Hobby King 2.4Ghz 6Ch Tx V2 Overview

Intro:

This isn't actually a review. This is the only transmitter I own so I have nothing to compare it to. I bought it to start off with. If I get into the hobby enough, then I will buy a nicer transmitter and I think this is the very reason why anyone buys this Tx.

I will mention that so far I haven't had any issues with it... That I know of.

Why am I writing this article:

There doesn't seem to be any good overviews of this Tx. There is a lot of great information on YouTube on how to do certain things with this, like how to bind it and how to mix for delta. But no single source that covers everything. Even the instruction manual that you can download off of the Hobby King website is for an older version, isn't accurate, and is basically useless.

Since only a beginner would buy this product to start off with, I am also providing some of the basics everyone needs to know about Tx and Rx in general.

Outline of contents of this "manual":

1) Overview of product

2) Factory settings

3) Do you want Mode 1 or Mode 2

4) How to change a Mode 2 into a Mode 1

5) How to bind the Tx to the Rx

6) How to buddy box

7) Do you need the programming cable

8) Where to get the necessary software to use the programming cable

9) How to use the T6config program

1) Overview of product:

I have a Mode 1 of this model. Mode 1 is simply when the throttle is on the right. Mode 2 is the throttle on the left. This is a universal difference that applies to all transmitters.

This is all self explanatory, but I wanted to include good photos of the product.

2) Factory settings:

Recently I read a few questions about what this Tx can do straight out of the box. What channels do what. This is very useful information because depending on your application, you may not need the programming cable right away. Also, one issue I had right away was that I had the throttle cut off switch turned on. Or was it off? Basically at first I couldn't get the throttle to work on my plane. Knowing that a switch is doing it is very useful.

Mode 1 factory settings are:

Mode 2 factory settings are: (I am assuming that the switches are reversed from my Mode 1, I don't know for sure. Nor am I positive on the Channel numbers. Please ignore that the throttle is turned down. I used a photo of my Mode 1, I just changed the labels.)

Throttle Cut Off: This allows you to turn off the throttle. I personally use this safety feature all the time. It allows me to have my plane all set to go before I go outside. I can turn off the throttle control so when/if I bump the throttle, I don't have a spinning propeller all of a sudden.

Dual Rates: This allows you to change the "throws" of your control surfaces at the flip of a switch. "Throw" is a term used for how much your control surfaces (flaps) move. This feature allows you to have low movement of your control surfaces so you can really bash the sticks, but then have more movement if you want radical movement. Or a lot of throw for slow speeds, then a little throw for high speeds.

This is a 6 channel transmitter, but channels 5 and 6 do nothing straight out of the box. I will show how to use those later, along with any other changes you can make.

3) Do you want a Mode 1 or a Mode 2:

Again, Mode 1 has the throttle on the right and Mode 2 has throttle on the left.

This is all about personal preference. BUT If you are just starting out, you could easily get used to either Mode. AND pretty much everyone in the United States uses Mode 2. It would be really nice to be able to easily fly someone elses plane with their Tx. I suggest seeing what everyone else uses, and get that one. Also, the USA warehouse of Hobby King only sells Mode 2. I bought mine back before there was a USA warehouse (about six months ago) and I accidentally bought a Mode 1 not knowing the difference. I actually like Mode 1, but I know if someone hands me their Tx and says, "Hey, try out my plane." I'll probably crash it because I'm not used to the controls.

4) How to change a Mode 2 into a Mode 1: Or vice versa.

I tried to do this, but it looks like there is no way to do so. A simple change with the programming software will change it, but then you have an elevator that doesn't go back to center and a throttle that always goes to 50%. You could use a rubber band to hold the new throttle down. Some people do that anyway, it is a great way to learn. But I don't see a way to put a spring into the new elevator. You cannot simple take this Tx apart and flip around the control sticks due to the trims being incorporated into the control stick assembly. Nor can you unplug the wires to the sticks and flip those around. If I remember correctly, it is one big plug for both, not two small ones that could be switched around.

I really did try to do this. I wanted to include this as a part of this article, but there is no real way to do so. I'm still mentioning this to let you know that you can't. It's not worth the work and modification required to do so when you can simply get used to which ever mode you have. Or wait for the one you want to be in stock. Or order it from the Global warehouse.

The only simple way I can think of is to maybe mount two rubber bands onto the control stick of the new elevator. One pulling up and the other pulling down. From some simple tests it looks like you'll still have to push the elevator back to center. And if a rubber band breaks, you crash. Not worth it.

