Initial thoughts on the Jeti DS-16

[mkovalcson]

It's been a little over a week.

Jeti DS-16 Initial Review and thoughts

So far it is exceeding my expectations and has done everything I had hoped it would do, and I'm still learning about cool features that I want to leverage.

[ShaneJourdan]

Thank you for such a thoughtful review. Can't wait to get one.

[BaconRaygun]

Good review man! I'm excited to see one in person.

[Maypole]

Very nice review. That thing looks like a really solid piece of gear.

Damn cats!

[psylence519]

Jealous... If they can get the price down under $1k, I'm going to have quite a struggle stopping myself.

[Commodore8888]

Jeti really seems to be taking the path of nuking everyone else with some pretty cool tech. I've pointed out to buddies before that the prices some of these radios are for what you get are pretty damn crazy. JETI seems to put out a radio that I'd be more willing to dump big bucks on. Eg it's easier to convince me to pay 1 grand and up for a radio that has ditched the pots and all plastic construction. Well done telemetry interface and damn near customize-able everything helps too

If JETI ever comes out with a DX8/8FG competitor that at least has the hall effects, telemetry, and some of the customization, it'll be hard to keep me away

[cyclo]

Excellent review

If only I had money to spare I would get one of these. I like everything about the Jeti from the CNC aluminum case to the fact that everything is programmable including assignment of switches. I am assuming I can also choose/download the voice that announces what flight mode I'm in as soon as I flick a switch.

[Bonkievan]

Excellent review, mkovalcson.
Thank you

Time to sell some old gear and start saving, me thinks.

[360Wings]

Excellent review... Thanks.

In the pics I've seen the sticks look long compared to a 8fg. I prefer shorter sticks as i have short fingers and fly with thumbs. How adjustable is the stick height ? Are they as tall as they look in the pics?


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[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by 360Wings

Excellent review... Thanks.

In the pics I've seen the sticks look long compared to a 8fg. I prefer shorter sticks as i have short fingers and fly with thumbs. How adjustable is the stick height ? Are they as tall as they look in the pics?

They are adjustable in height, but frequently you will see optional buttons or switches on the end of the sticks.

The sticks themselves are about the same height on my 3 transmitters. Their measured heights are within about 1mm of each other. I've not measured their complete range.

However they all feel the same height, but look very different next to each other because of the width of their bodies.

The JR and DX8 have wider plastic bodies, but the gimbals are recessed deeper making the sticks look shorter, but your hands are in very similar places over the gimbals in all of them.

Also the Jeti stick has a narrow base at the bottom of the stick which makes it look longer.

Like anything else, there is no substitute for feeling one in your hands.

[360Wings]

Thanks for the photos...

Im not sure i will have the opportunity to try before i buy as im not aware of anyone locally that is carrying the Jeti line.

It was by chance i stumbled across the Jeti Mezon ESC shown in the Kasama forum ( its one of 2 ESC that fit the Faifa without modification. Helijive the other)... I now have a Mezon ESC and im really impressed and it has me becoming more and more interested in the DS16.

Thanks again for you review.. Its helps people like me, evaluate whether the product will be suitable..

[Jotto]

Agree, I am very impressed by the DS-16. Much of the fun with the Jeti lineup is the integration with the rest of their equipment (telemetry sensors, ESCs, powerbox, etc). There is a LOT of cool stuff coming from them these days.

[Solmanbandit]

Do you pinch or use thumbs?

[dominoedge]

Crap. Great review. Now you've gone ahead and made me want to buy this after I told my self no more heli spending.

[caralmar]

Good review Mark! I've used my friend Larry's (guy who posted the video on the accelometer-triggering bailout) a couple of times and its fantastic.

[latte]

Although I dont fancy this radio atm, I am really happy that Jeti brings the stuff. It is a bout frikkin time we saw some real improvements on the radio-front.

All other radios on the market now, look like belong in the stoneage compared to Jeti's new line.


Futaba, Spektrum, JR, better step up their game, bigtime.

[JesusFreak]

Good review.

I think it's a stretch to say that Telemetry on other systems is basically a no go. The Spektrum telemetry works fine, especially with an STI module for an iPhone or iPad. Having the voice capabilities built in is very nice.

[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by JesusFreak

Good review.

I think it's a stretch to say that Telemetry on other systems is basically a no go. The Spektrum telemetry works fine, especially with an STI module for an iPhone or iPad. Having the voice capabilities built in is very nice.

In a relative sense they aren't. They are attempts to put things out without a real wholistic view on how to use them.

The Spektrum system is made to sell you stuff. Lots of TM1000's and sensors and an iPhone attachment since the transmitter support is so limited. The Jeti system per heli is actually a lot cheaper than the cost of 2xDSMX sats and a TM1000 and it gives you a LOT more functionality.

I had issues with the TM1000 like getting it bound with my FBL controller without getting at least one blinking satellite. In addition I found the way my DX8 used telemetry to be not particularly useful, so I gave up on it. Too few channels and very little you could actually do with them. When I got my 11X I just walked away from telemetry and decided it wasn't mature yet and not worth the bother.

The REAL deal in telemetry is mah measurement and voice readout so you don't have to look at your transmitter while you are flying. Being able to know how much of your battery is used is a huge deal and it doesn't bounce around like flight pack voltage does. Being able to compare a bunch of values is great too like Throttle percentage, motor current and head speed on a single screen or on a graph later.

I'm not saying other telemetry doesn't work at all, but it is not compelling and people mostly write it off after futzing around with it for a while and decide they are not getting enough out of it.

For telemetry to arrive it has to be reasonably easy to set up, offer a lot of information and have flexible ways to use it.

[mkovalcson]

Originally Posted by Solmanbandit

Do you pinch or use thumbs?

I pinch right now, but I'm thinking of converting to thumbs.

The DS-16 feels comfortable to me both ways, I'm just not sure which I will end up with. With the canted gimbals pinching feels a lot smoother than it did when I was fighting the natural angle my fingers wanted to move the sticks. I may just stick with that.

[Grok]

Great review. Perhaps I will be reconsidering the purchase of a 14SG later this year.

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