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| Airtronics RD8000 |
Average Rating: 8 |
Dec 4, 2006
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Reviewed By: sgtmike74
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Join Date: Mar 6, 2006
Location:
Total Reviews: 1
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Rating: 8 out of 10
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Airtronics RD8000 is a mid-level eight channel computer radio which provides all of the features you would expect from a high end model but with a lower price tag. It offers Heli & Airplane modes, 10 model memory, Normal mode, 2 Idle up Modes and of course Throttle hold. The digital trims’ sensitivities can be adjusted in order to “fine tune” the dialing in process. This is a big advantage over other radios that don’t offer this feature and are more difficult to achieve a sweet spot for stable, hands off hover. The radio also offers you the ability to set different trim settings for different flight modes by turning on the “dynamic trim settings” in the menu.
Speaking of the menu, it is a snap programming this radio. The menu is read just as you would read a book, left to right, top to bottom. All of your channels can be selected by scrolling from left to right on the display. Once you are on your desired channel you simply scroll down to the function you wish to change. Once you are done you can continue to the next channel or hit your end key to return to the beginning. There is and “Extra” column which holds many of the additional functions at your disposal such as; internal clock, basic mode on/off, mixer adjustments, just to name a few. One of my favorite is the option to copy models from one memory slot to another. This is a great tool when you are experimenting with different settings without the worry of messing up your original ones. The display is located at the top of the transmitter with easy to read characters of the most important information such as; Timer, Remaining Battery Life, Current Volts, and Trim settings. The display also let you know what model (name and type) you currently have selected, what flight mode you are in, and gives warnings (visual and audio) for low power, timer trip, high throttle or idle up 1 & 2, when first turning on the tx. This is a safety feature built in that should help cut down on hotstarts.
If there is one draw back it would be the lack of a bar graph for your throttle and pitch curve which there are five for each flight mode. It would have been nice to have seen a visual reference of your settings plus the timer alarm is a little hard to hear.
Holding the transmitter in your hand, you will find all of the controls are easy to reach. The radio is very light and fits comfortably in the palms of your hands. You will also enjoy the benefit of the display being at the top of the radio allowing you to quickly glance at your readings with little trouble.
You can pick up a complete flight pack with this TX at around $270-$280. This will get you 5 servos, a FM dual conversion receiver (of which I have experienced zero glitches) wire harness, tx and rx battery packs. On the topics of receiver this radio has a very neat feature in that it can change the shift between positive and negative. This allows you to use ANY brand of fm receivers or you can opt for an Airtronics PCM receiver.
If there is one thing I wish the radio had, it would be the ability to change channels through a synth module.
In the end anyone who purchases this radio will end up with a very capable 8 channel radio that will last them for years plus extra cash in the pocket to buy some fuel! |
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• Ability to fly with ANY FM Reciver or ATX PCM RX
• Easy to set up
• Excellent price on TX/Flight Pack Combo
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• Lack of line graph on throttle/pitch curve
• Wish it had a synth module for channel selection
• Alarm is a little hard to hear at times.
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