What's the main radio brand you use 2017?

[Former Member]

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[Geoff S]

I'm slightly surprised the Frsky isn't having a bigger impact. It's still 3rd below Spektrum and Futaba which is still impressive considering it's such a new arrival.

I suppose Spektrum is still enjoying the advantages it gained from being so prominent when the 2.4gHz band opened up and Futaba from so long established as the market leader. My first ever RC kit was a Futaba 2 channel 27Mhz set I bought to control my 1 metre racing yacht. I did try flying a Precedent Elektrafly glider with it but very unsuccessfully. I guess Multiplex is paying the price for being late onto to the 2.4gHz scene but I still have a few models I fly on 35Mhz with 3030.

Interesting survey.

Geoff

[Tomtom39]

I'm also still using my old Skyleader equipment on 35Mhz (I cycled all 29 miles to Purley to pick it up and all 29 miles back - I couldn't afford the postage charge!) . Also have my very first Micron "build it yourself kit" .Doesn't work though! I have an old Simprop radio too in a tea chest in the garage . One of our club members has taken to converting his old radios to 2.4. I must look into it!

[Trevor Crook]

Geoff, I know buying things from actual shops is less common now, but can you walk into a model shop and buy an FrSky set "over the counter", and furthermore take it back there if you have a problem? I suspect, if not, then that is why Spektrum and Futaba will sell more for some time to come.

[Former Member]

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[Cuban8]

More power to FrSky's elbow, I say! Their products aren't for me at the moment, but if they can give the big two (maybe just a big single manufacturer before too long) a credible run for their money and prevent Futaba and Spektrum from carving up the market for themselves (along with the inevitable price hikes that go along with limited customer choice) it can only be a good thing.

A new thread entitled 'Horus TX' sums up the problem that FrSky has with potential new users, many of whom struggle with programming their conventional radios.I know it's difficult for very tech savvy folk to understand this, but I think it's true.

 

Edited By Cuban8 on 09/02/2017 14:30:57

[Geoff S]

Posted by Trevor Crook on 08/02/2017 18:10:00:

Geoff, I know buying things from actual shops is less common now, but can you walk into a model shop and buy an FrSky set "over the counter", and furthermore take it back there if you have a problem? I suspect, if not, then that is why Spektrum and Futaba will sell more for some time to come.

 

I suspect if you live near Bradford you can buy FrSky over the counter at T9 but as there are no model shops anywhere near me now I just try to buy from reputable suppliers. My father used to sell Murphy TV sets and at a dealer meeting complained about the reliability of a certain model. The service manager pointed out (without smiling!) that if TVs were ultra reliable then they'd be selling them in Woolworths. That's how things are with aeromodelling products. In general they're all very reliable so buying from remote sources isn't really a problem.

Percy: That's certainly the reason they gave because I was keen to continue with Multiplex but Frsky came along with a module I could plug into my old Futaba FF7 Super and cheap receivers so Mux lost my custom. I haven't regretted it. My aeromodelling skills don't really justify the expense of numerous Mux receivers but I can salve my conscience with Frsky

Haven't Multiplex needed to change their protocol to satisfy the EU LBT requirements? That's more recent than their first foray into 2.4gHz.

Geoff

Edited By Geoff Sleath on 09/02/2017 16:49:29

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

With over 450 votes in now and the result homing in on a stable end point it might be interesting to do some analysis?

Looking at these results its pretty clear that we have a group of 3 out in the front. One of which is pretty much stable in terms of market share (Spektrum), one that is declining rapidly (Futaba) and one that is increasing almost equally rapidly (FrSky).

If we assume that the total size of the Tx market is more or less fixed then market share growth by one manufacturer must be at the cost of share reduction for another. The figures on which the graph is based would tend to bear this out I think. It would appear that FrSky's growth is partially at the expense of Spektrum but even more so at the expense of Futaba. We can't know this of course - but as an iinterpretation it is consistent with the graph.

Although Futaba appear to be more adversely affected by the surge of FrSky the impact on Spektrum might be more subtle and stronger than first appears to be the case. Look back to 2014, Spektrum have just gone from 34% to 38% and have passed Futaba into the number one slot. They might have reasonably expected that trend to continue and their share in 2017 to be 40%+. That is isn't and that Spektrum are back down to 2012 levels of 34% is I think largely due to FrSky.

So FrSky are having a major impact on both of the big boys - the difference is that the impact on Futaba looks more serious to me - to go from nearly half the market to less than a quarter share in 4-5 years is not good news.

Keep in mind that the question asked here was "what radio do you use?" what it doesn't capture is the current buying trend - ie what are people buying when they are spending money on a radio today. I suspect the figures would be even more Spektrum/FrSky loaded if we looked at that.

