Dumbo RC radios
 

Just wanted to ask the good people of RC Tech about these cheap radios as it's hard to get any experienced feedback on them.

I got one in a cheap Chinese RTR car. It glitches frequently (loss of signal followed by momentary loss of control). It's actually caused a crash already.

Now I have low expectations of the Chinese junk brands - but what surprises me is that this is supposedly a "good" radio if you read the reviews from YouTube celebrities.

Have I got a bad one? Or is it just that, as an experienced racer, I have much higher standards than your typical RC basher and notice things that they wouldn't?

I have not personally tested Dumbo RC radios, but I have confidence they offer decent quality, though I would imagine there will be an occasional dud here and there.


I've had really good luck with Radiolink brand radios in the past and was able to produce comparable consistency and speed with high end radios. I no longer race with Radiolink anymore but I will vouch for the brand as one that I would trust with a race grade car for sportsman level club racing. I have heard of reports with a bad Radiolink system that was glitchy right out of the box, so it stands to reason that Dumbo RC would experience the same fail rate where higher end radio systems are likely to do a much better job of quality control.


Another mid range budget system to consider is the Fly Sky Noble which many seasoned racers in my area are raving about that system.


I currently race with a discontinued HiTec Lynx4S and have a Graupner X-8E for my backup system. If there's anything I've learned is that I require a backup for every component in my arsenal. Everything we own is already dying a slow death from the day we start consuming it.

Fair play to Banggood, they responded to my problem very quickly and have given me a partial refund so I can replace the radio.

I think I just got unlucky with the QC on this one.

Will certainly be sticking with Futaba for the replacement rather than buying another off-brand. Never had a problem with them in 30-odd years, even with their cheapest sets.

I used to be a fan of RadioLink transmitters until the neutral/deadband gave up after a year or so of ownership. I can only imagine the steps used by RadioLink/Dumbo RC to keep costs low. sosidge, I think you hit the nail on the head when you talked about getting a bad one. Quality control seems to be out of control over the past decade+ of ultra low cost RC transmitters being put on to the market. Even though they get a bad rap, I had to see for myself...I had three FlySky FS-GT3C radios, and quality control surely was the issue in the one throttle potentiometer. The other two GT3C radios were fine, but the cheap-ish feel of jog/dial/wheel & buttons; along with me not having to upkeep many RCs for friends/family to play with... I reverted back to my thoughts of how important it is not to skimp (too much) on radio gear.

If I have a sudden influx of family members/friends stopping by to enjoy my hobby (and my RCs), would I buy more cheap radios again? Most likely. :blush:

Anyway... https://www.radiolink.com/DUMBORC

It just feels like such a false economy. I see "bashers" with £500-£1000 invested in their car, but they're controlling it with an off-brand analogue handset that cost them £30. Futaba will sell you a simple computer radio with decades of industry experience behind it and proper distribution support for not much more than £100. One glitch and you'll be spending more than £100 on repairs...

That is the truth right there... for some reason they all think their FrySky or Amazon Special is up to par, lol. I have had all my Futaba serviced with no issues when required by both Futaba USA and Robbe (German distributor at the time. The addage buy once, cry once no longer applies.

I do see that in the world of drifting. Those guys can even run a full option TRF420 and run it with a cheap ass Flysky or SpectrumRC

I see this a lot as well, $1000 TRX4/6s and Xmaxxs and Arrmas controlled by some unknown brand TX off banggood or aliexpress cos it's cheap for multiple receivers. Whole thing looks sketch to me...

Mean while I'm running $500 cars with a KO......:lol:

Hi guys, I've been shopping for a Dumborc radio for a few days and one question comes to mind "What is the best source for one of these radios?" I know some of what I've seen online has been bogus. So, which site do I turn to? My thinking is that banggood would be the first choice. Ebay was the worst for knock offs, and I'm not even going to check Aliexpress. We all know it's mostly badly made clones.

So, what do you think?

I don't think this radio is cloned, all the rebrands you see are coming from the same factory, there are a couple of different models available (for example 4ch vs 6ch and rx gyro compatibility).

I wouldn't recommend it if you have budget for a "proper" radio.

Sosidge! So good to see a familiar screen name. I find it very weird that Banggood selling the “same(?”) radio, tagged as DUMBORC and DUNBORC. The misspelled name even appeared in a close-up pic.

im just going to order and hope there are no shenanigans.

I have about 6 Dumbo tx/rx sets. They were bought to replace my STX2'S and TQI'S. As a stock replacement, they do quite well. Steering response is much faster than the STX2 and the range is at least double what the TQI can do.

There are only a few things to be aware of...

• Analog controls. Some escs dont calibrate well with analog settings. Using one with my Tekin RSPRO made a twitchy, uncontrollable mess.
• Steering trim is backwards
• Steering trim will drift. Turn your car off and back on again, you'll probably have to check and reset the trim. Also if you leave the car running for 5+ minutes. I'm always fixing trim with Dumbo radios... my biggest complaint.

Exactly. Although they are "nicer" than most RTR radios - it's a low bar. It's not a "nice" radio.

And although it does have lots of channels and some advanced hidden settings (watch some of the Youtube videos on how to access them) - it remains an analogue radio, with all the frustrations that entails.

A £100 digital radio from Futaba or Sanwa is SO much better.

I’ve been happy with my Radiolink transmitters. Not dumbo but similar. Great for the price.