RE: Any Recommendations for a Cheap Transmitter for Reflex XTR ?
Well, I had been a bit reluctant to try connecting the red-colored Reflex XTR dongle with the DX5 transmitter from my Phoenix4 RC sim, but having no other transmitter besides the DX5 that would fit the Reflex XTR dongle's plug, I went ahead and used it once more, making sure this time to have a fresh set of batteries in the DX5 transmitter, so as to avoid the quirky behavior that I saw with the DX5 the first time I tried the idea of using it with Reflex XTR. This time the DX5 transmitter worked flawlessly with Reflex XTR, and showed no ill effects from that use when I again connected the DX5 transmitter back to Phoenix 4 RC. I had to edit some of the heli models to get them to fly right, but by Jove, Reflex XTR worked, and worked well. And there you have it, captains. Those of you who still own copies of Reflex XTR RC simulator, and its dedicated connector dongle, CAN indeed use the DX5 transmitter that is shipped with Phoenix 4 RC, simply be disconnecting the Phoenix 4 connector dongle, and replacing it with the REflex XTR dongle. Case closed.
Posted on: 7/31/2012 12:55 PM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11176178

Any Recommendations for a Cheap Transmitter for Reflex XTR ?
Hi all, I have a number of transmitters from old helis and whatnot, but so far I haven't found one that will work with my Reflex XTR connector dongle. I decided therefore to ask here if any of you guys can recommend a relatively inexpensive transmitter that I can buy, that will be compatible with the Reflex XTR dongle. I simply cannot remember whether my copy of Reflex XTR came with its own transmitter or not, and since the Reflex XTR company ha gone belly up, this is probably about the only place I will find people who know anything about this old simulator, and about which currently available transmitter works with it. Any pointers on this would be appreciated. Much thanks in advance.
Posted on: 7/27/2012 10:14 PM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11171924

RE: Phoenix4's Spektrum DX5 Transmitter Question
Well Captains, I am glad to say that LOW BATTERIES accounted for the 'Rapid Beep and Die" syndrome I had been seeing with the DX5 transmitter that was shipped with PhoeinxRC4. I live out in the sticks, so it took a few nail-biting days for the homing pigeons to bring back some new Duracell AA's, which my volt-meter happened to need as well. With my volt meter running again, I was amazed the DX5 transmitter even ran at all because the four AA batteries were flat, and down in the 1.0volts range, as opposed to the 1.6volts of the new replacement AA's. Having that low batter indication, which, by the way, is NOT mentioned in the PhoenixRC4 manual, suddenly occurring right when I happened to be testing the DX5 transmitter with Reflex XTR, added a twist that had me overlooking the simplest reason the DX5 was acting up, namely low batteries after quite a few hours of flying since those batteries arrived new in the Phoenix box. So, in a nutshell, the planets have assumed their normal alignment, restoring the cosmic balance of the universe, AND, if your DX5 transmitter suddenly begins to lock up after emitting rapid beep sequences, it has NOT fallen under the influence of alien intelligence, as I suspected with mine at one point, but probably just needs new batteries. Regards
Posted on: 6/22/2012 2:02 AM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11127414

RE: Phoenix4's Spektrum DX5 Transmitter Question
Remembering another old saying which suggests reading the instructions when all else fails, I delved into the Phoenix RC user manual and found a caution that any transmitter which has been used outside of Phoenix RC will need to be re-calibrated when it is re-connected to Phoenix. I just did that, hoping for the best, and Phoenix ran, but only for a bit longer than before, till the rapid-fire beeps again erupted again and the transmitter locked up. New batteries next.
Posted on: 6/19/2012 12:08 PM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11124039

RE: Phoenix4's Spektrum DX5 Transmitter Question
  I suppose I viewed the DX5 as the independent radio transmitter that it apparently is, according to Phoenix RC, in that the DX5 can be unplugged from Phoenix RC sim and used to control real RC aircraft, or another RC sim, maybe.    I bought my Reflex XTR package quite a while back, but I do remember that program would not work without that red USB-to-transmitter dongle supplied with the CD.  What I don't remember at all, though, is whether Reflex XTR was shipped to me with its own transmitter, or whether it just arrived with the USB dongle, and a list of compatible transmitters.  On the assumption that Reflex XTR would work with a number of popular transmitters including the DX5 that came with Phoenix RC, provided that the Reflex USB dongle was used to connect with the transmitter, I may just have bumbled my way towards a disaster for my DX5 transmitter, though I still hold out hope that the axis assignments might have been muddled and maybe just need re-setting. I'll try new batteries as well, just in case they were running low enough to make the transmitter give off  those rapid beeps and shut down.  If those fixes don't work, I expect to engage in some wailing and gnashing of teeth, as the possible damage sinks in and my grandpa's old saying comes to mind " If it ain't broke, then don't fix it."
Posted on: 6/19/2012 11:40 AM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11124010

