Futaba

Futaba has just announced their latest spread spectrum radio, the 10C. It comes bundled with the R6014FS 14 channel receiver and is expected to have a street price of $600 USD. RC Universe has the press release with all the details. The radio is expected to ship in April, and is so new that it's not posted to the Futaba web site yet.

Our take: This new ten channel radio falls nicely between the 7C and the 12FG transmitters, and is a direct competitor to the JR X9303 2.4. Feature-wise the 10C looks strong, with a much larger LCD than the 7C and a NiMH battery, plus the kinds of advanced programming features you'd expect at this price. The main drawback we see is the limit of 15 model memories. This can be alleviated by the use of CAMPac memory modules. We plan to bring you coverage of the 10C and other Futaba developments from the WRAM Show in two weeks.

Futaba has released their 2.4 GHz spread spectrum version of the popular 7C which we reviewed. It carries over the 10 model memory and programming features of the FM version, but because it's based on the proprietary 2.4 GHz FASST system, there is no need for crystals or worrying about channel conflicts with other pilots.

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Radio control transmitters have gotten extremely powerful, affordable, and ubiquitous. Even entry level radios come with small LCD screens, a few model memories, and functions like exponential. Feeling that it was time to upgrade, I decided to jump in somewhere in the middle of the price and feature spectrum.

The Futaba 7CAF is the airplane version of their seven channel computer transmitter. It comes bundled with an 8 channel R168DF FM receiver and four S3151 digital standard servos. Other packages are available for helicopter flyers, those who prefer PCM receivers, and a slightly less expensive version with analog servos.

If you've spent any time browsing Futaba's web site, or your favorite online dealer, you've probably noticed the incredible number of servos available. It can be daunting for modelers to choose the right servo for a given use.

It turns out that for airplane applications, there's probably only two servos you need to consider. (If you're one of those very serious flyers with a 10 foot wingspan, 5 horsepower monstrosity, you don't need this quick guide anyway). That's because most planes call for either standard or micro size servos, although it's worth noting that not everyone seems to agree on what micro means. This table lists the two models to look for: