Hey guys, i am relatively new to gas boats and am a great fan of my JR 2.4 radio. I have heard that 2.4 does not go well with gas powered race boats. any comments or experiences?

cheers

Spektrum brand 2.4 does not work too well in gas boats. Some people have had good luck with it, but even the company themselves say not to use the system in a boat.



Alot of us are using the Futaba FASST 2.4 with very good results. I personally will never use another radio system again. Ive had my boats further out then i feel comfortable taking them and still had 100% control with no glitches... and i leave the antenna INSIDE the radio box.

Some are using the Xtreme Power systems 2.4 or whatever its called with good results as well.


Biggest thing is just stay away from Spektrum 2.4 radios.

I've run the Spectrum system module in a JR radio in gas boats since 2005. The range is more limited than 75 mHZ radios, but it worked fine. I now run a Futaba 3PK with a 2.4 module. Except for a receiver that wouldn't bond to the transmitter (replaced under warranty), the system has been flawless.

Lohring Miller

I run the XtremeLink system from XPS...LOVE the system.


*** side story: I have also had one instance where I had a hard time binding a receiver to the transmitter...in my case it was a quick lesson to NEVER forget your other boat ON in the pits!!!! Once one is locked on, you will never get another one on there until you turn the first one off! Had to run to the pits to shut the other one down to finally get the one in the hotpits to bind...while on the clock!

sounds like Futaba is the safest bet here, just saw the 4pk 2.4.... i would think that the 2.4 technology is the same? i may well opt for that radio.... looks cool

BTW the story about the receiver not binding with another receiver on, is not a bad thing, but instead a very GOOD thing...you DO NOT want a possibility of another transmitter binding to your receiver when it is on!

My problem with binding happened in my shop. I run all my boats from one transmitter, and all the receivers but one worked fine. It's possible that water damage was responsible, since I have had reports that both the receivers and transmitter modules are very sensitive to water. Otherwise the system has worked very well. The spread spectrum systems seem to be a big advance in safety,

Lohring Miler

so to reconfirm guys, with a Futaba 2.4 system in general no issues, somebody mentioned that a rooster tail could cause loss (specially during racing conditions where lots of spray may block out the link)?? Really close to get a 4PK.....

I have both the 3PM 2.4 FASST and the 4PK 2.4 FASST. The 3PM is an awesome radio and does 99% of what anybody would want. The 4PK is nice because it has a throttle curve which allows you to tweak the throttle to get a truly linear throttle and you can also do a 70/30 offset of the neutral point.

But honestly, for $190 bucks or less the 3PM is really hard to beat.

The 2.4 FASST system is the same from the 3 channel all the way up to the 14 channel radios.

Lots more info here:

www.2.4gigahertz.com

Just to add, I have run the Futaba FASST in a variety of boats from small FE boats to large 10S 80 mph+ FE boats to several gas boats. Rock solid in every case. In fact today at the LA FE SAWS event a friend of mine was having trouble with another brand of radio in his T (10S) mono attempting to go past 100 mph. We slapped in my 3PM 2.4 FASST radio and he said it was rock solid for as far as he could see. Still missed the 100 MPH mark for other reasons (burnt ESC) but he liked the radio!!

Thats really good info, thanks. I agree on the difference in functionality, it is probably more a factor of buying the latest kit in case you may want to sell it again one day.

So the issue of the prop spray causing loss of signal in turns seems therefore a non event?

since i am a newbie (fanatic EDF Jet junkie all on JR 2.4) i can then happily decide between the 4pk and the 3pk. Great !