Hello everyone!

I recently got the opportunity to review the new RCB OS-10 radio system. So, here we go!

Firstly, I feel really proud to tell you that this is an Indian product! It was designed in India and France. It was made specifically to cater to the demands of the rapidly growing Indian RC community.

There are so many brands of radio control systems available today that it takes days to decide which one to buy. There are expensive brands that promise quality and after-sales service and there are the so called 'Chinese' brands that pack three times the features at 1/3 the cost.

With the exponentially increasing popularity of multirotors and DIY robots, everyone wants a RC system with at least 6 channels. Radios like the Turnigy 9x and FlySky TH9X are considered the forerunners in the low-price range. Well, not anymore! The RCB OS-10 is here!

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The RCB package came nicely packed in bubble wrap. Inside was the OS-10 box, a Tx LiPo battery, a RCB neck-strap and a RCB keychain! The OS-10 box has a quality check seal to make sure it is brand new!











The OS-10 has a nice foam case. Inside the case, the transmitter has its own bubble wrap as well.
The smaller compartments house a 10 channel receiver (RZ-10) and a cable for monitoring voltage of receiver side battery via telemetry.

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The OS-10 has the same form factor as the older RCB 6i. They used the 6i’s mold for the OS-10 to reduce the final cost. And that has worked great! The OS-10 has a surprisingly good build quality.

The coolest hardware features of the transmitter pop-up the moment you take it in your hands. At the top there is a retractable antenna giving the OS-10 a sleek and compact look. The other thing that makes it compact and easy to store is its collapsible handle.








Now for the most ingenious part. You’ll notice a slider-switch at the back. This switch can be used to actually change the mode of the transmitter! You can select mode 1 to mode 4 using this switch in combination with the channel map menu. You can also select a ‘mode 0’ with both sticks auto-centering, just like a game-pad!





At the time of writing this review, there are no other brands, big or small, providing features like these at such a low price!

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As its name suggests, the OS-10 has up to 10 transmitter channels. It can be paired with the RZ-10 receiver that comes in the box as well as with the RZ-6 and RZ-4 receivers.
On the front of the transmitter, there are 2 height-adjustable sticks with digital trims. The throttle axis has 32 ratchets which gives a fine control over throttle.

Then there are 4 switches and 2 rotary knobs as well. Switches A, B and D are 3-point switches while switch C is a momentary switch. As can be seen in the picture below, there are no controls on the top. This is so as to keep the design compact.
The two knobs (pots) give full swing control like the sticks.





The LCD screen of the OS-10 Tx is larger than that of the 6i. There are just 4 programming buttons. This gives the lower half of the Tx a neat look (unlike transmitters of other brands that are cluttered with dials and pads).

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The OS-10 gets its name from the fact that it has an Open Source firmware with up to 10 transmitter channels. It has integrated telemetry too. Right now you'll get only a voltage telemetry cable, but, more options are going to be added soon.

In addition to audio warnings, the OS-10 also has vibration warnings. You can store up to 30 models with each model-name up to 9 characters long. The OS-10 also supports adding your own model icons. This can be done by connecting to a PC and starting the Tx while pressing the 'EXIT' button.

Like the 6i, the OS-10 also has a DSC port at the top for connecting a trainer or simulator cable.





There are 3 protocols available: PPM, 10Ch and 6Ch. The PPM option can be used with flight control systems to reduce latency.

The transmitter has a battery bay made specifically for LiPo batteries. The stock battery is a 2S 2200mAh 8C LiPo. The battery bay also houses a micro-USB port for upgrading the firmware and adding custom model pictures.

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Programming the OS-10 is super-simple and straight-forward. If you can read the programming button names, you can program it! It's that simple!

The firmware is open source and keeps updating, so I'll just cover the important stuff here.

The home screen displays the current model name and icon, dual rate state, Tx and Rx voltages, signal strength and individual channel trim positions. It also displays 3 time values. The first one is the time since start-up, the second one shows the amount of time the battery has been used for and the third one is a user programmable timer.

To enter the menu, press and hold the 'ENTER' button for about 2 seconds.

