For beginners, the Radiomaster TX16S MK3 can feel overwhelming at first, there are so many menus and options. But to get started, you only need to understand the basics: how to create a model, setup the switches, and how to make a few basic configuration changes. In this guide, I will walk through a simple beginner-friendly setup process for the Radiomaster TX16S MK3, focusing on FPV drones.
Still deciding whether the TX16S MK3 is right for you? Check out my in-depth review here: https://oscarliang.com/radiomaster-tx16s-mk3/
The radio I have here is the Max Edition. If you have the Standard Edition, that’s fine too—the setup process is almost identical. The radios are essentially the same, with only some cosmetic and gimbal differences.
Understanding the Controls and Switches
Here’s a diagram of all the available controls, buttons, and switches. Familiarize yourself with it so you don’t get lost. 🙂
Battery Installation
To power up your radio, you’ll need two 18650 Li-ion cells. The TX16S comes with a battery holder in the rear compartment that holds two 18650 Li-ion cells.
The batteries are not included, but they are widely available online. Here are my battery recommendations:
- RadioMaster 3200mah:
- Sanyo NCR18650GA:
- Molicel M35A:
- VTC6:
I tested them in this post in case you are interested in their performance: https://oscarliang.com/best-18650-li-ion-battery/#Results-and-Recommendations. What we want is high real capacity, discharge rate is less important for low power equipment like radios.
Potential Start-up Warnings
To power on, press and hold the radio’s power button for a couple of seconds.
Ideally, a brand new radio should power up without any issues. However, if your screen shows a warning, don’t panic. Here’s a breakdown of potential warnings and what they mean:
- Throttle Warning: This pops up if your throttle stick (the left one for Mode 2) isn’t at its lowest position when powered on. Pushing it all the way down will get rid of this warning.
- Switch Warning (also known as Control Warning): This signals that some switches aren’t in their default positions. To clear this, ensure all switches are in their HIGH position.
- SD Card Warning: This indicates a version mismatch between the SD card content and radio firmware. If you get this warning, follow this guide to fix it.
You can also ignore and skip a warning by simply pressing any menu button.
If everything goes well, you should be greeted by the radio’s default home page.
Radio Settings
The Radio Settings menu is where you adjust display, audio, and other system-related parameters.
To get there, press the SYS button. This will take you to the Apps page. Then press the PAGE> button twice to get to the Radio Settings page.
You can leave most radio settings at default, but here are a few changes I always make when setting up a new radio:
1. Set Date & Time.
2. Sound
- Mode: Choose All if you want to hear beeps when navigating the menu. Alternatively, choose Nokey if you prefer it quieter.
- Volume: Maximum. You can adjust the volume using the knob, and I’ll show you how to set that up later.
- Beep volume/length: Minimum
3. Alarms
- Battery low (this is the threshold for audio and haptic warnings):
- For Li-ion battery: 6.2V
- For LiPo battery: 7.2V
- If you fly long-range, you may want to set this slightly higher, so you get an earlier warning to ensure you have enough battery left to make it back home. You don’t want your radio to shut down mid flight due to low battery.
- Inactivity: 5 minutes (If the radio is left untouched for this duration, you’ll hear the inactivity alarm reminder).
4. Backlight
- Mode: Keys
- Inactivity timeout: 5s (The backlight turns off after this amount of time if no buttons are pressed, to save battery)
- ON brightness: Maximum (You can adjust screen brightness using a knob, and I’ll show you how later in this guide)
- OFF brightness: Minimum
- Alarm: Enabled (When you get a warning, the backlight turns on automatically)
Why use Keys mode?
By default, both the sticks and buttons can activate the backlight, which is often unnecessary. You are not really looking at the screen while flying, so turning on the screen during flight is just wasting battery. By setting it to Keys, only the menu buttons will activate the backlight, which is more efficient.
5. Other settings:
- Splash screen: 1s (This controls how long the startup screen stays on when you power on the radio.)
- Startup Sound: OFF (I don’t want to hear “Welcome to EdgeTX” every day.)
- Power Off Delay: 0.5s or 1s (You can turn the radio off more quickly. It is best to avoid setting it to 0s, in case you accidentally touch the power button during flight.)
- USB mode: Ask (whenever you plug in the USB cable, the radio will always ask you if you want to use it for simulator, or SD card storage)
Hardware Settings
Go to the Hardware page by pressing the PAGE> button four times.
1. Battery meter range:
- For Li-ion battery: 5.8V – 8.2V
- For LiPo battery: 6.6V – 8.2V
Why these ranges?
This setting controls the on-screen battery indicator, specifically when it shows as full or empty. When the radio powers on, there is some voltage sag, so you will realistically never see 8.4V even when the batteries are fully charged. That is why using 8.2V as the maximum voltage, instead of 8.4V, makes more sense.Note that this is not the low-voltage alarm threshold. You set the low battery warning separately in the Alarm section under Radio Settings, as mentioned earlier.
2. ADC Filter: OFF (Why? Read this section. Only enable it if you fly fixed-wing aircraft without flight controllers.)
3. Internal RF
This section should already be configured correctly by default, but it is always good to double-check.
