Hi Michael
I can appreciate the attraction of this new kit and I have seen your earlier post and the other drone related posts.
I have acquired several discarded drones from fellow modellers with a view to utilising the video camera and control gimbals for use on a model boat. I have use Go Pro to good effect in the past and possibly possess enough electronic knowledge to modify when I have the time. The Taranis offered an s-bus that took the number of channels to 16 ( if I remember correctly) and I did buy all the extra bits to make it work.
As regards 3D printing this is another area I have dabbled in and yes you can make some pretty amazing things if you have the mind and time. As regards gimbals they are fairly high tech and need to be well engineered to meet the control I have now come to expect. As an ex-flyer I can use four sticks at once as well as throw the occasional switch or pot.
I doubt if I will ever need to use a long range receiver as my sight is just good enough to see my model at the far side of our lake, but yes I suppose it does provide a level of redundancy but at quite a cost.
I agree innovation and new people and technologies help keep our hobby alive and attract new blood so I am all in favour of those who "boldly go".
Live long and prosper!
Cheers
Dave

Hi Dave I completely get where you are coming from and yes I think Frsky is moving to a proprietary or perhaps half and half measure with their ethos operating system. I also think for “techy” guys like me NOT!(I know just enough to be dangerous) that there is an opportunity within this new system and its mixing capabilities to be adapted better than most to our nautical needs. Also with the amount of information / support out there painless 360, Mr D and Andrew Newton etc etc…. And even knowing that their main focus is drones and flying can easily be adapted to boating. I think the real kicker for mariners out of this system though is the third channel on each (twisty) stick and using it for bow and stern thrusters add in some mixes, “and bobs your uncle”.
Not sure if you’ve had a chance to review my earlier post on this thread with reference to jan fabri and what he has done to modify the x20s, I think he 3 d printed and modified the twisty sticks one step further (very interesting!) by adding a throttle to the top of each twisty stick (so running four channels per stick). I believe this Jan Fabri is also the same person that was looking to have the x20s transmitter run 48 channels which Andrew Newton has demonstrated in his channel.
As for the dual frequency aspect of the x20s yes for our needs probably over kill but at the same time adds a redundancy feature that protects the investment we have made in our boats, because not sure about the rest of you lot the costs do seem to creep up, especially if your imagination is allowed to run free.
Lastly yes 20 years for a transmitter and new technology is very optimistic for an investment that becomes obsolete as it’s released these days so I’ll adjust my forecast 19+ years should do!🙂.
Personally I think with the present technology and bits and pieces (3 d) out there for model ships these days and modelling in general, it’s an exciting time for our hobby, but it could also just be the drugs I’m on after having my hip totally replaced last week, either way life’s an adventure!
I think someone once said it’s the journey and the people you meet along the way that counts.
Cheers Michael

Hi champdriver
I understand your desire to have an expandable system. I think your wish to have a system that will still be upmarket in 20 years time is a little optimistic as most electronic bits are obsolete as soon as you buy! Open source (Open Tx) stood us well for several years as SimpleSailor mentioned but development stalled a few years ago and FrSky decided to develop their own version (ie not open an only for FrSky sets). Fortunately open source developers moved to Edge Tx and quickly implemented all the stalled development from Open Tx. The benefit of this is that development is driven by the users and not the manufacturers looking to increase profits.
The sets you are considering are designed for the drone market and include many useful developments such as long range etc. They are multiple channel and the twisty sticks are certainly interesting. I suspect they will become available as an after market add on once the Chinese have cloned.
I have long watched and followed Painless 360 and his channel is inspirational. You admit to being not too tech savvy but the technology you are considering will require a certain expertise certainly when adapting for your intended use.
Good hunting and I hope you choose the right solution for you once you have investigated all the options available.
dave976