Considering the other manufacturers there doesn't appear to be a lot to say. JR in steady slight decline - but that's not news! MPX and Jeti have their loyal followers and seem to be broadly maintaining their share of the market - but not expanding dramatically.

The HiTec result is bit surprising to me. They showed quite strong growth between 2012 and 2014 and with a new attractive range of the Tx's out I had expected them to continue that growth. But they seem to have plateaued?

Anyone got any other thoughts?

BEB

[Tomtom39]

That's very interesting. In my case, I belong to three clubs and in the last few years I've noticed (since 2.4ghz become generally available ) a huge swing from the traditional radio brands to Spektrum. Number of reasons. No1 . Value , ie low price , No2 once established with our club instructors , this was the radio that was recommended to new members (especially to those that were returning to the hobby with their 35mhz boxes ) . In addition the Spektrum 6 was the one that most LMS's in our area would suggest as an excellent first choice radio. What also helped has been the brilliant service from Horizon on repairs etc (not sure if this will change, as I keep hearing various rumours about the UK warehouse and servicing centre closing down and being transferred to Germany).

The two members (total membership of three clubs 116) are big Hitech fans . We have four members that use Graupner .Five members who fly multirotor plus one fixed wing member use Taranis/Frsky systems . They seem to spend on awful long time hooked up to their laptops nattering away about their latest software bug/upgrade . Sorry for the generalisation . I'm usually too busy trying to kickstart my IC glow plug

Another common thread is that a large number of the more established (older) modellers don't like letting go of our old 35mhz sets and cant bear to throw away what is after all pretty servicable gear .Having surrendered a large pile of cash for one of the new top end Jeti's .I still use a FF7 Super (FP-T7UPS).Works perfectly well (.I cant be bothered to pull out the R/X's out of my old slopers ) not to mention my good old Skyleader set. This is very much the case with my fellow compatriots and I've seen quite a few older sets turning up at the field . No shame attached anymore.

So in conclusion what drives the average modeller at our club (s) to turn to a particular brand. Price (we can be very tight with our money)?Peer influence and as time marches on with our equipment we start to consider investing in more reliable brands. My purchase was heavily influenced by a variety of reasons , I wanted a radio system that worked for me and allowed a large degree of flexibility and (very important) that I had support and backup if it went wrong. I was prepared to pay extra for this (and it was/has been a big financial input).Would I buy FRSKY radio , not sure yet but on paper it offers very good value especially as I've noticed an increase in the price of Spektrum R/X's.

[Frank Skilbeck]

Posted by Geoff Sleath on 09/02/2017 16:48:12:

Haven't Multiplex needed to change their protocol to satisfy the EU LBT requirements? That's more recent than their first foray into 2.4gHz.

I don't think so, I've had one of the first Royal Pro sets and then a later Profi and all the receivers I've bought have just worked, with no need for firmware updates. Remember the specs for the EU LBT were announced years before they were made mandatory so MPX probably just adopted them at the time rather than have to update everything. Similarly though where Futaba went LBT there OEM rxs just worked without any update it was only the 3rd party ones which needed updating, so the Txs might have been updated to LBT but the protocol was designed so the Rxs worked with either. Unlike two other systems I bought where the Rxs won't work with later transmitters.

[Andy48]

Interesting analysis BEB. I do think FrSky would have made much greater progress it it had a simpler beginners model, perhaps with a stripped down version of OpenTX. I certainly wouldn't advise a newby to go for a FrSky, more probably a cheap Spekky.

An interesting analysis of BMFA numbers shows that the latest membership number is around the 203,000 mark. 10 years ago it was around the 150,000 mark. In our club most of the newbies are either retired or nearing retirement age, and thus less inclined (using the language carefully!) to want such technical equipment.

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 10/02/2017 16:12:28:

Considering the other manufacturers there doesn't appear to be a lot to say. JR in steady slight decline - but that's not news! MPX and Jeti have their loyal followers and seem to be broadly maintaining their share of the market - but not expanding dramatically.

Anyone got any other thoughts?

BEB

That's one interpretation. According to the stats, Jeti's usage has tripled over the last year while FRSky has slightly under-performed them with a 17:6 increase.

Mind you, the first time I looked at the collated statistics, Jeti had a 100% share of the market!

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by Martin Harris on 10/02/2017 20:44:33:

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 10/02/2017 16:12:28:

Considering the other manufacturers there doesn't appear to be a lot to say. JR in steady slight decline - but that's not news! MPX and Jeti have their loyal followers and seem to be broadly maintaining their share of the market - but not expanding dramatically.

