Polk's Hobbies Tracker III advice?

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ZenManiac
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Joined: Wed Apr 07, 2004 2:14 am
Location: Near Madison, WI USA

Polk's Hobbies Tracker III advice?

Post by ZenManiac »

I have been looking at purchasing a new transmitter (my Hitec Optic 6 memory has run out of space for additional planes -- too many planes or not enough memory -- I think the latter).

I like the ability to change transmitter frequency if I have a conflict, so I have the Spectra module on the transmitter and use Polk's Seeker 6 recievers on most of my planes.

I am wondering if anyone has any experience, or knows someone with experience, with Polk's Hobbies Tracker III transmitter http://www.polkshobby.com/index1.html. On paper (they sent me a pdf of the manual), it has the the expected exponential settings, trims, all the channel mixing needed, and <b><i><font color="purple">99 model memory</font id="purple"></i></b> [:p] Oh yeah, the price of $180 for a computer-controlled transmitter includes a $60 receiver.

I know the Spektra radios are "the thing", but the receivers are still pretty expensive, and I have too many 72mHz receivers to consider converting.

Thanks for you input.
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boiler
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Post by boiler »

I got two of the Tracker III transmitters. The first had the right stick go bad and the second had a fluctuating voltage display. Polk replaced the stick but I was without the transmitter during the repair. It went bad a second time and I was so frustrated with it, I trashed it.[:(] I liked the transmitter but it doesn't seem to hold up. There are some used Tracker II transmitters out there that are more reliable but I don't think they have the expo. I'm currently using the Optic 6 and I set up model 1 for SSC, model 2 for B, model 3 for elevon planes. I try to build all my SSC planes alike and so on. If I'm flying SSC I know all the servos will move in the correct direction. I just take a quick look to see if the trims look good before going up. I will only need minor adjutstment of trims from one plane to the next.
montague
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Post by montague »

Ive been using the Polk T2 and T3 transmitters for years now. I currently have 3 T3's and a T2. I've been meaning to sell the T2 and one of the 3's, I just haven't gotten around to doing it yet. (I didn't set out to get 3 of them, it just happened. Long story).

If you get one, you should get two. They had some quality control problems early in the run, the factory was cutting some of the wires to the gimbals too short, and the strain relief wasn't doing it's job, so the wire would eventually fail. As I understand it, they've fixed the problem, and the TX's I've gotten back from service with the fix haven't had any problems. They service everything in NJ, and turnaround is usually pretty quick, but it is annoying when TX fails.

There is also a hidden diagnostic mode that makes it easier to tell if the TX is having troubles or if it's the plane.

Polk also updates the software once in a while, and you can send in the TX for a free update. But they end up wiping the memory when this happens, so I don't always upgrade unless I'm sending in a TX anyway.

I've also had some problems with the neckstrap eyelet coming loose, and once I had a bad pot in a gimbal. The eyelets I fix myself, the gimbal they fixed pretty quickly.

Their track record isn't as reliable as other makes of TX, but they have been getting better, and having that many model memories is useful.

Oh, the T2 DOES have expo. The only differences between the 2 and 3 relate to the mixing, the case, and model naming/numbering and a few other details like that. The basic DR/EPA/Expo computer radio features are pretty much the same in both.
cipoll717
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Post by cipoll717 »

I have 2 Tracker II's, and reccomend them. They are pretty good transmitters, and are really affordable. I kow there have been some issues with the III's, which may have been similar case for II's when they came out, i dont know. The II's do have Expo, and the programming is pretty much similar for both. They are not real glamorous lookign radios, but they work well enough. I really can't say I'v had any problems with mine, except a glitchy battery connection, which was easily fixed. Also note these things run a pretty hot processor, and as such battery life is pretty short. This is not a problem if you replace the battery with 2500 mAh NiMH, which will easily last for a long 2-day meet without charging. Also note, the II's do not include output for trainier/simulator cords.
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