The things that connect you with your car. Some are simple and bare-bones, and some are overloaded with features you’ll never use. Either way, radio choice is a pretty critical decision that often gets overlooked.
There are really only two things to consider when choosing a radio: comfort and features. By “features”, I mean settings, programs, and options; things that you can adjust to effect a noticeable change. By this measure, frequency hopping systems, channel resolution, and response rate don’t count. I’m talking about things like trims, dual rate, mixing, etc.
That rounded trigger is the reason I'm still using the DX4S.Comfort is paramount in radios. Each one has a different shape, texture, and springiness that you may find awesome or annoying. Every radio is shaped differently, and it may take some experimentation to find one that fits your hand comfortable, and puts the wheel in the right spot. If the wheel is out of place, you won’t be steering as well, and if the trigger is oddly shaped, you might find yourself not braking as much as you should.
Features come second, and they can get overwhelming. Don’t get suckered in thinking about all the features you might use sometime in the foreseeable future. Get a radio with the features you’re actually going to use. What these features are really depends on your situation. For racing electrics, the only features you really need are steering trim and end point adjustment. The rest are just nice to have. For nitro, you will also need throttle trim and EPA, and maybe a third channel if you have a separate brake servo.
I’ll use Spektrum as an example, though I’m in no way endorsing their products. They just have a good range of surface transmitters that fit my criteria levels nicely:
DX2E – Steering and throttle trim, but no EPA. Without EPA, you may be missing out on extra steering that your car can give you. This is equivalent to most of the radios that come with RTRs.
DX2L – Adds EPA for both steering and throttle. If you’ve only got one car, this radio perfectly meets my minimum criteria for radio features. You can use this radio with confidence, knowing that it’ll be able to maximize your car’s potential. Even though they sell it, Spektrum doesn’t actually list this radio on their main site, but it comes with some of their RTRs, and you can buy the transmitter from them or easily find it on eBay.
DX3C – Adds model memory, critical if you have more than one car, and a third channel for brake servos. Also supports more technical features, such as steering/throttle exponential and programmable mixes, which are nice, but not really necessary. Why anyone would get a Spektrum radio higher up than this is beyond me.
Through a series of panicky rushed decisions, I’m currently using a DX4S. I bought it in a hurry because the radio I had planned on using failed two days before a race, and I hadn’t taken the time to research better options, like the DX3C or the FlySky FS-GT3B. Three hundred dollars of buyers remorse and two weeks later, the steering return spring snapped. I fixed it myself, instead of sending it in for six weeks of waiting for a warranty repair. By now, I’m used to the way the radio feels, and I’ve got too many installed receivers to switch to something else. I’ve replaced the steering wheel with a smaller one, and wrapped the grip to make it more comfortable to hold, but I still regret buying it.
It’s very easy to get lured into buying a radio that’s too expensive because of all the things you don’t need. However, your radio is going to be with you for a very long time, possibly your entire R/C career. You don’t want something low-quality, but you don’t want to get swindled by an expensive radio either, so think carefully when making your purchase.