Hi simplesailor yes I have been subscribed to that channel for a while he’s very good there’s also another fellow “Mr D” who is also very good. I’ve only recently (last couple of years) gotten back into rc after 40 years away I built a billing’s Bankert tug as the first project with a Spektrum rugged 5 channel radio thinking that would be way more than enough radio for boats and my future needs. I used 4 channels on it with the lighting and sound and it turned out nicely. However I just picked up the billing’s Fairmount Alpine and with the larger model came larger idea’s and 5 channels fell by the wayside very quickly.
Amazing how the mind can come up with so many idea’s, so the Fairmount Alpine I’m thinking I would like to add the following rudder, throttle mixed(action P 94), bow and stern thrusters P 94 mixed or 3d gimbal( twisty sticks)on Frsky x20s, anchor winches, main tow winch, lighting, sound and this may be the hard part because of size cranes. As you can see I have managed to go over the allotted 5 channels that I already have on my Spektrum.
I looked at the Spektrum radios for more channels and radios like the ix14 and 20 but the cost were nuts and very aircraft oriented. Hence the open source stuff but I’m not to “techy” and a little leary to be honest but watching 360 and Mr D with the ethos especially with the “twisty sticks” added to the transmitter has caught my attention and they seem to make it sound relatively simple. Seems a quality radio and the ethos seems to be a simple half measure to full open source ( kinda open source for dummies). My main goal with the transmitter is to buy one good one that will last the next 20 years and be done with it and I think the Frsky x20s with 3 d gimbals may be the ideal radio for boating (even though initially designed for a/c).
Uhmmmm do you think my mind is going crazy with ideas from the length of this post.
And, yes there’s always an “and” the lovely wife has signed off on all of this, who else can say that!

Hi. Not sure if this of any help. I have been using an FrSky Taranis X9D Plus for a long time. A steep learning curve. However it can support 16 channels. I use it in my boats, tanks, aircraft and anything else I want to remote control. It is open source using Open Tx and has been well supported, it has the EU LBT protocol in the RX firmware. FrSky has shifted to Ethos another open source code based on Open TX. I have not bothered to change because "if it works why fix it". Having said that, if I was to change I would now head in the direction of Ethos or Edge TX. The Radio Master TX16 looks like a nice bit of kit and runs Edge TX. You might have found this guy but I actually subscribe to his channel. He is very helpful. Painless360 on YouTube.

Hi champdriver Im with Dave 976 l used Frsky for years then they forked the protocol. l didnt agree with that and at the same time radiomaster brought out the TX 16. The TX 16 s with the new EDGE protocol is absolutely brilliant. And it will bind to virtually any
2.4 receiver on the market so you dont have to lug around a trans mitter for every model you take out.
stay safe you lot, Jim.

I just came across this fellow on YouTube and he likes to stay low key hence I can’t link to him any easier than by this way.
My apologies!
However his mod for the FrSky x20s for model boats is I think every rc model boat enthusiasts dream radio package his video is only a minute long but it speaks volumes.
Go to his channel and then click on “FrSky steer pods”.

https://youtube.com/@janfabri

48 channels -- the mind boggles!! I suspect that I must be like most enthusiasts on the esteemed site - in rarely using more than three!

Each to his own, but possibly we are over complicating things here.

With best wishes. Dr John. F. Leeds and Bradford. MBC. 🤔🤔🤔

I have been, and are am still, using a number of FrSky X9E's. I love them. I did, however, recently purchase a Tandem EX with Ethos. I have not yet gotten a chance to play with it, but as soon as I do, I'll post more. I will say that the 48channel capability is mind boggling....

Hi champdriver
Looking at the specs this is a set designed for drones and remote long range flying. You can get a 10 channel Flysky for a fraction of the cost that will do what you require and be much easier to configure. FrSky used to be my choice when the Taranis was launched and the OpenTx Source software was updated for free often. EdgeTx is now more widely supported and FrSky are catering more for the high end user and no longer support much of their earlier offerings. I switched to Radiomaster a couple of years ago and this offers everything I need for my model boats at a reasonable price. Can have up the 16 channels depending on the rx. The gimbals are Hall effect so a big improvement on the older potentiometer type.
Good luck with your search
dave976