Which radio would you get for a WK-M?

Kilby

Kilby

Active Member
I've been trying this on in my usual set up to see how it feels, and so far I like it (not that I've actually flown with it or anything, just the feel). The only thing I don't care for right out of the gate is the sliders on the back. They feel a little hard to push around. I love the idea of having them there, but it feels like the design fell a little short in that area. Very stiff and rigid. Feels like it would be hard to move just a little bit, but time will tell.

-Terry
 

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rwilabee

Member
When I was using the 8FG Iwas using the round knob on the top left for my gimble. Pretty smooth. The only problem is that you have to take you hand off but that didn't seem to be a problem for me with the WKM.

Rich

Kilby said:
I've been trying this on in my usual set up to see how it feels, and so far I like it (not that I've actually flown with it or anything, just the feel). The only thing I don't care for right out of the gate is the sliders on the back. They feel a little hard to push around. I love the idea of having them there, but it feels like the design fell a little short in that area. Very stiff and rigid. Feels like it would be hard to move just a little bit, but time will tell.

-Terry
Click to expand...
 

Kilby

Kilby

Active Member
Now I'm having second thoughts about keeping this exact one. I put the battery in and charged it up, now I can sit here and watch the voltage drop like a rock without even doing anything, just being powered up. I've lost .5 volts in about 10 minutes. That sounds like an old batter to me, and that makes me think the whole thing has been sitting there in that shop for a while. Anyone have any idea when they released the 8FG Super? I'm trying to gauge how long they have been sitting on this radio before selling it to me.

-Terry
 

R

RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
Kilby said:
Now I'm having second thoughts about keeping this exact one. I put the battery in and charged it up, now I can sit here and watch the voltage drop like a rock without even doing anything, just being powered up. I've lost .5 volts in about 10 minutes. That sounds like an old batter to me, and that makes me think the whole thing has been sitting there in that shop for a while. Anyone have any idea when they released the 8FG Super? I'm trying to gauge how long they have been sitting on this radio before selling it to me.

-Terry
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Toss the battery that came with it and get a lipo pack for the TX you won't regret it. I swapped over to lipos in my TX a couple years ago and I won't use anything else now, with heavy usage I have to charge the pack every two weeks. Even if I forget to charge the pack when it starts getting low I can recharge it fairly quickly with a standard lipo charger, far better setup than nicad or nimh packs.

Sliders on the back of the TX, my JR 11X has one on each side and I thought the same when I first got it, now I wouldn't be without, just takes a little getting used to. That said the only thing I would use a Futaba radio for is to prop a door open, I'll take a JR or Graupner radio over one any day.

Ken
 


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rwilabee

Member
Ken....

I'm not familiar with the Graupner radios but at our flying field the Spektrum receivers take more hits and seem to have a shorter range than the Futaba receivers. Plus how can you go wrong with SBus, fewer connectors and wires make for a clean looking set up. Did you have a problem with Futaba at one time.

Rich

RTRyder said:
Toss the battery that came with it and get a lipo pack for the TX you won't regret it. I swapped over to lipos in my TX a couple years ago and I won't use anything else now, with heavy usage I have to charge the pack every two weeks. Even if I forget to charge the pack when it starts getting low I can recharge it fairly quickly with a standard lipo charger, far better setup than nicad or nimh packs.

Sliders on the back of the TX, my JR 11X has one on each side and I thought the same when I first got it, now I wouldn't be without, just takes a little getting used to. That said the only thing I would use a Futaba radio for is to prop a door open, I'll take a JR or Graupner radio over one any day.

Ken
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Kilby

Kilby

Active Member
I see your point about the lipo, but it still doesn't seem right that the stock battery won't even hold a charge out of the box. I'm going to check with my other shop tomorrow and see if they have a Super. If they do, I'll go swap them out and order a lipo as well. Id rather have 2 batteries and the newest version of the radio anyway, truth be told.

Thanks for the tips!

-Terry
 

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llbr22

Member
The stock battery is probably fine. It just looses that peak voltage right from the charger then levels out. Try it til the Low voltage warning comes on. Should still be a few hours of use. Low voltage is stock at 6.8 I think, and that still plenty before shutting off or loosing range.
 

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RTRyder

Merlin of Multirotors
llbr22 said:
The stock battery is probably fine. It just looses that peak voltage right from the charger then levels out. Try it til the Low voltage warning comes on. Should still be a few hours of use. Low voltage is stock at 6.8 I think, and that still plenty before shutting off or loosing range.
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Plus the fact that nimh packs need a couple charge/discharge cycles before they reach full capacity and duration, if that's what it came with. Still, I'd chuck it and get a lipo that will last a good 8 hours minimum before needing a recharge.

