Christchurch and District Model Flying Club
 

The Turnigy 9X FHSS 2.4gHz 8-channel TX from Hobby King

By adam reay

This is an appraisal of the 9X system marketed under three different names.  The most astounding thing about this radio is the price.  My transmitter plus an 8 channel receiver arrived on my doorstep from Hong Kong for a total price of £49.16. The very cheapness of the equipment has put many people off, but so far mine has worked perfectly.

The first version of the 9X system was a total disaster. It was a 35MHz transmitter with a 2.4GHz module plugged into the back. Poor workmanship, software glitches, no quality control and Chinglish literature combined to give the system a bad name. This has been largely overcome by Version 2 which has new firmware, better quality control and (so far) no glitches. The system comes without a manual but an i-Max manual in fairly good English is on the net that gives enough information to get started. On U-Tube I found video tutorials that are better than a written manual.

The 8-model memory divides models into Glider, Power or Helicopter and the very logical set-up screens present different options for each category.  Version 2 has deleted the redundant 35MHz telescopic aerial and just has the normal small 2.4 GHz aerial. This has moved the centre of gravity of the unit but if you like using a neck strap you can buy a small extension bracket that moves the hook-on point to the correct spot.

The frequency hopping system is illustrated on this graph and you can see that the 9X transmitter is covering 16 different channels continuously!

In addition to the usual switches there are three knobs for trimming helicopters, however these can be allocated to other functions, in fact any function can be transferred to any switch or stick.

The liquid crystal display is very clear but I have fitted a glowing backlight kit to enhance its readability in low light conditions. It cost next to no money (a fiver on E-bay).

The 9X transmitter has a an excellent “Display” feature that uses bar graphs to illustrate on the screen how the control surfaces react as the sticks are moved.  For example, a rudder/ elevator mix can be checked on the screen without having to look at the actual model.  You can visually check the entire set up of a new model with only the transmitter screen in front of you.

The battery box holds 8 AA batteries but I fitted 8 NiCads and charge them in situ via a socket on the back of the transmitter.  No charger was supplied. There are two amusing Chinglish features that have carried over from V1. The transmitter can be programmed to make the model do SNOPROLLS at the flick of a switch. I think they mean snap rolls!  The LCD abbreviates the word “model” by dropping the last letter so that the screen lists “Model 1” as “Mode 1”. For a moment I thought I had mistakenly bought a tranny that operated in Mode 1 instead of Mode 2.  In fact the 9X system can be set up to switch between any mode you fancy. Whether you buy the Mode 1 or Mode 2 units as advertised on Hobby King they are both the same thing.

Rob at Giant Cod told me that only Hobby King and Turnigy receivers will bind with the Turnigy 9X transmitter, however a compatible 6 channel receiver, to quote one example, can be bought from Hobby King for only £6.32 so I am quite happy to continue shopping on the net via Hong Kong.

In conclusion, I am very happy with my new system. I’m told it is not as fast as some other brands but as I am not an aerobatics man I can’t see any difference.  I think we may be witnessing a parallel situation to the time when Skoda eventually came to be regarded as an OK car. As time goes by and the 9X system is used more widely questions will be asked about the prices charged by the brand leaders.  It will not be enough to justify £250 by saying that their robotic soldering machines produce prettier circuit boards than the Chinese ladies who soldered portions of my 9X tranny by hand for £50 (including an 8 channel receiver!)

* Losing all my email history last week means I can’t recall who sent this article. But thanks anyway! - Ed

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