A lot of info here. Probably should have read this before I bought my X9D+! Ah well. I can always upgrade later. The X9D+ is a powerful radio and really nice.
Anyway, I did not want to spend money on a Spektrum radio just for a handful of planes, and carry an extra radio. I bought a Lemon TX module for my X9D+ so I could have a single radio for all my planes. Intention was (and is) that the majority of my bigger planes will use FrSKY receivers.
The relevant part is when I hooked the output up to a scope to see why the flight controller refused to operate when bound to the Lemon but worked when bound to a DX6e, I saw that it was loosing frames. That didn’t explain why it didn’t work, but it was worrying it lost so many frames. Lost 8 in a single sub-20 second capture I took on a scope. You could clearly see where the Rx didn’t put out the frame(s) and then see the frame loss counter byte increment with the appropriate number of frames lost. The TX module was just an arms length apart. When bound to the DX6e there were no frames lost.
I’m planning on connecting the scope to the Turbo Timber Rx to see if I’m getting lost frames there when connected to the Lemon TX module.
I’d buy the Spektrum DSM Tx module but it’s discontinued and paying $300 for a Tx module is too steep in any case. My X9D+ wasn’t that much and IMO blows the socks off any Spektrum Tx under $1000. Someone at the club is selling a DX6e for $75, I may break down on my conviction to have only one radio and just get that.
I did find some hardware and code for a little Arduino based converter that will take the FrSKY sbus and convert to the format the Mini Convergence flight controller will use, but not sure $60 in FrSKY Rx and hours of my time is worth it over just getting a $75 Spektrum Tx for a plane I honestly probably won’t be flying all that much. After all, I could always sell the Spektrum Tx for $50-$75 in a year or two if I grow tired on the plane and have no need for a Spektrum Tx anymore.
I went with the Lemon as unlike the MPM it actually has FCC certification, and I didn’t need any other protocols besides DSM.
Same! I bought an FrSKY radio, and also wanted to buy a couple of BNF planes. Our club is full of them, so used ones are always available to buy and for indoor flying there’s a couple of models. The Turbo Timber UMX was my first plane bought to get back into RC, and got it for indoor flying with the club as so many in the club had it. There was a night fly, with over a dozen of these flying in a high school gym with the lights off. It was crazy fun to watch.
Anyway, I did not want to spend money on a Spektrum radio just for a handful of planes, and carry an extra radio. I bought a Lemon TX module for my X9D+ so I could have a single radio for all my planes. Intention was (and is) that the majority of my bigger planes will use FrSKY receivers.
Interesting you say this. My Lemon TX module worked good for my Turbo Timber UMX. But I bought a Mini Convergence VTOL at a swap meet cause the multicopter/airplane combo seems like a fun plane for kicks and small places. Did not work with the Lemon TX module for some reason. It actually has a separate Spektrum RX but the output is serial and not a standard format so I can’t just throw in an FrSKY Rx for some reason.
The relevant part is when I hooked the output up to a scope to see why the flight controller refused to operate when bound to the Lemon but worked when bound to a DX6e, I saw that it was loosing frames. That didn’t explain why it didn’t work, but it was worrying it lost so many frames. Lost 8 in a single sub-20 second capture I took on a scope. You could clearly see where the Rx didn’t put out the frame(s) and then see the frame loss counter byte increment with the appropriate number of frames lost. The TX module was just an arms length apart. When bound to the DX6e there were no frames lost.
I’m planning on connecting the scope to the Turbo Timber Rx to see if I’m getting lost frames there when connected to the Lemon TX module.
I’d buy the Spektrum DSM Tx module but it’s discontinued and paying $300 for a Tx module is too steep in any case. My X9D+ wasn’t that much and IMO blows the socks off any Spektrum Tx under $1000. Someone at the club is selling a DX6e for $75, I may break down on my conviction to have only one radio and just get that.
I did find some hardware and code for a little Arduino based converter that will take the FrSKY sbus and convert to the format the Mini Convergence flight controller will use, but not sure $60 in FrSKY Rx and hours of my time is worth it over just getting a $75 Spektrum Tx for a plane I honestly probably won’t be flying all that much. After all, I could always sell the Spektrum Tx for $50-$75 in a year or two if I grow tired on the plane and have no need for a Spektrum Tx anymore.
I went with the Lemon as unlike the MPM it actually has FCC certification, and I didn’t need any other protocols besides DSM.
Interesting. I like that. I’ve been thinking about putting erskyTx on my X9D+ to try but didn’t really want the “hassle” of switching back and forth. Though really with the firmware on the SD card it’s a matter of minutes to flash the radio, and all models are easily reloaded with Companion when/if I go back to OpenTX. A dual boot setup is a really convenient way to allow someone to try erskyTx, or have some models on ethOs and some on erskyTx depending on potential needs and desires.
