Anyone use the Sanwa Gemini II transmitter?

[motormania]

Now that the new Xray has arrived, I'm sorting out the rest of the shopping list. LiPo & Charger on order, so too the LRP ESC. Going brushed for now but will eventually go brushless once I've got my driving skills back again, after a 10 year gap.

Trouble is, not sure which transmitter to go for. I like the look of the Gemini, has anyone used them, or could someone suggest one that is suitable and under £150?

Thanks.

[sgrimshaw]

At under £90 the Gemini II takes some beating.

The Hitec Eclipse Pro might be worth a look, not sure how the features compare. Modelsport have that for £99

You only interested in "stick" radios?

[bumrar]

I use a gemini 2, it lets you adjust everything you'd really need adjust, and is very good value for money! its never gone wrong and its easy to use. Id certainly buy another! However, im looking at getting a second reciever now for another car, not overly impressed by the £50 price tag for the only 40mhz reciever sanwa make!

Edited by bumrar on Wednesday 6th February 16:45

[motormania]

Sounds like the Sanwa is a good choice then. I do not like trigger transmitters, have never got used to that style of control. Having spent too many years with sticks, I shall be sticking (bad pun I know) with them

I notice that the Gemini II comes with a reciver but not a servo. DO you have to use Sanwa servo's, or can you use other brands? I which ever one I go for it must be ballraced, but not worried about digital TBH.

Thanks for the feedback BTW.

[Mikey G]

I was a stick person but i decided to make the switch to wheel and trigger and found it very good indeed. Few years ago i bought a Hitec Aggressor CRX and it certainly has more features than i need!

Must dig it out and take my cars for a bash

[ferrisbueller]

Stupid question but why do you need anything more than a basic Futaba Attack type bit of kit? Are you that good at driving and setting the car up that the fine adjustments to trim and rate make a difference? I never could see the point TBH.

[motormania]

ferrisbueller said:

Stupid question but why do you need anything more than a basic Futaba Attack type bit of kit? Are you that good at driving and setting the car up that the fine adjustments to trim and rate make a difference? I never could see the point TBH.

I used to race for many years at club level and would like to think that I'm above average in my racing skills, though I'm sure I'm a little rusting right now. The advantage of the higher spec transmitter like the one I mentioned is that you can adjust things like the amount of travel the steering servo gets based on the amount you move the stick, so you could maybe have only 70% movement plus you can adjust throttle control too. It's all about the little changes that aid your driving style.

...and for under £100 the Gemini seems a pretty good deal.

[Mikey G]

My Hitec has adjustable ABS too which is pretty handy on both my Hyper7 and the 1/5th Gator

As said, when you start looking deeper into the controls of the car the finer adjustments available on the higher end transmitters are very handy for its End Point and rate adjustments. For instance my Gator needs a steering rate that is slow on initial turning but increases as you continue to turn as i found myself over steering on the first few mm's of movement of the wheel which at speed caused too much direction change and i end up flipping the car.

I can also store trim setting profiles for more cars so i only need the one transmitter instead of seperate units for each car.

[ferrisbueller]

motormania said:

ferrisbueller said:

Stupid question but why do you need anything more than a basic Futaba Attack type bit of kit? Are you that good at driving and setting the car up that the fine adjustments to trim and rate make a difference? I never could see the point TBH.

I used to race for many years at club level and would like to think that I'm above average in my racing skills, though I'm sure I'm a little rusting right now. The advantage of the higher spec transmitter like the one I mentioned is that you can adjust things like the amount of travel the steering servo gets based on the amount you move the stick, so you could maybe have only 70% movement plus you can adjust throttle control too. It's all about the little changes that aid your driving style.

...and for under £100 the Gemini seems a pretty good deal.

I raced at regionals and nationals and never spent more than a tenner on the transmitter. Maybe I should have!

[bumrar]

ferrisbueller said:

Stupid question but why do you need anything more than a basic Futaba Attack type bit of kit? Are you that good at driving and setting the car up that the fine adjustments to trim and rate make a difference? I never could see the point TBH.

you dont 'need' anything more, no, but having a transmitter with end point adjustment, dual rate adjustment, memories for multiple settings (very useful if you have more than one car), makes setting up your car a whole lot easier, the gemini 2 has all this. Generally the better transmitters also give more accurate controls and last longer

[motormania]

Are servo connectors universal these days between brands. Could I get the Gemini transmitter which does come with the reciever but not a servo, and then buy a full blall raced Futaba servo for instance and use it, or do I have to stick with what Sanwa offer?

[Mikey G]

motormania said:

Are servo connectors universal these days between brands. Could I get the Gemini transmitter which does come with the reciever but not a servo, and then buy a full blall raced Futaba servo for instance and use it, or do I have to stick with what Sanwa offer?

iirc its just a little key strip down the one side of the plug that is the difference. The one type will plug into the other but not the other way around, i normally just cut the little key strip off the plug and its all ok.

[bumrar]

Mikey G said:

motormania said:

Are servo connectors universal these days between brands. Could I get the Gemini transmitter which does come with the reciever but not a servo, and then buy a full blall raced Futaba servo for instance and use it, or do I have to stick with what Sanwa offer?

iirc its just a little key strip down the one side of the plug that is the difference. The one type will plug into the other but not the other way around, i normally just cut the little key strip off the plug and its all ok.

yeah, there pretty much universal, the only thing you might have to do is fettle the servos plug slightly. Im using a futaba servo with my gemini, or is it a hitec?!?! hmmmm.....

[Bungleaio]

I have no idea about the tranny mate but all servos should work unless it demands digital ones. Just check the polarity on the reciever you may need to change the order of the wires on the plug but it's easy to do.

[Bungleaio]

Just to let you know I have bought things from these fellas before

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/default.php?language=en 

Never had any issues or had to pay any import tax

[tr7v8]

motormania said:

Are servo connectors universal these days between brands. Could I get the Gemini transmitter which does come with the reciever but not a servo, and then buy a full blall raced Futaba servo for instance and use it, or do I have to stick with what Sanwa offer?

Be careful the SANWA polarity is different to everyone else. You need to swap the pos & neg connections around other wise the servo fries..... I've done it & nearly set the aircraft wing on fire

[ferrisbueller]

tr7v8 said:

motormania said:

Are servo connectors universal these days between brands. Could I get the Gemini transmitter which does come with the reciever but not a servo, and then buy a full blall raced Futaba servo for instance and use it, or do I have to stick with what Sanwa offer?

Be careful the SANWA polarity is different to everyone else. You need to swap the pos & neg connections around other wise the servo fries..... I've done it & nearly set the aircraft wing on fire

IIRC KO are the same.

[motormania]

Bungleaio said:

Just to let you know I have bought things from these fellas before

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/default.php?language=en 

Never had any issues or had to pay any import tax

Thanks for the heads up, the prices look very favourable once you have cionverted them Actually a guy at the club I shall be joining mentioned that he gets his gear from this company. So I guess they do a good trade with UK customers then.

In fact those Futaba 40MHz sets look interesting. Futaba is what I used to use all those years ago and I could never fault them. SO I now need to decide Sanwa or Futaba...

[josh_smaxx]

KO are by far the best servo's to go for, the quality of them is amazing and they are seriously fast.

[Bungleaio]

I have had a futaba 3pk steerwheel set for a number of years now, works well and is easy to use. I have a combo of futaba and KO servos in my LST and they have taken a beating with no problems.