Salinas Hawk

Is it true that you need a good radio (1) to race? (2) to appreciate the capabilities of a high end rc car?

I want to have one radio to control a couple racers, several bashers, and a Midwest Lobster boat.

I dont want to hear a racer that is trying to help me say, "ah man, well you really need xyz, but since you only have a sport radio you're sol."

I've never raced, so I don't know what I need. I was told by a racer that I trust
(trust but verify on RCTech that is) that I had three choices:
1. spektrum dx4s
2. airtronics mt-4
3. futaba pl or pks (can't remember which)

Anything less wouldn't cut it.

I know guys race and kick butt with Flysky's, but would a four channel radio help make the transition from bashing to racing smoother.

I appreciate the help.

CTRJ

iTrader: (13)

I run a $100 Airtronics MX-Sport and can keep up with people who have radios 3x the price of mine. Mine is a 3 channel, though I only need 2 (throttle and steering). Why would you need 4 channels to race? It's pretty comical the amount of money some racers say you "have to spend" to race.

Rockthecatbox21

iTrader: (19)

Those 3 choices you listed are all very good mid-level race radios. Mt-4 is a good radio, very light, has telemetry, and has an internal antenna. The bad thing is no backlight, no drop-down wheel, and receivers are very expensive. The futaba 4pl is a great radio, good backlight, can use a life battery (don't have to always switch out AA's), has a ton of features, super chaep receivers (~$40-50), very good feeling trigger. Downsides, no drop-down wheel, and external antenna.
The spektrum i don't know much about. Some of spektrum's lower end stuff has problems,glitching, brownouts, runaways, short radio range. The dx4s is pretty new, so i'd ask around and see if they got these issues fixed.

Dave H

The number of channels depends on the RC. Some do require or at least make very good use of more than 2. What classes/type of RC do you have or envision possibly wanting in the future?

What do plan on doing with the lobster boat, does it need more than 2? Might need channel mixing?

Salinas Hawk

Haha, thanks for the advice man. But I would like to know why some racers think a mid- level radio is a minimum requirement. Then I could agree or disagree and feel good about my choice.

Salinas Hawk

So maybe Futaba is still the king of the hill, and the others are still trying to catch up.

TheRcKid17

iTrader: (21)

Flysky is not all that in anyway. You see reviews on youtube about the gt3b and the people say its AMAZING, but it's really not. Most of those people are new and have never ever raced before. I feel like you should go straight to the big guns like the TS401, DX3R, 4PL, M12 OR M11x, OR EX10. You can find some really great deals in the for sale thread, you buy your radio from there and get lots of extra's like recievers,radio wraps, cases, ect.

Salinas Hawk

I have some bashers: an SC10B, an Exo Terra, and some old school bashers. I plan to buy an SCTE as my first racer. There is a lot of onroad racing in my area, so I will probably try a touring car or a F1 at some point.

I just want a fast lobster boat; if I could turn on some lights that would be cool. The lobster boat is a low priority.

I'm not interested in crawling, 4 wheel steering, or monster trucks.

My biggest concern is mixing for racing, plus brakes, racing nitro. This is where I'm confused about what I need.

sunco1

iTrader: (29)

You don't need a 4 channel to race. I would stick with a 3 channel at least though. The dx3s is on sale at amain I think. I run the dx3r pro and I use the 2 channel cheapo's in a few of my rides. Doesn't make sense to me to buy a $100 receiver when I can get a $30 that works just fine.

Salinas Hawk

Thanks for the solid advice. I'm leaning toward a 3ch, and I think I'll just get whichever one feels the best in my hand.

But I want to know what the 4 ch radios can do. I've read the functions, but don't understand how or why they would be helpful to a new off road racer.

I'd like to learn about some of the finer points of racing, and if a 4ch could help me learn more, I would buy one.

klaymon

iTrader: (71)

A 4-channel radio is not required for racing. You "need" 2 channels to race (steering and throttle). A 3rd channel (or a "batt" slot on the receiver) is used for plugging in your personal transponder (not required if you run a house transponder). You will not use the 4th channel for racing. It's just that higher end radios tend to have 3-4 channels now.

TheRcKid17

iTrader: (21)

And if you want a boat, id go with spektrum because they have a marine rx.

Dave H

You mention Nitro, and electrics. That could lead to a need for 3 channels. If you think you might want a 1/8 scale electric at some point, many of the Nitro guys like to keep the separate brake servo, which allows for front/rear brake bias as I understand it, instead of relying on the electric motor for braking with no bias. The 3rd channel makes that easier to control and adjust. Would allow for controlling the boat lights too which can be cool.

The only need for 4 channels I’m aware of within racing is large scale models, ¼, 1/5 scale etc. As I understand it they frequently use 4 channels with mixing (I don’t think the ‘4 channel’ radios have 4 discrete channels, but rather the 4th is a mixed derived channel, but not positive on all).

In general the fancier radios have more features and faster responses in addition to the added channels. More mixing capability, exponential controls, etc. The top line radios generally have quicker response, give a more connected feel to the RC. This can be a contentious issue, some say it can’t be detected, I would respectively disagree, the difference can be quite noticeable for many racers. As 2.4GHz technology has matured some, but not all, of the mid range radios now have fairly good performance. But the big boys are generally still better, as they have improved too.

Within the Spektrum range the DX3R has the fastest response capability. And seems to have less issues than the S models.

Needed, no, but of course nothing in RC is needed. Many find it easier to invest in a good radio as it can last through many RCs and reduces the likely hood of being limited in the future, and/or needing to upgrade.

I’m not saying you need a top line radio, just offering a different perspective per your questions. Best of luck with whatever you choose.

Salinas Hawk

Thanks everybody. And especially thank you Dave H for taking the time to write that informative post.