Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Just raced with this radio last night. I'm a middle of the pack club racer so take that into account for this review. I came from a Spektrum radio. The radio felt great in my hands. The weight, balance, and control position were fantastic. The ability to change the trigger angle and positon as well as the spring tension was great. Same with the spring tension on the wheel. I was able to get the tensions dialed in perfectly for me. All in all I felt more connected to my car. I was able to drop my avg lap times last night by about .6 secs. I even thru in a 13.9 second lap last night of which I've NEVER done on my home track.
The Screen was well lit and easily readable. Like the short cuts that you can do to get straight to some screens on start up of the radio. I haven't yet tried to set up the telemetry so I cannot comment on that yet. All in all, Everyone at the track last night fawning over this thing. If your a serious racer.. This Radio is for you.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Two race days into this, and I have to say its great. Coming from Futaba (3PKs & 4PLs) and Spektrum (DX4R Pro) radios I get it when people say they are "more connected" to their vehicle.
Pros:
Very light weight
Menus are much simpler than previous Sanwa/Airtronics radios (compared to M11)
Screen very high resolution and clear
Very fast boot up, including shortcuts to boot directly to the car selection screen.
SUPER comfortable in the hand
Makes me feel like I'm driving with telepathy (it's that smooth/quick)
Native LiPO compatibility, including adjustable low battery alarm
Micro SD Card slot for backing up settings and firmware upgrades.
Telemetry reads receiver voltage without any additional sensors (handy for nitro racing).
Standard wheel position is already where a dropdown would be, no need for a drop down.
Cons: (None of these are deal-breakers for me, just things I think Sanwa could have improved.)
Battery life.
No left-handed option. I don't understand why left handed drivers have to buy the $500+ radio!?!
Included reviver RX-482 doesn't fit in the Associated RC8B3 receiver box. But it's still a great receiver.
No rocker/two-way button on grip for steering D/R. It uses one of the rocker buttons around the rim of the wheel for steering D/R.
Other thoughts:
Out of the box, it uses AAA batteries. Most rechargeable AAA batteries are 800-900mAh and that is good for a couple hours of use. You will need to recharge those every race day. If you are going to run a long nitro main, you will probably want to top them up before the main. They have a LiPo coming out but it's only 1200mAh. LRP has a 3200mAh LiPo coming out for the MT-44 soon, As far as I'm concerned this is a must have. This radio uses a 1s LiPO so most of the LiPO batteries for radios on the market are not compatible.
Update, after a couple months I still love this radio. I have started using a standard 18650 Li-Ion cell. You can find them almost anywhere, they are used in a lot of LED flashlights, and those E-Cig/Vape contraptions. I bought a Tenergy 2600mAh (P/N 30049) cell for $10 at Frys, soldered a receiver lead to it and it works and fits great, it even has built in voltage cutoff. Just be aware when buying 18650 cells, they come in different voltages. The one I bought is 3.7v Nominal 4.2v when full just like a LiPO, so I can just charge it on my charger as a LiPo. I get several race days between charges (running 1/8 eBuggy and Nitro). I could probably go longer, but I just like to charge every couple race days for the piece of mind.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Very happy with the transmitter, I came from using an MT4 that I have always been happy with. MT44 is as advertised. Easy to read, easy to navigate, way less scrolling and button pushing to change models. I'm using it for racing 1/8e and nitro buggy and 1/10 2wd/4wd.
Things to be aware of.
Buy extra batteries, the dry AAA's drain quickly... I cannot wait until the Sanwa 1s lipo is released. 3 AAA batteries make it through 2 race days for 2 classes.
Radio only supports FHS3 and FHS4 receivers. (MT4 supported FHS2,I have several of those)
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
EDIT:JUNE 18... Had a bad radio. It died after initial set ups and running. Sanwa covered replacement and I was able to convince them to cover shipping,tho they never even offered to do this.
These aren't what A sanwa was back in the day imo. Cheaper and more Chinese feeling than my older sanwa radios.
It took a while to receive replacement and they weren't very accommodating for the trouble and time down as other manufacturers have been.
