Spektrum DX5 Rugged

[svt923]

If this radio was available next year, I would buy it in a moment.

Horizon does release new products on Thursdays, I wouldn't be surprised if the official announcement came then.

 

[2mtech]

I'd find these interesting. Did the last event in the rain with the DX4C's in Wal-Mart bags...not ideal, and I've always coveted lanyard rings as well.

Spektrum annoys me with its requirement to scroll to the top of each screen to go back rather than use the BACK button that is right there next to the thumb wheel.

Long pressing the scroll bar from any screen acts as a BACK function too...was glad I realized that after experiencing the same frustration.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I do my best to never use customer service at all in my life. If I had a problem with flysky it was easy. Hack kit and go about my day.

The issue with the spektrum radio is really easy to fix. I already ordered a $45 waterproof sanwa receiver so the spektrum can go back on the shelf. :lol:

Not using customer service is an odd thing to pride yourself on. I try to avoid tech support of pretty much all companies because the flow charts they read usually seem to know less than me. But customer service is there when you receive defective products and that's where Horizon's is the best.

On this so far mythical radio there is a lanyard loop but the rest of pistol radios do not.

If this was about any other brand you'd be saying something like "if you can't figure out a way to mount a lanyard without a little loop "

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

Not using customer service is an odd thing to pride yourself on. I try to avoid tech support of pretty much all companies because the flow charts they read usually seem to know less than me. But customer service is there when you receive defective products and that's where Horizon's is the best.



If this was about any other brand you'd be saying something like "if you can't figure out a way to mount a lanyard without a little loop "

I avoid customer support by not buying questionable brands... well usually anyway. I've been suckered into buying junk from fanbois and hype before and had quick failure so I limit what new brands I'll try by doing a pile of research first. I also avoid CS by not getting bent about simple things. I see people complaining about missing shock cups or other miscellaneous basically insignificant parts missing so they contact the manufacturer and wait for parts to arrive. That's insanity to me. My time at the build bench is precious so no $.04 part is going to halt production. If I can't source a needed part from my own inventory I'll head to the hobby shop and buy it. My time is worth more to me than most so I try to use it wisely. It is very rare that I need to go to the hobby shop but by the time I do I'm never going for 1 miscellaneous part.



The lanyard issue is easily bypassed.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

I avoid customer support by not buying questionable brands... well usually anyway. I've been suckered into buying junk from fanbois and hype before and had quick failure so I limit what new brands I'll try by doing a pile of research first. I also avoid CS by not getting bent about simple things. I see people complaining about missing shock cups or other miscellaneous basically insignificant parts missing so they contact the manufacturer and wait for parts to arrive. That's insanity to me. My time at the build bench is precious so no $.04 part is going to halt production. If I can't source a needed part from my own inventory I'll head to the hobby shop and buy it. My time is worth more to me than most so I try to use it wisely. It is very rare that I need to go to the hobby shop but by the time I do I'm never going for 1 miscellaneous part.

Well good luck with avoiding failures forever because even the most reliable brands in the world have failures.

I agree - I'm not spending an hour on the phone for a $1 part. I will sometimes send off an email, which takes 30 seconds, and if I get the part great if not I learn to avoid that brand.

So how may rigs do you have with pre-X series Castle ESCs with external BECs, ReefsRC servos and KLR tires? :mrgreen:

The lanyard issue is easily bypassed.

Exactly. It's a non issue. It's nice Spektrum appears to be adding it though.


Oh and those of you looking for a new radio the regular, non rugged DX5 is on sale today for $99.99 with receiver! You can get the radio with the AVC receiver for a little more if you're into that sort of thing.

https://www.horizonhobby.com/dx5c-dsmr-5-ch-tx-w-sr415-spm5100

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

So how may rigs do you have with pre-X series Castle ESCs with external BECs, ReefsRC servos and KLR tires? :mrgreen:


Exactly. It's a non issue. It's nice Spektrum appears to be adding it though.

The pro has dual br-minis and a 14A bec
Exo has an mmp and 10A bec

I have a couple sets of 1.9 klrs/X4's (all on 2.2's because 1.9's are dumb) 2 1/2 sets of 2.2 klrs all have been cut apart for their sidewalls. :lol:

And 1 reefs 555 pos servo. I got suckered in by the hype on that turd...

