Traxxas RTR Controller vs. ExpressLRS MT12. Do you even need to upgrade?

[@testpilotian3188]

Your neighbour in the cars are probably like “don’t worry it’s just Joshua out and about” every time they see anything remotely RC related….

[@lucaschapman1966]

I have been told my neighbors refer to me as the mad scientist…

[@lucaschapman1966]

Among other things….

[@niels5471]

​@@lucaschapman1966😅haha

[@VogxelFPV]

"remotely"

[@CapnBry]

I think we all learned today that the stock Traxxis ain't bad! Thanks for the comparison, JB

[@00whynot]

I swear by the traxxas radio for fpv. has nearly double the range than my dx5 rugged when tested on my Xmaxx.

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

I bought the Zoro specifically for surface FPV. I printed a gimbal system for the walksnail system. This sits inside the cab just like sitting in a real truck and I can look around using the thumb wheels on the zoro. Plus I set mine up so the throtle stick has no spring presure so I can set cruise control. I have it set up so you have to press one of the buttons to activate the throtle. Forward / Reverse is setup with the three way switch. So the throtle stick uses the full travel giving it more resolution over the throw of the stick. < that is huge for a crawler as you can dial it right down for crawling rocks and what ever.

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

BTW I started using analog and then I found you and it was you that got me pointed at the Walksnail system. I use a 42 inch tv and drive mine all over the place while in the confort of the house. lol Its great fun when you encounter poeple with it. They are like WTF??

[@pottyputter05]

​@VulcanGasifier I was like, ya mode 2 and all this makes sense, then you mention 42" TV 😮 little bit different lol

[@Thrive-Off-Grid]

@@pottyputter05 No goggles for surface applications for me. The HDMI out of the Walksnail reciever is why I bought it. I can see where goggles are best on a drone. But they are not good for surface crawlers as you need line of site so you can see your lines. I have a screan mounted on my controller as well.

[@JoeMintyFPV]

I hooked up a 16th scale truck with 03 to my boxer, put all controls on the right stick. Really enjoying the one handed driving. Give it a try!

[@tommcdonald6371]

Did the same lol

[@JIPPERR_1]

Excellent run Joshua! Ive been looking forward to seeing more of this project. Transmitter range exceeding my goggles is important for sure but more better is the head tracking port and many many channels available on this radio. My pan tilt gimbal uses 4 channels all on its own.

[@cylus_sector9]

awesome seeing you enjoy rc cars!!! i've fitted analog fpv to my traxxas x-maxx and been shredding the local downhillbike park. just so much fun. now i just need to mod my old logitech steering wheel and pedals with the traxxas remote for some more immersion xD i don't really care about max range anymore bc when i flip it the walk of shame takes so much longer xD have a nice one

[@ryanhathy]

You could put a small mirror in the upper portion of the camera field of view to see behind you. 😊

[@GuGuHBmX]

awesome seeing you explore the other realms of FPV RC, one thing that really helps a lot is raising the antennas off the ground as much as possible. On my crawler there's a 8 inch 3d printed tower where the vtx antenna sits. since you're so close to the soil, any increase in antenna height will have a drastic effect on range. Also buceees sweater man?

[@JoshDisher]

I wonder how long until autonomous micro-quad repeater drones are a thing? Imagine an 3S whoop with an ELRS repeater that stays at 100' directly over your land vehicle... My guess is the FAA and/or the government will HEAVILY regulate repeater setups in the future... They're not going to like it when an FPV Drone can potentially "hit" a target from 50 miles away. I'm pretty sure it's already a "thing" in Ukraine 🇺🇦

[@rcautoball]

Glad to see some relatable ground FPV stuff!

[@53rdcards]

To me the big advantage of the mt12 was the multi protocol, ground range wasnt ever an issue as its pretty well all line of sight anyway, but i would be interested in seeing how well the mt12 that doesnt have express lrs does.

[@aL3891_]

The stock controller did really really well! I think most cheapo controllers will do way worse though:)

[@dylansimmons9346]

Traxxas sucks

[@schtinerbock4570]

That Buc-ees jacket is awesome! What were we talking about? Oh yeah the radio. yeah the radio is nice too.

