That's right!
Now you can get the RadioMaster TX16S in one of your favorite colors I got the carbon fiber
with red because everybody knows red flies fast!
Today we'll take a look at what other colors and features are being offered, and if this
is your first transmitter or if this is your first OpenTX transmitter, I'm going to go
over a few of the things you need to do to get started with it and I'll also give you
a couple tips which should help you out along the way.
I'll even give you a sneak preview or a heads up on a couple products RadioMaster has on
the horizon.
Iif that sounds good to you, make sure to give this video a "thumbs up" below and subscribe
to your TMac FPV channel your home for your Journey to Better FPV fun, flights, and racing
stuff!
All right, you've already seen my color combo here with a carbon fiber and red CNC aluminum.
Let's see what other color options are available.
In addition to the carbon fiber face plate, there's also rose gold, and classic silver.
For the CNC aluminum color options upgrade kits you can get the really fast "rapid red,"
silver, gold, or purple.
Those along with the leather grip option upgrade you saw on mine earlier should be available
to order within a week or two of the posting of this video.
In addition to those upgrade optional kits let's take a look at what else RadioMaster
has done with the TX16S.
If we just scroll down from these color options on their website
we see these now come with a folding handle included in the box.
So, you'll have the option of using the regular metal handle or if you plan on traveling you
can install the plastic folding handle.
The color CNC aluminum folding handle like I have here is one of those optional upgrades,
as we saw earlier.
If we scroll down a little bit more we see the neck strap is now included as a standard
item.
Also since I got my original TX16S, RadioMaster has now included a second loudspeaker in the
TX16S and it sounds a lot better.
"Ready to launch?"
I think that just about covers the color options, optional upgrades, and a couple nice new features.
Let's now take a look at some of their upcoming products.
First, there's the TX16S SE.
This is the same as the standard non-Hall gimbal TX16S except it doesn't have a multi-protocol
module.
Instead, it has one RF chip which is good for FrSky ACCST protocol and also this Futaba
protocol.
It still does have an external module bay though which you could use later to add a
multi-protocol module and it works natively with a Crossfire module.
The real advantage of this SE version is its cost.
I believe it's going to come out for a limited amount of time through some dealers for around
80 US dollars.
The normal suggested retail price will be around 100 US dollars.
These should be available about the same time as when the color options are available for
the TX16S here in a couple weeks.
Banggood and DefianceRC already have them up for pre-order among another site or two.
I'll have links for this very capable and affordable transmitter along with the optional
upgrade kits for the TX16S and other products down in the video description below.
Another thing I want to make you aware of is RadioMaster's coming out with their own
branded receivers.
I'll give you what information I have on them now as of the posting of this video.
Here's the list of the upcoming receivers I'm aware of along with the information I
have on them.
I don't know when all of these will be available other than soon.
However, AliExpress has a few of them on their site - what they're calling here the R1 Mini,
the R161 and the R168.
It appears to me that what this FuturesUAV store on AliExpress is calling this RadioMaster
R1 Mini is what I had on our list as the R81 D8 Nano.
All right, that's all the products I'm aware of coming up at this time.
Now let's see if I can pass on to you a few tips that should help you out with your new
RadioMaster TX16S.
First, let's go to the Quick Start Guide, page 1.
As you're probably aware, the RadioMaster TX16S comes pre-installed with the standard
OpenTX firmware.
You may have heard somewhere that it's important to keep your firmware updated.
So, you may be tempted before you even become familiar with the TX16S to download the latest
OpenTX firmware and attempt to update your OpenTX version on your new RadioMaster TX16S.
Before you do this, I'd like to pass on to you how I go about making a decision on whether
or not to upgrade my firmware.
See this important note down here?
It's "shipped with the most stable firmware at the time of manufacturing.
Please only update the firmware if you are experienced and confident in updating system
firmware.
Incorrect updates may render the radio inoperable."
So, let's take a look at what version firmware our new RadioMaster TX16S does have on it.
We'll, of course, need to power it up.
So, let's take a look at our power options first on page four of the Quick Start Guide.
It shows what batteries are approved for use and what batteries not to use.
The TX16S comes with this 18650 battery tray.
So, I've just purchased a couple of these lithium ion batteries on Amazon.
I also have this 2S 21700 5000 milliamp hour battery pack from Bob over at rcbatterykit.com.
You can also get the official RadioMaster 2s 21700 5000 milliamp hour battery pack on
Banggood or Pyrodrone.
The advantage of getting one of these 5000 milliamp hour packs is they'll have longer
life before requiring a charge.
You won't have to charge them as often - which reminds me.
Make sure to read the important note on power and charging precautions at the bottom of
page 3 on your Quick Start Guide.
Also, and this is very important, the USB-C charging port on your RadioMaster TX16S is
only rated for up to 1.5 amps max current.
So you can't just use whatever USB-C charger you happen to have hanging around.
If you're going to charge your batteries while they remain inside the transmitter using the
USB-C charging port, make absolutely certain you're aware of your charger's current capacity
and do not exceed the 1.5 amp rating of the TX16S USB-C charge port.
If you do, you're risking damage to your transmitter and could make it inoperable.