The 'Parameter Settings' menu has throttle curve as well as individual stick curve. These 'curve menus' allow you to set dual and triple rates, 9 point expos and curve level.
Other interesting features here are the 'virtual switch' and 'servo delay menus'. The virtual switch function allows you to use a stick as a logical switch. This is particularly useful in certain robotics projects.  The servo delay menu lets you delay the output from the receiver in case you are a beginner or if your application requires it.

The 'Model Settings' menu allows you to set-up your models. As of firmware version 1-3, there are 4 model types available: Acro, Heli, Multirotor and glider. Other submenus include individual channel mapping and switch mapping. The trainer menu here has some awesome features. You can select/ inhibit as well as monitor the student channels!

In the 'Transmitter Settings' menu, you can do stick calibration, adjust trim steps, select Tx mode etc. There is also a brilliant little feature called 'Stick centering' which. After you've been using the Tx for some time, the sticks may not center properly. The 'Stick centering' menu allows you to center your sticks without opening the transmitter!

The firmware is in its early stages and some features like any-channel mixing will be added soon.

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I did a range test by attaching a continuous rotation servo to the RZ-10 receiver. The logic was that the max range will be the one at which the servo stops rotating. I used the GPS on my android phone and the digital odometer on my bike to measure distances.

At 100mW Tx power, the range is more than 1200 meters. The Tx power can be reduced in the 'bind and RF' menu to conform to local regulations.

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Pros:

1. Absolutely amazing price considering all the high-end features.
2. Ultra compact and neat design.
3. User-friendly menu programming.
4. Integrated telemetry.
5. External mode switching.
6. Open Source firmware

Cons:

1. The battery connector cable hangs freely from the solder joints. There is no barrier to keep it from breaking in case of a strong tug or due to repeated plugging and un-plugging of battery.

2. The micro-USB port lies on a vertical board off the main PCB and as such it is a bit shaky. This too might cause problems in the long run.

3. There are no dedicated switches for dual rates, trainer mode, throttle-cut etc. These functions need to be assigned to one of the channel switches. This isn't a problem unless you need 10 channels as well as the aforementioned functions in your application.

My verdict

The OS-10 was designed to be a low cost product with high end features. And it nailed its goal. It is simple to use with a sleek body and a user-friendly interface. No matter if you are a heli or a glider guy, it has everything for everyone. With up to 10 channels and a multitude of features, it is set out to become the new favorite of multirotor fans! 

Looks nice and compact. And cost is cheap.

@ swapnil

Simple and Nice review, great presentation.

I am too  one of the fan of rcbazaar products, especially their rz4 and RCB6i, in near future will be upgrading to OS-10.

Wishes to RCB team and happy New year for all members.

Regards
Dhanasekar

Thanks Dhanasekar!

Could you please share your experience with the RCB 6i and what features of the OS-10 you found interesting?
Also, any new firmware features you'd like to see in the OS-10?

@ ghoshatanu56

Quote from: ghoshatanu56 on January 01, 2016, 03:36:18 AM
Looks nice and compact. And cost is cheap.

Yes, RCB seems to have worked really hard to keep the cost low. Kudos to them!   

Nice review Swapnil  I do hope this Radio will prove itself too like RCB 6i in the long run, which is an exceptional value for money radio.

Really nice review, you should do more reviews!

The retractable antenna, mode switch, telemetry and LiPo battery are some of the nice features. What's the price by the way? I did not find it mentioned here...or did I miss it? The range is a bit low. How do they propose to fix it?

Is there any way to use this for a simulator software?

u could use vjoy with smartpropoplus   via audio jack

could rcb6i upgraded to os10 ?? 
any upgrade kit would be really nice

Quote from: Devang Flyer on January 01, 2016, 07:13:50 PM
Really nice review, you should do more reviews!

Thanks Devang!

I'm certainly looking forward to more such opportunities!

Quote from: santanucus on January 01, 2016, 07:52:48 PM
The retractable antenna, mode switch, telemetry and LiPo battery are some of the nice features. What's the price by the way? I did not find it mentioned here...or did I miss it? The range is a bit low. How do they propose to fix it?

Is there any way to use this for a simulator software?

