FrSky X20 Pro Unboxing and First Impressions
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2023
- Just got the new X20 Pro in my mail and decided to share the unboxing with you. Hope you find it useful. Everything in this radio feels great. I totally recommend it, if you have the budget - just go for it. The CNC case is smooth as silk, all buttons feel amazing and Ethos is running so smooth!
The new X20 RS should be coming out soon, same as the Pro but without the metal case. Will have the text to speech function as well👍
The radio looks very nice but I have a couple of issues with the price.
Firstly, the price puts it well into Jeti, Futaba and Spektrum territory and that would make me question why I am going with FrSky.
Secondly, and most importantly, it is twice the price of the X20S, and in my opinion it doesn’t offer much more.
Over the X20S it has the metal/carbon body shell, two extra trims, the two latching red buttons, and the built-in memory rather than SD card - there are also cosmetic differences, the squared off bottom and the blade switches.
For me, the most interesting features are the squared off bottom and the blade switches - I do wish my X20S had them. I guess I could replace the switches, in fact I have already bought them but it is a lot of work and if I do it I will wait until it is out of warranty. As for the bottom, I have to use the side grips - they solve the problem but I do feel that they are a bit of a bodge. It almost feels like an afterthought, that they did the sloped bottom and then realised that this made it awkward to hold for some and rather than fix that they just bodged it with the clip on grips.
I already have an X20S so can’t justify replacing it with a PRO. But even if I was in the market for a new transmitter I would find it difficult choosing the PRO over the X20S even though I slightly prefer it.
In fact when I bought my latest transmitter I was moving from Futaba and I spent a lot of agonising whether to go FrSky, Jeti or Spektrum or even stick with Futaba. In the end it came down to the FrSky X20S or the Jeti DS12 or the Spektrum iX14 - I went with the X20S because it was half the price of the others. But if I was looking at the X20 PRO then they would have all been the same price in which case I would have probably gone with the Jeti or Spektrum.
Let me address these. I am in no way affiliated with FrSky, just a regular user. Jeti and Spectrum are not better in any way. Software quality, range, features, material quality - the Pro is just the best amongst these. Spectrum and Jeti are traditionally way, way, way overpriced. Comparing to X20S you get the better material design of...everything.
If I had X20S I wouldn't have upgraded. But I moved form X12S and che change is substantial - materials, touch screen, gimbals, more protocols, everything.
Again, if you have the money and you can afford it without breaking the piggy bank - go for it. It's abetter decision than going Jeti or Spectrum. If you have the chance - go to an event or something and just try one, hold it in your hands, etc. Plus, the Ethos as OS is killing it. Jeti are still in the 2000s with their terrible software and Spectrum OS looks like a cheap android tablet (which it is) with much worse UX. That's just MY opinion. Ideally, just try before buying :)
@@h.pandjarov I don’t entirely disagree with you. I would say that the design and build on the Jeti is better than FrSky - if you have ever taken the back off the two and looked at the circuit boards and wiring I can’t see how you could argue otherwise - and the modular switch design on the Jeti is way better than any other radio - if you have to change a broken switch, or change the type of switch the design of the Jeti makes this far easier than any other radio.
But for the most part I agree with you, I don’t believe the build or reliability of FrSky is any better/worse than that of Futaba and Spektrum.
One area where FrSky (and to be honest, all Chinese tech companies) lag behind is support. To start with, if you have tried the FrSky website recently, it is so, so, so slow, it’s like the old dial-up days - not a big issue, just be patient, but is an indicator of how little they are prepared to invest in support.
Manuals and documentation are poor, getting better now, but when the X20/S were first released there was practically nothing.
They are not worried about telling fibs - for example, the X20S was marketed as having adjustable throws on the sticks. Users couldn’t work out how to do this, there was nothing in the documentation, and every time FrSky were asked they simply ignorred the question. And yet the continued to promote the feature that simply did not exist. Eventually they released some 3D printed wedges, but they didn't offer these out for free, they made you pay for them, even though they were to satisfy a function that you had already bought.
Support from FrSky is largely absent, no dedicated forums, instead they rely on an enthusiastic community and a single thread on RCGroups - there is a FaceBook Group now as well. But none of this is from FrSky, it feels like they want to sell the radio and then wash their hands of the matter.
The radio I have has been very reliable so far, and I am not unduly concerned, but if anything were to go wrong I'm not confident that I would get any support from FrSky, certainly not as confident as I would be with Spektrum or Futaba.
