CNC Hall Gimbal Upgrade Guide: AG01 vs AG02 vs V6 for FPV
CSKYUAV — a China-based FPV drone parts manufacturer with 10+ years of experience and full ODM/OEM support — supplies the RadioMaster ecosystem, including CNC hall sensor gimbals that turn a stock radio into a precision instrument. A hall gimbal upgrade replaces the original potentiometer-based sticks of radios such as the TX16S, Boxer, TX15 or Zorro with CNC-machined, non-contact hall sensor gimbals. The short version: upgrade to a hall gimbal when you want drift-free centering, smoother stick travel and tension you can tune without opening the radio; match the model to your radio, because AG01, AG02, AG01 MINI and AG01 NANO are built for specific transmitter families.
Why Upgrade Your Radio to Hall Sensor Gimbals?
Stick accuracy is the most direct connection between pilot and drone. Factory radios often ship with potentiometer gimbals: a mechanical wiper slides across a resistive track, and every rotation slowly wears that track. The symptoms are familiar — jittery center position, dead spots near the ends of travel and centering that drifts as the wiper ages. None of this is visible in a spec sheet, but all of it shows up in the air as sloppy throttle holds and wobbly turns.
A hall sensor gimbal replaces the physical contact with a magnetic field: a magnet moves over a stationary sensor, so nothing touches and nothing wears. The result is consistent, noise-free stick input over years of flying. That is why competitive pilots and long-range flyers treat a gimbal upgrade as one of the highest-value changes you can make to a radio you already own. If you are still deciding between radios rather than upgrading one, our FPV radio controller guide compares whole transmitters first.
Potentiometer vs Hall Sensor: What Actually Changes?
Three things improve when you move from potentiometer sticks to a CNC hall gimbal:
Precision and consistency. Non-contact hall sensing reads the stick position without wear, so center stays center and signal noise stays low for the life of the gimbal. Working voltage is a standard DC 3.3 V and linearity is real-time with no delay — the radio sees exactly where your thumb is.
Stick feel and travel. Quad precision bearings carry the stick on smooth, predictable movement instead of bushing friction. Most CNC gimbals also add externally adjustable travel, typically 38°–54°, so you can set the stick range to your flying style in minutes.
Tension tuning without surgery. On potentiometer radios, changing stick tension usually means opening the case and swapping springs. Hall gimbal sets such as the AG01 let you adjust spring tension and travel from outside the radio — a real convenience when you switch between a freestyle and a race setup.
CNC-machined aviation-grade aluminum adds rigidity and a premium feel, and gimbal temperature range of roughly −20 °C to 85 °C covers outdoor flying in European winters without performance drift.
AG01 vs AG02 vs AG01 MINI vs V6: Which Hall Gimbal Set to Buy?
CSKYUAV supplies the full hall gimbal lineup, and each model targets a specific radio size.
The AG01 CNC Hall Gimbals for TX16S & Boxer are the flagship full-size upgrade: CNC aviation-grade aluminum, non-contact hall sensors, quad precision bearings and adjustable 38°–54° travel with exterior tension tuning. Each gimbal weighs about 125 g, giving the radio a solid, premium balance. Color editions and the AG01-V CNC metal gimbal set keep the same core while adding style or a metal face.
The AG02 CNC Hall Gimbals for TX15 & TX16S & Boxer is the second generation of the full-size gimbal. AG02 introduced a refined hall sensor with better precision, lower signal noise and smoother output, plus a lighter, updated design. AG02 also has a hollow-shaft M5 version for custom sticks, and AG01 / AG02 adapter cables let you install the new generation into older RadioMaster radios or the previous generation into newer ones without cutting or splicing.
For compact radios, the AG01 MINI CNC Hall Gimbals for TX12 & Zorro shrink the same hall-sensor design to about 42 g per gimbal with adjustable 38°–54° vertical travel, while the AG01 NANO for the Pocket fits the smallest RadioMaster radios. If weight matters most, the V6 Hall Effect Gimbal is the lightest option at 49.2 g, with X-axis travel of 30°–56°, Y-axis travel of 38°–54°, quad bearings and mode switching without disassembly — it fits TX16S, Boxer and TX15.
| Gimbal | Fits | Key specs | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| AG01 | TX16S, Boxer | Hall sensor, quad bearings, 38°–54° travel, ~125 g/gimbal | Full-size flagship upgrade with exterior tuning |
| AG02 | TX15, TX16S, Boxer | 2nd-gen hall sensor, lower noise, lighter | Newest full-size feel and signal quality |
| AG01 MINI | TX12, Zorro | Hall sensor, 38°–54° vertical travel, ~42 g | Compact radios |
| AG01 NANO | Smallest hall gimbal set | Pocket radio precision | |
| V6 | TX16S, Boxer, TX15 | 49.2 g, X 30°–56°, Y 38°–54°, mode switch no teardown | Lightest full-size upgrade |
| GX01 | GX12 | Digital hall sensor, drop-in fit | GX12 owners |
For the GX01 CNC aluminum 3D digital hall sensor gimbal for GX12, the upgrade is a direct drop-in replacement with a straightforward calibration routine — no adapter needed.