[@stevennh1392]

I know it's an old thread, but I put a GM3 gimble on a sled to use with my Traxxas and my Timber Turbo with a Walksnail Moonlight and my Googles X. The head tracking really makes it much more immersive (and practical when on the road!). Easy to move from car to plane. I'm loving the MT12.

[@Vaeloron]

Just losing telemetry does not mean that signal is lost. It just means that the two way link with the receiver was lost. The receiver actually transmits back to the controller but it is much weaker. Normally you can keep going long after telemetry is lost as the controller has way more transmit power than the receiver does. I have personally had situations where I lost telemetry with ELRS but still flew another mile with no failsafe. I am sure I could have flown even further if I wanted to.

[@Dorff_Meister]

Love the Buc-ees jacket! It isn't a Texas road-trip if you don't hit a Buc-ees. Enjoying the car-fpv content. I'm not sure I really need one, but good stuff!

[@Mossman04]

I just got back into fpv cars a couple months ago. The WLTOYS 1:28 scale with an AIO analog stuck on top has been great indoor fun Glad to see you on ground as well

[@petrokey]

Have you tried analog av in rc car? My 2.5w works inly 450 long .. so us there any analog vtx that may work better? And how far dji av works? Btw, this 450m was with no obstacles and I have used elrs betafpv superP and radiomaster pocket and it shows 90lq

[@dirt5547]

I have a dozen or so of the traxxas controllers, thank you for showing a good range test. Better than I expected.

[@powersv2]

Sick Bardwell decided that today was the day to Keep on Truckin’

[@gazzap6664]

For crawling I can see this being great fun, never seen it doe before but I know my Son would love it, he loves bashing around with his car but equally he loves the precision of crawling. Something I will try this year with a decent trail truck.

[@jrgenhy6124]

Would love to see a setup with headtracking for rc cars!

[@Deathdezine]

Thanks for this test bardwell. I fly drones and race rc cars and the hills and buildings effect on ranger were exactly what I thought would kill it. I’d like to see the range on that radio where you had no obstruction blocking signal. My stock Spektrum radio on my fpv car will go amazing far as long as there’s no obstructions. ( California deserts are pretty bare) Great video as always.

[@pottyputter05]

Oo ya I bet you can zip around for a fair bit out there

[@kmf123kmf]

Great demo. I'm curious what settings were you using for this. Packet rate, Tx power, etc...? Also, shouldn't we expect telemetry loss earlier than control loss due to lower tx power of the receiver?

[@Voyajer.]

I thought I missed the section where he would have talked about power and rate

[@JoshuaBardwell]

50 Hz, 250 mW. Max range.

[@filiped7298]

Now I need this same test but with Walksnail

[@AlexLebed]

great video! i think the car would benefit from stabilization gimble.

[@dutchbiker7874]

Great result! Driving or flying fpv is so amazing!!😍

[@MCsCreations]

Fantastic ride, Joshua!!! 😃 But remember, not all of us have a Traxxas transmitter. Mine, for example, is a sh*t FlySky. 😬 Anyway, stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@JasonMatthewCrabtree]

In the RC crawler world (which is what the TRX is for) you should focus on the benefits of the programmability like being able to control the throttle curve to get that sweet slow crawl

[@thegooserider7245]

I am a bit lost Joshua, radiolink released the RC8X less recently. Is this direct completion for that? How do those two compare in flat terrain? Could you try them?

[@bmudskipper112386]

Nice video, this has been inspiring me to deep dive into researching fpv surface rc tech recently. May I make a request for a video of you adding a pan /tilt head tracking setup with mt12 and your trx4? Then maybe test out that joy stick as the transmitter control? Thanks for all the information in this hobby, you are a huge catalyst to my speed of learning. 🙏

[@petrokey]

Btw, Betafpv introduced elrs series 'super' with gemini mode (2 antennas with different frequency instead of one frequency that we used to with simple divercity) and it worked for me wery good on the earth. Have you tried it?

[@ForEverydayPeople]

Joshua just casually rolling up on his neighbors property seeing what all they got. XD

[@JacobScherer]

Love the video! I can hear the enjoyment in your voice, and that is what RC is all about!! I think I might know where you saw that latency testing 😂

[@marciel5766]

You should install a FC with Ardupilot, GPS and a ELRS 915 with airport for telemetry, you would be amazed. You can sit with your smartphone or a tablet, draw a mission to go, or just monitor his position by looking to qground control app. And a bonus: OSD.

