12z or 14mz

[MICHAEL]

i am looking at getting the 12z or 14mz in the next few months to go with my 90 when i get it. Which radio are most people using out of these two radios. The 12z looks nice as it is lighter and smaller but the 14mz has more stuff.... :? Which one :?

[DavidH]

Depends on how much money you want to spend .
12Z and 14MZ use the same flight software. 14MZ has Windows CE as an OS system. You can load pictures of aircraft and sound bites into the 14MZ. 14 MZ has color touch screen to do the programming.
Basically that is the major difference of the 14MZ over the 12Z. The 12Z is smaller and lighter than the 14MZ. I know several of the Team Futaba pilots here in the USA have started using the 12Z and have either sold or now using there 14MZ as a backup radio. At the events here now in the USA I am seeing nearly just as many 12Z's as 14MZ's and the 12 was released 18 months after the 14MZ.

Just my opinion. I have a 12Z, I could have gotten a 14MZ for only a couple hundred dollars more as I am a Team Futaba pilot. I chose the 12Z because it will do the same as the 14MZ and I did not want the bells and whistles of the color touch screen and other features that have nothing to do with flying the model.
The battery on the 12Z will also last twice as long as the 14MZ. This is due to not having to operate the color screen.

David

[MICHAEL]

thanks mate, i was talking to Nigel Brown on the weekeng and he has both and just said if you have the money go for the 14mz but he still loves his 12z. I'm looking more at the 12z now so i don't know maybe i just need to get both :mrgreen:

[Phaedrus]

Maybe this will help:

I have not gone through the 12Z Manual with a fine tooth comb yet, but so far I cannot really see much difference in the software between it and the 14MZ.

Basically the interface is different.

The 12 does not play or record sounds, and you cannot load a photo of your plane.

The 12Z has two sliders located on the back of the TX, the 14MZ has 4.

The 14MZ has two more trim/channel controls (T5 & T6) on the front.

The 12Z does NOT come with the CF card. The 14MZ does.

The 12Z cannot be set to use JR shift PPM RXs, the 14MZ can.

They have the same TX battery (2200 Lion) and the 12Z should run a bit longer since its current draw is 500 mA versus 750 mA to 1,000 mA for the 14MZ.

Both have the same switch layout, but you must send the 12Z in to get switch arrangements changed. You can physically change it, but you cannot reassign switch type like on the 14MZ. They use the same plug-in switch types.

The TX antenna screws on the 12Z and has a BNC type connector on the 14MZ.

The sticks are identical. Ball bearing supported.

Obviously the 12 has two less channels, but they use the same 14 channel G3 RX so all you are losing are the 2 digital non-proportional channels (DG-13 and DG-14).

Both are 2048 PCM, 1024 PCM, PPM capable. You can select JR shift on the 14MZ for use with JR PPM-FM RXs. The 12Z does not allow this.

When I look at it the 14MZ offers no major operational advantages over the 12Z.

The extra $800 for the 14MZ gets you:

A color display and touch screen interface (WIndows CE driven).
Two more non-proportional digital channels.
Ability to play/record sounds and wave files. Includes a phono jack.
Ability to display a photo of your plane.
Date/Time function/display.
Two more sliders.
Two more Trim type tabs on the TX front (T5 & T6).
An included 32 MB CF Card.
Dials in a different position on the TX front.
USB interface for service center use.
9 flight condition versus 8 per model for the 12Z.
12 characters for a model name versus 8 for the 12Z.
Ability to set JR RX shift.
Ability to move and reprogram switch types (2-pos/3-pos).

Functionally the two look identical. The 12 "may" lack some deeply buried mixing differences compared to the 14, but I have to believe that these would not effect 99.9% of the potential users out there.

You can load any 14MZ aircraft file onto the 12Z and only have to worry about if you used one of the digital channels DG-13 or DG-14.

Again, there are a few other smaller differences, but these are the main ones.

[MICHAEL]

thanks for that, so jr ppm/fm rx can be used with the 14mz so can you also used jr pcm rx with the 14mz. :?:

[MICHAEL]

also does the 12z have the same eCCPM mixing as the 14mz.

[Phaedrus]

The 12 has the same software as far as I know.

You cannot control JR PCM with anything other than JR. Just like you cannot use any other PCM TX to control Futaba, Airtronics or Hitec PCM. Each company has their own PCM coding and only their TX can work with it.

[MICHAEL]

ok, cool. It will be a few months before i get the radio so i have some time to think which one is best for me.