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The tether car thing is pretty strange but like control-line aircraft, it is where RC came from in the olden days. Has anyone tried the FlySky 2.4GHz radio? I picked one up yesterday to give it a shot. They are stupid cheap (in the UK, maybe £35 for a 3-channel system with receiver, 10-model memory and all the trims) compared to £45 for an old stock Spektrum 3-channel on super-low sale price (jespares.com). I think you can get the FlySky for about $50 in the US, with a features list that rivals computer radios that are about $200+. The only question mark for me is the speed of the response, racers (e.g., people not me) can tell from driving a car whether the commands are reaching the servos as quickly as $500+ systems, so I'm curious to see how quick this FlySky is.
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May 17, 2011 10:03
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They're fine if you're just out bashing or whatever, but they were banned at my local tracks because even though they're 2.4ghz frequency hopping, there's something about them that SERIOUSLY glitches certain other radios out. It's like it either lingers on some frequencies or takes up too broad of a frequency range or something, but many people had serious issues when a few guys showed up with them. My Airtronics stuff never glitched, seemed like the main ones that were having problems were people running M11s with spektrum modules. Screwing around at a park or something? no biggie, enjoy your radio and crazy cheap receivers (you can buy receivers for like 7 bucks at hobbyking!!). But I wouldn't take one to a track.
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May 17, 2011 15:50
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Hmm yeah, if they're not actually CE/UL approved there would be problems. It costs a lot of money to get them tested properly for the actual CE label (€2000 or so for 100+ pages of testing info), I imagine it's the same for UL in the States. Oh well, good thing I'm not racing then! But yeah the receivers are just crazy cheap. I'll probably pick up a couple extra and swap them out for the various cars/trucks. If anyone wants to check it out here's a video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHV2OhN43Lo
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May 17, 2011 16:11
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I normally never double post but Mike Reedy died today. I had the pleasure of meeting him right about the time he was scaling back his race trips and he was training his son Derren to take over, so I saw him at lots of big races on the West Coast and at SoCal RC. He offered me a drive (not that I was any good) and told me a few stories about some of the big names in RC. He was a good guy and he'll be missed.
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May 17, 2011 18:36
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I've probably got some early '80s REEDY MODIFIEDS stickers in my collection somewhere. That sucks.
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May 17, 2011 22:27
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Me and my work buddy took out our Losi Mini SCTs today and holy crap were they fun. There is a public RC track 5min from work so we were having a good time zipping around and hitting the rhythm sections. There is a big crossover that the SCTs are just a bit too slow to clear which I think caused a gearbox problem in my buddies car. It now makes a squeaking/ticking noise although theres no loss of power. I had some harder falls and mine is fine, but I am more experienced when it comes to huckin' the poo poo out of offroad RCs off stupid jumps. Anyway, I cant get over how different it is to drive 2wd compared to 4wd. throttle control is critical, and lower end points for the steering seem to help out. Some better tires and perhaps a ball diff (even maybe slacking off the slipper clutch to reduce fresh-battery-boost) would be great, along with some better tires as the track we are on is hard pack with dust on top. Either way for the money, a full brushless RTR with 2.4ghz radio and lipo ready, hard to argue for the amount of fun we had in our lunch break. best part is it uses Mini-T parts so theres plenty around, and cheap too.
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May 18, 2011 06:47
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renraku posted:Sorry to hear anybody passing but that poo poo is dumb. Haha, I never knew who this guy was but I read he designed mini nitro engines for many years. I was somewhat shocked when I saw that video. It makes sense to test engines that way, you get real world load and resistance. The vehicles really do nothing and aren't really the focus for these.
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May 18, 2011 16:19
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skippo posted:Thanks for the info. For the pede, I would go with the traxxas 2.4G link radio and RX, they can be had cheap on ebay. For the motor, get the XL3s velineon motor and ESC, also get some 5000mah 2s lipos, the pede becomes a completely different truck. You'll wonder why you didnt do it earlier. Stock up on breakables, it will be much faster and hit things much harder, but starting a wheelie at 20mph is amazing.