[@super_slo]

Was that still the receiver with the micro antenna? Doesn't that one have like 10mw telemetry? Or did you go for one of the receivers with the 100w telemetry and bigger antennas? I want to get this setup with hdzero goggles using the accelerometers to control the camera. Kick ass content dude!

[@upnorthFPVandEUC]

Your should repeat this test with the 03 unit on top.. your range should be much better!! Cool video.

[@DarwinHorvath]

I think a good way to test this is to use an analog FPV repeater that is setup on your road so you can have direct line of sight with your FPV antenna

[@JIPPERR_1]

I would love to see this too. I've tinkered with an analog fpv repeater before, could enable some massive range on a rcfpv car 👍

[@zeroblade6599]

Sticking the repeater onto a mavic and just let that hover somewhere could be a fun thing

[@5Ball]

I’ve been looking at doing just that sort of thing: putting repeaters on a quadcopter. Theoretically, you could get miles of distance with an fpv car. Of course, it would require two operators. Does anyone have experience doing this?

[@JIPPERR_1]

@@5Ball There's a rebuild video where they breakdown how they got a drone to follow a downhill mountain bike through an city, really crazy run. Anyhow they used a similar repeater technique to maintain video reception. Pretty interesting, two operators required for sure

[@DarwinHorvath]

@@5Ball In my experience you can just use a dji drone and have it hover in position without you monitoring it, and if you have it set to rth and land when the battery is low you can spend the whole time driving

[@zader253]

Love seeing more people make fpv content for ground vehicles aha

[@henrywitecki]

Hi Joshua. Absolutely loving the surface content. Could you please show us how to set up drag-brake or neutral brake on the MT12? What it does is apply adjustable brake force as soon as you let off the throttle. It can be incredibly handy in rc racing, to come into corners as fast as possible, and have the car slow down quickly but consistently in order to maintain control. When you can slow down into a corner without having to manually apply the brake, it's a game changer. It can not be done on most radios, but I have a feeling the MT12 can do it with ease. I just need you to show me how haha!

[@savagebrian1234]

Drag brake would be a setting in the esc

[@manski209]

JB, you gotta check out the Arrma Typhon 3S BLX and the Arrma Vorteks 3S BLX. I think you will enjoy them. I own both and i have Walksnail systems on both.

[@Revelation1177]

Underrated fun I have the walksnail on my traxxas slash I'm hooked

[@manski209]

@@Revelation1177 Me too.

[@TheGeordietheWitchandtheWench]

I remember doing this with Dragon link and my Mugen Seiki buggy back in 2010, I had to use 1.2Ghz/1 watt transmitter. I managed 12 kilometers :-) Feels like we are going backwards....

[@JoshuaBardwell]

1.2 GHz and 400 MHz is definitely king if all you care about is range.

[@RakishRc]

Awesome range and quality on the DJI video system. I use analog for now on my RC car fpv setup. There are no elrs pwm 900mhz receivers yet from radiomaster? I couldn't find any good 900mhz elrs pwm units I could get.

[@ericstephany7305]

Will radiomaster ever make a pwm 915mgh reciever for their bandit line?

[@krowe33]

Hey Josh. Been following and promoting your videos for years. I just started looking into this MT12. Quick question. Do you think the MT12 is something folks new to RC would be able to use without too much trouble? I have a Taranis radio with OpenTx, and I remember there was a bit of a learning curve to setting that up. Is the MT12 that bad? Thanks for sharing!

[@BadLuckFPV]

The way you said "they're like what the fuck is going on here" im ded

[@baggszilla]

JB, so all this range was with the RadioMaster RX with the internal antenna? WOW!

[@-FARKI]

Could you try putting the fpv camera on a gimbal to make it less bumpy? You could explore different ways of doing that (modded phone gimbal, or diy)

[@drunkskunk00]

Great video. But when you lost Telemetry, your radio antenna was turned horizontal. (front of the radio, for those who don't know the MT12) Were you also running a horizontal antenna in the truck?

[@ElChingonFPV]

Like the Buc-ee's jacket Native Texan here.