Okay, having said that, I'll have links to the different types of batteries for you in
the video description below.
Alright, let's turn it on.
We'll press and hold the power button
"Welcome to OpenTX!" and it comes to life!
Then we press and hold the System key and we use the page forward button to page to
our version of OpenTX.
It says we have on our RadioMaster TX16S OpenTX version 2.3.9, dated 14 June 2020.
That's pretty recent.
I wonder what the latest version of OpenTX is.
Where can we go to find that information?
Well, page 3 of your Quick Start Guide says that we can go to OpenTX.org.
Llet's try that.
Great!
We're here!
Now this is the main page for your OpenTX firmware.
Down here we see the latest version is 2.3.10 which is just one more than what we have loaded
on our new TX16S.
I wonder if we should update it.
Let's find out.
Part of this hobby is firmware updates.
You'll have OpenTX firmware updates for your transmitter system firmware which are different
than firmware updates for your multi-module in your RadioMaster TX16S.
If you're not sure what I'm talking about, please check out this video on "Firmware Clarified"
along with OpenTX Basics and the rest of my OpenTX Playlist.
Let me quickly go over the concept.
To do your OpenTX firmware updates, you'll need to download and install OpenTX Companion
which is a great software application that helps you out with your configuration and
management of your transmitter's firmware.
All of this stuff is open source and free!
Your RadioMaster's OpenTX system firmware is like Betaflight firmware is to your quadcopter's
flight controller.
And, OpenTX Companion is in the same way similar to the Betaflight configurator.
However, just because a new firmware version comes out (whether it's OpenTX, or for your
multi-module, or Betaflight for your quad, or any firmware) doesn't mean you have to
download it and update your firmware.
For instance, so far in 2020 there have been six OpenTX firmware updates and 13 for the
multi-module firmware.
Have I updated every time?
No.
Let me show you what I do to decide whether or not I need (or should) update my firmware
when a new release comes out.
We're going to go to the release notes of OpenTX 2.3.10, the latest OpenTX version.
Our RadioMaster TX16S is a color lcd screen transmitter.
So here are the changes this 2.3.10 version has on it since our current version of 2.3.9.
I'll look at these and determine whether or not it's a fix
or a feature that I absolutely must have.
For example, if you know that you're going to be running the Immersion RC Ghost external
module, you're going to need this latest version of OpenTX 2.3.10.
If it's not a must-have for me, then it's optional.
It might be a cool new feature but it's not absolutely necessary for me to update.
I'll do the same thing that I do for these color lcd radios features and fixes for the
rest of these sections in the release notes to see if there's anything I absolutely must
have.
If there is, then I update.
If there's not, it's optional and I may do it or not.
Bottom line is, read the release notes for any firmware updates prior to blindly jumping
in and attempting to update your firmware.
Before I leave this OpenTX page, I want to show you two other tabs.
One is the OpenTX Manual tab (which you may find useful) and the other is the Donations
tab.
We get to use OpenTX freely and there's a team of dedicated individuals for OpenTX as
well as the multi-module who further the development of the firmware so we can continue to enjoy
our hobby.
Please consider donating to OpenTX, the multi-protocol module team, and the Betaflight development
team.
I've got links to all three, always, in all of my videos descriptions to include the one
below.
Now, if and when you're ready to update any of your firmware, before you do I encourage
you to download the RadioMaster TX16S User Manual from the RadioMaster site.
It's simply the best transmitter user manual I've come across and it walks you through
just about everything you need to know.
Of course, I've got a lot of videos on my channel that demonstrate the processes and
you're more than welcome to use those to help you out too!
Before I go, I want to stress one more thing.
I found the RadioMaster customer service to be exceptional.
From my perspective, the RadioMaster team has been listening to its customers and doing
everything they can to not only respond to, but anticipate, their customers' needs and
wants.
If for some rare occasion you have an issue with your RadioMaster TX16S transmitter, simply
go to their Support Page on their site by clicking on Contact.
Here they have answers to some of the most frequently asked questions such as "What receivers
can I use?"
They also have "how-to" videos, a link to their User Manual, and other stuff to include
a very active presence on Facebook and Instagram.
If you're on those platforms, I encourage you to check them out.
For warranty repairs you should initiate a Support ticket and for non-warranty issues
RadioMaster has various authorized repair agents worldwide, to include within the U.S.
Now, I know you're excited to start using your new RadioMaster TX16S.
I am too!
You'll want to calibrate your transmitter sticks
and I'll walk through how to do that process, transfer models over to it, and some other
neat custom image and custom sound stuff in this video you may want to check out at your
convenience.
Because I followed my own advice from this video, I backed up everything I had on my
other TX16S and was able to simply move it over to this new rapid red RadioMaster TX16S
going from this
"Wwelcome to OpenTX!" to this . . .
So that's your new RadioMaster TX16S.
It's "Next Level" stuff!
Let me know in the comments below if you found this information useful, and if you have any
questions, put them down there too, email me at tmac@tmacfpv.com, or better yet - check
out our Fast Track FPV Course- your clear flight path to FPV fun at tmacfpv.com.
Thanks for your time.
I'll see you next video.
Clear skies friend!