Ah, my bad! Forgot to mention the price in all the excitement!
There are two versions. The one with the LiPo battery costs  7300 whereas the one without it costs  6990. Obviously the one with the LiPo is a better choice.

http://www.rcbazaar.com/product.aspx?productid=4716

http://www.rcbazaar.com/product.aspx?productid=4717


500 meters is the stock range to keep under WPC limitations. In the latest firmware, it can be increased to more than 1200 meters by increasing the Tx power to 100mW (in the 'Bind & RF' menu).

For use with a simulator software there are actually two methods:
1) Software method: smartpropoplus
2) Hardware method: arduino PPM reader

Using smartpropoplus is easier but the 'arduino' method gives better results.

@ Swampil sir...

 very nice review.... specially those moving picture...

If the range gets extended it will be nice... they can provide some sort of boosters

and one prob... is rcb never reveails about the processor...

Deva, the range can be easily increased as I described in reply# 18.

Quote from: Devanesan Andrews on January 01, 2016, 10:07:37 PM
... very nice review.... specially those moving picture...

Thanks! I love stop motion animation! 

Quote from: Devanesan Andrews on January 01, 2016, 10:07:37 PM
....
and one prob... is rcb never reveails about the processor...

Yes, I think so too. If the firmware is open source, they should give details of how to modify it. I guess they are working on that.

An excellent systematic review.
Two queries.

Quote from: Swapnil on January 01, 2016, 01:12:40 AM

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3. There are no dedicated switches for dual rates, trainer mode, throttle-cut etc. These functions need to be assigned to one of the channel switches. This isn't a problem unless you need 10 channels as well as the aforementioned functions in your application.

1. Does this mean 3 channels get used up for these?
2. More input on telemetry requested

Quote from: K K Iyer on January 01, 2016, 10:19:47 PM
1. Does this mean 3 channels get used up for these?

Yes. As a robotics guy, I see that as a complete waste of channels! But, I think they did that to maintain the compact look.

Quote from: K K Iyer on January 01, 2016, 10:19:47 PM
2. More input on telemetry requested

The product webpage says they are going to add more soon.

hi swapnil..
thanks for the review here and a nice detailed one i should say...
Firstly for the benefit for all ... this radio is a complete initiation from RcBazaar and the entire software design has been done here from our side.. so we have the flexibility to do as much changes as possibleto this radio...
secondly to keep the cost down we have used the same case, gimbals and the switch positions of the rcb6i (except of adding knobs and making the screen large) making a new mold would have costed us in double digits of lakhs hwoever we are looking at changing the case design soon which will result in increasing the cost of the 10ch higher...
few other basic points

* The rcb6i and the rcb-0s10 tx's can be used with the following receivers 4ch (RZ4) and 6ch (RZ6) and the 10ch (RZ10).. We will be launching a 8ch receiver soon too...
* The RCB OS-10 can be used for simulators, buddy training (master and slave), ccpm helis, planes and multi rotors
* The RZ 10 receiver has a Voltage checker inbuilt which can check the voltage till 6 cell lipo batteries
* icons and home screen can be customized to your needs and also being an opensource software you can change what ever featured you need

coming to mr iyer's query.. we have not provided a separate switch for dual rates and a timer... however the timer can be activated with the throttle stick and you can set it to any position you want for the timer to start on the throttle stick... however for dual rates you will need to assign one channel if you want to use DR hence the radio become a 9ch and on switching OFF the DR you get back all your 10ch's back...
Again trainer mode is another switch you can assign to hence reducing one channel on the radio and will return back once this trainer mode is switched OFF..

regarding the range we have kept withing the operating guidelines of the WPC and have given a choice to the customers to operate at RF levels of 3mW, 5mW, 8mW, 13mW, 20mW, 31mW, 50mW and 100mW.. for full range use 100mW only (even though the software shows 100mW we have intentionally kept it much lower than 100mW and will assign the right 100mW when the right time comes)... however you will get signals at even 1km with this "current 100mW" RF

we have been working on this project for more than a year and will continue to develop this further. We appreciate any suggestions or feedback to improvise the software and we will try our best to do it ourselves if not you can go ahead and give it a shot in programming the software yourself if you are good at open source yourself...

again thank swapnil for your reviews and feedback and we will keep this in mind as we progress with our developments on this radio.

regards
sujju

Hi Swapnil... the set looks great... whats the cost...