Mike Mangus on another thread pointed me in the direction of the Anylink 2.4 ghz adapter for your radios. I hesitate to say recommended, because I don't believe he tried it, but after looking at it and taking a look at the technology it uses (frequency hopping) I ordered the adapter module (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0095P?FVSEARCH=tactic+%3Cb%3Eanylink%3C%2Fb%3E+2.4ghz+universal) and receiver (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXZNR1&P=M). They came in today, and I was naturally excited to get my old radio up and working. Unfortunately, I didn't look closely at which trainer port plugs were supported. The module comes with two plugs: One suitable for a JR/Spektrum (DX6 radios, other Spektrums use a different cable,[http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBZAT&P=V] not supplied), and the other suitable for Futaba using the square adapter port. Sadly, both of my VHF radios that I would use the module on have the /round/ Futaba trainer port. There /is/ a round adapter (http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXBYKC&P=7) available, but it happens to be out of stock at the moment, so I can't test it on the radio I really want to convert. That said, my 2.4ghz Futaba radio /does/ have the square jack so I could verify that it works. Setting it up and binding it are easy. The module comes with good instructions, that are easy to understand. It comes with two self-adhering strips of velcro like material which bind very tightly together. I didn't use these yet because I have no desire to convert my 2.4g radio to 2.4g. The module itself plugs right into the trainer port on the back of the radio. Powering the radio on powers on the module. Very easy. The transmitter is now ready to go. Spektrums/JR's are different. They do not use the power switch on the radio, you will leave it powered off at all times. The adapter plugs for these have two wires. One plugs into the trainer port on the radio and the other plugs into the charging jack on the side of the radio. Plugging into the charging jack supplies power to the module and turns it on. To turn it off, you simply unplug it. I don't use spektrum radios so I can't test the functionality. The receiver is equally easy. Plug in the battery or an on/off switch with the transmit module turned on. The first time you power it up, you will need to bind it. You simply press a bind button on the receiver with a small screw driver or other long, narrow object. The receiver will beep and the LED will turn red. You're ready to go. Using my newer futaba radio, I was able to actuate the servos I plugged into it. It /seems/ to be a pretty slick little set up, and it appears to work nicely on the bench. Obviously, that doesnt mean that it's combat tested or anything like that. The main purpose of this review was to make sure that people who might be interested in it know that it seems to work at first glance, and that you may need to get an adapter plug for /your/ radio.
Good post. I ordered the module and a 3 channel receiver a couple days ago and expect them to show up in the next few days. The plan is to adapt my Futaba 7C 72mhz transmitter to 2.4 use. I'll have a report on how that goes after it arrives and I give it a try.
Nice find Mike. One thing I noted is that the Anylink adapter supports up to a 9 channel Tx but the manufacturer only supplies up to a 6 channel Rx. I might convert my Futaba controlled paintball tank over to this system as it supports multiple Rx's bound to the Tx which is a feature I require with that model. Anylink manual: http://manuals.hobbico.com/tac/tacj2000-manual.pdf ST
I just looked at the pinouts on the adpater cable for this thing. I might be able to adapt my Vex Tx to 2.4g with the Anylink.
Hmm ... I didn't even think of using it in a paintball tank. Looks like it'll work great. I have LOT of aircraft transmitters collected over the years. Most of them are supported by the Anylink module. If this works out, I may have to pick up a couple more. And at a mere $26 each, it is affordable too.
Yeah, it seems to be a very slick little system, and very affordable. I'm a former army SIGINT guy, so I'm kind of a radio snob. The fact that it's a freq hopper rather then locking on to a channel or channels is awesome and a prime selling point to me. Everything looks clean and very easy with no fuss, no muss. I have high hopes for it.
I got my round trainer port adapter in today, so naturally I had to set it up. My initial impression was disappointing to say the least. It would work for a few seconds then cut out. work for a few seconds and cut out. work for a few seconds and cut out. it made no sense. I tried my othr two radios and had the same problem. I tried changing batteries, (twice) and it didnt work. I tried feeding it power via both ESC and via RX battery with an on/off switch. I tried rebinding, it failed. I tried rebinding again, and it failed. I tried rebinding a third time...and it worked. I'm not sure why it works now, but it does. I've cycled power to the transmitter and to the RX both since I got it working. The key here seems to be keep performing the bind process until the red LED on the RX stays a solid red. Weak red seems to indicate a partial link. The light will go off for a few seconds when there is no control, flash bright red then go weak red for a few seconds. This is when control works. Right now, my old 4 channel Futaba Conquest 72mhz airplane radio (with crystals removed) is driving the new radio box I have mostly completed for the USS Salem. Both servos are kicking when I tell them to, and there is no glitching at all. I also have my 2.4g Futaba radio powered on, and I'm performing the tests on my computer desk, with 3 different computers on a 2.4g wireless connection, and there seems to be no interferance with my signal at all. The next test will be actually putting this on the water and seeing how it behaves. I will say that I am presently cautiously optimistic that this will be a good solution.
http://www.tx-ready.com/anylink-chart.html It appears not. Airtronics is conspicuously absent on their chart. That said, from a technology standpoint, if it works with JR, it /should/ work with airtronics, provided you can find a plug that fits your trainer port. I imagine that airtronics has a different kind of trainer port then the other radios do and they don't make an adapter cable for it. EDIT: For the record, the Futaba FP-T4NBF radio I currently have it hooked up to doesn't appear to be on the list of radios that works either...but it seems to work none the less.