Ken
 

Kilby

Kilby

Active Member
It went from 8.1 to 7.0 in a matter of 15 minutes. Not only that, I figured out that this unit was at that store for well over a year. I don't care for that to much. To be completely honest as well, they had a bunch of new guys working in that shop that kinda creeped me out. I'm pretty sure they were all coked up now that I think about it. Eyes bugging out of their head and talking REAL loud and fast. The whole thing just creeps me out now, so I'm taking it back tonight. I hope it all goes well. I hate to have money tied up in something that I'm not using.

-Terry


llbr22 said:
The stock battery is probably fine. It just looses that peak voltage right from the charger then levels out. Try it til the Low voltage warning comes on. Should still be a few hours of use. Low voltage is stock at 6.8 I think, and that still plenty before shutting off or loosing range.
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Totallycommitted

Member
I,m using the Hitec aurora 9 radio with an okto and a wkm and and an av200, which I will power and control separately of the wkm. The radio is awesome all knobs sliders and three way switches included and good battery life. I,d suggest using a separate system for your cam gimbal so that it is not running off your main battery pack. (remember if you lose cam ability mid air no problem but if you exhaust your battery from camera movements then your expected flight time may have been reduced considerably leading to a fall from grace)

Matt
 

kloner

kloner

Aerial DP
if voltage drop is an issue for ya, look at life packs. I use 11x, got on in there, starts off at 10.1 volt, goes down to 9.8 after 6-7 hours then sets off my low voltage alarm

I swore the 8fg regular was 8 channel and the 8fg super was the 14 channel version? Only looked at em a few times though so may be wrong
 

Kilby

Kilby

Active Member
kloner, you are correct about the 8 channel vs 14, but with the SD card slot you can put the most recent firmware on the older radio and upgrade it to 14 channels.

-Terry
 

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TyGrrr

Member
Regarding "Slider Levers"... wondering if anyone has informed opinion of movement smoothness (ie: in terms of camera gimbal control)...trying to decide between 8FG Super & JR 9503 and don't have access to a LHS. Has anyone had their hands on both transmitters that could comment??

Since I don't have opportunity to see and feel in-person, I can only go by what I read, but what I've read makes me lean towards Futaba in this regard.
 
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TyGrrr

Member
RTRyder said:
Toss the battery that came with it and get a lipo pack for the TX you won't regret it. I swapped over to lipos in my TX a couple years ago and I won't use anything else now, with heavy usage I have to charge the pack every two weeks. Even if I forget to charge the pack when it starts getting low I can recharge it fairly quickly with a standard lipo charger, far better setup than nicad or nimh packs.

Sliders on the back of the TX, my JR 11X has one on each side and I thought the same when I first got it, now I wouldn't be without, just takes a little getting used to. That said the only thing I would use a Futaba radio for is to prop a door open, I'll take a JR or Graupner radio over one any day.

Ken
Click to expand...

Ken, Why so negative about Futaba...can you expand on remark, "...the only thing I would use a Futaba radio for is to prop a door open..." I am trying to select a radio that will ultimately be primarily for AP. I'm just getting my feet wet with multi-rotors, have an F550 on order with plans to move to a bigger platform ASAP but want to purchase a radio immediately to begin familiarizing myself with it & using it with AeroSim...So, my selection is down to Futaba 8FG-Super vs JR9503. I see pros and cons for both, but you sound very adamantly against Futaba. Please explain, and thank's in advace for sharing your thoughts...most appreciated!
 


K

Kari

Member
Mbsteed: looks very interesting, good looking ergonomics. What are those ap related features? tried to look from website but didnt find quickly. Quite expensive though.

I've been very happy with futaba 8fg super. Only why envying some other more expensive radios is missing telemetry functions, but s-bus and setting up with dji is so easy and overall great radio.
 

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llbr22

Member
TyGrrr said:
Regarding "Slider Levers"... wondering if anyone has informed opinion of movement smoothness (ie: in terms of camera gimbal control)...trying to decide between 8FG Super & JR 9503 and don't have access to a LHS. Has anyone had their hands on both transmitters that could comment??

Since I don't have opportunity to see and feel in-person, I can only go by what I read, but what I've read makes me lean towards Futaba in this regard.
Click to expand...

8FG sliders are ratcheted, and not smooth at all. They do have a center notch, but it's sometimes hard to find. I believe 9503 sliders are smooth, but may not lock into position because of that.

Since I use my 8FG slider for my camera tilt, I rely on a slow tilt speed from the DJI rather than my movement of the slider.
 



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