help please ! JR x-388s or AIRTRONICS rd8000

[robbin wilham]

hello there , somebody . i need some advice on a radio for my wife, ive had a JR x-388s since new and a couple of months ago i decided to give it to my wife and get me the AIRTRONICS rd8000 but my wife surprised me with a 9303 2.4 and i already had the rd8000 for about 2 months before she knew so i am stuck with it . eventhough the JR is older its still a PCM only it has the factory module ,but then the rd8000 is new computerized and all ive ever owned has been JR and i dont know how good AIRTRONICS are but im gonna post the rd8000 for sale cheap if everyone says the JR is better so could i please get some advice , thanks and here are some pics

[tz250w]

Umm... You are trying to decide whether to sell the JR x-388s or the RD8000? Not the 9303 or the RD8000 right?

I just bought an RD8000 (we can't use 2.4 here legally yet). It's a good TX, but if I had a 9303 I'd would be using it instead. As for the JR x-388s, no experience but I'd guess the RD8000 would be a keeper in that case.

The RD8000 does both PCM and FM modulation btw.

[robbin wilham]

yeah if i get some feedback saying to keep the x-388s then i will sell the rd8000, im keeping the 9303 2.4 for myself , i love the x-388s its easy to learn for my wifes first and its just a really nice radio and with a module can become 2.4, but its older and cosmetically not the best and probably wouldnt be worth anything, but works and has alot of features, it was replaced with 83hundred series which is one of their upper mid price ,what would you do, the JR probably feature wise is better,but i dont know,

[robbin wilham]

:arggg::arggg::arggg:i forgot the rd8000 is PCM but never 2.4 , they just released the 2.4 rd8000 but you have to replace the whole radio it only $199 and all black no silver looks kinda cheap and the rd8000 ive got feels cheap to, unlike the heavier built x-388s

[fiveoboy01]

Sell both and get the wife a DX7:wink:

[tz250w]

Well, I only bought my RD8000 because I needed another channel for my govener. I was using the RD6000 Super before that and found both to be fine for my level and easy to program. Of course, they probably won't get much use once we go 2.4 over here...

As for "cosmetics", I guess it doesn't bother me. I'm not a gizmo freak and I don't look at the TX when I'm flying anyway! :wink:

I have a bluetooth cell phone that has 1GB of onboard memory, TV, more pixels than my digital camera, GPS, and about 11ty other functions that I never use because I still think it's just a telephone. Showing my age here, ain't I? :oops:

[robbin wilham]

i had thought about that to until i started doing some research on both from 3rd party sites and the x-388s other than a few less features its basically a 9303 , theres alot of similarity between the two , i bought my daughter the DX-7 for her b-day and it doesnt have quiet the features as the x-388s . the x-388s was the first PROPO radio i owned , i ordered it when it became available along with my first RAPTOR .30 from HORIZON in year 2000 and it was one of the most expensive radios available , i gave $429 and still have original receipt its been very dependable ,still has original batt. and its no problem to squeeze 25 minutes of 3d flight out of ,so i kinda hate to let it go cause i can buy a 2.4 module and need nothing else and i can also use with my 9303 and link them together to let some of my friends see if they could be taught to fly and i cant use the rd8000 with mine ,thanks alot any advice is helpful , its just a hard decision

[Ace Dude]

What can the 388s do that the DX7 can't?

The 388s was my first radio and I purchased it in 1995. I recently sent it in to have the lithium battery replaced and have CCPM enabled. I don't fly with it anymore, but use it on the sim. I've owned several radios since the 388, but always kept the 388s for use on the sim. The gimbals on the 388s are smoother than some of the new radios available today. I was going to sell, but it's not worth much now with all the 2.4GHz radios on the market. I'll just keep it for sim use now.

[robbin wilham]

i use the 9303 2.4,we are jr family. when you own 100 acres of land with concrete 200ft runway then theres not a whole lot of need for the 2.4 , look how many years we have flown without them ,victorously but they are good at a public field where theres lots of people ,i traded out the 2.4 module on back of my radio for the fm module on the 388 and couldnt tell difference,it might only be detectable with frequency strength checkers, my field , i built for about 10 of my close friends and their family but is open to public .when i go back home i will take some pics of it ,its scaled out with miniture 4ft. airtraffic control tower,it looks pretty cool with runway lights and all .and my wife just enjoys flying so the 388 is perfect for her on her jets ,theres nothing that her jets need to do that the 388 wont handle ,and if she wants to update then i will just get her the 2.4 module ,and the 388 is smaller than alot of newer radios which makes for a better fit for a womans hand so i just listed the RD8000 in forsale section ,but back to the dx7 its probably a good radio but im JR all the way ,it was the first radio in 1986 and all that i have had since ,if i ever do buy a different it will be the royal evo 12 ,german engineering ,to me the dx7 reminds me alot of the hi-tec line ,they feel the same and jr and futabo have the same feel ,they just feel better made,

[dandk2261999]

I have a RD 8000 its a great radio. Easy to program and it will work with all of your FM JR stuff. I have been flying planes for years and I loved the radio. I think that it gets a second hand rating because Airtronics never really could compete with the bigger names. They are really popular in the car arena. I can't speak highly enough of the Airtronics but if you are a JR great I also own a 7202 and fly both equally. I hope that 8000 finds a good home.

[robbin wilham]

yeah cause its still in box and i would probably take less for it so i can order some things ive been wanting and besides that ive still got 2 more radios and one on way from my wife for c-mas present

[concept1]

the 388 is a great radio, I am still using my old X-347,which is the model before the 388 came out. I have been using it since 1994 and have yet to have any problems. I have on several occasions almost upgraded to the 388, but only because it has more model memory, and 1 more free mix then my 347, but, then I got a gov so I didn't need another free mix, and now that I am flying only electric, and gave up nitro, I don't use any free mixes. and I don't need more models, my old 347 might be outdated, but their is really nothing it can't do that I need.

[robbin wilham]

PRECISELY thats what i was trying to tell someone else and besides its for my wife and it does all she needs to be doing and i bought mine new and have never had any trouble and i still have original batt and it gives me about 15 min to the 9.2 beep so goodbye AIRTRONICS RD8000 im keeping my 388 and buying her a 2.4 module and it will be as good as new thanks