Best budget receiver/gyro set up for Spektrum transmitter

[mcmoyer]

I've got Lemon stabilizers in all my non-HH models. I think I have 4 Lemons altogether, 1 regular and 3 Stab+. The more I read about them, the more I think that the "rescue" mode won't help me when I really need it. Then I read about HobbyEagle and it doesn't seem to have a stellar record either.

I'm currently leaning towards an AR620 with a Zohd Kopilot. That's quite a bit more than a LemonRX Stab+ at $80, but as I learned with Helicopters...a good gyro with bailout will save you a lot of money in repair parts.

Is this a good setup or am I missing something better? If it makes a difference, I think my next model is an ArrowsRC Marlin.

[xviper]

When HobbyEagle first came out with their gyro with "recovery mode", I put one into one of my jets. Everything worked wonderfully - for several flights. Then, for no apparent reason and not having changed anything nor having crashed the plane, the recovery mode caused the plane to "go crazy". It would just dive and head for the ground. Switching OFF recovery, brought the plane back under my full control. I have never tried to use recovery mode on any subsequent HobbyEagle since and they have worked very well just on gyro mode. I have many planes with the A3-L in them.
I've also used the Lemon stab PLUS and still have one in a plane. The gyro works very well, perhaps even better than the HobbyEagle and for now, "auto-level" (recovery) also appears to work well, although I never need it, so I don't use it. I don't like the current Lemon PLUS simply because it has no satellite antenna. Those 2 little diversity antennas seem to have some range issues, so I keep that plane fairly close. I won't buy the PLUS anymore until they put the sat back into it.
Your ZOHD Kopilot is essentially a "RTH" (return to home) device with all the other stuff in it to make RTH work. RTH acts very much like "recovery" when you throw the switch because of all the features it needs to function. I've not used the ZOHD device so I can't tell you if it actually works.
I have, however, used other RTH devices such as the HobbyKing Turnigy T1000 (no longer available except in Europe) and the Bigaole. Both of these work exceptionally well but the Bigaole by itself costs about $100.00 CAN. It's not something I would put into all of my planes that I want recovery mode (I don't really need recovery anymore anyway) as it's just too expensive to install in dozens of planes. I use these strictly for sailplanes that can fly far, high and out of sight. And finally, you may not consider the price of these as "budget" devices.
Also not a "budget" device, are the Spektrum AS3X/SAFE receivers. I consider these as your best option especially the AR637T. If you have a Gen 2 Spectrum TX, you can easily program these via "forward programming". Again, you may not consider this option as "budget".
Until you can fly without the need for a "rescue" device, a jet may not be a good next step. These go faster than what you may used to and by the time you need to activate "rescue" mode, it may not be able to save your plane anyway.
Give the ZOHD a try but program it by the book and know how to test it safely before counting on it.

[mcmoyer]

Thanks for the reply. I was not aware that it was easy to program the AR637T. I have a DX9 so I don't think I should have an issue. I thought HH just sold those receivers to replace stuff in their planes. I know I'd seen people putting them in other models but I figured that they had to jump through hoops to get them to behave correctly.

This would technically be my 3rd jet. Technically...since I own the Eflite F15 & F16 64mm versions. This would be my first jet with rudder and flaps though. I was thinking it might be a bit faster than either of my current ones, so being able to have a RTH would be useful if it gets too far away too quick for me to be able to see the orientation. Getting old sucks and my eyes just aren't as good as they used to be.

[xviper]

Thanks for the reply. I was not aware that it was easy to program the AR637T. I have a DX9 so I don't think I should have an issue. I thought HH just sold those receivers to replace stuff in their planes. I know I'd seen people putting them in other models but I figured that they had to jump through hoops to get them to behave correctly.

This would technically be my 3rd jet. Technically...since I own the Eflite F15 & F16 64mm versions. This would be my first jet with rudder and flaps though. I was thinking it might be a bit faster than either of my current ones, so being able to have a RTH would be useful if it gets too far away too quick for me to be able to see the orientation. Getting old sucks and my eyes just aren't as good as they used to be.

Those other Eflite jets, I believe can be had with SAFE, so you are used to having a "rescue" capability on a switch. I just installed an AR637T into a plane and it was quite easy to program and it works so well, both in terms of gyro function and SAFE. If not for the cost of them, I'd put a 637T in more of my planes just because it's so convenient to program. If you go this route, just buy an open, unlocked, unprogrammed new one. As soon as you bind it, the forward programming menu shows up on the your TX. Horizon has a whole bunch of YouTube videos showing you how to and what to program, but you don't need to watch them all. Once you see what's in the menu, you can following along the prompts and go step by step on how to do it. For a jet, you should target gains in the 60 - 70 range for AIL (and priority of 160). You can go higher gain (but same priority) for ELE and even a bit higher for RUD. As for SAFE, that's another page in the menu and you can set stuff like bank angle and switch selection position. I chose a 3-position switch where 0 is no gain, 1 is the selected gain and 2 is SAFE. You can do any sort of combination you wish. You can even put SAFE on the button if you like.
Another possibility is, since you already own the F-15, is you may be able to download the RX files for that plane (or copy it from the F-15) and put it onto the new 637T. The F-15 is very similar to the one you plan to get in terms of function and speed (a bit faster), so the gains and priorities should work for it. Flaps don't enter into the equation for the gyro directly as they aren't gyro controlled but you may have to tell the RX that you have flaps. Your AR630 RX has forward programming, so scroll down and take a look at the settings. Just don't click on anything in case you change something.

[mcmoyer]

armed with this new information, I was looking through HH's offerings. It looks like they have similar offerings in the AR630, AR631 & AR637T. From what I gather, the strength of the telemetry and the external antenna are what differentiate the AR630 from AR637T. For a person like me who flies LOS and all foamies under 1.5M wingspan, would there be much to be gained from AR637T over the AR630?

[xviper]

Probably not. I don't trust the range of the antenna-less ones. I prefer to have a satellite since I can fly fairly far with some planes. If you keep your planes in close and not too small, buy on the basis of what you'd like to spend. The 637T only gives valuable telemetry if you use a smart ESC and smart battery. It act not much different if you don't have those other "smart" components. I don't find the RX voltage to be of much use in general. I only got the 637T because a friend uses them and the hobby shop had one left. I just wanted to try one.

[kallend]

I was thinking it might be a bit faster than either of my current ones, so being able to have a RTH would be useful if it gets too far away too quick for me to be able to see the orientation. Getting old sucks and my eyes just aren't as good as they used to be.

The AR637T does not have an RTH capability. That would require a GPS enabled flight controller.

It is, however, a very nice receiver and easy to set up using "forward programming". I have several. It WILL give flight pack voltage for an electric up to 12S or 14S simply by connecting a wire to the battery or ESC + lead, and it has a built-in altimeter and vario.

[mcmoyer]

oh man, I just got my Marlin yesterday and so I got around to programming the AR630. Thanks so much for recommending this. The customization features of this receiver/gyro are amazing and being able to program it exclusively through the radio is awesome. There's been times when I'm flying my LemonRx equipped planes and wished I'd brought a flat head with me to adjust the pots. Being able to do this, but while the plane is in the air is a huge step up.