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May 18, 2011 21:31
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Phat_Albert posted:For the pede, I would go with the traxxas 2.4G link radio and RX, they can be had cheap on ebay. Thanks 
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May 19, 2011 11:06
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Hey guys. Got a bunch of RC stuff in the cupboard from a few years back. One yokomo GT4 nitro car and a TC3 electric with a green machine stock motor in it. Do I need to do anything to the nitro car before I start it again? Will the old fuel be useless? I also want a R33 shell to put with my mates competition drift car at events. Now forums is telling me these were made by tamiya like 10 years ago and impossible to get. Has anyone recently knocked one up? Was hoping for a HPI one but no luck. E: Also would either of these chassis be still competitive? I might go and race again. Probably stick a stupid motor in the electic car too. Bape Culture fucked around with this message at 00:24 on May 26, 2011 |
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May 26, 2011 00:20
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Parts for the Yoke might be hard to find but the TC3 would probably be fine (and fun) in the Vintage Trans Am type classes, especially if you have spares. They're on the TC6 now I think (I can't keep up with that stuff) but people still race the TC5. For the nitro, old fuel might be okay if the seal on the bottle is good and it was kept out of sunlight, try it and see. Your glow plug igniter battery will probably be dead so you might have to get another one...but then you may as well get a quart of fuel too. Then see if you enjoy driving it again. Depending on how it was maintained, run and stored before you dug it out you might have a big or little job getting the nitro going again. You might have rusty bearings, rust inside the engine (unless there was lots of after-run oil used in it), etc., so check all that stuff out. If you can clean it up some collector will buy on eBay probably.
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May 26, 2011 09:11
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The TC3 still seems pretty popular since that's what comes as RTR. They were running them with 13.5 brushless setups at the LHS here, and they're insanely fast.
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May 27, 2011 00:22
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Phat_Albert posted:
Why not go for 3s lipos since both that engine and esc supports it?
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May 27, 2011 12:39
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SC10 4x4 update After the serious traction rolling issues I had with the nearly stock setup the truck needed some work. I threw some heavier shock oil in because I thought the rear might have been bottoming out with heavy side loads from cornering, making the tire/wheel dig in and flip the truck. Stock was 30F/25R. I bumped it up to 37.5/30 and it is MUCH improved. The front might be a little too stiff, it rebounds pretty slow. Not a big deal for the fairly smooth indoor track I run at but it might not work on bumpier outdoor tracks. I'm either going to drop it down to 35 or put different shock pistons in. The suspension changes along with more indoor oriented tires really made the truck shine. There wasn't a huge turnout at the last races so the few of us that showed up with 4x4 SCTs were allowed to run in the 10 minute 1/8th e buggy main... what a freakin riot! This track is very small so the extra top end of the 1/8th scales wasn't a huge advantage. I had a good battle going with for the lead with a converted RC8B till a freakin traction roll with 1.5min to go. Ended up a lap down because of it (mistakes are very costly when lap times are around 15 seconds!), but it was one of the most fun races I've ever had . It would have been a different story on a bigger track but the fact this SCT can run with 1/8th buggies is amazing to me. I can't wait to get it totally dialed in.I also threw a new 8.5t viper system in my 2wd SC10 and moved the RS/10.5 to my T4 that previously had a RTR brushless system in it. The 8.5 runs great, and the t4 is a riot with a stronger motor. I continue to be impressed with Viper's products. The motors are insanely torquey and you can gear them higher than other motors without excess heat. I love the solder tabs on both their ESC and motors as well. We'll see how things hold up long term but my impression of them is extremely positive after a week on the full setup and a bit more than a month on the 10.5t motor. In other R/C related poo poo, I picked up a little Blade 120SR for my first heli. I figured it'd be a good midpoint between the silly easy to fly coaxials and the silly difficult to fly collective pitch models. Very addicting! It's easy to get disoriented with them... I've crashed the hell out of it a number of times but it's still holding up pretty well. My office has a huge mostly empty warehouse (plant that shut down a number of years ago, we're just using the office space) to fly in... mostly empty area to fly in with extremely high ceilings! I've been having a blast learning how to not immediately crash. Eventually I'd like to graduate to a bigger collective pitch heli to run outside, but with how bad I am now that's a long ways off  holy poo poo 
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May 28, 2011 18:15
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its good to hear about the SC10 4x4. I am considering getting one to start racing with however my nearest offroad course doesnt really run 4x4 SC yet - maybe once more of them trickle out to Australia we will see more races. I guess the SC10 2x4 could be just as fun, there was one at the track the other day practicing and it seems to drive better than my 1/16 SCT does.
