Flash card - Sd card?

[heathy]

Guys, got a 14mz coming and noticed that it uses a flash card instead of a sd card.

Whats the difference, do they work the same??

I've never heard of a flash card before so excuse the silly question.

Cheers..

[kcordell]

The Compact Flash card used in the 14MZ is just an industry standard Flash Card, the SD card is a bit newer and smaller. The Futaba 8FGS and the 18MZ both take the SD card, but in the 8FG you can only use up to 2gb.

[heathy]

Cool, so works in the same way then?? Although my laptop has a sd card slot, how do you put info on flash?

[Phaedrus]

Generally you need a card reader that fits a compact flash card. I have a reader made by Belkin that allows 9 different types of cards to be inserted. They connect using the USB port on your computer. You will need this to do updates, etc. on your 14MZ. Also, in general try to get nothing larger than a 2GB card. You may need to go on the internet to do that. CF cards are not very common. I have a 96MB card in mine. It only has room for around a 1,000 models. There really is no need for a large capacity card.

Hope that helps.

[heathy]

Thanks for the info

[kcordell]

I was running a 1gb card in my 14MZ. The original cards were 32mb, then 64mb. Lot's of room for models, I always asked the same question, 'why do you need such a big card?'. Easy answer, the younger pilots like to listen to music when they fly and you can put .wma files on the card, plug in your headphones, program a switch or any command to start (or just turn on the player) and listen while you fly. You can also do voice commands recording, then playback, great for pattern guys practicing their routines while being able to fly without someone helping them during practice time.

[heathy]

All sounds a bit to technical for my simple mind, i like to just fly and hear the model anyway.

[Phaedrus]

I'm an old guy and I have not used mine for listening to wma music files while flying. However, here is the info on mine right now:

96MB CF card
61 MB used, 35 MB free
14 current models saved to it - room for 262 more (according to the system info)
55 wav sound files for various switches, conditions, etc.
14 BMP images for use with the models

You are going to have trouble finding anything less than 1GB any longer, and that will be plenty. I have heard Futaba recommends nothing larger than 2GB as I noted above.

[kcordell]

Nothing larger than 2 in the 8FG, I have used a 4 in my 14MZ without issues, I have seen the 18MZ with an 8 in it. As the electronics evolve..... Yes, finding anything under 1 is getting more and more difficult. That's probably why Futaba went from a 32mb to a 64mb in the 14MZ. There were some issues with type of card, but many were posting that they just took their radio to radio shack and tried different ones to find one that worked for sure. I just bought mine on eBay for $9 (2gb,Sansdisk).

[Phaedrus]

My 2GB recommendation was based on what Krysta had once mentioned to me. But you cannot argue with real life experience. My comments were also specific to the 14MZ. It makes sense that the newer radios can handle larger capacity cards.

[flyinbill1]

What is the largest CF memory size that will work on a 12Z?

[Phaedrus]

Futaba recommends nothing larger than a 2GB card in the 12Z and 14MZ. Some have used larger, but that is what the service folks recommend.

[flyinbill1]

Does one need to format the CF card or use it as is when received new?

[Phaedrus]

Originally Posted by flyinbill1

Does one need to format the CF card or use it as is when received new?

I've never formatted one first. Just put it in the radio.