[@jeffreyjadav9493]

Yay been looking forward to this vid

[@dronepilot260rc]

Nice! I love this series

[@zader253]

Been running crossfire and dji on my cars for a few months no issue. Stock traxxas rx and txs all cut out constantly in my area sadly

[@gammagonad1657]

When your first video came out on the MT12 I hadn’t had an RC car in over 25 years. I bought it because I did want to try some FPV Rock-crawling. I initially ended up with a 1/8 scale 6S basher(FLIPPING AWESOME!). Then, about a week ago, I bought a 1/10th TRX4. I’ve dumped a ton of money in both of them already… THANKS for the new addiction @Joshua Bardwell my wallet hates you 😂. Anyways, do you have a model profile set up to make the lockers and 2 speed transmission work yet? Would be awesome if you did.

[@Dysl3xicDog]

Try setting up your switches in mixers page as additional channels output to the receiver until you find the right channel for each item.

[@gammagonad1657]

@@Dysl3xicDog well thankfully JB is way ahead of me, as he released the video today. I am going to have to make a couple of changes, as I want the ability to lock each differential independently, as he just locked them together on the same switch. Thanks for the reply though.

[@theloneriderzadventures]

Awesome video! Where did u buy the fpv setup??

[@IanF-FPV]

This radio competes well against the FlySky Noble. Also another LoRa based ground radio.

[@danpenry8899]

Analog with a repeater down the driveway would be a good way of keeping the video link

[@justinalvarado7351]

Bro if your bashing your not worried about range. It’s more like FPV in the racing and cool driving aspect. It would be cool to run a short course truck on a short course dirt track driving like a real vehicle. You might’ve created a new discipline of endurance driving

[@Ghostworks999]

I agree they need to do more of this

[@Ghostworks999]

They need to add an analog on the remote to shift the camera angle to look to the sides as well !!

[@overdosed51]

I have like 4 of those tqi controlles in a closet i should post them for sale 😂. I have to have all my vehicles on my old it4s flysky radio. They have battery voltage and motor temperature telemetry set up. Its a must with big scale trucks so you dont have to carry them around when your batteries go flat

[@thefatmoop]

Wish there was like a 5mhz lora chip. Bounce signal right off the ionosphere for non los

[@chriscottell6854]

Very cool, have u seen the Traxxas Xmaxx 8s yet?

[@Revelation1177]

Love the video is there a setup you can show us to have a rearview?

[@R.B_B]

They lose telemetry before losing control, or when you lost telemetry, you also lost control?

[@shadofpv]

Bro! Try using an 868/915 elrs rc link and do this again, i bet you’dbe amazed how far you can go

[@JoshuaBardwell]

There aren't any 900 MHz PWM receivers yet.

[@swissfreek]

@@JoshuaBardwellwell, not for ELRS… 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@Carguyforlife]

JB, I too enjoy shopping at Buccees 😃

[@kanenstuff]

You should look up the video thats on the 4G or 5G network with infinite range. You would be the one to dubu k this or not and would give you the chance to test the MT12's full range.

[@SpAcE-gAdGeT]

ive had the tq remotes fail right around a corner

[@rubyruby5710]

Do you need to strip your go pro for an 5 inch fpv drone ?

[@bugsy742]

I used to but I switched to 6s and just use a full size GoPro now 👍🤝

[@hvcool]

So wait did i miss something how do you get equivalent FPV range as the transmitter - or further FPV range extension ?

[@gamercat7004]

I want this i do have the radiolink 7 channel remote and this seems so much fun.😆

[@conorstewart2214]

Losing telemetry doesn't mean you have lost control, does it? It just means that the receiver can't transmit back to the controller. Since controllers tend to have much higher transmit power than the telemetry function on receivers doesn't that mean that the usable control range is much higher than the point where you lose telemetry?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It was also failsafing and I could not drive the car. You can see the car stuttering.

[@conorstewart2214]

@@JoshuaBardwell is there a way to turn off the failsafing if it is failsafing just due to lost telemetry? Seems a bit odd to failsafe just because the telemetry was lost.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

It's not failsafing because of lost telemetry. Telemetry and control are failsafing at the same time.

[@conorstewart2214]

@@JoshuaBardwell that seems odd, doesn't the receiver have lower transmit power for telemetry than the transmitter?

[@PetrKvapil-nt6jw]

What car did you use?

[@ImperialArmour]

I'm an interested in long range RC cars, pls do a build video.

