Carson Radio Gear

[Mishka]

Couldn't find a thread or anyone really talking about Carson gear, They seem to be a German brand with......ish quality English manual's but are often branded as "Tamiya Germany GMBH" as evidenced by some of the paperwork I got with my set.

Bought the 14CH Reflex, this gives me 4 CH of "normal" usage, 5 momentary switches and then 5 toggle switches, it works with any other Reflex Receiver too though the price difference for a 4CH vs 14CH is about £3 (I was able to find the 14CH Receivers for £41).

Controller does feel quite.......plastic but to be fair it was only £102 of which £40 is a second receiver alone, currently waiting for other bits to arrive so cant actually test the thing yet though specs show range upto 100metres, no idea how long the 4 AA batteries will last but it has a DC in too

[43rdRecceReg]

Until very recently, Tamiya's main European outlet was Dickie-Tamiya in Germany. They've been rebranded as Tamiyacarson.com, it appears. Several Tamiya outlets now pair Carson Radios with Tamiya Tanks, and I'd wondered whether they were configured to work together out of the box, so to speak, as Tamiya tanks were with Futuba 4YWD 2.4G ( I have two of them, and they don't require setting up with Tamiya tanks). Do let us know.
I know nothing about Carson, but either Tamiya have bought into them, or vice versa. However it happened, it looks like Futuba is out, and Carson in. We have several Tamiya boffins on board here who may tried the Carson out.

[Rad_Schuhart]

The Carson stuff is very popular in Germany and Austria, not sure why.

I had that radio in my hands and sorry but I must say I would never, ever buy it. It has a very cheap an light feel, but the most important thing for me, is the absolute lack of program capabilities and lack of a screen.

I would use it only for some static things like triggering lights or so in a battlefield area, but not for controlling any of my models. For that price Id buy this without thinking a second: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/FrSky-A ... ed55dffacc

But that is just my opinion.

[43rdRecceReg]

It seems the 'Carson' brand is one of twenty companies belonging to the German Toy group Simba Dickie:
https://www.simba-dickie-group.com/en/c ... nd-brands/
Interestingly, Simba-Dickie list 'Tamiya' as one of their 20 brands. Since Tamiya Europe is in the same HQ in Würth, they're pretty much one and the same company; though I don't pretend to understand multinationals, and especially their tax arrangements
https://www.simba-dickie-group.com/en/t ... locations/
https://www.tamiya.com/english/tamiya/tamiya_02.htm

I suppose, it doesn't much matter what their products say on them these days, as it's a safe assumption that the components are made in China or Taiwan....even if they're 'Designed' in the US (California mostly), Britain, the EU, or Japan..
I don't like Radio TXs without screens either, like Rad, whether Carson, or Futuba; but do like the fact that my Futubas work flawlessly with my Tamiya KT and Panther models.
Good luck with yours, when you finally get the bits it has to control!

[yagen]

Hi everyone,

I am a bit surprised to read that some people do not like the Carson RC set because it lacks a screen. Carson actually offers a version with screen, setup options for all channels and a 15 slots memory for different setups. The setup options are limited as the RC set is mainly aimed at truck or ship owners. Therefore no mixing or other sophisticated options are supported.
The name of the set is "Reflex Stick Multi Pro LCD".

Carson RC set with LCD screen

RCSetReducedSize.jpg (56.13 KiB) Viewed 2210 times

I admit that the quality could be improved. However, regarding the prize and the fact that the set offers 14 channels with four 3 position momentary switches, four 3 position toggle switches, two proportional channels controlled via potentiometers and four proportional channels on the sticks, it is worth the money.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Well, I have no things able to fly (yet, lol) but for me, mixing is the most important thing in the radio.

With it among million things more, you can do for example:

Program momentum/inertia. It takes time to reach full speed, and to stop. Also you can simulate gear changes. That feature that some people loves in Elmod, can be done with any rc vehicle.

Program barrel recoil (fast back, slow back to original position) even track recoil if wanted.

Asign switches to trigger functions instead of silly stick combinations for triggering functions in aftermarket boards. Also with tamiya tanks.

Make realist things, like the faster the tank drives, the fsster the turret can turn (like in the real tiger)

And much, much more.

So for me, no mixing means absolutelly no interest... But I agree for many that Carson radio might be ok and more than enough... But if you are going to buy a radio, why to buy a limited one having much better out there for roughly the same price?