Radiomaster TX16S

[Geronimo]

Still very happy with my $300 DX-18.

Those were $1000 new. With the pace of change, I'm still looking at a 3 year replacement cycle and something that's upgradeable. HH/Spektrum has built a moat... and I'd rather diversify now

[Evan D]

You'll like it... Last week I bought a like new used iX12 for $300. Just to compare... I still like that HH/ Spektrum basically has a lifetime free warranty repair (at least in the US).

But I also have to say I played with it for a few days, decided I did not like it's OS and sold it. Sold it for more than I paid too. Still very happy with my $300 DX-18.

[Geronimo]

I view it like buying a motorcycle helmet. Buy the one you think your head is worth. If its worth $60, then buy any Walmart special you want. It does seem crazy to fly a $1000 plane and use a $200 radio and a $20 receiver

I use a Dx8 Gen2. I repurposed a Spektrum AR631 receiver from a Commander to a T-33. I had to reset the receiver and set it all back up. I got 90% of the way easily, and then suddenly I hit a wall. Thankfully I found a video where a guy actually knew where to find the gyro settings in forward programming to set the gyros so they work right.

Sometimes it is all about price, and sometimes it's just a waste of money. I ordered a TX16S and I'm going to find out for myself. Just FYI, the TX16S is $200 and the full razzle dazzle CNC plus face -plate upgrade (DIY) is $100 (which I didn't order). My Dx8 Gen2 cost me more than $300 for sure I'm really looking forward to using my PC to program my radio, that much I'm 100% sure of!

[Evan D]

Battery?

[Rebellion13]

The problem i see with this radio is everyone who has it ends up spending another $200+ on "upgrades" which includes the gymbals. So now youre looking at $450 to 500 for it. So its not any less expensive. Ive seen a few honest people on youtube lose signal while they're flying and the model was only about 50 yards away. When i say honest they didnt edit out the radio saying the signal is dangerously low

I came across this thread and wanted to give my 2c. I absolutely love this radio, as far as it costing $450 with upgrades, I bought mine with the hall gimbals for $199 and free shipping, I have not spent anything on it since, sure I could "add" eye candy to it with the metal face plate etc. I have had this for way over a year and Honestly I think it is a great radio, I have never had any issues with losing signal, I use the cheapo flysky receivers and so far they have worked fine

Cheers
Wade

[Evan D]

I like the Orange stuff from Hobby King. They used to have a 9ch TX made by the same company that makes Taranis and Flysky I think. The operating system was very Spektrum-ish and was on DSM2/X. Had triple rates, decent memory size and number of mixes for about $100, maybe under $100. If it wasn't for the ORX receivers I don't know if I'd be using Spektrum.

I don't use telemetry and don't worry about losing signal. Just not an issue. I know when to use satellites and how to route antennae.

[HangarQueen]

I view it like buying a motorcycle helmet. Buy the one you think your head is worth. If its worth $60, then buy any Walmart special you want. It does seem crazy to fly a $1000 plane and use a $200 radio and a $20 receiver

There is no real correlation between price and reliability. When I bought my Taranis, it cost around 150 bucks, and I never ever had any single incident with it. It proved more reliable than other radios in the club that cost a multiple of that. Even though some don't always like telemetry, this is what makes those radios so reliable, as they constantly report signal strength from receiver to radio, so you can detect any reception issue before it comes a problem. I never had a crash due to radio problems, only due to pilot error. With a 150$ radio and 35$ receivers. Other members had radios and receivers that cost a lot more than that, and had actual signal losses and crashed. All they could see was a blinking LED on their receiver, indicating a past signal loss. You could wonder if you want to fly a 1000$ plane with that equipment?

[Evan D]

There are really good under $100 transmitters and there are really good $20 receivers. You may be getting open source or a TX with only 6 channels or less memory but the link is good. But I like the helmet analogy.

[serpentracer]

I discovered a while ago that saving money for the sake of saving money when it comes to radio equipment is false economy. Even though I have my limits and thresholds (ie, over spending), I don't feel hard done by for spending more money when "really good" can be achieved right out of the gate. When I make recommendations to someone asking for answers and advice, I do so with what I perceive as their best interests in mind, not mine. I see what's out there and who uses what and the good that has provided them with joy and success and the bad they suffer with it. I don't really care what someone else buys, but only to help them down the best path given the parameters they've set for themselves. I don't need to see others do what I do to give myself validation for my choices. I don't find myself out in left field trying to convince as many others to join me. I don't find myself needing to seek out support groups. I try not to "push" for personal reasons. I recommend based on what I see others go through. If it works for you for genuine reasons, good on ya!

I view it like buying a motorcycle helmet. Buy the one you think your head is worth. If its worth $60, then buy any Walmart special you want. It does seem crazy to fly a $1000 plane and use a $200 radio and a $20 receiver

[xviper]

I discovered a while ago that saving money for the sake of saving money when it comes to radio equipment is false economy. Even though I have my limits and thresholds (ie, over spending), I don't feel hard done by for spending more money when "really good" can be achieved right out of the gate. When I make recommendations to someone asking for answers and advice, I do so with what I perceive as their best interests in mind, not mine. I see what's out there and who uses what and the good that has provided them with joy and success and the bad they suffer with it. I don't really care what someone else buys, but only to help them down the best path given the parameters they've set for themselves. I don't need to see others do what I do to give myself validation for my choices. I don't find myself out in left field trying to convince as many others to join me. I don't find myself needing to seek out support groups. I try not to "push" for personal reasons. I recommend based on what I see others go through. If it works for you for genuine reasons, good on ya!

