Would the Futaba 3PL be the right Transmitter for me

[disjaukifa]

Hey Guys,

While I'm new to the board and Crawlin', I'm not new to RCs, been on and off the hobby since '99 however have been on it pretty solid since '08.

I currently have a Futaba 3PK Super, and its a great radio and all, but just a little to sophisticated for my needs. It has a ton of features that I'm pretty sure I will never ever use.

Plus as much I have read online and tried to figure it out, it doesn't seem like I can scroll through the various setups for 4 Wheel Steering.

The Futaba 4PK/4PK Super can do this however again its way more complex than I really need or will ever use.

I have been looking at the Futaba 3PL/4PL and they both seem to be perfect for my setups.

I currently run the following:

Tamiya Super Clod Buster stock, 2-Channels needed, 1 ESC, 1 Steering
Tamiya Juggernaut 2 stock, 2-Channels needed, 1 ESC, 1 Steering
Tamiya Clodzilla 2, 3-Channels needed, 1 ESC, 2 Steering
Tamiya CR-01, 3-Channels needed, 1 ESC, 2 Steering

I thinking the either the 3PL or the 4PL would be perfect, however I can't find any information on either radio system. The 4PL is nice, but I'm not sure is going to have the 4WS mixing that I need for some of my RCs.

The 3PL sounds perfect, however I can't find a PDF of the manual so I can read about the radio in depth.

I realize there are other radio systems available, but I've been using Futaba for 10 years, I have tried various other brands, Spektrum, Hitec, Tactic, and Airtronics, however I always end back up with Futaba, and I don't want to spend money just to realize I want the Futaba system instead.

Any and all information would be highly appreciated.

Thanks
Disjaukifa

[scatterbrains]

The 3pk will do everything you need, if you drop into harleys 4pk thread he goes over the 3pk a bit too. Out of all you mentioned id wait on the 4PL if you dont want to use your 3pk

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by scatterbrains

The 3pk will do everything you need, if you drop into harleys 4pk thread he goes over the 3pk a bit too. Out of all you mentioned id wait on the 4PL if you dont want to use your 3pk

I'm actually looking for a Futaba radio system that has 4-Channels but is less sophisticated than the 3PK Super, I like the 3PK Super, I really do but its got way more features than I ever use .

I just wish I could find out more information on the 4PL system, I can't find anything, no technical specs, nothing. How does it do the 4WS mixing, etc. If it does it similar to the 4PK Super, hell yeah I'm going to wait.

I will say this though, the 4PL is defiantly going to have a better interface than the 3PL.

Another question, does anyone know what receivers the 4PL will be using? Will it use the 3PK/4PK receivers or the 3PL receiver?

Thanks
Disjaukifa

[Harley]

Sounds like you only need 4WS mixing and basic features. The 3PMx is the perfect radio for you if you just want to go to a more simple radio.

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by Harley0706

Sounds like you only need 4WS mixing and basic features. The 3PMx is the perfect radio for you if you just want to go to a more simple radio.

Harley, one more question for you though, I just read this and just realized I MIGHT be able to do this with the 4PL. I'm thinking about setting up a Dual Steering and Dual ESC setup on my Clodzilla 2. I was just going to use a Y-Harness for the ESCs, however if I could use all 4 channels with the 4PL, could I setup a mix with lets say channel 1&4 for throttle and then channels 2&3 for steering?

If so I might wait for the 4PL. I know you can do many neat things with the 4-Channels, which is way I liked the 3PL, its a 3-Channel that acts like a 4 channel, because you mix the 2&4 channels for the steering leaving you with the 3rd channel for other uses (lights, mixing with other channels, etc).

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback!

-Disjaukifa

[Harley]

Ok I better understand what your looking for now. The 4PL will give you some great flexibility, I think you would get your money out of it. Details will be out soon I promise!

