Dear Fellow KNOBBY RC Radio Fans:
Bader's Briar here, for the first time at Mode Zero!
I've been in-and-out of the RC hobby here in the US since the late 1970s, when "knobby", single-joystick radios WERE still being made for sale...sadly, they disappeared from the US market by 1990, so I've HAD to build all my own "knobby box" Tx-es since even "before" then.
I've been able to have computer-based knobby radios since Y2K, thanks to one Gordon Anderson in Washington State and his amazing
MicroStar 2000 series of encoders, of which his "MS2K" Mark III through Mark V designs have been available in North America (and even, allegedly, built & used in Europe as well) since the 21st century began.
Above is an "outside & innards" photo of my first MicroStar encoder-based knobby radio, meant for use on the US/Canada-legal 50.8-51 MHz six-meter VHF amateur radio RC band (I've held an FCC amateur radio license since 1978) that's built into an Ace RC MicroPro 8000 (MP8K) all-metal case, using one of my pair of Mk.III MS2K encoders. This "first pair" of MS2K-based knobby boxes will use one of Gordon's own 50 MHz synthesized Tx RF decks, which works hand-in-glove with the MS2K encoder to save one of the ten frequencies (50.80 to 50.98 MHz, US/Canada Ch.00 through 09) selected to match a receiver in a model. The Mk.III model of MS2K encoder I've used has eight memory positions save-able for up to eight different model aircraft - both the later Mk.IV and Mk.V designs, with both of those using a smaller-footprint encoder PC board and a much better, soldered-in single "PIC" chip to run all the "magic", have twelve TIMES as much model memory (up to 96 aircraft on one encoder) and an upgrade to a tested, ready-to-use pair of Mk.V encoders is quite likely in the coming years, in addition to crafting a second pair of dedicated UHF knobby box RC Tx-es (dual-band, for 70 cm band US/Can amateur & 13 cm band license-free [2.4GHz] use, both bands with spread spectrum hardware from DragonLink and FrSky respectively) which will actually use the Mk.V MS2K encoders first, for installation into Canadian-source
Hammond p/n 1455T1601 aluminum cases (link to PDF drawing of case to be used for future knobby MS2K Tx-es).
I've even been ready to tackle creating my very own RUDDER KNOBS made for these owner-built knobby radios' needs:
...this "rudder knob shell" modeled in Solidworks some six years ago on my home PC, is delayed until I can get a "recently-retired" older version of the SolidWorks software on my home PC, most likely from my US state's department of education, as surplus software that's no longer in use.
Until then, the Mk.III MS2Ks will be my primary "knobby box" radios, when I can get back to RC flying by the autumn of this year.
Thanks and Yours Sincerely,
Bader's Briar