For radios with an internal ExpressLRS RF module, use:
- Type: CRSF
- Baudrate: 5.25M
Faster baudrate = faster communication between the RF module and the radio. But that doesn’t mean every radio support higher baud rates, it depends on the RF module and radio capability. According to ExpressLRS Wiki, the internal ELRS module from Radiomaster can handle 5.25M baudrate. If you’re experiencing constant warning about Telemetry Lost/Recovered even with the receiver is nearby, and/or if the Lua Script fails to load properly after increasing baudrate, then it’s a sign your radio or module doesn’t support the selected Baud Rate. Lower it down a notch and try again.
Battery Voltage Calibration
To make sure your radio shows an accurate battery reading, take a moment to check and calibrate the battery voltage.
Using a digital multimeter, measure the voltage of the Li-ion batteries inside your radio.
Important: Measure voltage while the radio is powered on.
Since the 2 cells are connected in series, you should expect a reading somewhere between 6V and 8.4V. The goal is to make sure the voltage shown on your multimeter matches the voltage displayed on the radio with minimal error.
If the error is less than 0.05V, it’s fine. Otherwise you should calibrate it.
To calibrate the voltage, go to the Hardware page, find Battery Calibration, and enter the voltage shown on your multimeter.
Display Battery Voltage On Home Screen
To see the exact battery voltage of your radio at a glance, add the voltage reading to the home screen.
To do this:
- Go to UI Setup by pressing the TELE button
- Click the first icon on the top bar, next to 1
- Click Setup widgets next to Top bar
- Click on a square in the top bar to add a widget
- Select Value, then choose Batt
Gimbal Tension Adjustments
To customize how stiff the sticks feel, you can adjust the gimbal spring tension from the outside of the radio without taking it apart. For these adjustments, you will need a 1.5mm hex screwdriver or Allen key.
Here is a breakdown diagram of the AG02 gimbals, showing the tension adjustment screws for roll, pitch, yaw, and throttle, as well as the stick travel adjustment points.
If you have the standard Hall gimbals, please refer to the manufacturer’s guide for instructions.
Gimbal Calibration
Before flying with your brand-new radio, you should always calibrate the gimbals, especially after adjusting spring tension. You may also want to recalibrate them after updating EdgeTX firmware.
Go to the Radio Setup page, then press PAGE> a few times until you reach the Hardware page. Scroll down and find the Calibration option. This will start the calibration process for the sticks and sliders (knobs).
The on-screen instructions are clear, so just follow them carefully.
For the best results, avoid moving the sticks in circles, push them in one direction, like a cross. As you are about to reach the end points, be as gentle as possible, so the radio can read them accurately.
And don’t forget to calibrate the knobs too. You can repeat the calibration process as many times as you want.
Creating Models
I have a separate guide that explains how to create a model profile for your quads step by step: https://oscarliang.com/create-new-model-profile-edgetx/
Personally, I prefer creating one profile for each radio link, and then binding that profile to all of my quads using the same link. It is just easier that way when you have multiple quads that all use the same radio links.
I also have a dedicated profile for simulators, where I switch off both internal and external RF module to save battery (you can do this in Model Settings).
How to Access ExpressLRS LUA Script
In the ExpressLRS Lua script, you can configure your radio link parameters.
To access it:
- Press the SYS key
- Go to Apps
- Select ExpressLRS
Normally, you don’t need to change these settings very often. For most people, it is a set-it-and-forget-it kind of thing. Still, it is useful to understand the important options:
- Packet Rate: Higher rates mean lower latency but less range. Lower rates mean more range but higher latency. I recommend 250Hz as a good balance, 500Hz for low latency, 150Hz for long range.
- TX Power: This depends on how far you plan to fly. 100mW to 250mW is usually enough for most people and is capable of more than several miles.
- WiFi Connectivity: Lets you turn on the module’s WiFi so you can access its WebUI from your phone or laptop.
- Bind: Puts the module into bind mode.
If you want a deeper dive into every setting, check out my ExpressLRS tutorial: https://oscarliang.com/setup-expresslrs-2-4ghz/
Brightness & Volume Adjustment Using Knobs
In Gobal Functions (press the SYS key), create a new function for backlight control:
- Trigger: ON
- Function: Backlight
- Source: S1
- Enable: checked
Then create another function for volume control:
- Trigger: ON
- Function: Volume
- Source: S2
- Enable: checked
RGB LED (Gimbal Rings and Customizable Switches)
You can customize the RGB LED rings around the gimbals with different lighting patterns and solid colors, or turn it off.
To do that, go to Global Functions. You can also use Special Functions if you want it to apply only to a particular model profile.
- Create a new function
- Trigger: ON
- Function: RGB leds
- Value: [any lighting effect you want]
- Repeat: On
- Enable: checked.
That’s it.
If you don’t want any LED at all, just don’t add this global function.
If you do not use the flight mode buttons — the 6 buttons above the screen — you can disable them and have them display the same lighting effect as the gimbal LED rings.
To do that, go to Model Settings → Customizable Switches, and set the Type of each switch to None.
Backup/Restore Settings and Models
Guide: https://oscarliang.com/backup-restore-models-radio-settings-edgetx/
EdgeTX Firmware Update
Guide: https://oscarliang.com/flash-edgetx/
Conclusion
I hope this guide has been helpful for setting up your Radiomaster TX16S MK3 radio. I will keep updating it if I discover more useful mods, settings, or upgrades for this radio.
