TEST: Jumper T8SG, the “quasi” Universal radiocommand

[Drone News]

INTRODUCTION

The Jumper T8SG is probably the product that I was the most waiting during the last year. Why ? it’s a compact lightweight radiocommand clearly inspired by the Walkera Devo 7E but integrating the 4-in-1 multimodule, four 3-away position switches, two extra pots and even a vibration system!!!!! In fact the Jumper T8SG integrates all the different mods developped during the last three years for the Devo 7E. So no more tricky soldering job to do !!!. The compactness of the Jumper is ideal for micro/mini brushless FPV racers and thanks to the multi-module most popular protocols are supported: Spektrum DSM2/X, FrSky D8/D16, FlySky, Futabe SFHSS, Hubsan, WLtoys, Cheerson and many many more The list is long and almost every week, a new protocol is added…. This is probably the first “quasi” Universal Radio..

BOX CONTENT

+ 1 x Jumper T8SG
+ 1 x Neck strap
+ 1 x Transportation bag

Nice to see a transportation bag included in the bundle :).

OVERVIEW

In term of dimension, the jumper is compact, the same size than the Devo 7E…. so far more smaller than a FrSky Taranis for example… On the right my modded Devo 7E with two extra 3-way switches and two builtin extra RF chip… With the 4xAA battery, the Devo 7E is much more heavier than the Jumper. In term of plastic quality, the Devo model is ahead… Don’t worry, the jumper is very well build…

For the T8SG, out of the box, four 3-away switches are here…. their respective metal bar are short…. There are referenced are Sw A, SW B, SW C and SW D in DevatioNTX. Cherry on the cake, you can find two pots … ideal to control a gimbal for example !!!!

Here are the dimensions

DeviationTX 5.0 is installed by default. The OS has been release close to 6 months ago at least. Since this date, many new build are available. We can hope it will be possible to update….

Switches are visible from meny

-FRONT VIEW

Paradoxally, the look is clearly inspired by Futaba chassis….. but in fact, all electronics are largely copying the Walkera Devo 7E ones…

Compared to the Devo 7E, the navigation buttons are inverted… A unique large power button and two lights indicates the power status.

-REAR VIEW

-UPPER VIEW

A RP-SMA connector…. so you can attach your favorite 2.4G antenna

There is also a jack connector bo be used as trainer port. Ideal to fly your Simulator with yoru Jumper.

-BOTTOM VIEW

The battery tray is compact. Yoy can fit a 1000mmAh model maybe a 1300mAh maximum. The LiPo must be connected via the balancer plug

Unfortunatly, there is a miniUSB port (for future firmware upgrade) but is hidden. Good news, for the new batch of Jumper, the miniUSB port is now positioned in diagonal and directly available from the battery bay. Anyway, it’s possible to drill a small hole to free the access of the miniUSB port.

-WEIGHT

With a 900mAh LiPo inserted….

only 384g … close twice more lighter than my modded Devo 7E… Impressive… Ideal for long FPV racing session. With the 900mAh, I can enjoy my Jumper more than 1h.

Disassembling

5 screws to open the chassis. The design is largely inspired from the Devo 7E. For example, the voltage regulation circuit is the same, the bootloader the same too… On the central part, the huge 4-in-1 multimodule convered by a metallic shielding/heatsink. The advantage of this builtin 4-in-1 multimodule is the SPI connexion…. so communication will be done much more faster than via PPM as for some multimodule for Taranis radio.

A 50ohm coaxial cable directly soldered on the cip

Good news, the STM ARM core is a 256Ko version…. so no more problem to fit DeviationTX OS into memory. The original 7E got a 128Ko chip and now don’t offer enough space to include all features developped in the last DeviationTX built. In practice, the DeviationTX’s build currently implemented is derived from the “Ultimate 7E” build… just few lines in two C files are specilized for the Jumper T8SG. In a very close future, the Jumper will be directly supported by the Ultimate 7E…

The 3-way switches …

UNBOXING, ANALYSIS AND FIRMWARE UPGRADE

In practice, the Jumper looks just a bit more cheapy than the original Walkera 7E in term of quality build… the gimbals offers just a bit less precision but far beyond any < 90USD radio competitors. As soon as you turn on the radio, the jumper T8SG vibes. As for the 7E, the Jumper can store only 30 model files .... it's not enough but it's a limitation of the OS. You are impressed by the number of protocol supported and more some other are available via suboption of the parent's protocol.... Good news, I was able to install the custom build done by Vlad_yy with last source codes: https://www.deviationtx.com/forum/builds/7346-jumper-t8sg-builds

Notice that for all protocols based on the CYRF6936 (DSM2/DSMX, Walkera protocols), the Power Amplifier part of the RF chip can be pushed up to 150mW. Here is the Multi-module the PA is probably shared with all other three RF chips… so with a bit of luck, they can also enjoy of such extra boost… The range obtained with the 4-in-1 is as good as individual chip… It’s great More for some two ways protocols (Speltrum, FrSky, Hubsan), some telemetry information are sent and displayed on the radio. You can set some specific alarm. For example on the RSSI or the Vbat for example.

CONCLUSIONS

For a first universal radio, the jumper T8SG is almost the perfect product… Perfect integration of the 4-in-1 multimodule, MCU upgraded to 256Ko, 4 x 3-way switches, 2 extra pots, a trainer port and even vibrations’s module is here. The radio is compact and light and cheap !!!! No more need to do super tricky soldering job (the ARM core swapping is very hard to do, the diode mode too for the CYRF6936). My only regret is the bad location of the miniUSB port but it’s already solved in the incoming new batch. What we could expect next ? A new model with Hall gimbals, color touchescreen and a voice module…. I am pretty it will be relatively soon available but of course not so cheap. I highly recommand the T8SG for a good first radio… compatible with hundreds of machines.

PROS

+ Builtin 4-in-1 multimodule (connected via SPI bus)
+ 4 x 3-way switches
+ 2 x pots
+ Vibration’s motor
+ 256 Ko MCU
+ Comes with DeviationTX 5.0
+ Compact
+ Lightweight
+ Cheap
+ Powered with a 2S LiPo
+ Trainer port
+ Can be updated with Nightly Build

CONS

– No easy miniUSB access (solved from the second batch of the T8SG)
– Gimbals slightly less precise than the Devo7E ones
– Small swiches metal bars
– Small pot buttons

This Radiocommand have been courtesy provided by Banggood in order to make a fair and not biased review. I would like to thank them for this attitude.
You can find it actually for 86USD at https://www.banggood.com/Jumper-T8SG-Multi-Protocol-2_4G-10CH-Compact-Transmitter-for-Flysky-Frsky-DSM2-Walkera-Devo-Futaba-p-1189811.html

Cet article TEST: Jumper T8SG, the “quasi” Universal radiocommand est apparu en premier sur Drone-Maniac !!!!!!!.

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[CoraDias]

Hi... I put together this template for a 6-channel multirotors based on CF/BF. I've tested with my Devo 12e, and 6s, but I don't have a T8SG to test. install in the templates folder then in Model setup scroll to choose the 6Ch Multi template.The template assigns channels 1-4 to simple curves, channel 5 to arm (GEAR1) and channel 6 for modes (MIX).