It's time to purchase a new radio. Range is one of the most important things for me. Really looking at sanwa mt4 / mt44 but have read they are not great for range, especially if using the receivers with internal antenna. I have a Radiolink rc4gs which has incredible range, and have had no issues at all with it, but would like to spend a bit more this time. Any opinions on this ?

I do speed runs with my futaba 7px and I never have a problem with range. Many times I take the car so far to the point I can barely see it and I always have full control on the car.

Generally the lower the frequency the further the range.

I've always been under the impression that Futaba typically has the best range.....

https://www.bigsquidrc.com/2-4-ghz-r...t-radio-range/

I'm not familiar with receivers with antennas 100% internal, but on many setups the biggest issue with range i see are due to antenna placement.

For example raising active part of antenna on my infraction substantially increased range.

Some futaba owners that speed run swear air receivers running antennas at angle gives best range, but I'm kinda skeptical.

if you want higher end radio i suspect something like futaba 7px will give really good range if active part of your receiver antenna is not blocked by lipo/ carbon fiber parts and you move transmitter antenna in vertical position. I use 4px and like it, but it sounds like you might want something higher end. Obviously some speculation on my part since i don't own that radio, just basing that off of modulation, antenna placement, transmitter design. It has several design features in common with the cheaper 4px.




some of this information is incorrect, unless there is new method to transmit rf without an antenna that I'm not familiar with.

I have to look into it but I believe that is not true, for instance satelites are not broacasting on low frequencies but very high frequencies. It is true that lower frequencies go much easier through walls and other objects.

Same here, i'm also using RadioLink RC4G had massive range up to 1km since i drive FPV trucks on it on stock antenna. I have bunch of Sanwa MX3/M11and Futaba too but for long range Radio RC4G serve me great for the purpose. For racing at track i'll use branded like SANWA since it has more precise handling. Here's my truck running RadioLink RC4G. Yup we're driving far far away.

Pretty much any name brand radio(futaba/sanwa/ko) will go up to a 1/4 mile, which is waaaaaaayyyyy further than you can see your car clearly. So really, range is the least of your worries.

How you mount your antenna is also critical at longer distances, as is receiver placement. Placing the receiver away from other electronics and mounting your antenna vertically with an antenna tube should give you the best range.





p.s Lower frequencies are less prone to interference/have better range because they have a larger wavelength, which allows the waves to go around objects. But everyone is on 2.4 GHz nowadays anyway, so no worries.

older satellites I'm familiar with general used lower frequency than current hobby grade rc transmitter. Higher frequency had less range, but more bandwidth. (Normally a good demonstration you can see is comparing range on your home router using 2.4GHz vs 5GHz.

Lower frequencies having better range is why ham radio use such low frequencies. Similar to aircraft using HF long wire antennas, submarines using crazy long antennas.

Some decent information on frequency vs range

3 Factors that Limit Range in RF Applications - Laird Technologies Wireless Connectivity Blog

Bandwidth is why. You can put a lot more info in the same spectrum space at high frequencies. I'm sure that high frequencies would suffer attenuation due to atmosphere more than low ones. On surface craft penetration and various aspects like reflection, interference, etc probably would play a much larger part.

i was super excited to be able to share some things with a really smart dude (you). But then I saw I got c-blocked...lol kidding but the crew provided some good info to look in to. it seems like esteem wireless has something on their website that might add more detail but you would have to check that out. when selecting frequencies the place to start is with the amount of data and the distance it needs to travel. low frequency=lower bandwidth. gathering omni directional transmission into a directional cone or point to point also increases distance. But if there is a weakness to my knowledge it may come from the fact that the depth of my understanding comes from 2 areas. commercial wireless ethernet and municipal telemetry. Ive never done satellites or marine. a little bit of prison ethernet but thats it.

Yep, radio systems is something different compared with low frequency analog and digital technology although I do know some stuff.

My brother was in the early days a fanatic CB operator, he had 27MHz and 40MHz equipment in AM, FM and side band. To get through Europe he had a long range antenna which he could rotate and a 100 watt antenna amplifier (he could be heard on any radio, TV and even tape and record players all over the street), Satelites are on low power, ok they use dishes to transfer the signal to a small beam but with 20 to 50 watt they do transmit over long distances. Thats why my thoughts. But yes, I forgot that (over here) the 27/40MHz systems may transmit with no more than 100mW while the 2.4ghz DSSS systems did the same thing with only 10mW max.

I know the higher frequencies have more issues on surface level and going through objects, that is why there are/were issues with 2.4hgz with RC boats and for communications with submarines very low transmitting frequencies are used because the good range in water. The new 5G WiFi frequencies have also an issue to get a good range in an house.

I would like to believe this, however have seen enough posts about range issues with big $ radios, hence this topic. Mainly sanwa I guess.

Range is an issue for me as I mostly run in a very large wide open space, and the odd speed run. Zero time at tracks. Have had issues with some crappy flysky radios, as could be expected i suppose. Had a nice futaba radio years ago. Would like to find something modern that suits my needs

If anyone own first generation RadioLink RC4G and need extra range, open up the case and flick the 'magic' switch to LARGE on the transmitter module board. ....and yes you're welcome.
Tested solid connection past 1km in my FPV truck.

Photos:

I'm staggered that your Sanwa has range issues, they usually have a good rep.
Maybe you can try the Futaba, the 4pk/pl/s models are good without the mad price tag.
Or run KO like me. but I run in small spaces so can't confirm range with you....

Flysky= you get what you pay for.

I strongly suggest not modifying radios like the guy above, it could be illegal.