Dx7 vs walkera Devo 8

[UAV_PILOT]

I am looking for a new radio and have always been a Spektrum guy. I came across these walkera radios and they are super nice! What experiences has everyone had with these radios compared to the Spektrum radios?

[desertstalker]

Originally Posted by UAV_PILOT

I am looking for a new radio and have always been a Spektrum guy. I came across these walkera radios and they are super nice! What experiences has everyone had with these radios compared to the Spektrum radios?

Only experience i have with WK radios is the 2801 and its only OK, good value though. The sticks feel no where near as good as the DX8 and programming is a real PITA (but then the DX7 is a bit weird too AFAIK). Dont know about the Devo series, but i would be surprised if the sticks feel much better.

I wouldn't use one though, because all my helis are FBL and i really dont want to mess with external RXs if it can be avoided.

[Slyster]

Walkera vs Spektrum?

EDIT: I just read the spring break thread.. just a freak event I'd say. Think of the volume of DX8's sold... more than any radio to date???? Tens of thousands (more?) worldwide... including all the plankers.... and we've never heard of this. I could see a Futaba or JR but no way ever a Walkera.

[FuntanaS]

Originally Posted by Slyster

Walkera vs Spektrum?

+1

[UAV_PILOT]

Originally Posted by Slyster

Walkera vs Spektrum?

EDIT: I just read the spring break thread.. just a freak event I'd say. Think of the volume of DX8's sold... more than any radio to date???? Tens of thousands (more?) worldwide... including all the plankers.... and we've never heard of this. I could see a Futaba or JR but no way ever a Walkera.

So is it just because of the name? Aren't most of these radios made in the same place or country? Have you seen the Walkera Devo 12?? That thing is almost like a JR 11x. And $500 should say that it's not a cheap radio.

[jperkosk]

No experience with Devo line, but own a 2801 Pro and wouldn't use it anything more serious than Walkera toys.

Two huge and one smaller cons against this radio:

• It doesn't stay bound to a Rx, it rather re-binds with Rx on every power-up . Friend's Tx got bound to someone else's bird at the indoor event, apparently there were 2 Walkeras present...
• El cheapo sticky sticks, and this was their top of the line Tx a couple of years ago.
• PITA programing, hit the wrong button and the curve tou have just programed disappears.

So no, it's not just because of the name. Lots of Chinese equipment has very tempting feature list, but just don't live up to the claims once you start using them. In general, they're getting better, hopefully they fixed most of the bugs on Devo line.

Personally I wouldn't even look in that direction for anything other than Walkera birds, waste of time being a guinea pig and risking your helis, but it's a free country, so as they say, whatever rocks your boat

[jonbailie]

The Walkera radios are good. If you have problems with people using walkeras in the same airspace, switch to a fixed ID. Simple.

The devo 8 is a great radio, with nicely built gimbals and good features. Walkeras older stuff may be a little fidgety, but their new lineup of helis and radios are no slouches. Don't dismiss them too much, they can hold their own against the more well-known brands. I use the 2801 pro on all my birds and have never had a problem. The range is good, and have never ever had a binding issue. They bind just as well as any other brand. The binding process may be slightly different, but the actual bind is similar nonetheless.

For $200-$230, the Devo 8s is hard to beat. It's full of features, has a nice, easy to use menu system on its color touch screen, and it is reliable, no matter what bad experience you may have had with previous walkeras.

It's a good radio, and compared with the dx7, I would choose the devo 8s over it. The sticks feel and flow a bit nicer, and the radio feels better in my hands. It also looks cooler... just a small bonus.

A lot of opinions you'll get are going to be a bit biased towards spektrum, or one of the other brands. People seem to think Walkera is a budget company with flimsy toys. It may have started that way, but they have come a long way in the last year. They are no longer any lesser in quality than a company like eflite.

I've flown pretty much any brand, and don't really have a preference. I love any brand associated with this hobby, and my opinion is based on how well whichever brand works for me. It may not be the best for someone else, but it's not a biased review.

