Not sure what transmitter/receiver to get or what to look for for quadcopter

C

cmkluza

Member
I'm building my first quadcopter, and I've got most of the parts at the moment, but I'm having trouble picking the transmitter and receiver. I'm not sure what parts these depend on for compatibility, so I'll list what I have that I believe is relevant to choosing a transmitter and receiver below:
I actually do have this 5CH micro receiver at the moment, but I'm not entirely sure how it works, nor how to look for transmitters that are compatible. Is it easier and/or better to just buy a pair for something like this so you know there's compatibility? One of the reasons I'm partially confused is because I was under the impression that radios and transmitters/receivers were all very expensive, yet the prices on Hobby King is pretty low ($25 for this 5CH mini receiver and transmitter).

I guess my question is, is what I'm currently looking at ("Complete Systems" on Hobby King) what I need for this quadcopter? If so, how come it's so cheap, if not, what do I need to look for? Also, what should I look for as far as compatibility with the rest of the quadcopter goes?

Thanks for any help!
 
Spend a little extra and get a decent 9 channel radio (Turnigy 9X is good for the price) With a 5 channel, you are going to use up all your channels with your flight controls and flight mode switch and have nothing left if you want to add anything else
 
RENOV8R said:
Spend a little extra and get a decent 9 channel radio (Turnigy 9X is good for the price) With a 5 channel, you are going to use up all your channels with your flight controls and flight mode switch and have nothing left if you want to add anything else
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion! I didn't think about mode switch, but as this is a first quadcopter build for me and some friends, we weren't going for anything too complex, let alone 9ch.

Admittedly, maybe getting more channels would have been better, but the flight control board we've bought only supports up to 5ch (from the specifications: "Signal from Receiver: 1520us (5 channels)"), so is there any point at this point to spending more for a higher channel radio? I don't know exactly how compatibility works, but is it likely that in the future the quad could easily be upgraded to a higher channel flight control board without too many incompatibilities among other parts we already have? Sorry to ask so much, I'm still lacking a lot of knowledge when it comes to quadcopters and RC hobbies in general.

Jackson said:
I'd opt for a Radiolink over the Turnigy/Flysky.
http://www.gearbest.com/fpv-system/pp_229020.html

It's much more sophisticated and has a quadcopter specific mode. And if you want a tiny PPM RX you can get this.
http://www.gearbest.com/multi-rotor-parts/pp_272028.html
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion, but I have the same concerns/questions as shown above. Is it worth getting a ~$100 9ch, over a cheap-o 5ch (or even a decent 5ch), and would we be able to use it in the future with a better flight control board without having to replace too many other components?

Edit: Removed some questions, I saw that you can in fact use higher channel receivers, but you can only plug in 5 inputs to the board.

Edit 2: Additional question (sorry for all the questions), on Hobby King I'm seeing the same radios listed twice, one as "Mode 1" and one as "Mode 2". Does this mean that these radios cannot switch between modes? Is there something I should look for to ensure that the radio I get CAN switch modes? Thanks!
 
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Most folks fly in Mode2.

284386d1382260469-giri-della-morte-con-un-servo-rc-airplane-mode-2.jpg

Don't get a 5ch TX, that's the wrong place to save money. Minimum is 6ch with an LCD.

This is the best deal out there for a budget TX.
http://www.banggood.com/FlySky-FS-i...ransmitter-With-FS-iA6-Receiver-p-922606.html

It has a 3 way switch, an illuminated LCD and full failsafes for all channels. Note it is a bit smaller than some.

I use and like the Turnigy branded one.
 
Jackson said:
Most folks fly in Mode2.

284386d1382260469-giri-della-morte-con-un-servo-rc-airplane-mode-2.jpg

Don't get a 5ch TX, that's the wrong place to save money. Minimum is 6ch with an LCD.

This is the best deal out there for a budget TX.
http://www.banggood.com/FlySky-FS-i...ransmitter-With-FS-iA6-Receiver-p-922606.html

It has a 3 way switch, an illuminated LCD and full failsafes for all channels. Note it is a bit smaller than some.

I use and like the Turnigy branded one.
Click to expand...

Thanks for your suggestion! How can I be sure that the receiver of the radio you linked is compatible with the flight control board I liked in my original post? If that is compatible, I think we'll use that one; it's fairly cheap and still has plenty of channels/features.
 
cmkluza said:
How can I be sure that the receiver of the radio you linked is compatible with the flight control board
Click to expand...
:)

bce68f8ff908d91f.jpg

It follows the standard Flysky channel mapping. So from the FS RX ch1 > AIL, ch2 > ELE etc. Use ch5 for AUX.

When you get the TX you'll need to go into the AUX channels menu and see what knob/switch has been assigned to ch 5. I think the KK2 only has 2 flight modes so if you choose SWD they will then be chosen with the far right 2 position switch (you can choose which ever you want). Do note to Save a setting press CANCEL.

Also note the HK KK2 you have listed comes with rather old, 1.6 firmware. HK claims to have official boards.

This a legit eBay vendor, but it is a copy.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/KK2-15-LCD-...825953?hash=item1c4b626d21:g:u1cAAOSw2XFUln-J

Note you'll get the case and buzzer + updated 1.9s firmware.
 
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