How many radio channels do I need?

[MentalGuru]

I have a TRX-4 Sport kit coming that I will be building up soon. I plan on doing with a 2 speed transfer case upgrade to it. The kit states I need a 4 channel radio. I believe all I need is a 3 channel radio however.

I have a 3 channel Traxxas radio with the thumb switch I was planning on using. It's identical to my radio for my TRX-4 Defender other then it lacks the switch for the locking diffs which my Sport won't have.

According to my Defender manual the 3rd channel(aka thumb switch) is used to shift the transfer case. I think the 4 channel radio requirement is just an error on Traxxas's part.

Am I correct in believing my 3 channel radio will work fine for me in my application?

[mass-hole]

Originally Posted by MentalGuru

I have a TRX-4 Sport kit coming that I will be building up soon. I plan on doing with a 2 speed transfer case upgrade to it. The kit states I need a 4 channel radio. I believe all I need is a 3 channel radio however.



I have a 3 channel Traxxas radio with the thumb switch I was planning on using. It's identical to my radio for my TRX-4 Defender other then it lacks the switch for the locking diffs which my Sport won't have.



According to my Defender manual the 3rd channel(aka thumb switch) is used to shift the transfer case. I think the 4 channel radio requirement is just an error on Traxxas's part.



Am I correct in believing my 3 channel radio will work fine for me in my application?

I believe the 4th would be to run the lockers?

[MentalGuru]

Originally Posted by mass-hole

I believe the 4th would be to run the lockers?

The 4th is for the lockers according to my Defender manual, this is why I'm questioning the fact that the 2 speed transfer case kit say's it requires a 4 channel radio. I'm not going to be using lockers, I'll be keeping the spools.

[kincer]

That 3 ch radio should work just fine, you would only be hooking up 2 servos and a esc so yeah I don't see a problem, I think you are right there is a misprint.

[MentalGuru]

Originally Posted by kincer

That 3 ch radio should work just fine, you would only be hooking up 2 servos and a esc so yeah I don't see a problem, I think you are right there is a misprint.

Thanks for the reply.

I'll post up if there are any issues.

[brimdogg]

Yeah, I see no reason to need more than 3ch for that setup.

Sent from my Pixel 2 using Tapatalk

[MentalGuru]

This is what I was figuring, I just wanted to get some input from others.

Thanks for all the replies.

[B-MOW71]

Something to think about. If you plan on running a servo winch off of your receiver at some point in the future, you may want consider a 4 or 5 channel. I like to run 5 channel or more so I can run a winch, lights, etc.

[MentalGuru]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Something to think about. If you plan on running a servo winch off of your receiver at some point in the future, you may want consider a 4 or 5 channel. I like to run 5 channel or more so I can run a winch, lights, etc.

I have no real plans on running a winch on this one but I'll probably add lights. I already have this 3 channel radio already so I'm trying to repurpose it for this rig. I'll be able to use the Traxxas app to control lights as needed. It will have a 5 channel receiver in it though.

My goal is to make a hardcore scale crawler with this rig.

My Defender will be the one that gets a winch and a bunch of other scale things added to it. It will be more of a trail rig. That will happen at a later date, my Sport build is killing my wallet already.

[Inspector86]

Originally Posted by MentalGuru

I have a TRX-4 Sport kit coming that I will be building up soon. I plan on doing with a 2 speed transfer case upgrade to it. The kit states I need a 4 channel radio. I believe all I need is a 3 channel radio however.

Actually on page 5 the manual suggests a couple of Traxxas options for TX/RX.

6507R is a 4 channel TQi TX/RX
6509R is a 2 channel TQi TX/RX