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May 30, 2011 13:01
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Supradog posted:Why not go for 3s lipos since both that engine and esc supports it? You can, but the stock battery hold down wont work with it, and the trucks high cog makes for constant tipovers. Its noticeably faster than the 2s, which is worlds faster than a non-lipo, so I guess it all depends on what you want out of it. That being said, the truck handles and acts the best with 2s
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Jun 3, 2011 13:52
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I said I wasn't gonna do it, but, dammit... I picked up a Losi XXX-SCT this week. Just finished moving my Tekin RS & 17.5 over to it and installed a new Savöx 1258TG Servo. I still like the Blitz, but I'm sick of rebuilding/replacing steering racks, and now I've got a screw with a stripped head and can't get the front bulkhead off -- and there's a points race tomorrow. Instead of sawing it off and replacing the chassis, I decided to give the XXX a try. All of them that have been running at the track run up front. Not that I think I'll suddenly go from last to podium, but it's nice to have a truck that's actually predictable and drivable instead of feeling like I'm wrangling it.
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Jun 4, 2011 02:24
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OK, Im going to start racing Short Course at my offroad track. I am looking at: Losi XXX-SCT AE SC10 FT HPI blitz ESE (pro version now since thats out) 4x4 class hasnt quite taken off here yet so maybe in a few months when i can actually start racing i could look at the losi/SC10 4x4. anyone have experience to compare some these? I like Losi and AE stuff as ive had good experiences with them in the past - my HPI savage broke poo poo all the time and by the sounds of it they are keeping up the old habit, but I am considering it because its a kit and I love to build these things. electronics wise, whats good these days? last ESC I had was a mamba max with 5700kv motor, and JR FM synth radio. The Spektrum DX2 looks adequate in terms of model memory and functions, but who makes good ESCs that are race legal? Servos, last one I had was a hitec 645MG and apparently poo poo is way better now but again, a lot of noise on RC forums with little useful info.
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Jun 5, 2011 07:07
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Laserface posted:OK, Im going to start racing Short Course at my offroad track. I am looking at: I don't want to come off sounding like an AE fanboy but I have had EXTREMELY good luck with my FT SC10, as well as the 4x4 and T4.1. Total amount of broken parts through learning how to drive a R/C car and months of hard racing? Two. A servo saver on the T4.1 after a hellacious high speed tumble through a rhythm section, and a ball cup on the 2wd SC10. That's it. I broke more poo poo in my couple weeks running a b4 than I ever have on the trucks. They're beefy as hell... didn't help I was still a newbie when I was trying buggy out and had a tendency to run into things though  The big thing for me is AE is supported very well between the two local shops. If they don't have a part in stock (which is pretty rare) they can have it to you in a few days. That's the killer for the Losi in my mind... some parts are just flatout not available. There's a guy I know who just sold a XXX-SCT roller for like 50 bucks because he was tired of waiting for some small simple part that'd been backordered for MONTHS. I don't have much experience with the Blitz, there's only a couple guys that run em locally. I know a few people switched from them to SC10s right before I got into RC early this year, I should ask them why. Another thing to consider is setup info... there's TONS of pro setups out there for SC10s for all kinds of track conditions. It's super easy to get a great baseline on a setup then make tweaks for your driving style and local tracks. For electronics I have been smitten with Viper stuff. Their motors run super cool and have tons of torque for a 540 can, and their ESCs are easy to program. And you don't need to lug a drat laptop around with you to make changes (TEKIN!  ). That said my remaining Tekin stuff has been pretty solid. I'm running an RX8/T8 in my 1/8th scale and RX8/SC4x in the 4x4. Not really applicable for normal 1/10th use though. I haven't used anything but cheapo RTR poo poo, Tekin, and Viper so my experience with them is pretty limited. But, they're all pretty drat good.Motor choice is of course going to depend on if you're running stock or mod. Most tracks are equalizing on 17.5t brushless for stock class and some have a 13.5t "superstock" class. Mod is open. When my Tekin 17.5 took a dump I jumped to a 10.5 viper, then an 8.5 viper. 8.5 is more than enough for SCT, and the Viper motors don't have any trouble pushing around a SCTs extra weight. After a 6 minute main my motor comes off the track at ~135F Servo choice is easy. You're not going to find a better servo for the money than a Savox 1258. Digital, fast, ti gears, aluminum case, robust as hell. I've had no issues with the three Savox servos I'm running (2 1258s and 1 1257). needknees fucked around with this message at 15:26 on Jun 5, 2011 |