Phoenix4's Spektrum DX5 Transmitter Question
Hi all, I just purchased Phoenix 4 with the DX5 transmitter, and have been having a lot of fun with it. The other day, I revived an old copy of Reflex XTR on my XP computer, and having no transmitter for Reflex, decided to use the Reflex XTR dongle plugged into the DX5 transmitter that came with my Phoenix 4. The plug that connects the Reflex XTR dongle to the back of the transmitter is identical to the plug that connects the Phoenix dongle to the transmitter, so I just guessed and hoped that the DX5 transmitter that came with Phoenix SHOULD work with Reflex XTR. Well, I had just got through assigning transmitter axes of the DX5 transmitter for Reflex XTR, and it seemed to be working well initially. A few minutes later, however, and the DX5 transmitter gave out a fast sequence of beeps, and stopped working with Reflex XTR completely. It would resume working very briefly if I unplugged the DX5, and then re-connected it to the Reflex dongle, but after a while those rapid beeps started right away each time I re-connected the transmitter to Reflex XTR, and so finally I gave up on the idea of using the DX5 transmitter with Reflex XTR, seeing as the DX5 was originally shipped with Phoenix. A couple of days later, while using the DX5 transmitter with the Phoenix 4 it came with, those rapid beeps sounded again, and Phoenix suddenly failed to recognize the transmitter. Un-plugging and re-connecting the DX5 transmitter bought me a few more minutes of flying time with Phoenix, BUT, soon those rapid beeps became far more frequent, and I stopped the program. Since the rapid-beep then shut-down syndrome never occurred before when I used the DX5 transmitter with Phoenix, I am now wondering if my attempt to use that DX5 with Reflex XTR has in some way damaged the DX5, such that it won't work with Phoenix anymore. Still hoping a damaged transmitter is not the issue here, I thought I'd ask if anyone here has experienced such a rapid-beep-shutdown sequence while using the DX5 that comes with Phoenix4. Specifically I was wondering if simply having run the transmitter batteries down could cause such erratic behavior from the DX5 transmitter, such that it will run fine for a few minutes, beep rapidly and then quit working. I would be grateful if anyone of you guys who owns Phoenix 4 with the DX5 transmitter could offer some insights into why the DX5 has been acting up with Phoenix ever since I tried to use it with Reflex XTR. I haven't picked up new batteries yet, but figured there'd be no harm asking here even before I do replace the batteries. Thanks in advance for any opinions that y'all can offer.
Posted on: 6/19/2012 6:50 AM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11123588

RE: Which Simulator is Best Overall Aerofly5, or Phoenix4 ?
Thank you for taking the time to mention the differences you have seen between Phoenix4 and Aerofly5, Jetmanhuss. You are right that currently my use of Phoenix4 could be likened more to a video game than to a true sim. I did acquire a few cheap RC helis some years ago, but found my control skills so poor that I decided to spend a lot more time practicing with an RC simulator, before I ever tried the real thing again. After a while, I realized I enjoyed Phoenix RC perhaps MORE than I did flying a real RC heli, and that continues now. Still and all, I would like to own a sim that best approximates the true flight charactristics of a real RC model, and with that in mind, I might just go ahead and purchase Aerofly, now that I have listened to your experienced opinion on both RC sims, so that when I do summon the courage to try some actual RC flights, I will hopefully have honed my flying responses to the point of their being pretty much second nature. Gary SS thanks for your response as well. I agree that more attentive searches in th is and other forums will dig up the answers to most of the noob questions that come to my mind as I muddle along in the RC world. Much obliged, fellas
Posted on: 5/30/2012 9:24 AM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11099971

RE: Phoenix 4 beta horrible?
I recently started using Phoenix4 with the "J" update, and while I do get slight stutters on occasion when the frame rate drops below 35 frames per second, most of the time I get a smooth picture with frame rates above 40. I briefly used Real Flight3 some years back, and was hugely disappointed with the miniature size of their helis, which simply could not be made any bigger on the screen. I literally needed a microscope to see Real Fights helis, and wound up mothballing it for good after a short, frustrating attempt to use it. That bad experience with Real Flight left a bitter taste for me, and I won't be a customer of theirs in the future, regardless of the number of updated editions that emerge. With Phoenix 4 however, you can count the rivets on the helicopter fuselage when you fly it in close, and the flight dynamics are just awesome. The poor performance that some users get out of Phoenix 4J may be entirely due to their computer systems, and not due to any real shortcoming of Phoenix 4j. The online multi-player feature of Phoenix is great as well, with minimal stutters even with several players on line simultaneously.
Posted on: 5/30/2012 8:34 AM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11099906

RE: Which Simulator is Best Overall Aerofly5, or Phoenix4 ?
Still standing by to hear from anyone who has used both of the above RC flight sims. Even a short response would be fine by me, just to give some idea which package might have a slight edge over the other.
Posted on: 5/26/2012 10:48 PM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11095862

Which Simulator is Best Overall Aerofly5, or Phoenix4 ?
Hi all, I know that in past years a number of comparisons have been made on this forum between Phoenix and Realflight, but I only spotted one comparison that also rated Aerofly5 alongside the other two RC sims, and that dated back to 2010, before the most current updates of all three packages had been released . I recently acquired Phoenix4, and found it to be dramatically better than Realflight3.5 which I owned some years back, thought I imagine the most recent version of Realflight is way beter than RF3.5 was back then. Anyway, despite my satisfaction with the realism, model physics and frame rates I get with Phoenix, I can't help but wonder how Aerofly5 stacks up against Phoenix4. I sure would like to hear from any of you RC fliers out there who have had the chance to use and compare the performance of Phoenix4 against Aerofly5. If there are any features of Aerofly5 that are way better than Phoenix4, I might be tempted to go ahead and purchase Aerofly5 in addition to Phoenix4 which I already own. If the differences between the two sims are not that significant, I may not bother getting Aerofly5. Considering the following criteria, which RC sim is better - Phoenix4 or Aerofly5. 1. Frame rates and computer resource demands. 2. Realism of aircraft appearance, flight dynamics and even crash dynamics. 3. Number and quality of selectable aircraft. 4. Aesthetics, resolution and number of flying sites 5, Ease of use for online multi-player flying 6. Miscellaneous groujnd scenery eye-candy like water effects etc I look forward to hearing any opinions you guys may have formed regarding the latest updates of Phoenix4 and Aerofly5. Thanks from Tony
Posted on: 5/23/2012 12:12 PM by Author "CFIT Gordon" in the forum "RC Flight Simulator Software"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11091948