The lanyard loop is a non issue but still annoying. Even flysky includes a loop.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

The pro has dual br-minis and a 14A bec
Exo has an mmp and 10A bec

I have a couple sets of 1.9 klrs/X4's (all on 2.2's because 1.9's are dumb) 2 1/2 sets of 2.2 klrs all have been cut apart for their sidewalls. :lol:

And 1 reefs 555 pos servo. I got suckered in by the hype on that turd...

The lanyard loop is a non issue but still annoying. Even flysky includes a loop.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

Yea the reefs is pathetic. I bought it to do a torque test comparison with a bunch of servos including the 3 brother *cough Holmes *cough servo but broke the 3 brothers almost immediately so I figured to hell with it and sold the 3brothers. Got suckered twice. :lmao:

 

[JatoTheRipper]

Yea the reefs is pathetic. I bought it to do a torque test comparison with a bunch of servos including the 3 brother *cough Holmes *cough servo but broke the 3 brothers almost immediately so I figured to hell with it and sold the 3brothers. Got suckered twice. :lmao:

3Bros is Holmes? And did you mean you broke the 3Bros immediately or the Reefs?

 

[MasteroFlego]

3Bros is Holmes? And did you mean you broke the 3Bros immediately or the Reefs?

I think he means it's a ripoff of the shv500

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[WHITE-TRASH]

3Bros is Holmes? And did you mean you broke the 3Bros immediately or the Reefs?

The reefs is weak and super slow. Not worth my time to run. Now seeing all the busted gear sets it makes me sad I fell for it.

I broke the 3brothers almost immediately. I took out a couple small gears that are supposedly steel (and I highly suspect I bent the center pin) so i sent it in and they sent out a new servo saying the case was damaged at the pin holes but the pin wasn't bent.

How do you damage the holes without damaging the pin? These are all issues Holmes had with the shv500v1 that they claim vehemently their servo is not a copy of.:ror:

The replacement servo went in my sporty thinking it'd live but it started steering wonky, talked to Holmes and he told me the center pin was bent. Tore it down and sure as shit that "unbendable" center pin was bent. The hype train was real and strong on that one. Straightened the pin and sold it to a buddy cheap, he can deal with their customer support and I'll run servos that don't suck.

I think he means it's a ripoff of the shv500

Bingo.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

SBG posted it on the FB so it looks like it's legit.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1983111935109283&id=531091620311329

 

[durok]

(My) Desired Radio Features:

Waterproof (reasonably so, doesn't really need to survive a dunking, but a rain shower most definitely)

Lanyard Loop (prevents dunking, unless you go in the river with it - also allows for less "ruggedizing")

Convertible smartphone/GoPro Mount (of some sort, not all of us spend the green on GoPros, smartphones are everywhere)

Rubber Armor (minimal, if there's a loop it's less likely to be dropped but still might be knocked about a bit)

Multiple Versions (sell at different prices with 3CH basic receiver, 5/6CH upgrade receiver, maybe a telemetry/gyro/whatever one for roadies)

Thumb Wheel Control (I have the THC Shapeways add-on on my GT3C)

Left-Handed Convertible (so no one feels left out of the fun...)


I added a lanyard to my Futaba 3PV, but have yet to use it in a vehicle, and there's a smartphone mount sold for the Traxxas stock transmitter out there, and FlySky has the multiple receiver versions thing going if they're hacked, and there's the aforementioned Shapeways thumbwheel - and now this ruggedized and waterproof Spektrum with a thumbwheel...

I hope radio manufacturers pay attention and combine most or all of these options in one radio.

I suppose if the Spektrum sells well, they will...

Otherwise, we'll just get more fancy "grandstand racer" pistol radios coming down the pike.

Oh - but I still want one of the FlySky FS-NB4 Nomadios, that thing is gonna be very cool in its own way.

Probably take some time for them to get it properly distributed here in the US, and with more channels and receiver options.

 

[BackWoods7]

If you have that many vehicles, that means you have already spent a lot of money, so why so many complaints about purchasing receivers...? Makes no sense, just purchase the Traxxas TRX4 4 channel transmitter, and the Bluetooth Link, purchase more of their receivers like I am doing. They function great, easy to use, and receivers cost $30 plus they have more than 4 channels to use in the receivers for whatever you choose. If you need a transmitter that costs more than that then there should be absolutely no complaining!!!!

