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ACCESS , just curious about your thoughts on it

Jim Snodgrass

Jim Snodgrass

New User
Personally I feel this new FrSky protocol offers a lot of great new features especially for those with multiple TXs and who hate fumbling with the FS switch to bind and set Failsafe (like me). I also feel it’s value is unproven and may never be realized if there’s no reasonably priced hw/sw upgrade path to get it on legacy X7 and 9D series radios. Just wondering what you think tho.. will it ultimately succeed..?
 
No doubt it will succeed!

Not sure why you would think it needs to be backwards compliant with the current or legacy radio to be successful. I know that when PCM radios came out there was no drive to upgrade the old FM radio. If you wanted PCM you bought a new radio. Much the same happened when we switch from the 72 mHz RF band to the 2.4 gHz RF band. Now some radios were able to have the 72 mHz module replaced with a 2.4 gHz module. But usually there was some loss in functionality compared with native 2.4 gHz TX.

Not sure what you mean with reasonably priced. The the 90's I paid $550 for a Futaba FP-T7UGF (Super Seven) with PCM and micro servos for gliders, and was happy to pay this with 1990's dollars. The power we have in today's radios are some of the best entertainment value there is.


It is fantastic that we can upgrade all those X-Series receivers to ACCESS. This will save up a lot of money.

So if you want ACCESS and you will, have no hesitation in buying a new TX "if" that is all that is offered. (I'm sure there will be new durability or functionality you will want in a new TX).

All the best,
Konrad
 
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Konrad,
I appreciate your opinion, thank you for it.

But after buying not one but two X7S radios recently only to find FrSky is coming out with a brand new incompatible ACCESS protocol almost the same day.. and moreover learning recently they still have no upgrade plan for any of their legacy Transmitters ( like the X7 or 9DP series) .. yeah I feel burned since unlike you, I’m not that wealthy or committed to a sole source.

I’m all for OpenSource .. FrSky on the other hand is highly proprietary in this regard and has no doubt benefitted from the perception nubies like me had initially that their technology/ source code and RF protocols were open..I’ve learned they’re not at all. Nor are most other vendors either .. so nothing new or unusual there. Thank goodness for OpenTX and Companion devs tho.. that’s why I’m still glad I got these radios.

Sure.. ACCESS is a great way to sell more new Radios .. no doubt..

But, I wonder how often they can do this (lock out huge numbers of their radio owners ) and still maintain a loyal customer base?

In the mean time I’d just like to hear from those actually using ACCESS if they are finding it reliable and really worth while switching to it and why.. It could well be. It sounds fantastic, and I likely will transition someday if the reviews are good.

I’d like to know Konrad if you’d be just as willing to drop another $550 (x2 if you bought two Txs as I did) if the resale value of your Radios also dropped well over 50% in just a month...( and as ALL of these legacy radios also just dropped in value unless they can be upgraded), and still be as happy and as willing to jump into ACCESS knowing it too may be replaced with yet another upgrade within perhaps a year or two.. this technology seems to be moving incredibly fast and that’s definately possible .. I know it’s made me think twice.
 
I too am not wealthy. (Have you been lookin at my tax returns? What leads you to think I'm wealthy? Heck my car is a 2002!)
I also found myself in much the same situation with My purchase of the X9D+ only to have FrSky come out with the much better fitting radio the X9E. Add to this that I learned about FrSky weeks after spending far too much for a Spektrum DX9. So in about 6 weeks I spent far too much on radios. But unlike some I'm value driven not price driven.
forum.alofthobbies.com

X9E, Getting to know you

I finally got the real replacement for my grand old ladies, the Multiplex Profi mc 4000v2. That is the FrSky X9E. The X9E has much the same programing power and layout. https://alofthobbies.com/frsky-taranis-x9e.html I need to make it clear that the real power of the Profi was in the object...
forum.alofthobbies.com forum.alofthobbies.com

While I don't own an ACCESS set up I have flown one. It does appear to have greater range. This is a plus in that I fly thermal glider often at the limit of my visual range. This alone is worth the cost of an upgrade. As the ship I fly fully set up ready to toss of the cliff are often in the multi thousand dollar range fully set up, anything that gives me a sense of a more robust RF link is worth the cost.

