FrSky Tandem XE Transmitter
Terminator T-1-FNY Battle Tank
Comes complete with a nice case and shoulder strap.
Four pop out rotary switches, two on each side.
Two blanks on each side for adding extra switches
or sockets for external wired control.
Very nice well balanced 3 axis gimbals.
Pop out struts for shoulder strap.
Nice shape in hand
Usual external module slot and battery compartment.
Top mounted sockets. USB C for charging
FrSky Tandem X20s. FrSky Tandem XE
Internals of radio
Pop out struts for strap.
Mecahnism looks fairly strong and internal brackets are reinforced
Main board
Location of molex connector for extra switches
Bluetooth
Side slider NOT sprung
Remove bolt pointed at to add spring to Throttle
Pop out switch unit.
Secured with two screw on back of radio
No need to take back of radio of to access
Adding Swiches to extra ports
You can add upto four switches directly via the JST SH 1mm 3pol connectors on the removable switch blocks. You can also add a further two switches soldered directly to the main board. You can see here I have added four mini momentary toggle switches. Simple to wire up, Black wire to center of pin of switch and red to one pin and yellow to the other. Plug it in and the radio will detect the switches, simple. Go to the hardware setup page and you can set the switch to whatever it was you added,i.e. 3pos/2pos or momentary switch. I will also be adding 2.5mm jacks to the switch ports to allow remote wired switches.
After moving from the Spektrum DX18 to the FrSky X20s, controlling the larger robot builds has been so much easier. There was nothing wrong with the Spektrum DX18, it was a great radio, just very analog. What I mean by this is that for controlling simple builds it was fine but there were no programming options, something I have found I now need on the larger robot builds.
So if the FrSky X20s was so good why bother to spend more money on the FrSky Tandem XE?
When controlling the larger robots or working on set it is much easier to use a tray radio plus I like the look of the new FrSky XE, modern/retro.
Both use the Ethos OS so in this sense are identical. What the XE offers over the X20s is more direct inputs. Now for a field flyer I cant see how extra inputs would make any difference at all so the X20s would be fine.
Where the XE scores over the X20 is that it is fitted with dual 3 axis Gimbals with switches. I have used 3 axis gimbals on radios the size of the X20s before and they always feel too big and difficult to use. Having a bigger form factor the XE deals with the 3 axis gimbals well and they don't feel overly large.
What the 3 axis gimbals offer the robot controller is much more fredom over movement.
For example: on the Terminator T-1 I can use one hand to control the power, track slip and rear track turn. What this means is that it is all more intuative. Push forward on the stick then rotate the stick to turn the rear track then input a small amount of slip. Combine this with logic switchs to feed the power correctly to each track the whole robot moves much more freely than it would with two hand input.
This then frees up the left gimbal to control the body movement, rotoation and upper and lower body lifts, which can now all hapen at the same time.
In the old days I would have used a radio equiped with a wired trainer link and wired remote switches controlled by three people. On a set this can sometimes be much easier but this radio opens up a whole new range of posibilities for the single operator.
All of this extra intuative control creates a far better experience for an audience.
I will still be keeping the X20s for controlling the smaller robots and to use in situations where I need to disapear into a crowd but still need to control the robots, you cant do this with a tray radio.
The FrSky Tandem XE is well built however being larger than the X20s does not feel as solid.The X20s is built like a brick however, very, very solid radio.
The XE uses high quailty plastic and metal to offer a very nice feel in hand but by it nature has more room inside it for additions. This makes it feel lighter than the X20s even though it is heavier. It is very hard to explain how both feel in hand. You feel that the X20s could be dropped and used in really harsh conditions and easily survive where as the XE requires a bit more respect.
Switches on the XE are very good and the gimabls excellent.
Both screens are very clear and can be configured to show whatever info you want.
Updating firmware via Ethos suite is the same as the X20s and very simple.
Ethos OS
The Ethos OS is excellent and simply ideal for any robot builder given the nature of the logic and special function switches. In essence you can create very complex control systems minimal user input.
It is easy to use plus offers a user interface to allow the radios to updated easily.
Hopefull as the OS is developed I have no doubt need exciting features will be added.
Opening up the XE you can add a further four switches or sockets( so remote switches can be used). There is space available for four switches and molex connectors ( JST SH 1mm 3pol) ,onto the main board inside so no soldering is needed, simply plug in. Switching from mode 1 to 2 is easy and adding a spring return the the throttle is as simple as removing and internal screw. ( you can also do this on the X20s).
External switches are very tough plus there are four rotary controls that pop out when needed. The side sliders are not sprung as some people have suggested, they are the same as the X20s.
Para links works great just like the X20s. Linking external gyro control boards via bluetooth using the para trainer function also works very well. I use the Arduino Nano33 BLE sense, great controller to use with the XE or X20s.
Things I am not to sure about are the pop out strap posts at the base of the XE. The shoulder strap is fine but I find the posts a bit flimsy. They are metal and seem strong, only time will tell if they stand up to the rigours of using them each day.
Internal battery on the XE is excellent and lasts much longer than the X20s.
Bluetooth audio is missing on the XE but it is next to useless anyway on the X20s so no loss really.
The problem with the bluetooth audio is the delay if using it to trigger external sounds on models.
Reciever used with Terminator T-1-FNY
Been asked asked a great deal what receiver do we use in the T-1-FNY.
We use these, the FrSky TDR 18
Very solid reciever offering 18ch out of the box(so to speak) without adding any extra modules for more channels. On board telemetry as well as voltage and current sensors built in which is handy.
To Conclude
Is the FrSky XE worth the money?
Maybe this is best answered by looking at the competition, Futaba and Spektrum and their prices on comparable radios. Is it worth the extra money over the FrSky X20s? For a field flyer I would probably say no, just get a bolt on tray for your X20s if you need one. If you want to be able to add extra input controls, monitor control inputs through multiple screens, need a larger form factor then yes it is worth it. In my experience larger 3 axis gimbals on smaller radios are very fiddly but they really suite the FrSky Tandem XE
I will get some videos of the radio in use with the Terminator T-1 build over the next few weeks uploaded to our YouTube chanel.
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