Originally Posted by disjaukifa

Harley, one more question for you though, I just read this and just realized I MIGHT be able to do this with the 4PL. I'm thinking about setting up a Dual Steering and Dual ESC setup on my Clodzilla 2. I was just going to use a Y-Harness for the ESCs, however if I could use all 4 channels with the 4PL, could I setup a mix with lets say channel 1&4 for throttle and then channels 2&3 for steering?

If so I might wait for the 4PL. I know you can do many neat things with the 4-Channels, which is way I liked the 3PL, its a 3-Channel that acts like a 4 channel, because you mix the 2&4 channels for the steering leaving you with the 3rd channel for other uses (lights, mixing with other channels, etc).

Thanks for all the wonderful feedback!

-Disjaukifa

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by Harley0706

Ok I better understand what your looking for now. The 4PL will give you some great flexibility, I think you would get your money out of it. Details will be out soon I promise!

Ok thank you so much Harley!!! I'll stick with my 3PK system for now and pre-order the 4PL whenever it becomes available!!!

Can't wait for more details on the radio system!

Thanks guy for all the wonderful information!

-Disjaukfia

[oldhippie]

Originally Posted by disjaukifa

Ok thank you so much Harley!!! I'll stick with my 3PK system for now and pre-order the 4PL whenever it becomes available!!!

Can't wait for more details on the radio system!

Thanks guy for all the wonderful information!

-Disjaukfia

If I were you I wouldn't buy a radio without having details on it! Your 3pk is a great radio and well worth learning how to use it. Many of the "extra" features are very useful, if not really needed. The new (not out yet) low line Pl radios use a simpler 2.4 system (so the current 2.4 receivers won't work) and interface plus have less features. You will really be downgrading from the the 3PK, but since no/little info is available yet it is hard to know how much (but rumor has it the 3PL only has a 2 position switch on the 3rd channel).

[scatterbrains]

"Pl radios use a simpler 2.4 system (so the current 2.4 receivers won't work) and interface plus have less features."

actually I beileive the PL series uses the fhss system rather than the fasst system, so it wont work with the orange fasst rx's, but it should work with the blue rx's from the 3pm, 3pmx, and 2pl systems w/ 2.4

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by scatterbrains

"Pl radios use a simpler 2.4 system (so the current 2.4 receivers won't work) and interface plus have less features."

actually I beileive the PL series uses the fhss system rather than the fasst system, so it wont work with the orange fasst rx's, but it should work with the blue rx's from the 3pm, 3pmx, and 2pl systems w/ 2.4

Thats actually perfect for me! I want the 4-Channel flexibility however with a simpler features than the 3PK/4PK yet a better menu system than the 3PL/3PM.

I can't wait for the 4PL to come out, I'm going to be pre-ordering it as soon as someone starts accepting pre-orders for that transmitter!!!

-Disjaukifa

[Mcnms]

got this from another site.

"4PL will release on Oct,10. "

http://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-el...pl-4pks-6.html

[disjaukifa]

Originally Posted by Mcnms

got this from another site.

"4PL will release on Oct,10. "

http://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-el...pl-4pks-6.html

I'm a member at RCTech and I've subscribed to that thread for a while . . . how did I miss that?

Thanks for the information!

-Disjaukifa

[Mcnms]

I'm also, wondering what the 4pl has to offer. Ever since my mx3 took a crap, been using trq radio while looking for replacement. Seen the 3pl but like you mentioned, not much info about it.

[Mcnms]

[Harley]

When we are allowed to release the info we certainly will.

[Bart bender]

OK any new skinny on the 3PL?

[wantAsummit]

Originally Posted by Bart bender

OK any new skinny on the 3PL?

It is not a bad radio for the price. There are some steering mix options available, but there is no 3-position capability.

The manual is available here:
http://manuals.hobbico.com/fut/3pl-2...hss-manual.pdf

[EvilTwin v2]

Originally Posted by Harley0706

When we are allowed to release the info we certainly will.

So.... any idea when you'll be allowed to release the info?

I'm currently trying to decide whether I need the 4pks or if I should wait for the 4pl.

I need something capable of running proportional dig w/ 2 esc's along with rear stear on my super. This wait is driving me nuts!