I did get mine last week but haven't had time to try it out yet. Will let everyone know as soon as I do.
I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts on it. My biggest worry is the range. Buddy had reported having issues with his Spektrum for parkflyers, and the 1000 ft range on this sounds an awfully lot like a parkflyer radio. Only time will really tell though.
Say you are going to make it to Erics right, I would really like to take a look at this I have a fairly new airtronics vanguard 6 channel that I bought cheap on air channel would like to convert it over. Buddy
Welp, I tested the Anylink system a couple weekends ago in a sailboat. Have to say, the system works as advertised. I converted an older Futaba 7C 72Mhz transmitter. It only took a couple minutes to do (after spending 13 minutes looking for the missing transmitter!). The manual directs the user to remove the original transmitter crystal to prevent the radio from transmitting on the old frequency. The Tactic receiver is tiny and lightweight with no external antennas. Orientation does not seem to matter ... I put it into the sailboat upsidedown. Heh. The test was at a large pond with a handful of other sailboats using various brands of 2.4. After launching the boat, the transmitter module started beeping intermittantly for about a minute as it lost link with the sailboat. The problem turned out to be my fat fingers nudging the module's cable which wasn't plugged firmly into the transmitter. After resetting the cable, everything worked flawlessly. For a range test I sent the sailboat out across the pond. The far shore was around 1000' foot away. The boat made it to around 700 - 800 feet before it started loosing control intermittantly. After turning it back towards us, full control was restored. Over the 1.5 hrs of sailing, the boat never glitched even with other 2.4 transmitters operating nearby. Overall, I'm satisfied with the Anylink system and would put it into my combat ships. It is solid, reliable, easy to set up, and low cost. The transmitter module is only $25. The 3 channel receiver is $25 and the 6 channel receiver is $30. So for $55 total you can convert an older 50/72/75MHz transmitter to 2.4GHz. The only thing I did not get a chance to try is converting my Polk radio. Someday.
I havent had one on the water yet, but it works well on the bench. I don't have the plugs to support airtronics, and I don't see them for sale. It seems to work nicely with my old Futaba Conquest though. The biggest problem I have with the whole thing is that the transmitter doesnt have end point adjustment, so the ESCs I am using are of limited value...I still need to fiddle with prop pitch and drag disks to get on speed. That's not a problem because of the anylink though, it's due to the ancient transmitter I am using it on.
If you are using an ESC with a setup button like the Mtroniks, you can fudge the endpoints by not using the full throw on the sticks when in setup mode.
Well, I was able to combat test the anylink system this weekend. After frying the polk RX in my USS Salem (overheated in the sun), the only spare radio I had on hand was the anylink adapter on my ancient Futaba 4 channel conquest airplane radio. Given the very short antenna on the anylink RX, I had my doubts about how effective it would be. Ive heard horror stories about various brands of parkflyer radios in both range and the ability to operate in traffic, with other RF signals out there. Since the Salem was only my backup ship, I had no rush to make sure it was working. Between battles on Saturday, I took the Salem out and ran it around. I had full control of the ship at the far side of the pond, which was probably a solid 2-300 feet away. It was well out of the range anyone attempted to engage at all weekend long. That alone surprised me, I expected to lose control to be honest. That evening, we had a rookie out there, and decided to have a sortie just to get him some stick time. Rather then prep the Invincible to go back out, I decided this would be a perfect time to get some combat time with the Salem, and see how the Anylink performed. The word: flawlessly. I was able to fight the ship as effectively as if I had one of my more proven radios in it. She instantly answered all radio commands, be they throttle, pump or guns at all battle ranges. There was zero glitching or other radio issues. Sunday, for the last battle, Eric Noble took the Salem out once again using the anylink adapted radio for a full two sortie fleet battle. Once again, the radio performed flawlessly, with no hitches or glitching. Of note, the power consumption on this is /by far/ the best of any of my radios. I didn't charge the radio after I left home before running it around on Saturday. I didn't charge it again before the sunday battle, because I planned to run the invincible all day. After no charging all weekend, and some fairly decent use, the radio still is not under 90%. Whatever misgivings I may have had before this weekend about the ability of the Anylink to meet my needs as a combat radio have been completely dispelled. Not only will I continue to use this system in my ship, I am strongly considering buying a spare unit and RX to keep in my box in case someone runs into radio issues at future events.
The airtonics trainer port is the opposite polarity from the futaba/hitec trainer ports. You would need a small converter circuit to make this work with the airtronics, but it wouldn't be that hard to make.