With the roll out of ACCESS being able to upgrade the current X-Series RXs' FrSky is way ahead of any other radio OEM I've ever dealt with when bringing in new RF requirements. Even when we moved from the 80 kHz spacing to the 20kHz in the 72 mHz band we suffered a far greater cost.

So how does FrSky bringing out ACCESS de-value your purchases? They are still supporting the radios (TX) with receivers that can run ACCST. I don't see any locked out customer base.

True, if you want to play with the latest and greatest you (we) have always had to pay. I can't think of the last time a car oem allowed me to upgrade my 2019 car to a 2010 model without a cost associated with it. Usually a 35% devaluation on the 2019 model!

I'm at a loss as to what you are getting at. You spent X dollars for the best that was on the market, only to find that the best just got better. Again this is the may of life. Manufactures are always coming out with the latest great stuff. Like Steve Jobs said don't be afraid to obsolete you your product. If you don't somebody else will! So my hat is off to FrSky coming out with ACCESS even thought ACCST is still the best protocol.

All the best,
Konrad
 
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Konrad,
You’ve asked how ACCESS devalues my purchase.. my answer is two ways:

it’s already dropped my x7s Tx resale value about 50% and as ACCESS likely will continue to become more popular, Radios that can’t support ACCESS (or ideally both) will drop in value even more.

Secondly, if FrSky continues to drop more legacy Receivers and protocols off their support list it may quickly become impossible to buy many, perhaps all ACCST RXs at some point.

Is my concern unfounded? perhaps, but at the increasing rate of change electronics is evolving.. I doubt any of it will avoid obsolescence in less than half the time it did just 2 to 3 years ago.

Thank you for your comments tho, ..I hope others FrSky users here share there thoughts on ACCESS. The main negative thing I’ve learned recently that is related indirectly but clarifies FrSkys desperate business practice is that FrSky issued some sort of edict to all its Local Hobby Store outlets like Aloft Hobbies to drop selling the Jumper T16. That’s a separate issue but it too doesn’t sit well at all with me.
 
I know nothing about other OEM sales.

I can point you the D series of receiver for how long FrSky supported that obsolete protocol.

Secondary marketers always have the bottom drop out when new technologies come on line.

I measure value as a function of functionality. The new ACCESS protocols do not diminish any of the functionality that drove you to buy the radio.

Will future features be crippled by needing to be backwards compliant with old tech? I hope not!

I for one hate to be the first upon which the new is tried. I'll wait to move over to ACCESS after it matures. With I be upset that the tray form X9E most likely won't be suppprted? No, it is the price of advancement.

The only way I can see me not using my old equipment is if there is a regulatory change banning their use. Such as the reallocation of some of the 72 MHz frequencies in the 80's.
 
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I think Frsky is going to offer ACCST for a long time. That is my recommendation to them. They are just now starting to roll out the very first ACCESS receivers, they have new hardware that allows them to do the firmware updates "Over The Air" (OTA). Otherwise, ACCESS is just a firmware option for the existing receivers. There may be a few in the D16 family that will not be able to support ACCESS, but for the most part it sounds like firmware will be available for many of the current ACCST receivers.

ACCESS does not offer support for the D8 and V8 receivers, but those have hardly sold since the first Taranis radios rolled out. It is amazing that FrSky still makes these available, but not all that surprising, FrSky does try and support their customers as long as possible.

So, if you have an existing ACCST radio you should enjoy the same great performance you do now and continue to be able to buy more ACCST receivers for it in the future. I imagine that sooner or later FrSky will make a new transmitter that you just have to have, or you may progress to a model that you would really like to have ACCESS on.

Technology is always pushing forward, and it is always hard to keep legacy items functional with these changes. We have seen this over and over in our life span, we will see plenty more before we are "legacy" products... Heck, look at new math.. LOL
 
Wayne,
ACCESS and the new Radios supporting it very definitely do sound terriffic. I'd love to get a full blown X9D Plus or Pro SuperDuper version that could do both ACCESS and ACCST if that's possible and I suspect that technically it is entirely possible, Yet I don't hear of a radio variant like that on the horizon, nor anything about a mod to my 7XS to get it upgraded to ACCESS.. ..

At this point it appears we'll I likely have to buy a replacement radio to get ACCESS and it will do ACCESS and nothing else once we do... but but what do I know? Is that not true?

