don't have the cash for a DX8 and I was afraid that the DX6 wasn't "quite enough" for my plane plans. I like the SD slot, telemetry, and expo. To me that justifies the higher price over the DX6. I also know that the DX8 is more radio than will I need before the next major leap (like FM to DSM.)

All I have is the DX5e that came with my Apprentice so I don't think there's any "keeping up with the Joneses" going on, or gear lust - I just happen to be in the market for a radio and have heard VERY good things about Spektrum. I'm also trying to balance hangar content with electronics - I can't justify $450 for a radio when I've only got two planes and they both fly just fine on the system I already own. I've been going back and forth on DX6 or MM EVA Sport as my next "big" purchase, the release of the DX7 has sealed it for me (I think) and I'll get the plane. Then I can justify a solid, programmable radio, and concentrate on just planes for a few years. I'll be able to buddy box the DX5e and keep using it with the computer so that won't be wasted.

I don't usually jump into this kind of discussion BUT I'm realy surprised to see negativity in this community! There are some pretty neat new planes getting released that I'm excited about but don't plan to buy. Does that still make me an iSheep? or an iSuperConsumer? (BTW, I drive an old minivan) I'm still very interested in their stats/performance and the stories from people who bought them.

Goodness, where did all of that come from? Carry on, lets hear more about this intriguing radio. I'd be interested in an alternative thread that compares the merits of Spektrum v Futaba v HiTech too, if someone wants to start that up and pm me...

Jon

[Dereck]

iSheep - Love it!

Says it all about 'consumers'.

Anyone thought about picking up a tranny and seeing if they like to hold it, are the switches well placed for you, does its programming run logically?

That strikes me as a little more important than owning the latest 'product'...

D

[sinker49]

Originally Posted by aviatordave

Built in Telemetry is the coolest. Battery voltage, engine or motor temperature, airspeed, altitude......

Ok,but does it come with wireless Wraparound Shades with a heads up display and ear phone and cell link built in.

[road king 97]

I own 3 older dx7 s now and last year i flew my old futaba 6 channel on channel 38 . I think i did this because i was so use to the programing on my futaba and the older dx7 was a pain in the ars to program ,hold down 2 buttons and turn radio on with your teeth to get to to do any thing in programming. I think they could have come up with a better system than this. Now this summer i will use my dx7 and see how well i like the rest of it. joe

[Figure.N9ne]

Originally Posted by Dereck

iSheep - Love it!

Says it all about 'consumers'.

Anyone thought about picking up a tranny and seeing if they like to hold it, are the switches well placed for you, does its programming run logically?

That strikes me as a little more important than owning the latest 'product'...

D

stop assuming that they are mutually exclusive

[Dereck]

That's a given to anyone who's halfway serious.

Hence why you put in some serious hands-on time, rather than reading adverts

D

[Wrongway-Feldman]

I own an older dx7 and around 15 receivers for. And I'm selling the lot and moving on to something else. This new one one coming out maybe the greatest thing since sliced bread, it may have a cure for cancer, heck it may even print money. But ill never buy another spektrum transmitter again.
The dx7 had the worst programming interface I have ever used. Not just in this hobby but in over 20 years of IT. It was cheaply built, had a battery life that made me cringe. Receivers cost ridiculous amounts of money.
Yep, my experience with the old dx7 has left me tainted to anything that company might bring out in the future.

[rcers]

Originally Posted by Wrongway-Feldman

The dx7 had the worst programming interface I have ever used. Not just in this hobby but in over 20 years of IT. It was cheaply built, had a battery life that made me cringe. Receivers cost ridiculous amounts of money.
Yep, my experience with the old dx7 has left me tainted to anything that company might bring out in the future.

So what you going with? I ask because I think the DX7 is one of the easier to program as Transmitters go - you clearly have not tried Futaba's mid line stuff! They are really baffling...

At any rate - just curious as to what is better in your book.

Mike

[Wrongway-Feldman]

Originally Posted by rcers

So what you going with? I ask because I think the DX7 is one of the easier to program as Transmitters go - you clearly have not tried Futaba's mid line stuff! They are really baffling...

At any rate - just curious as to what is better in your book.

Mike

Ah, but there's the rub. What is better? And who defines what better may be.
Better for me might be worse for you.
I personally like the hitek interface. Very simple and straight forward.
You may think me crazy but I also like the turnigy interface. I've used the turnigy tx and find it to be quite nice.
All I can say is that for me, spektrum is out.

ps: why the hell are these radios so unbelievably expensive? The technology isn't expensive. The components aren't expensive. The manufacturing costs aren't expensive. But $400 + for $30 worth of tech is a bit steep.
$60 for a rx? Its comprised of a $2 circuit board, ¢20 worth of plastic, and a chip that costs a whole $2 in volume. I can buy a portable dvd player with a built in screen for less that a rx costs.

Sorry for the rant.

[rcers]

You are forgetting R&D, marketing, molding costs, packaging, printing, shipping, advertising, Service center and supply chain (Horizon pays a few buck, they sell to dealers, they tack on a few bucks and so on).

