Spektrum/horizon Hobby DX6R
WHY IT WON
Pick up any issue of RC Car Action pre-2005, find a shot of guys on the drivers’ stand, and you might wonder why they’re all holding fishing poles. Oh, wait—those are just their transmitters’ antennas. If you’re wondering why no one waves those eye pokers around anymore, you can thank Spektrum. No stranger to innovation, Spektrum shocked the RC world when it made 2.4GHZ the standard for radio control. Almost overnight, frequency crystals and long antennas disappeared, replaced by Spektrum’s breakthrough technology. Well, Spektrum is at it again with another game changer for transmitter tech. The Spektrum DX6R transmitter has a color touchscreen interface, but that’s not even the special part. The innovation that makes the DX6R our Innovation of the Year is the code behind that interface—namely, an Android operating system, just like many of you have on your phone or tablet. Everything is displayed in full color and high resolution. A swipe or tap of the screen is all you need to move between the menus and make adjustments. And since the DX6R is Wi-fi enabled, it can do everything your phone and tablet can do. Download a PDF manual for your car? Sure. Watch a video on Youtube? No problem. Check out Tinder? Uh, sure. Plus, you can update the DX6R’S operating system and firmware without plugging into anything. It’s a whole new world for RC transmitters.