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Jun 5, 2011 15:24
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needknees posted:info Thanks man, exactly the info I was after. I share your experience with AE - I had an RC18T FT with a stupid fast brushless/lipo set up and the only thing it 'broke' was the steering gear from clipping a gutter at like 50mph. Having said that I also had good luck with my Losi LST2 and Mini LST2 - although I did spend a lot on upgrading them right out of the box. I think AE is the safe bet and they have good customer service too - they sent me some outdrive rings for the RC18 from the US for free. Its coming up to ski season here in australia so I will be holding off until later in the season to buy since I will be spending most weekends at the snow. maybe 4x4 will have picked up by then at my track - the SC10 4x4 just looks amazing since its something new (what the gently caress is it about RC companys just rehashing the same old poo poo?) class wise we have pro2 and pro4 - 2wd and 4wd. the 2wd class you can run 10.5 turn brushless with no boost, or 13.5 with boost. only other qualifiers are it has to be a short course truck in 2wd form. I imagine the rules are the same for 4wd but i havent seen anyone running it yet despite a few guys owning Durangos and losis. Is the Telemetry on the DX2S worth a poo poo or what? having speed/rpm/temp readings would be pretty 
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Jun 6, 2011 01:10
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Are you really gonna look down at your radio during a race? It's hella cool, but not very useful. Combined with the extra gear you need to install on the car, it's just not worth it.
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Jun 6, 2011 01:18
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kuffs posted:Are you really gonna look down at your radio during a race? Its only a few wire sensors and poo poo from the looks of it, but I see your first point. Still, it comes with the radio itself, built into the receiver, and saves me buying a IR temp gun.
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Jun 6, 2011 02:06
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kuffs posted:Are you really gonna look down at your radio during a race? I use the timer and the temp sensor (both with an alarm) on my DX3S, and I could imagine that the RPM telemetry would be cool when tuning nitro. The timer's good for figuring out when I should pit with Nitro, and the temp is nice on electric for making sure I don't run too hot. A low voltage alarm is pretty nice, too, and being able to set the total travel is really nice. I've been running a Blitz ESE, and for the most part it's been a good truck. It's fairly light and, with the 17.5t Tekin setup I have, quick. It's relatively durable, but not without faults. The stock steering rack is horrible, and should be replaced with either the STRC aluminum set (about $25) or the HPI aluminum one ($75ish). Even then, the weight transfer on the truck isn't great, so it tends to plow and the steering isn't overly responsive. With a little tweaking, it's pretty competitive, but if you're a beginner (like me) it's probably not the best choice. I raced the XXX-SCT last night, and I loved it. It turns on a dime and responds amazingly well to everything you throw at it. However, the stock steering links with the ball ends are a disaster. Mine popped off every single lap, so I rigged it together with some Jato turnbuckles. Unfortunately, I didn't have the right screws or nuts to do both sides so the weak side kept stripping screws and falling out. I wound up not finishing the main, despite having quite possibly 2 of the best qualifiers I've ever ran. I've got it fixed now, so I'm anxious for the next race. It's VERY competitive, and with a good servo (Savöx 1258TG) is the insanely responsive. It doesn't plow at all like the Blitz - instead it tends to be a bit sharp and tries to traction roll a little. Once I got the hang of it, I had no complaints at all. I haven't tried the SC10, but there are a lot of them at the track, and they tend to be very solidly in the middle of the pack, with the older drivers really dominating with them. I had a great race with an SC10 last night... he was lapping the field, and I was in 2nd.. we were both so far ahead of the pack that he let me race with him a bit to try to stay on the lead lap. Had my truck been geared a bit higher, I probably could have held him off longer.