Also RC is a tiny little piece of the market. That DVD player sells in millions, this in 10k's. There is a substantial price difference in volume.

Chinese stuff is cheap because the copy/steel so they just reverse engineer in many cases. They don't back their products so service center costs are zero. You may not like Spektrum, but I just sent 2 items off for a check, and got three brand new items back. Try that with Turnigy.

The Execs at Horizon are not driving Porsche's trust me.

I too like Hitec you need to give the A9 a whirl. Trust me. You can get RX's in bulk for around $40each. Not too bad for a brand name RX not a knockoff.

Mike

[Wrongway-Feldman]

The A9 is a very nice piece of kit. It is my first choice right now. Great features. Easy programming. Nice big display. What's not to like?

[constantCrash]

The original DX6 (not DX6i) and DX7 are JR radios with spektrum adapter boards in them. They share ZERO programming ideology with the DX6i, DX7s(assumed), DX8 or DX10.

Night and day difference.

As for cost of receivers, the full range are in the same ballpark price wise as every other manufacture, and for parkflyers go buy OrangeRX clones for $9.00 each.

All I've ever owned is spektrum stuff, but I helped a club member program his Futaba 9Cap this past weekend and it took me an hour to figure out how to program the Mix for aileron -> rudder. It turns out there are TWO programming modes on the 9CAP, A basic mode and an advanced mode. You have to be in the advanced mode to program mixes.

Spektrum is really still young, and they just started developing their own radio programming methodologies (with the DX6i.) And of the systems I've used: DX6i, DX7, DX8, Futaba 9Cap and Futaba 8 I'd say the DX8 is by far the most well organized and easy to program TX. I have 15 planes programmed into it using things like dual aileron, differential, aileron-rudder mixes, flaps, bomb drops, high low rates, expo, Rudder - nose mix. I have not needed the manual at all.

[UncleBob]

Originally Posted by Wrongway-Feldman

But ill never buy another spektrum transmitter again.
The dx7 had the worst programming interface I have ever used. Not just in this hobby but in over 20 years of IT. It was cheaply built, had a battery life that made me cringe. Receivers cost ridiculous amounts of money.
Yep, my experience with the old dx7 has left me tainted to anything that company might bring out in the future.

I have one and I never had a lick of trouble with it. The battery never was a limiting factor, and I can always make it do what I want program wise. I find it mildly troubling in fact that someone "in IT" can't master a $200 consumer device.

[Wrongway-Feldman]

Originally Posted by UncleBob

I have one and I never had a lick of trouble with it. The battery never was a limiting factor, and I can always make it do what I want program wise. I find it mildly troubling in fact that someone "in IT" can't master a $200 consumer device.

The problem is that it assumes that the user already knows how to program it.
The manual will get you to the screen needed to program something but that's about it. It is not friendly to new fliers at all.
Getting into program mode is a pain. The are no menus to speak of. Just keep scrolling till you find what you need. Keys that are named arbitrarily without any thought into what they actually do.
This is what happens when a hobbiest is included in the creation process. The same problems are faced with Linux where a program makes perfect sense to the creator but an outside user can't make heads or tails of it.
I will keep an open mind and try out a new dx8 this weekend. If I like it ill buy it. Saves me from replacing all my receivers if I do. But the dx7 is still going out the door.

[road king 97]

My first 2 dx 7 radio batteries gave out already with hardly any use and my 8 year old futaba batteries are still charging fine . I just put sanyo 2600- 9.6 batteries in my dx and now i dont have to worry about it for a while but programing is another thing .I agree with wrong way when it comes to being friendly to new users to program . joe

[CrimzonRider]

The menus do take a little getting used to. I've had mine for a almost 2wks, little overwhelming at first, as it is my first computer radio, not too bad after a couple nites and a 12pak.

I really wish it had back lit screen that would help the interpretation a bunch for me. But I am getting pretty good at it, in no time at all, I wont need the manual!!

have a good one
cr

[AEAJR]

Originally Posted by Wrongway-Feldman

The problem is that it assumes that the user already knows how to program it.
The manual will get you to the screen needed to program something but that's about it. It is not friendly to new fliers at all.
Getting into program mode is a pain. The are no menus to speak of. Just keep scrolling till you find what you need. Keys that are named arbitrarily without any thought into what they actually do.
This is what happens when a hobbiest is included in the creation process. The same problems are faced with Linux where a program makes perfect sense to the creator but an outside user can't make heads or tails of it.
I will keep an open mind and try out a new dx8 this weekend. If I like it ill buy it. Saves me from replacing all my receivers if I do. But the dx7 is still going out the door.

This is one reason why many in the hobby recommend new pilots start out on standard radios or entry level computer radios. They do less so there is less to to know and less to get in the way.

When you are new and you buy more advanced radio systems they can be confusing because you have no background. This is where it helps to have someone with some background to help you. Or to reach out for help.

I will be very interested to hear your feedback on the DX8 as compared to the original DX7 as it seems the DX7s is based on the DX8 software.