[serpentracer]

The problem i see with this radio is everyone who has it ends up spending another $200+ on "upgrades" which includes the gymbals. So now youre looking at $450 to 500 for it. So its not any less expensive. Ive seen a few honest people on youtube lose signal while they're flying and the model was only about 50 yards away. When i say honest they didnt edit out the radio saying the signal is dangerously low

[xviper]

Hey Bill b, this would a good place to ask your question about the reverse thing. I'm sure HangarQueen will be able to get you going on that. After you get the answers, please come back and tell us if you still "love" it just as much.

[Evan D]

yes my $300 18ch Spek is more expensive that your TX16 but when I have over 100 planes, helos, and quads that need receivers having easier programing and inexpensive receivers is more important.

[Bill b]

And more expensive! 😆

[Evan D]

Spektrum is much easier to learn and use and receivers are much cheaper. Oh, and I love the side sliders on mine too.

[Bill b]

Anyone interested in the radio master 16s if ur thinking about it stop just get it! Oh man love this radio, saves a lot of money on receivers! And edge is easier to learn than opentx by far to me it was. I think this radio better than any out on market now and price can't beat! The sliders on side are great!

[HangarQueen]

OpenTX has the reputation as having a steep learning curve. Personally, I think that is exaggerated. Every system has a learning curve, and how steep that learning curve is, depends on what other system you might be used to.
In the nineties, I was using Multiplex, the venerable 3030 radio. For its time, it was revolutionary with its open mixes.
When I was looking for a replacement around 2012, I came upon the OpenTX system, and to me, it looked inspired by the MPX system. There was a small learning curve, but I felt at home immediately. At first, I was very apprehensive about the low price of a Taranis ("this can't be good, can it?"). But it was more than good enough, except for the quality of the switches (which I replaced). But in terms of reliability it really excelled, also thanks to the receiver signal telemetry, which has always been standard.
Then I bought a second-hand Spektrum DX6 for my indoor models, and I was totally lost with that system. It felt so limited and illogical, couldn't find my way in it at all. I sold it very soon after, couldn't work with it. It goes to show....
Then I moved to Ethos, which is clearly inspired by OpenTX. At first, it lacked quite a bit of features of OpenTX, and the programming logic is a bit different too. But by now, version 1.4.4, I am perfectly happy with it. I think for new customers, the "steep learning curve" argument really doesn't apply anymore. You get the enormous flexibility of OpenTX, but with a fancy interface now.
And those radios now all have up to 24 channels, standard telemetry capabilities and so on.
Long story short: everyone will like the system that they are used to, and find other systems difficult to use. And that is not a quality assessment at all, it's human nature.

[TangoVector]

I use my TX16S for planes. I love it! There is a learning curve, but once you understand how it works, there are no limitations and that's the best feature and also the weakness: Nothing is pre-defined, unless you want to and use a model template (available). I'm heavy into using the Companion, doing most of my programming on my Mac (available for PC or Linux also of course) and thenI just send it to the radio via USB. Much easier to use mouse and keyboard than the radio, even though the latest version of the UI in EdgeTX is great. The electronics are good quality and if you want better "feel" on the sticks there are full metal gimbals available that are second to no-one, according to those that have tested, they do cost an extra 120USD though.
I have the 4 in 1 multi module and mostly Frsky RX since I had a Taranis before. The 4 in 1 makes it easy to just keep on using any previous receiver and not having to get a bunch of new ones. Moving forward I will probably buy Flysky RX that have most of the features I want at a good price. The exception is a larger model that I'm building that will have two Frsky receivers bound and joined via SBus for redundancy and to have four antennas available.

[CM_Aero]

I've been very happy with the RM TX16s. It does have a learning curve for programming, but once I got familiar with setting up a few models, it became easier. I have made templates that I just copy each time I add a new model and adjust the template for that model accordingly. Saves a lot of time. I've set up fixed-wing, quads, helicopters, and boats. I have also converted over to EdgeTX from OpenTx. I don't have any recent experience with the Futaba system

[Evan D]

At my field a lot of people went to them but some returned (mostly to Spektrum) after being frustrated with open source programming. That said the hardware is pretty good. Maybe not top of the line Futaba, Jeti, Spektrum etc but good. And while I and others that have complicated (not quads) setups found open source difficult there is the new Edge OS and it comes with some presets and the color touch screen works well.

Price is good but you have to consider both software support (very good with groups of people on line) and hardware (other than some parts available on line this may be limited especially compared to basically free life time repair on Spek TX's).

Then you have to remember the other half of the system, receivers. Are there reasonably priced ones that meet your needs. In my opinion there are and with the 4-in-1 module you can use a lot of other protocols. That's a clear win for the Radiomaster and the reason a lot of plane pilots went to it from Spektrum.

Bottom line, like other things they are getting better and are a good option for many.