Tim

I'm told that receivers will remain available for the time being, but quite how long that is would be anyone's guess. I would guess weeks at most, and I've not heard whether or not anyone else will or will be able to obtain Planet sets after J Perkins stop importing them. Howes' are currently running a "There's no more after we've sold these!" promotion on the R6M – at twenty quid a pop. There are no Tx+Rx sets left there. (BTW My favourite little Hitec FULL RANGE Minima 6 receivers aren't much more than that.)

I'm not aware of any compatible receivers – "OME"s tend to be made as alternatives to more expensive sets e.g. Orange/Spektrum, but as Planet is already a budget set there's little if any scope to undercut the price of their receivers and still make money. I would advise you get as many as you think you might need, or do what a few are already doing; sell the lot and use the proceeds to buy a different one. Many of the "big" names now have budget sets for much less than £100 e.g. Futaba 4YF, Hitec Lite 4, Spektrum Dxe6.

I wonder just how long the culture of ultra-cheap radios from China will last. There must come a point when state-subsidised freight costs ceases and the cost of manufacture reaches its absolute minimum. Maybe it already has?

Dave M

I had a conversation at a show a while back with a bloke who buys his speed controllers from China in batches of ten. His explanation was that, of the ten, six wouldn't work at all; three would work for a while and then go pop, and one would work reliably. When I asked him why he didn't just spend £40 on one ESC from a UK manufacturer which was guaranteed and would work straight out of the box he replied that, at £4 each, they were much cheaper from China.

I withdrew with my head in my hands…

Conversely – and on the subject of boilers, we've just spent £1800 on having a new one fitted (this morning, coincidentally). It's guaranteed for all parts and labour for ten years. The alternative was to carry on paying an annual maintenance contract of £300/ year for the existing 10-year-old one. That's a saving over ten years of more than a grand AND the efficiency of a new boiler. Some deals are what they seem……and the boiler was Made in Britain!

Dave M

Just read this, thanks Tim and Dave. Elite Models still have the r6m for £16 + 5.00 p&p. Just bought 3 for future models.

Andy

Ah – there's your problem.

When I moved to 2.4Ghz I bought a RadioLink T4U 4-channel combo from Giant Cod (as was) for around £35. And then I bought another.

Those two are now going to my kids, as I found the Radiolink 7-channel T7F for sale on Ebay at £22. I bought 3 of those, for not much more than the cost of one Planet.

Now I see (admittedly bottom quality) 2-channel pistol-grip combos for £11.

With the way prices are going, I'm going to wait until THEY pay ME to take my next Radio…

MIke

I think you could safely buy Futaba, JR, Spektrum and Hitec with little risk it will become unavailable in the short term. Futaba has been around since the 1960's.

Dave M

Well, would you believe it, you probably would, Elite models have not got any Planet receivers in stock after all. Despite what the website says. Got a full refund though, so not complaining. Well not too loudly anyway. Emailed Howes, they still have some but boy are they expensive in comparison. Ordered two just the same.

These things will be like hens teeth or rocking horse @&&pound soon. Have to investigate an alternative , just in case. But will make them transferable from model to model where possible.

Andy

Not to keep banging on, okay just a bit more. Silly question time. Can these things be built diy fashion. You know a circuit board, a few bits and pieces and a bit of soldering?

Andy

Andy

Most of the ACTion units can be bought as DIY kits but, as DG says, most components these days are 'surface-mount' and many need programming. Unless you have the right soldering equipment and the object codes for the microprocessors you'll not be able to do it. Also EU rules require anything that transmits a signal to have been type-approved before it can be sold commercially; this costs a lot of money. Kits for transmitters and receivers stopped dead when that piece of Brusselry came in. Easiest to sit back and let a machine across the sea make it for you.

Maplin and various other suppliers stock Vellemans kits for electronic modules (eg timers, dice). I can recommend them.

Dave M

This thread has been illuminating, even the boiler bits.

As a beginner who is plodding his way through Dave and Dodgy's pages on RC, and who currently doesn't have any parts, I have decided to buy a 'named' system rather than Chinese. My thinking was exactly the theme of the thread – continuity of supply, together with the need for it to work, as a system, straight out of the box. I don't ever imagine needing more than one TX but like the idea of the RX and other components being left in the models I choose to build. I have just reconciled myself to the fact that I won't be able to build anything other than my Tritons for a fiver. Although, as a proud Scotsman, I reserve the right to try out the cheapies once I feel more confident in my model making future – and I see how my granddaughters 'test' the build quality of their Tritons.

As a further aside, about 30? years ago I was in conversation with a guy who designed the engine management system in Vauxhalls. He needed a replacement chip which cost 10p but the software needed to make it work meant even he had to buy a whole unit at a cost of over £300, and that was less than I had bought my previous 4 cars for! It's always the software that's the killer, and the most guarded.

I have compiled this table of my history of R/C purchases – with a few estimates! All figures are in round pounds.The 'equivalent price 2015' is taken from a 'worth-measuring' site, and so is capable of multiple interpretations, but it does indicate the phenomenal drop in price for hobbyist equipment, the cost of the hobby in the earlier days, and the consequent agonising over purchases which should have disappeared by now, but still seems to be around..

I bought items when they were cheap. The 'equivalent 2015 price' for more common radio control sets in 1969 could be over £5,500 – much more if you got a top of the range item…

Edited By Dodgy Geezer on 25/03/2016 14:29:00