5) How to bind the Tx to the Rx:

The first step is to get the Rx (receiver) properly hooked up to the ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) and to the servos. You actually only need the ESC hooked up, but since binding should be the last step before flying your plane, everything else should be all set to go.

You can't tell in the photos, but the servos and ESC has three wires. A negative, a positive, and a signal wire in that order. Usually the negative is black or brown, the positive is red, and the signal is yellow or white. To properly have these wires plugged in, the negative goes away from the antenna. That is, the signal wire is closest to the antenna at the back of the Rx.

The ESC should be plugged into Ch3 for this is the throttle channel. It doesn't actually matter. Any channel/port you want to use will work.

A quick lesson on how the ESC works: The battery is plugged directly into the ESC. Most ESCs have a built in BEC. A BEC is what powers the Rx. Double check that you order an ESC with a built in BEC. Only large amp ESCs don't have a BEC. (Sometimes called a UBEC.) The BEC of the ESC powers the Rx and all of the servos that are plugged into it. If in the future you ever build a project with no motor, but servos, you can use an ESC with built in BEC and simply not have the motor hooked up and you will then only be using the BEC part of it. The signal wire (along with the negative wire) of the ESC is what controls the throttle of the motor. If you ever build a project with two motors, only use one BEC. Two would be too much power and will fry your Rx. Simple cut/disconnect the red positive wire from one of the ESCs.

I know that was a lot of information and rather confusing. Simply put: yes, you only connect the battery to the ESC and the ESC is plugged into the channel 3 port on the Rx.

Anyway. Back on how to bind.

Plug in the bind cable into the bind/battery port on the Rx. (While everything else is properly connected to the Rx.)

Plug the battery into the ESC.

Hold down the Bind button on the Tx, and then turn on the Tx.

This is a really bad photo, but when the battery was connected to the Rx, this red light should have started to blink. As soon as the Rx is binded to the Tx, this red light will be on, solid. For me it has almost always been instantly that this light has turned solid after the Tx was turned on (while holding the bind button).

Unplug the battery.

Unplug bind cable.

Now you have the Rx binded to the Tx. You can have multiple Rxs binded to the same Tx. Which is great if you have multiple planes. You can have them all set to go at any moment. No switching Rxs.

I will mention that when the bind cable is plugged into the Rx, the Rx won't work. That is, you have to unplug the bind cable before you can test to see if you have it binded. It is normal for none of the servos to move while the bind cable is plugged in.

Now that you have the Rx binded to the Tx, it is important to know how to properly turn them on. I have noticed that if I plug the battery into the ESC, and then turn on the Tx, the servos will work fine, but my throttle doesn't work at all. The Tx has to be turned on before you finish plugging the battery into the ESC. Also, the throttle has to be turned down all the way. Actually, it is better to have the throttle turned up all the way, wait for the two beeps (depending on ESC) from the ESC, then turn the throttle all the way down. This properly sets the end points of your Tx into the ESC. This has to be done every time for proper end point alignment. The ESC will do all of it's beeps and then the plane is set to go. Depending on the ESC, if you turn off the Tx while the ESC/Rx is still powered, the ESC will beep once every whatever seconds. If you turn the Tx back on, it'll work fine. (Great for finding a crashed plane. Unless the battery got disconnected from the crash.) Also, if you crash hard, sometimes the ESC resets. After it goes through the reset beeps it'll be working fine again. You don't have to unplug the battery and then re-plug it back in.

6) How to buddy box:

Buddy Box: is when you have two transmitters linked together with a trainer cable. This allows an experienced flyer to control a plane with the Master Tx, but can flip a switch to give control to a newbie with a Slave Tx. It is a great way to learn how to fly if you know someone that can teach you.

The trainer port on this Tx is a standard S-video connection. I had an old S-video cable laying around and it plugs into it perfectly. S-video was a television video connection that I believe was invented about ten years ago but was never really used. I don't know if they even make televisions with an S-video connection anymore. But if you really look for it, you can still find S-video cables.

I don't know if linking two Hobby King 6ch V2 Txs together with an S-video cable will work for buddy boxing. The T6config program has no way of setting a switch to turn on and off the buddy box system. It is possible that turning both switches to NULL in the T6config program, then linking two Txs together, then turning on the one you want as Master first, then the Slave one might all work. BUT that is assuming that is programmed into the Tx to work that way. I really do NOT know for sure. If anyone is willing to try it, please comment if that works or not. I know that people want to know.

