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Windows CE R/C Transmitter

Posted by michael on from the where's-the-autopilot? dept.

Si24601 writes "Futaba has released details of a new radio transmitter, the 14MZ, that incorporates a 640x240 colour touch screen, runs Window CE and uses a Compact Flash card. As someone in the midst of building a semi-autonomous model yacht, this screams to be used for telemetry feedback. Fly RC Magazine has a review of the 14MZ."

4 of 169 comments (clear)

  1. airplane cam? by The+Redwin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    My only question is can I stick a digicam on my gas powered R/C plane, and get the live video feed from it right there on the R/C controller?

    The possibilities boggle me (somewhat evil) mind...

    1. Re:airplane cam? by AcesAreWld · · Score: 2, Interesting

      of course... I did it to my helicopter: www.rchelicam.com and http://runryder.com/helicopter/gallery/3682/ http://runryder.com/helicopter/gallery/3682/?scrip t=videos Works rather well.. 2 mile video range! --Geoff

  2. One to many by bradleyland · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wow, this sounds really nice. It's not uncommon to use one controller for many R/C devices. Normally you'd create a profile for each R/C device you intend to control, then switch profiles using an special interface or switching cartridges. Hopefully this will allow improvements to the management/switching of these profiles.

  3. Sorry, no telemetry ... by dougmc · · Score: 5, Interesting
    this screams to be used for telemetry feedback
    Perhaps, but in the US the FCC isn't going to allow you to do that, unless Futaba has already done it for you. The FCC certifies the entire device, which doesn't really allow the end user to modify it at all, _unless it's used on the ham bands_ (which is an option.)

    In any event, the most useful R/C plane telemetry generally isn't visual -- it's audible. You're too busy looking up at your plane to watch a display on your radio (looking at your radio while flying is a recipe for losing your plane), but a variable pitch tone that's telling you if your glider is gaining or losing altitude can be very useful in determining if you're still in that thermal. Full scale glider pilots use the same system, but of course in that case it's not done via radio.

    Again, looking at your radio in flight is very bad, especially if several people are flying at once or your plane is way up there. MANY times somebody has looked down at their radio for some reason, and looked back up and never found their plane again. Or looked back up, found their plane, and kept flying it for a while longer but then realized that it wasn't obeying their controls anymore. (Eventually, they learned that they `found' the wrong plane up in the sky and that their plane had crashed shortly after and they didn't even notice, because they were `flying' something else.)