I traded my JR DSX9 in for a Futaba 10C and never looked back.
It has sliders for tilt-control on the side of the tx. Something to think about.
I had to program a friends new 14SG a week ago. It had sliders and is a nice radio but it was a b#$ch to program! Non-tactile rub your finger around a pad instead of a joystick. I hated it.
Get some hands-on at your local shop before you decide this one.
My 10C is 2 years old now and I love it.
Pete
Are you sure your DX8 is 5.8gHz - i don't think i've ever seen an RC radio on 5.8 - Vtx yes, but not radio control.
I have a DX8 too and went down the "i must switch to futaba" road.
My next comments are purely subjective, but i bought a 10C and then a 12FG and to be honest, for the money i found the build quality and plastics used to be very cheap indeed - to the point of feeling extremely disappointed with the 12FG given the money it cost.
I also found the Futaba menu structure to be rather unintuative and the dial and button navigation was slow.
I ended up selling the futaba gear and going down the Jeti route. The new jeti radios are a magnitude step up in quality compared to almost anything else and i'm glad i've gone down this route for the S800 - especially given the ability to use two receivers together in a master and clone mode.
Despite it's detractors the DX8 is actually a great radio and i still have mine, definitely go and get your hands on radios rather before buying.
IMHO i think trying to get a reliable 2km from any 2.4g radio might be a big ask.
I've seen a futaba radio glitch into failsafe at 500m before now and i wouldn't trust my DX8 at more than 400m.
Definitely DON'T fly until you loose a signal - disaster and trouble live down that road.
If you want to range test, either use the radio's range test function or have someone hold your MR while you walk off into the distance with the radio, communicate with them via your phone.
I've added an EzUHF on UK legal frequency to my DX8 and had no problems with it - it's also cheaper than buying a whole new radio.
Jeti are czech btw :tennis:
A UHF system will significantly increase your range.
It's a matter of making a cable which connects to the DX8 output and the EzUHF input.
I made one with a good quality s-video cable.
You will also need a 3cell lipo pack to power the EzUHF, which can be held on the back of the DX8 with velcro.
There's no need to open up the DX8
You may or may not know the following.
2Km is a long way, far beyond line of sight - the maximum distance a BNUCs qualified sUAS pilot is allowed to fly is a radius of 500m around themselves.
Before going down this route there's a lot of stuff which should be done to ensure a safe flight… if you're flying in SW London, there's a lot of restricted airspace and if you're flying into or through that airspace you should be informing the local ATC and asking for permission.
be very, very careful.
... and I'm looking to get around 2km ...
I find this sort of post really disturbing. There are a whole lot of responsible flyers around who fly within their own and their equipment's abilities and with large helpings of plain old common sense. And then there is the Johnny-Come-Lately FPV crowd who have little or no real experience of r/c flying, little or no knowledge of the equipment involved or required, and talk about 2km flying range. What for? Where is the responsible safety net with this sort of ambition?
They are in the pretty similar category to the mile-high crowd who take their MR's to the stratosphere for kicks with little regard for the consequences of a high altitude collision with a full size aircraft that they don't even know is there - particularly if they are goggle wearers.