And that in a nutshell is the challenge for FrSky, in my club of 70 members I am the only one with FrSky, there are a few RadioMaster, a few Jeti, a good deal more Futaba and mostly Spektrum. It is all about confidence and perception, the reality doesn't matter, it is what people think, and people have more confidence in Spektrum. And if FrSky rises their prices to similar to Spektrum then people are just going to buy Spektrum, follow tge crowd, play it safe.
And finally, the big issue I have with all Chinese technology is that the manufacturers are constantly releasing new versions - you never have the latest and greatest for long. It's a bit like mobile phones. Comparing FrSky and Spektrum, if I buy the latest model of each, in 5 years time, the FrSky will be two versions old whereas the Spektrum will still be the latest. Arguments are that this continuous development is good, but coynter arguments is that it makes you feel that you have a sub-standard product shortly after purchase. It feels like Chinese manufacturers skimp on the testing and just release, if the customer base identifies short comings then they will be fixed in the next version of the product in a year's time.
And let me finish on - I like my X20S, don't have any regrets, took a lot of deciding and I made the right decision at the time, just saying that if I was buying today, I'd discount the X20S as an old model and would look at the X20RS or the X20 Pro and at that price points would probably play it safe and get a Spektrum.
@@nheather I've seen both and the X20 Pro is better than JETI. Again that's my opinion. It's not only the radio but the entire eco system. FrSky is not your aliexpress chinese brand. Horus customer support is great and they have FrSky US (FrSky Steve on Facebook) and they have great customer service and support.
Documentation online is great. They just don't kill trees printing manuals which are useless after 2 updates. And the pace they are developing is way ahead all of the other brands. The fact that you are purchasing a product does not mean that it will have to stop development so you can brag about having the latest and greatest. On the contrary with X20 Pro you can use pretty much everything produced so far. So yeah, backwards compatibility is awesome. There is zero advantage of spending a fortune on jeti or spectrum unless you already have receivers, sensors, etc on your planes or if you're sponsored by them. Spectrum is so much behind the other two by the way, they are only popular because of the marketing and BNF planes which became a thing. And in no way it's safer...
@@GhostScaleRC Feel you have not really listened to what I have said.
You say that documentation is great, in response to my observation that when the X20 was released documentation was really poor, barely any. So are you saying that I am wrong - that when the X20 was released there was plenty of documentation and it was great. I’d like to see your evidence.
As for Jeti, guess it is personal opinion, but I believe that any electronics engineer looking at an opened Jeti and an opened FrSky would say that the circuit boards, wiring and genuine engineering is better in the Jeti. Now, I never said the FrSky is bad, I think it is just as good as Futaba and Spektrum.
But the overall point I was making is that the general perception (whether it is right or wrong) is that Spektrum is a better and safer brand, for most fliers that is a number one choice and they would only be swayed away to FrSky if it was significantly cheaper - which it used to be but FrSky are eroding that USP.
If I am wrong and you are right, then if we were to visit any random flying field you will find that most are using FrSky gear. I suggest strongly that is not the case, you will find Spektrum pretty much dominant and that is because they perceive that Spektrum is good and FrSky is cheap Chinese rubbish - I’m not saying it is, just that many people will dismiss it without giving it a second thought.
Okay challenge for you. Imagine I have just bought an X20S - show me the documentation that describes how to
Remove the ratchet from the throttle
Change the stick tension
Swap the sticks over from Mode 2 to Mode 1
I’m not doubting that you can find a forum and ask, but this is basic stuff, it should be in the manual.
Whilst there is a comprehensive Ethos Manual (now, it took quite some time after release), the hardware manual is still the same 2 page sheet which strangely gives you detailed radiation patterns for the antennas but neglects to cover basic, fundamental, stuff about the hardware.
Strangely it does tell you how to slight rotate the gimbals, but doesn’t tell you how to get at the gimbals to do that, specifically it does not warn you to take care not to rip the 900M antenna off when you remove the back.
What's FrSky Ethos Tandem X20 Pro price??????
question i have is both external antennas appear to be 2.4 surly when using 868mhz this would be risking damage to the radio due to reflected power? Would the r9 standard antenna not be better?
They are not. Check your firmware and config carefully.
Maximum controlling range of transmitter
I have #0666. As you can see there have been a few sold.
Hi. The biggest concern with this radio is the length of the sides. I have an QX7S and my only concern is my hands keep falling off the sides when i am doing vigorous aerobatics. Frsky need to look into this.
The Pro is nothing like the Qx7 in terms of quality and ergonomics. If fits my hands perfectly.
where did you buy it???
Got mine from horusrc
Can u use this for a tamiya king hauler?
If there's a compatible receiver, you can use it with everything you want.