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That's what I plan on going to when I need something with more adjustments

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I owned a Futaba 4PLS once, you couldn't get it to feel solid no matter how often I tightened all the case screws, it was a pain in the ass to adjust and especially program, and not worth more than $50, but I had never purchased a supposedly high end radio and paid $179 on sale, regular was $249-$279, something like that, regretted every second I owned it. Then I tried a DXC5, it was bad too. I think this new FlySky is well worth trying

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[WHITE-TRASH]

For most users a basic 3 or 4 channel radio like a traxxas is perfecrly fine. Once you start getting into MOA mixing and 4 wheel steer the basic radios get surpassed and you have to step up.

I went into it knowing full well that sanwa/airtronics receivers are some of the most expensive on the market. Now about 8 months later there is no way I'd give it up. I like it so much I bought another for the shelf as backup in case something happened to my current radio. It's just that good. 8)

 

[Greatscott]

If you have that many vehicles, that means you have already spent a lot of money, so why so many complaints about purchasing receivers...? Makes no sense, just purchase the Traxxas TRX4 4 channel transmitter, and the Bluetooth Link, purchase more of their receivers like I am doing. They function great, easy to use, and receivers cost $30 plus they have more than 4 channels to use in the receivers for whatever you choose. If you need a transmitter that costs more than that then there should be absolutely no complaining!!!!

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If that set up works for you and you are happy with it, then that is what you should go with. Even with the Bluetooth, TQi radios are still very limited. I am a Traxxas fan, but not a fan of how limited their radios are. When you start trying to do things like control winches, lights, set up MOA, and anything that is not included on a Traxxas RC, it gets very frustrating. To control extra things you have to buy one of those hokey key fobs for extra channels.

For most users a basic 3 or 4 channel radio like a traxxas is perfecrly fine. Once you start getting into MOA mixing and 4 wheel steer the basic radios get surpassed and you have to step up.

I went into it knowing full well that sanwa/airtronics receivers are some of the most expensive on the market. Now about 8 months later there is no way I'd give it up. I like it so much I bought another for the shelf as backup in case something happened to my current radio. It's just that good. 8)

It just makes your life easier when you commit to one particular flavor of a thing.

One item on my wish list for radios... I wish they were easier to swap between receivers. In other words, I have a DX5R and a DX5C, I set up and bind one RC/RX to one radio, and do the same for another RC/RX. But, it is a metric pain in the butt if I want to run the first RC/RX with the second radio. This is where I would really like to see smarter RXs, so that I can bind it with another radio and have the option of having all of the same settings as the first radio when the bind is made. TQi radios can sort of do this, but the settings are often messed up; and, as mentioned above, TQi radios are very limited.

 

[svt923]

I have seen 2 European shops with very Horizon Hobby looking info sheets and pictures listing the DX5 Rugged at €179.99. The same shops had the DX6R listed for €499 which sells for $499 in the US so I'm guessing $179.99 is going to be the price.

 

[WHITE-TRASH]

It just makes your life easier when you commit to one particular flavor of a thing.

One item on my wish list for radios... I wish they were easier to swap between receivers. In other words, I have a DX5R and a DX5C, I set up and bind one RC/RX to one radio, and do the same for another RC/RX. But, it is a metric pain in the butt if I want to run the first RC/RX with the second radio. This is where I would really like to see smarter RXs, so that I can bind it with another radio and have the option of having all of the same settings as the first radio when the bind is made. TQi radios can sort of do this, but the settings are often messed up; and, as mentioned above, TQi radios are very limited.

Newer spektrum can more or less do it by loading the settings on a micro SD card and swapping it between radios.

When I've had to do that I set the radios side by side and program an open model slot on the new radio with the settings from the old radio. Clunky but effective.

It would be nifty if the settings were flashed to the receiver wouldn't it? I can see it being annoying to move receivers between rigs unless there is a simple way to wipe the settings.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

It would be nifty if the settings were flashed to the receiver wouldn't it? I can see it being annoying to move receivers between rigs unless there is a simple way to wipe the settings.

That would be cool, but then you'd have to add memory which would raise the price of the receiver as well as possibly reducing the life of the receivers.

 

[MasteroFlego]

It would be easier to just put a chip in the receiver that remembers its unique ID, then your super smart radio will remember what settings to use with that receiver, then if you want to transfer profiles between radios you connect them together with Bluetooth. And you can save profiles to the cloud or something through WiFi or USB,

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