Quote from Colin Watkins on December 18, 2019, 1:50 pm

First thoughts on the Jumper T16

After my Taranis started playing up I invested in  Jumper T16.

I did a lot of research before I made my decision. The things that were positive about the T16 were:

• Very similar to the Frsky Horus including a relatively large colour screen. Therefore nearly compatible with the Taranis.
• Hall sensor gimbals. (At least on the 'Pro' version)
• Multi-protocol. (Unlike Frsky who seem to be forcing users down a proprietary route)
• Lots of positive reviews on the web. Mainly from 'early adopters'
• Low cost.
• Could run OpenTx and therefore OpenTx Companion

However, there were a couple of things that went against it:

• It wasn't yet 'tried and tested'. Although it had been available in various configurations for well over six months
• Small(ish) battery. With a colour screen to power there was no way of knowing how long it might last.
• OpenTx and Companion weren't ready - yet!

I was quite excited when it arrived. I eagerly opened the box and found inside:

• The transmitter
• Neck strap
• Screen protector
• Gimbal springs and screws. (?)
• Small sticky pad. (?)

You might notice I haven't mentioned the User Manual. That's because there wasn't one! The space inside the box which was obviously for the manual was filled with  a piece of quality cardboard! I guess this is because the T16 is so new. It has been around for at least six months now, but it has changed a lot over that time. For example, it was originally delivered with a Jumper version of OpenTx called JumperTX and was not supported by OpenTx Companion. It also had a Tx module installed in the 'external' bay on the back of the T16. There was no internal Tx module. This meant that the user couldn't install a different Tx module unless they removed the Jumper module.

The T16 looks smaller than the Taranis although it isn't. It's smoother, more refined and of course the large colour screen makes it look very different.

I'm pleased to say that when I eventually got some batteries (Jumper supply a battery box - but no batteries!) my T16 started up by displaying OpenTX as the installed software! It also came with an internal Tx module and the bay in the back of the transmitter is empty and available for the user to install any other module they care to use.

Having said that, users may not need to install other modules as the standard T16 supports a wide range of protocols, including D8, D16 and EU(LBT) as well as protocols from other manufacturers.

My first problem with the T16 was to try to understand the differences between it and the Taranis, which I know pretty well. There seemed to be quite a lot of differences, but many of them were to do with the 'Horus' compatibility. The Horus is significantly different to the Taranis.

Key Points

• The OpenTx version that was installed didn't work with OpenTx Companion, so there was no way to transfer models settings from my Taranis to the T16. I re-flashed the T16 with the 'nightly' version of OpenTx which was being developed. That had a version of Companion which did work with the T16. 'Nightly' versions were a bit annoying because there was practically a new version every night! Currently a 'Release Candidate Version 1' (RC1) has been released and quickly updated to RC2. This has been stable for some time now. (At least a week!) I have transferred models from the Taranis to the T16, but it wasn't always 'clean'. Quite a few adjustments had to be made.
• The screen of the T16 is handled very differently to the Taranis. The LUA scripts I had developed for the screen of the Taranis simply didn't work on the T16. I can see many happy hours of hacking in front of me if I want to transfer the Taranis scripts to the T16. Having said that, the T16, and I guess the Horus, have a better strategy for configuring the screen through 'widgets', so it might not be worth rewriting those scripts.
• The battery box rattles in the transmitter! More investigation on the internet suggest that the small sticky pads are supposed to be a solution to this problem!
• The 'slider' controls on the top left and right corners of the T16 do the same job as the equivalent controls on the Taranis. BUT they are very loose and easy to move by accident. They do have a 'detent' position, but it's not very obvious. They also move in a different plane compared to the Taranis, which makes them even easier to move by accident. The Taranis wins hands down with this one! However, the other controls have a quality feel about them. The gimbals are smooth, the sticks can be adjusted for length and resistance, and there is a set of six buttons towards the top of the Tx.
• There is no charging circuit built in to the T16. This means that the battery has to be removed in order to charge it. Given that the battery is probably going to need charging for each day of flying, this is likely to cause wear and tear to the battery cables and plugs. There are examples on the internet of people modifying their T16s to allow charging without removing the battery. I may well do the same.
• The screen is bright, although I haven't used it in anger on a sunny day, mainly because we haven't had any recently. It's much bigger than the Taranis screen so more information can be made available.

That's probably enough for the moment.

My feeling is that the Jumper T16 is a serious competitor to the Frsky Taranis. Especially given the range of protocols it supports. I hope its performance in the field lives up to its promise!

I'll let you know!