Will a CNC Gimbal Fit Your Radio?
Match the gimbal family to the radio family before ordering:
Full-size gimbals (AG01, AG02, V6) fit the TX16S MKII/MK3, Boxer and TX15 — the radios with larger stick bays. Newer RadioMaster radios use the JST-GH connector system, while older ones use JST-SH; adapter boards bridge the two, so check the connector type if you mix generations.
Compact gimbals (AG01 MINI, AG01 NANO) are sized for the TX12 / Zorro and the Pocket respectively. Installing a full-size gimbal into a compact radio is not possible without heavy modification, so buy the matching size.
GX01 is engineered for the RadioMaster GX12 only, and the T8 Pro Hall Gimbal serves T8 Pro radios. When in doubt, the adapter-cable section on each product page lists the exact radio compatibility.
Installation: Cables, Spacers and Calibration
A hall gimbal upgrade is a 15–30 minute job for most radios. Unplug the original gimbal ribbon, remove the mounting screws, drop in the new gimbal and re-connect. Two details decide whether the install feels clean:
Connector generation. If your radio and gimbal use different connectors, use an AG01 / AG02 adapter cable instead of soldering. No cutting, no splicing, just a plug-and-play bridge.
Stick height and travel. Pilots with long thumbs often lower the sticks slightly. The Gimbal CNC spacers for Boxer & TX16S MKII lower the gimbal by 4.5 mm in the radio — note that on the TX16S MKII the spacers can limit stick travel in the corners. After any install or spacer change, recalibrate the sticks in an up/down/left/right pattern in the radio menu, otherwise the output range will be wrong.
Finish the feel with machined gimbal stick ends for TX16S or the Sticky360 SLIM stick ends for AG01 & AG01-V, whose 360° non-slip geometry keeps your thumbs planted in hard maneuvers.
CNC Hall Gimbal Upgrade Checklist
| Buying question | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Which radio do I have? | Full-size (TX16S/Boxer/TX15) vs compact (TX12/Zorro/Pocket) vs GX12 |
| Full-size choice | AG01 for exterior tuning, AG02 for newest sensor, V6 for lightest |
| Compact choice | AG01 MINI for TX12/Zorro, AG01 NANO for Pocket |
| Connector generation | JST-GH vs JST-SH; use adapter cable if mixing |
| Do I need to lower sticks? | 4.5 mm CNC spacers for Boxer / TX16S MKII |
| After install | Recalibrate sticks in up/down/left/right pattern |
Frequently Asked Questions
Are hall gimbals worth the upgrade over potentiometer sticks? For pilots who fly often, yes. Hall sensors eliminate wear-related drift and jitter, and exterior tension and travel adjustment saves time between setups. For a casual pilot on a cheap radio, the radio itself is usually the bigger limit.
Can I install an AG01 into a TX15 or Boxer? The AG01 full-size set is designed for the TX16S and Boxer. For the TX15, choose the AG02 or V6, which list TX15 compatibility explicitly.
Do hall gimbals need special firmware? No. Hall gimbals output the same stick signals as potentiometer gimbals. Simply recalibrate the sticks in the radio menu after installation.
How long does a gimbal upgrade take? Typically 15–30 minutes including calibration. Adapter cables remove the only tricky part, which is matching connectors between radio generations.
Can I use custom sticks with AG02? Yes — the AG02 hollow-shaft M5 version accepts M5 custom sticks, while standard sets ship with ergonomic stick ends included.
Summary
A CNC hall gimbal upgrade is the highest-leverage change you can make to a radio you already own: non-contact hall sensors remove wear and drift, quad bearings refine stick feel, and exterior tension and travel adjustment adapt the sticks to any flying style in minutes. Pick the family that matches your radio — AG01 or AG02 for full-size TX16S, Boxer and TX15 radios, the V6 if weight matters, AG01 MINI for TX12 and Zorro, and GX01 for the GX12 — then finish with adapter cables and spacers where needed.
CSKYUAV supplies hall gimbals, adapter cables and accessories factory-direct with ODM/OEM support for radio brands that want custom CNC gimbal designs integrated into their own products. Tell us your radio model and desired stick range, and we will recommend the exact gimbal set for your build.