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Jun 6, 2011 02:19
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TremorX posted:I use the timer and the temp sensor (both with an alarm) on my DX3S, and I could imagine that the RPM telemetry would be cool when tuning nitro. The timer's good for figuring out when I should pit with Nitro, and the temp is nice on electric for making sure I don't run too hot. A low voltage alarm is pretty nice, too, and being able to set the total travel is really nice. The RPM stuff requires mounting a shaft encoder and an IR emitter/receiver near the clutch bell. I can't imagine that stuff would stay clean and out of the way long enough to be useful. A timer is a fine feature and does not require looking at the radio. IR temp guns are like $25 at Home Depot. There are plenty of things you'll want to know the temperature for in RC and you aren't going to want to mount your radio gear to get a reading. But I will admit an on-radio solution could save your rear end in a "oh poo poo I forgot to gear back down after bashing" situation. Endpoint adjustments are a feature of every radio above the most bare-bones models. I think even the Traxxas 2.4Ghz radios have it. I think that Spektrum makes some really cool gear at a good price point. I even looked at the telemetry model when I was shopping around. But in the end most of the sensors were too much of a hassle, finicky, or a replacement for pre-existing technology. I suppose if you want to tinker and it's your only ride, then you could probably get some usage out of it. If you're running more than one car; the premium for the telemetry receiver combined with the cost of another sensor pack, you could have just bought a temp gun.
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Jun 6, 2011 02:36
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kuffs posted:The RPM stuff requires mounting a shaft encoder and an IR emitter/receiver near the clutch bell. I can't imagine that stuff would stay clean and out of the way long enough to be useful. My Mini-SCT losi RTR radio is 2.4ghz with what i THINK is EPA on the steering. its pretty much just a gain control I think - 0 steering does very little, turn it up and it turns further and further. Im even half debating hanging on to that radio to chuck in my SC10 just because it does everything I want.
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Jun 6, 2011 02:55
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OH yeah, I'm not saying that any of that stuff is gotta-have, but it's still cool. I'm running the S3300T on my XXX-SCT right now only because it has a bigger capacitor and doesn't glitch with the servo I've got. I'll get a cap next week or so and put the telemetry stuff in my D8 like I planned, and hook up the head temp sensor. Really, the only plus to any of that is having a temp alarm on an electric. I usually set it for around 130°F so I can get a feel for which way I need to gear while I'm running. Nothing I can't do with an IR thermometer, but still pretty handy. Also, the DX3S comes with 2 receivers - the SR300 basic 3-channel, and the SR3000T telemetry unit. If you can catch a good deal on it from AMain like I did (one of those $50 a $200+ purchase or whatever), it's totally worth it. Laserface posted:My Mini-SCT losi RTR radio is 2.4ghz with what i THINK is EPA on the steering. its pretty much just a gain control I think - 0 steering does very little, turn it up and it turns further and further. I think that's just throw. With the DX3S/2S stuff, you can actually go to the Travel setting and set the individual travel for each direction on both steering and throttle/brake (useful on nitro). You can also sub-trim stuff out and use the actual trim switches for your live adjustments. edit - This thread needs some photos. Action shots!    