The replacement radio is performing well so far. Guess we'll see for how long. Any trouble will need radio sent back and repairs are handled back in Japan. Missing airtronics touch in this area.
Instructions are weakly written. Sanwa needs to step this part up by getting in Touch with American folks who don't speak Engrish.
This warrants a weak 4 star rating. [End edit]
/Mainly coming from an M8 and M11.
This is way lighter than both.
Has tighter frame width and deadband capability. Feels very connected and responds very quick as reported. No lag and ultra low latency.
Feels more flimsy and cheaper than the M8 and M11, but nothing like a RTR deal.
Menu is nice, I'm still learning it.
Feels better with my M11 steering wheel, I've got a few extra new ones. The M11 wheel gives it a slight offset to the outside and makes it easier to finger trims more comfortably.
Binding wasn't smooth. Sometimes the rx is ready and other times it doesn't respond to input. Will look more closely at this or this will have to go back for an exchange.
All in all a good radio and ultra light with the protek 1s lipo installed.
If I find there a need to update I will. Looses one star until the rx issue is cleared up.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Overall a good system. Dial is a bit hard to use. Weight is super light almost too much. Battery use is very minimal. Handle sucks and should just be removed as I never use it and it is in the way. If you have the extra cash, step up to the 12. Zero issues for performance, just doesnt feel like the price tag in my opinion.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Got this as the amain x-max special combo with lipo for $300!!!! WOW!!! “Spend a little extra and you’ll have a radio for years”, is what I’ve been told, (but never listened). I kept buying lower end stuff and just never quite happy, not a fan of complex computer radios, but I find myself actually wanting to learn all the functions now. I think it looks great, and feels great, and I’m using it with a cheap Hpi servo, and a Savox 1258 servo and I’ve had no problems. Binding to new rx was no problem, did it without reading directions.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Ime unhappy with the transmitter, upgraded from a mt4 which had a bad fault ,only works well with specific types of servos ,my near new bxr 599 is incompatible, bad jitters. So much for my $240.00 au servo .
Often, It fails to arm when switched on, have to disconect the batery pack and reconect to arm ,
It also loses all memory at times ,have to rebind and reset everything ,real handy when youre race has just been called. Only got it because i had so many sanwa receivers i thought ide save some money, wasted another $400.00au .
UPDATE after many enquirys I found some info on the Sanwa site.
The servo jitters is considered normal because of the fast response time ,and they assure it wont damage the servos, they describe it as frizzing ,fine jittering .
Theres also a software update that should fix all the switching on and resetting issues, as well as many other issues that I wasn't aware of .
Bit of an annoying thing considering its a new radio ! And you need a mini card and a suitable
computer to update the card .
Still they are great radio otherwise. PS i might be able to update my mt4 also, and fix the trim fault ,so i ccan have a reliable spare .
Hope this helps some others who may have issues .SANWA For CarFor Sky All NewsNew productsImportant information Japanese
HOME
About the digital servos specification
Model: All "SANWA" brand digital servos.
SANWA's digital servos were designed to improve a vehicle resoponse to the limit. As a result, the servos makes frizzling noise on neutral status and also the servo horn vibrates slightly. These symptoms are caused by the strict specification, however it does not affect product's performance. We would recommend you to feel the deffirence of the vehicle response.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Fantastic transmitter! Big TX features for not too big of a price. I upgraded to this from a Spektrum DX4S and man what a difference. Everything is just more smooth. Not saying it solved all of my driving problems but I definitely feel more connected to the car with this TX. My only complaint is the battery life of the 3 AAAs. Hopefully there is a rechargeable lipo available soon.
Sanwa/Airtronics MT-44 FH4T/FH3 4-Channel 2.4GHz Radio System
Best Transmitter EVAR! Sold my M11x and replaced it with this MT-44. And judging by my lap times in VTA, F1 and 17.5 touring car the claims about the low latency of this transmitter seem to be legit. It really does seem to respond to my inputs faster than my old m11x or my spectrum DX4R pro.