[Wrongway-Feldman]

Originally Posted by AEAJR

This is one reason why many in the hobby recommend new pilots start out on standard radios or entry level computer radios. They do less so there is less to to know and less to get in the way.

When you are new and you buy more advanced radio systems they can be confusing because you have no background. This is where it helps to have someone with some background to help you. Or to reach out for help.

I will be very interested to hear your feedback on the DX8 as compared to the original DX7 as it seems the DX7s is based on the DX8 software.

The dx7 was a gift. I have used it sparingly as its a pain to use.
I may not get a new tx for at least a month now as my budget has been gouged by getting the bike back on the road for spring. Finally the commute to work will be bearable again.

[Rockin Robbins]

Well, this is two threads in one. I'll jump on the anti-early adopter part. You know, it's fun to pick on early adopters. After all their thought processes are wholly irrational and they risk a lot in purchasing the unproven products out there. But their heartaches are what makes it possible for sensible people to buy excellent quality cheap products.

Being an early adopter can actually be a lot of fun. You'll notice that they don't have rose colored glasses on and they assume there will be problems to overcome. When the Radian 2 came out lots of early adopters jumped on board this pig in a poke and rode it for all they were worth.

They had a fabulous time exchanging information about how to get it and the radios to work together to get all the mixes they wanted for advanced flying. Yeah, there was some cursing at the whole thing but the overall feeling of the posts were of discovery: being a pioneer going where no one has gone before. And paying too much to go there. But that comes with the territory. You don't get the thrill of being first without paying the piper.

So it's kind of irrational to volunteer for all those inevitable headaches and pay too much for the product. Everything you buy for peanuts: DVD players, computers, hybrid cars, flat screen monitors, fill in the blank was financed by people we sometimes like to make fun of: early adopters who were perfectly willing to pay a crazy high price and put up with the troubles of an unfinished product. But if they didn't buy we would never get the chance.

So we should celebrate the early adopters, especially the rich ones. We need more rich people with a sense of adventure. Then we'd get more really neat products for peanuts. Bully for rich irrational people with "more money than sense!" Every one of us rides their coattails.

[rcers]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Well, this is two threads in one. I'll jump on the anti-early adopter part. You know, it's fun to pick on early adopters. After all their thought processes are wholly irrational and they risk a lot in purchasing the unproven products out there. But their heartaches are what makes it possible for sensible people to buy excellent quality cheap products.

Being an early adopter can actually be a lot of fun. You'll notice that they don't have rose colored glasses on and they assume there will be problems to overcome.

I agree. One of the funnest things I have ever done was a review of the Spektrum DX6. I was SUPER lucky and they sent me a pre-release radio system about 3 months before it was announced or in the general public eye.

I was 100% convinced that it would be a dud - or close too it. I was thinking something along the lines of GWS Pico receivers i.e. fine if close, but scary at any reasonable range.

I was sure it would fail......boy was I wrong...

Well I tested, tried, played, tortured that system. I found what many of what each of you did - that the Spektrum DSM link and DX6 and AR6000 Rx were just about flawless. In fact I called it the most robust RF link I had ever used (and at the time - it was!). And now to think they are on DSMX (3rd gen).

Spektrum was so happy with my review they quoted parts of it in the advertising they did for the DX6!

I sure got a great deal of attention at the field with this "new fangled" radio system. All the glow guys were doubting, and saying it was fine for electrics but they would never switch - too risky. Those guys 95% 2.4GHz now. LOL!

It was a great deal of fun to be one of the first people in the air with 2.4GHz stuff.

Mike

[Rockin Robbins]

Heck, it's even fun to be an early adopter of something that doesn't work right and being part of the solution. No, it's not fun for everybody, but everybody benefits from the pioneers who collect all the arrows. Unfortunately, a good many arrows come from "sensible" people who think the early adopters are elitist, conspicuous consumers.....wealth envy sucks as badly as racism. And holds just as much water.

[road king 97]

Originally Posted by Rockin Robbins

Heck, it's even fun to be an early adopter of something that doesn't work right and being part of the solution. No, it's not fun for everybody, but everybody benefits from the pioneers who collect all the arrows. Unfortunately, a good many arrows come from "sensible" people who think the early adopters are elitist, conspicuous consumers.....wealth envy sucks as badly as racism. And holds just as much water.

Lol thats funny,lets see i have flown ace radios ,Kraft radios then futaba and now dx7,s Does that make me a pioneer.I dont buy a 99 buck arf foam plane i build mine for a year or so from plans and i want decent radio to go in it. As far as programing iam not much into all the bells and whistles as i competed in patern and pylon most of my youth and can fly with my fingers alone with out gyros and such things, I dont need a button for a decent snaproll.lol My first futaba 5 channel back then was 500 bucks ,1970,s So the price of the radios is alot cheaper now. Rocken robben what are you flying now and what kind of radios do you have now so maybe you can help us rich dummys pick a good cheap gear To put into my my 100 inch four engine seaplane i am just finishing. joe