[@Revelation1177]

How likely would it be for one of those companies like walksnail or hdzero to make a fpv system for ground vehicles because we need a rearview at least 🤞

[@ashers_workshop]

@joshua bardwell What about 1.3ghz fpv system for better penetration and range?

[@alusivekarmafpv2977]

03 or vista ?

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Vista

[@manuelsolano7525]

Nice video would like to see the same thing, but with cross fire.

[@coreybryan3668]

What were the output power and packet rate set to on the MT12 for this test?

[@FlyTimeRC]

I think this shows more that the DJI system doesn't go very far. Bummer. I know it will go farther in the air but you will have stuff blocking the signal like trees and hills. I expected more.

[@LowetheTechGuy]

I really wish Radiomaster would ship RaceDayQuads the receivers so I could get my Mt12

[@JerrySpeedRC]

is this test on 50Hz... 100Hz 333Hz of faster receiver/transmitter settings ? with 50Hz we have 10dB better radio link budget.

[@JoshuaBardwell]

50 Hz @ 250 mW.

[@danielson101]

that would be cool!

[@slickit86]

now, do a drone with a signal repeater and see how far you can drive the Traxxas then.... one idea worth an entire video series where YOU will learn something

[@tetra4411]

Put a walky talky on the crawler so you can talk to people you encounter. 😸

[@steviefpv]

All you need is a dumborc. Crazy range for £25 3ms delay as well.

[@CCWSig]

The ELRS is great for very specific use cases. For just a general, good quality, full function remote. The MT12 with the 4 in 1 will serve most people better.

[@swissfreek]

I’m not sure. It won’t bind to that receiver, for example.

[@danielson101]

can you put drone on top secured lol?

[@80377.]

Hello Joshua I would love to put a 4k fpv on my Rc car with goggles but have no idea about the fpv world any recommendations could u give me a high end choice and a budget choice thank you

[@JoshuaBardwell]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/q6eooXScpM2bY6s

[@80377.]

Thanks

[@pertificatus5420]

I love your content

[@florin26balalau]

That would be so awesome if you got into RC cars and build RC track with really cool ramps to send them to the Moon❤😂 you got a lot of property there it would be perfect and then start getting into high-speed RC cars and hook it up fpv so you can do some serious high-speed runs while chasing with a car on the road that would be awesome

[@R.B_B]

The range and penetration from the MT12 in this review sadly was disappointing. I think better antena on the radio and or receiver will be good. I use surface radios for speed runs. I use two old futaba with a simple range extended module and antena and be able to achieve more than 1km without isseus.

[@jesseharless24]

Stock rtr remotes suck they are cheap as possible. The mt12 is insane with the range and features it's the future for all rc disciplines drag drift bash

[@rclogger100]

why 2.4MHz ELRS and not 900MHz? Thinking that 900 MHZ ELRS would be a better choice in the urban environment to drive around the block. All these 2.4MHz routers radiating interference....

[@LoLifeFPV]

Hoping no one is behind ya!

[@OGRadGrow]

Nice 👍🏾

[@coolman0065]

What system are u using for your fpv system

[@JoshuaBardwell]

There is a video with full details of the FPV pod linked in the video description.

[@coolman0065]

Thanks

[@patrickkelly7789]

How do I change this to fcc? It came as lbt and there’s no fcc sd card contents on the radio master website

[@JoshuaBardwell]

The SD card contents are the same for FCC vs LBT. Are you using the 4-in-1 or ExpressLRS? The process of changing region is different for them.

[@patrickkelly7789]

@@JoshuaBardwell I’m using the Elrs version

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Use elrs configurator to flash a FCC firmware then upload to the module using wifi. kzbin.info/www/bejne/g3ephqaEbr97ibcsi=iMcJO1kTgsgEnz9A

[@maegenyoungs2591]

This would be awesome on a circle track car in a pack, nun of the 90mph, to fast to see crap.

[@danielson101]

and 2 controllers??

[@thejeffhendrix]

Do you have a spotter? 😉

[@MrFirrell]

spy on the track, he can't use one haha

[@JoshuaBardwell]

Don't need one because I'm not flying.

[@RecreationAutomotiveGarage]

Traxxas radio system very hit and missed I have few TQi sets some doesn't go over 30m and some would go like 100-150m

[@TheToymanbb]

That's good to know