Maybe this will make your decision a bit harder You will get bad apples with any mass-produced product, wether its Walkera, eflite, align, or whatever. Those people will typically shy away from that particular brand and not accrue any more experience with them. The best thing to do is try it out for yourself. See if you can get by a hobby shop to try out a dx7, then maybe see if a friend has a devo radio you can play with. Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to find Walkera at a hobby shop, so it will be harder to play with one before your purchase, but rest assured, they aren't the crappy product everyone makes them out to be

[jperkosk]

1. Do you actually own and use Devo 8?
2. Have you put Walkera Rx on any of your non-Walkera birds?

[FuntanaS]

Originally Posted by UAV_PILOT

So is it just because of the name? Aren't most of these radios made in the same place or country? Have you seen the Walkera Devo 12?? That thing is almost like a JR 11x. And $500 should say that it's not a cheap radio.

I could possible see the attraction of going with a lower end radio if it was cheaper but for $500 there are so many better options. Heck the DX18 is $800. Not that far off from $500.

[jonbailie]

Originally Posted by jperkosk

1. Do you actually own and use Devo 8?
2. Have you put Walkera Rx on any of your non-Walkera birds?

Own? Technically, no. I do use the devo 8s and 6s extensively, though. I've logged over 100+ flights with a devo 8s, on two different machines, my Trex 450 pro v2 3gx, and a v120d02s. It works very well for either machine.

Along with the devo receiver on my 450 and 120, I use the regular Walkera receiver with my 2801-pro with my Trex 600 pro, my other Trex 450 fb, and all my Walkera micros. Zero issues here either. Both the devo and wk radios have been great.

I use the dx6i for my eflite models, and have used a dx8 recently, but no big birds as of yet to try it out on.

[jperkosk]

Thanks, always good to hear an opinion from a first-hand tester of a new toy

[UAV_PILOT]

I don't know I may stay with spektrum.

[falke398]

I had a 2801 pro and used it for my first 450 pro.
- I had the receiver going to fail safe for 1s every 10st flight. Imagine this on a 700 machine in hard 3D.
- After 4 month the plastic around the sticks got cracks and the stick came lose. Walkera took care of this.

After 6 month I got a Hitec Aurora 9 and never had problems again.
I personally will stay away from Walkera.

[thebettertwin]

I have the devo 8 not the s version and love it. I never had a problem and use it on my trex. You can see my sig of what's on it . If even for a sec I thought I needed a new radio I would buy futaba. But I would have to spend $400+ on anything considered a upgrade. I'm happy I wasn't involved in these forms when I first got it or I wouldn't have cause of what people say about walkera. But I love it. If I where you and if you don't want walkera I'd go jr or futaba

[aerocal]

Originally Posted by UAV_PILOT

I don't know I may stay with spektrum.

Are you talking about an original DX7 or the new DX7s ?
Ive used a few Walkera radios a bit.The programming was a PITA to say the least.Maybe it gets better with more use but that was just my impression.

I have several Spekky radios.DX7 and DX7s.If you get DX7s you wont be disappointed.The only limitation from the original DX7 is one less Flightmode. On the 7s you get Hold,Normal and Idl 1.Or Hold and 2 other FMs.

Plus you have access to BNF and a top notch service dept if you have any issues.

[SYMAWD]

I've used a Devo 8 and liked it a lot. You can set it so that each receiver has a specific bind code to the TX, so if you do that, no one else can accidentally bind to your RX if you're at an event.

[cofl1001]

Hi Guys
I know this might be an old post, I have a devo 10 used it to fly my 100/250/450 FBL helis...all fine untill last week-end when it just died

[Richard J]

I own and fly these systems, Spectrum DX 18, WK2801 pro, Devo 8S and Futaba 14MZ.

It ready depends on your experience and how much money you have to spend. In my opinion, The Walkera stuff is okay but the programming is poorly conceived and not very logical. If you have been using one type of radio brand and are familiar with it, then it is very hard to switch to another. Spectrum is very easy to program and the Futaba is second best for ease of programming. However, the Futaba offers the user more adjustments and is almost unlimited in ways to set things up than any other brand.

The Walkera Devo 8S color screen has very tiny fonts and the color contrast is almost impossible to read outside in the sun. When the item is active during programming the font turns to the color red and for me you cannot see it at all. I have to guess on the setting and back out to see the new value. As far as operation the Devo works fine for all of the micro helis that I own, Genius CP, Mini CP, V120D02, V120D02S. The model memory works just fine for me and the radio firmware is upgradable by using a special USB adaptor. The new Devo 10 has a better screen and larger fonts and better menu system. They dropped the price and dropped the color screen. If I was buying a Walkera radio today for their micros the DEVO 10 would be my choice.

I hope this will help anyone out there considering this Walkera Devo 8S radio.

Rich