I'd like to know if this is accurate too: if you program ACCESS into a RX series receiver type or an XM XM+ or any others that are firmware up-grade-able, that its only going to work only one way and you can't re-program it back to ACCST using the manual bootloader .. I hope that is just BS... or are you actually locked into ACCESS if you ever do switch a receiver over to try it?

As to the OTA firmware update option.. that also sounds great but again it's only going to work on pre-Registered and Pre-Bound ACCESS RX's right? I know that will only ever be possible between ACCESS Receivers.

I want to be a faithful follower but can't do it without knowing more info about what I'm getting into this time, since the last time I took the plunge my X7S Radios were made obsolete by ACCESS almost the same day I got them.. and YES I am certain we were told an ACCESS update for the X7 series would "probably" be forthcoming... but there is still no Transition Plan for legacy Transmitters months later .. So now I doubt it happen, why should FrSky offer an upgrade when there's likely far more margin dropping ACCST Rx Support and selling everyone new ACCESS radios?

Sorry, this whole thing just bum's me out.. I'm very glad you are so positive about it..and definitely hope my concerns are unfounded, but the wait- while not-knowing so much about it or what's under the hood/ and how reliable it will be .. all if it is just getting to me I guess.. Time will tell tho.

Thanks Again for your comments.. in six months I may feel entirely different about it. I the interim I plan to do some experiments with my X9Lite soon.
Regards, JimS
 
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To be clear, all of the new ACCESS radios can also do ACCST D16. I would need to test to confirm, but pretty sure you can burn ACCESS to a receiver, then burn ACCST back to it if you like. Pretty sure we have been doing that but will confirm.
 
ya know. Wayne, I should know that they can do both ACCESS and ACCST D16. Not sure where I got that impression but that's a huge relief to hear they can ALL do D16. I'm pretty sure I've been setting up all my FrSky Rx's in D16.. and if I can switch them over to ACCESS and back if it turns out I need to, then great, most of my concerns are solved .. especially-if I can keep my new now dated X7S radios and get an ACCESS update later if and when they ever come out with it. .

Is there going to be an ACCESS radio out put out that has all the switches knobs and sliders and the higher rez display of a Taranis 9DP? is it out yet?
 
A bit of advice about radio purchasing (and electronic items in general), if you buy one worrying about resale value, you will always be disappointed. The technology progresses so fast that you can't hope to get anything for your old radios.
I have a 2 year old QX7 that is now not worth much in resale but worth a heck of a lot to me because of my programs and settings. I hope to keep it a long time because of all the V8 and Hitec receivers I have.
I am thinking ahead and plan on buying a newer Frsky TX and moving my X and S series receivers to it with ACCESS. It would either be the X9Lite or upcoming X9. I am eagerly waiting for the new X9 reveal. Anybody have any advance knowledge on that?
 
I have a motor for you and you can get a job at the end of the month . We are still on our side we need the new job and make a small change of the time the new system will work and rgdgggg
 
That was my son playing with the touch bar on my Mac. All those words were up there and he just kept touching them.

Hank
 
We have the new X9D Plus in stock. FrSky is calling it the 2019, but I do hate that name. We are just processing the photos and will be adding them to inventory when that is done. They are really nice so far, very pleased. They left the good stuff alone and updated the bad stuff. I do like the new navigation roller a lot. I also like the new light grey color, really looks nice.

We do not have the Special Edition versions yet, FrSky has not sent them out yet.
 
The suspense is killing me. I am debating between the "2019" and the X9 Lite. In the end it will come down to number of switches and price/value.
 
Wayne,
is there any plan to tell legacy X7 and X9DP users if there will be an ACCESS upgrade option .. or do they plan to just keep us in limbo indefinitely?
Will we see a decent color higher rez screen ( like the one on the Jumper T16) on either of these radios or do we have to fork over the big $$ and get a Horus or X12 to get a color display with better resolution ? Just wondering..
 
Pretty sure the Taranis line will stay with the LCD displays. The Horus line gets the color. There will be an X11 and big changes for the X12.

As for updates for the legacy, I do not know. I'm not sure if it will be possible or not. I seem to recall reading that the X9D can run ACCESS but it is horribly slow. I imagine they will give us an update at some point.
 
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