If you wanted to use a different Tx as the Master and use this one as the Slave, you'll have to make your own cable. S-video is not any sort of standard in the RC Tx world. The S-video consists of four pins and one big round connection. I think it would be safe to assume that the four pins are the signal wires for the four channels and the big round connection is the ground. Some sources say that each company has it's own language for communication between Txs, some sources say that it's all pretty much the same. If you knew what you were doing and tested each wire to know which channel it's for, you could probably use a trainer cable from the brand of Master Tx you are using and an S-video cable to make a trainer cable to connect this Tx to your Master Tx. But that isn't guaranteed to work and seems time consuming.

I, personally, don't think either one of those options are good. Linking two of these Txs together may not work, and making your own custom cable may not work. Doing either may even damage a Tx, costing you either $30 for a new one of these, or over $100 for a new one of whatever you were trying to hook this one up to.

BUT there is a great option out there for buddy boxing. If you go to Hobby King's website and search "buddy box system", you'll find a product that allows you to install two Rxs into one plane. You still only use one battery and one ESC/BEC to power everything, but it's still a little extra weight to the plane by having an extra Rx and this device. But it's not much extra weight. The "Buddy Box System" costs $9 or $16 depending on if you get the 4ch or 8ch. 4ch is all you really should need, but I would go after which ever one is in stock. But I see that both are on back order. (I don't know if anyone else makes something similar.)

By using the Buddy Box System, you can use any two Txs you want. You don't have to worry about matching brands. Later on if you want to buddy box with someone else, you can with their Tx and it's guaranteed to work. I think it's worth the $16 investment to save the hassle of trying to figure out other ways of trying to do it.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__20002__Wireless_Buddy_Box_System_4CH_Dual_RX_Controller_.html

7) Do you need the programming cable:

As stated above, I included the factory settings to help you know if you need the cable or not. BUT you may still need to reverse a servo. You need the cable to do so. However, if you are scratch building a plane, this may not be an issue. It really depends on what you are building and how you have the servos mounted.

Simply by installing the servo arm onto the other side of the servo, you basically just reversed it's direction. On planes like the FT Old Fogey, you don't have room to put the servo arm on the other side. There is only one way to install the servo arms for the proper fit. In cases like that, you need the cable.

These two photos demonstrate what I mean. The servo is turning counter-clockwise. With the servo arm mounted on the right, the arm goes away from the back, lifting up on the control surface. With the same movement but having the servo arm mounted on the left, the arm goes toward the back, pushing down the control surface.

*note: I'm not sure which direction on the Tx moves the servo into which direction. That information shouldn't be very realivent because you are still likely going to need to reverse a servo, unless you can move the arm to the other side like with stratch building.

The cable does more than just reverse a servo. Reversing a servo is merely the most common reason to need it. You need the cable if you want to use the switches for something else, if you want to use the knobs on the Tx, if you want to use Ch5 or Ch6 at all, or if you want to do mixes like for the FT Delta.

Long story short, you need the cable. Maybe not right away, but it is a great idea to order it as soon as you can.

7) Where to get the necessary software for the programming cable:

*note: I took these screen shots before the programming cable was made available in the USA warehouse.

There is a vast difference in how many files are available depending on where you look. Pay close attention to which warehouse you are looking in. This is especially true when ordering from Hobby King.

Old screen shot, but looking under the USA warehouse Tx page...

... you see that there is virtually no files under the purple files tab. (Two are pictures from a complain a customer had. The "Save Files for T6config" is actually a file I uploaded that has a Delta wing mix and something close to the factory settings for this Tx.)

However, when looking under the Global warehouse, you see that the cable it's self has a better selection.

But the Tx it's self, under the Global warehouse, has the best selection.

I marked the T6config software you want with a red line. You will still need a driver for the operating system you have. I installed the T6config first, and then the driver and I didn't have any issues. If you do, either try a different driver and try reinstalling it.

These photos may have been completely unnecessary, but I wanted to include a good visual of where to get the right software.

Again, you need both the T6config software, and also a driver for it to work properly with your computer's operating system.

8) How to use the T6config program:

This will be covered in part two. I simply had too many photos and it made for a very long article, about twice as long as it currently is. It seemed like a good place to divide the article since some people may just want to know to to mix and properly use the programming software.

Conclusions:

I hope this was helpful in explaining any questions you had on this Tx. Or, if you were looking to buy this one, I hope this information was helpful in making your decision.

I know I put a lot of detail in it but I wanted to answer any questions some one could have. Hopefully this will be a lasting article that people refer to even a year from now.