🔤 RC Glossary

Every RC term, decoded

Cars, crawlers, boats, planes, helis, drones, tanks and radios — every real term, plain English, no jargon left behind. New to RC? Start here.

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#ABCDEFGLMPRST

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📡 2.4GHz The radio frequency band virtually all modern RC transmitters use,…

A

📡 ACCST / ACCESS (FrSky) FrSky\x27s two families of 2.4 GHz control protocols — ACCST is the… 📡 ATV / EPA Adjustable Travel Volume / End Point Adjustment — sets the maximum…

B

📡 Bind Pairing a transmitter and receiver so they talk only to each other. 📡 Binding Phrase A text phrase used by ExpressLRS to generate a unique ID, so any tr… 📡 Buddy Box (Trainer Mode) Two transmitters linked together so an instructor can hand control…

C

📡 CRSF (Crossfire) TBS's fast, low-latency digital RC link protocol, widely used in FP… 📡 Channel One controllable function on a radio system — steering is a channel…

D

📡 DSMX / DSM2 (Spektrum) Spektrum\x27s 2.4 GHz control protocols — DSM2 is the older one, DS… 📡 Dual Rate Limits how far a channel travels for full stick input, shown as a p…

E

📡 ELRS (ExpressLRS) A popular open-source long-range, low-latency RC link protocol — an… 📡 EdgeTX / OpenTX Open-source firmware that runs on many hobby transmitters, replacin… 📡 Expo Exponential — softens the response around the center of a radio cha…

F

📡 FASST / FASSTest (Futaba) Futaba\x27s 2.4 GHz control protocols — FASST is the long-running o… 📡 Failsafe A receiver safety setting that cuts throttle (and applies brake) if… 📡 Flight Mode A switch-selected set of transmitter settings — rates, expo, curves…

G

📡 Gimbal (Stick Assembly) The spring-loaded two-axis mechanism behind each transmitter stick… 📡 Gyro A stability gyroscope that adds automatic counter-steer to help hol…

L

📡 LQ (Link Quality) The percentage of control packets actually arriving at the receiver… 📡 Logical Switch A programmed switch on the transmitter that triggers automatically…

M

📡 Mixing Programming two channels to move together — like elevon mixing on a… 📡 Mode 2 / Mode 1 (Stick Mode) The convention for which stick does what: on Mode 2 the throttle is… 📡 Model Match A safety feature that refuses to bind or arm unless the receiver ma… 📡 Model Memory A saved settings slot in a transmitter for one specific vehicle — r…

P

📡 PPM Pulse Position Modulation — an older analog protocol that carries s… 📡 PWM Pulse Width Modulation — the classic single-channel servo signal, w… 📡 Packet Rate How many times per second your transmitter sends a control update t…

R

📡 RSSI Received Signal Strength Indicator — a telemetry value showing how… 📡 Range Check A radio mode that deliberately reduces transmit power so you can wa… 📡 Receiver (RX) The onboard unit that receives the transmitter's signal and passes…

S

📡 SBUS A digital serial protocol that carries many channels over one wire… 📡 Servo The motor-and-gear unit that turns a channel's signal into physical… 📡 Servo Horn The arm or wheel attached to a servo's output shaft that the steeri… 📡 Servo Reversing A per-channel setting that flips which way a servo moves for a give… 📡 Spread Spectrum Modern radio technology (used by 2.4GHz systems) that hops between… 📡 Sub-Trim A small electronic offset that shifts a servo\x27s centre point so…

T

📡 Telemetry Live data sent back FROM the vehicle to the transmitter — pack volt… 📡 Throttle Cut A switch that forces the throttle channel to a shut-off value regar… 📡 Transmitter (TX) The handheld radio you actually hold — sends your stick and switch… 📡 Trim A small adjustment to a channel's center/neutral point — used to fi…