Transmitter suitable for simulator?

[reubenwilcock]

Hi, I was one button away from ordering my fun piccolo deal from e-flight and thought I would just check what kind of transmitter came with it first to make sure it would work with the Flight Sim software they give you with the deal. Turns out that the transmitter is a GWS four channel and it does NOT have the connection necessary to connect to a computer! Strange to give software with this transmitter if they cannot be used with each other?!

Anyway I am now thinking that I should probably buy the deal which does not have the transmitter and buy a transmitter seperately which does have a PC connection facility. Can anyone recommend a transmitter which would do this for me. I am obviously looking for a fairly cheap one (as I am just starting) but am happy to spend a little more money to 'future proof' it - i.e. do I need more channels (than 4) if I want to eventually go for collective pitch?

On that note though, perhaps I should go for an even more basic fun piccolo kit and buy upgrades now to complete what will be a better outfit, rather than buying a ready to fly deal which contains bits I will soon swap for better versions?

Decisions, decisions...

Cheers

Reuben

AFAIK the GWS tx is a rebadged Hitec TX and it does have a buddy socket (Futaba compatible)

[timsmith]

My GWS Tx does not have a connector.

Someone on this board this show you how to make one by opening your Tx and using the cotnrol as joysticks but it was a bit notchy - not a fault of the cable, just the hardware in the Tx.

Tim

If you want a cheap option, the Futaba Skysport 4 has a buddy lead which you can plug into an interface cable on your PC. I got mine as a TX only deal for £20 at my LHS.

Not sure whether you get a cable with the sim in the kit, if not, you can order it from Ripmax

[reubenwilcock]

Do I need a 6 channel transmitter for collective pitch? If so then do you have to upgrade the receiver too?

Cheers

Reuben

Ideally you need a Computer TX with mixing functions for CP, but you can use a four channel. You just use a Y cable and plug the throttle and pitch into the same channel on the receiver.

I use a Dummy TX with my simulator and it has quite a number of advantages, however although I have a good radio setup I did get the GWS radio as part of the deal with my Piccolo since your actually paying very little it and I get a spare radio (or if I decided to sell it send hand).

The interface cable from Ripmax costs about £25 and its not supported any longer and doesn't work well under Windows XP, when you add the cost of batteries or the inconvience of recharing TX NiCD's then I prefer a this.

If you end up getting a new radio you'll then want a better simulator and it begins to spiral, I wonder if you get the dummy TX box at the same time if E-Flight might give you a discount? [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Remember the simulator is a freebie and you don't get this with the more expensive hummingbird, even without this the Piccolo rocks!

Ken

[reubenwilcock]

So, is the GWS transmitter perfectly OK for the piccolo? And presumably (from what another reply said) it is fine for the collective pitch upgrade too? Is it worth me buying a 6 channel transmitter instead (e.g. is the Futaba skysport 6 any good?).

Cheers

Reuben

My opion is to buy the best tx you can afford. It may have functions you don't need or know what they do at the mo but they very be very important in the future eg:

I bought the FP kit with the GWS tx. I used it about 5 times and then bought a sanwa RD6000 and have never looked back and i don't regret it for a second. Now i can get a bigger heli with 120 deg swash. I don't think you can waste your money buying a good tx but it depends how long your going to be into the hobby i spose !

Ditto the above.

The GWS will fly your fun piccolo fine (simulator aside). But.... If you intend on staying with helis for a while, a decent computer TX is a worthwhile investment.

To clarify, you can fly a CP bird with a four chanel radio (I did for while and it was fine up to a point), but if you do go down the CP road, chances are you'll soon get frustrated with not having independant control over pitch and throttle. Also, if you intend to get bigger heli's in the future then you'll definately need a computer TX with mixing functions.

The skysport six isn't a computer TX, so it's not really suitable for heli needs.