TremorX fucked around with this message at 04:35 on Jun 6, 2011 |
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Jun 6, 2011 04:28
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Those are some excellent pictures! Did you take those or do you race at a track where some rc mag editors run at?
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Jun 6, 2011 07:56
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There's a guy who comes out to all of our races and shoots awesome photos, then emails the shots he gets of your car to you. Those were from Saturday except the buggy, which was a few weeks ago.
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Jun 6, 2011 15:39
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This dude's whole 1/4 build video serie is awesome, I can tell you that. But this video here.. Where he starts this V8.. Well, just watch it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xi7aQ9cylEA
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Jun 7, 2011 17:19
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That is truly impressive, I don't think I've seen video of a Conley running before. But I've always been more of a Euro-geek: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6AQFRWgW9bk (unfortunately, not an RC car) I'm surprised Conley is making new engines - they had a factory fire many years ago and lost all the tooling, so I guess this engine that guy fitted in his Grave Digger must be one of the new ones they were working on.
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Jun 7, 2011 20:57
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So I'm going for a 2.4 traxxas radio and upgrading to some big bore shocks, hopefully soon I'll get the brushless motor also. Now my question is, what aerosol electric motor cleaner should i use to clean the Titan? And oil for the motor bushings? What oils should I use for the stub axle housing bearings? What should I use to clean and regrease the trans? Thanks skippo fucked around with this message at 10:50 on Jun 17, 2011 |
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Jun 17, 2011 10:43
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Any brake cleaning spray is fine. 3-in-1 oil. Same again. Brake spray and molybdenum grease (or any thick automotive grease). hth
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Jun 17, 2011 10:59
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I would use actual electrical contact cleaner rather than brake cleaner. Brake cleaner will eat certain plastics and other petrolium based things. As for the grease, the traxxas thrust bearing grease works better than wheel bearing grease, but both will work
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Jun 17, 2011 15:54
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That's true, you should make sure any spray you get says it's safe for plastics. Totally non-RC related, but I remember destroying a ton of G. I. Joe figures when I was a kid by not thinking flea spray would damage the plastic. That's chemical warfare for ya!
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Jun 18, 2011 19:02
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I just finished 3rd in qualifying and 5th (out of 12) in the A-main tonight. I am REALLY loving the XXX-SCT. I would have finished better if I could have found some traction... kept getting squirrelly in the straights but could carve corners like sharpened knives through chicken McNuggets.
TremorX fucked around with this message at 07:39 on Jun 19, 2011 |
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Jun 19, 2011 07:37
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krushgroove posted:That's true, you should make sure any spray you get says it's safe for plastics. Great, thanks a bunch everyone. Just ordered a traxxas brushless system, big bore shocks, 2.4ghz radio and a new body (because I've destroyed the original one). Also got grease, oil and will get the right brake cleaner soon. Modifications ( and pics) here we come!!
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Jun 20, 2011 18:52
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This thread shouldnt be on the second page!! Since this is the everything R/C thread, I just finished a GWS Slow Stick build with the express purpose of carrying my GoPro camera. Maidened it today, still have some CoG issues to work out, but its more than flyable as is. A shot from the maiden: 
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Jun 27, 2011 00:37
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Phat_Albert posted:This thread shouldnt be on the second page!! Do you download the footage when it lands or do you use the video to fly it?
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Jun 27, 2011 01:04
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Im not doing first person video with it, sadly. Just flying from the ground and watching when I get home. I may invest in an fpv system down the road
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Jun 27, 2011 01:53
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One of my Holy Grails of RC is realistic warship combat (the RC battleships they have now aren't very realistic) and the other is POV aircraft combat with video screens and lasers and stuff. Far too expensive to be practical but hey, fun! Pretty cool project!
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Jun 27, 2011 02:22
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