Anyone got any other thoughts?

BEB

That's one interpretation. According to the stats, Jeti's usage has tripled over the last year while FRSky has slightly under-performed them with a 17:6 increase.

Mind you, the first time I looked at the collated statistics, Jeti had a 100% share of the market!

LOL! You know - I just knew someone would say that!!

BEB

[Martin Harris - Moderator]

Your predictions are uncanny tonight - we'll have to start calling you Mystic Meg....or should that be Septic BEB?

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

I definitely think that the latter is nearer the mark Martin!
BEB

[SONNY MONKS]

Hi all,im gonna build the ben buckle super 60 glow three channel,can i take the spectrum radio gear out of my hobbyzone supercub,and just buy an extra servo for the throttle,or am i better buying a complete new set up,i am new to this hobby,as you probably can tell,cheers.

[john stones 1 - Moderator]

Hello Sonny and welcome to the forum, is that your Dad in the avatar with you

Always good to have two models airworthy in case you have a mishap, so if money permits i'd buy some more gear.

John

[colin weaver]

Well - Fleet Custom 2 & 3 Tx's, and built their FPS3 servo kits, dabbled with Micron 35 MHz kit RX's, Then onto Futaba FC-18 for Helis, with reliable dual conversion 35 MHz Rx's. Later on bought 2 x Futaba FF6, one of which I have converted with a FrSky 2.4 Ghz Tx module. Various Hitec servos and mechanical (!) gyros. Not sure a Jeti would help me fly any better with my simple models !

Colin W

Edited By colin weaver on 14/02/2017 12:41:01

[Nightflyer]

I started using a second hand set of Skyleader Clubman in 1977, but have used Futaba since 1981, and had several sets that have all been very reliable, and good quality. However, I am about to make the change to Spektrum.

I think there are two things that work against Futaba sadly. The first is the number of propagation formats used especially with 35MHz, and with 2.4GHz. The second is that Spektrum seems to offer more features and hence provide better value for money. I have also noticed that Spektrum is now almost the only type used in my club.

[James Middleton]

To answer the question... What's the MAIN radio brand you use 2017?... I had to vote "FrSky" ...it's actually an old X388S with a DJT module and D8R-11. If/when I upgrade it's likely to be to a Taranis X9D +

[MattyB]

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 10/02/2017 16:12:28:

 

...Considering the other manufacturers there doesn't appear to be a lot to say. JR in steady slight decline - but that's not news! MPX and Jeti have their loyal followers and seem to be broadly maintaining their share of the market - but not expanding dramatically.

 

 

Posted by James Middleton on 15/02/2017 01:14:14:

To answer the question... What's the MAIN radio brand you use 2017?... I had to vote "FrSky" ...it's actually an old X388S with a DJT module and D8R-11. If/when I upgrade it's likely to be to a Taranis X9D +

James post is another example to me of why JR are well beyond "slow and steady decline"; I would say they are in terminal freefall. They have a small band of fiercely loyal users, but by far the majority of those are still using the bombproof 35MHz sets from the 90s and noughties with 2.4 modules from FrSky et al in the back, or the DSM2 era 2.4 sets. How many JR users have actually gone and bought a DMSS TX? Almost none. Combine that with the huge numbers they lost when they split from Spektrum and the current R&D/new product moratorium and I just cannot see a way back.

Posted by Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator on 10/02/2017 16:12:28:

 

...The HiTec result is bit surprising to me. They showed quite strong growth between 2012 and 2014 and with a new attractive range of the Tx's out I had expected them to continue that growth. But they seem to have plateaued?

Problem is they got themselves stuck with a protocol with a very low (9) channel count, and despite promising a new mid range TX in the 14ch region for years still don't have one. Everyone else - Spek, Frsky, Jeti and even Futaba - moved on and have far more compelling mid range offerings, whilst Jeti have done a good job of gathering a good chunk of the high end sales.

The Flash TXs are nice, but why would anyone buy one if no-one they know locally has one to show/help them with, I can have all of the HH ecosystem of BNFs if I go Spek, or massively more functionality if I choose FrSky? They are short of a USP and have lost the momentum the Aurora gave them; everyone I know who had one still has given up and moved on to other TXs, mostly FrSky and Spek.

Edited By MattyB on 15/02/2017 01:46:42

[SONNY MONKS]

which spectrum dx6e or the 6i?

[MattyB]

Posted by SONNY MONKS on 15/02/2017 15:27:09:

which spectrum dx6e or the 6i?

Sonny your question is not really anything to do with the original topic being discussed here - please start a new thread so the conversation does not get dragged off topic. Many thanks.

[Former Member]

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