Some quick Noobie questions..

[puman321]

I didnt see a new guy forum so Ill post here..

I havent dont anything R/C related in about a decade , I wanted to build one ((off road buggy or truck))for my nephew but had a few questions .

1. Which would be the best online site to order from ? I remember in 93 I ordered from Tower hobbies. I see theyre still around..Are there any sites that offer similar price/service reliability ?

2. As far as batteries go...I thought it was the worst part of RC. Batteries then used to last 10 minutes a shot and used to take half hour or longer to recharge.
I remember back then a "clodbusteR" battery that claimed to last 30-60 minutes.Never bought one though..

sooo.

Whats current battery time at today ? Have they updated to lithium or NiHm batteries ? And of course are there any super long life batteries.


3.Lastly I really dont remember...but how water proof are r/c cars ?
Id like for him to use it during post ugly weather....muddy , wet , and if possible snowy conditions....but I dont know if thats reasonable .
Maybe I need a specific off road style or do something to protect the electronics.

Anyways I might hit a newstand this week and see if R/C car action is still around.

[Brad in Perth]

Hey..I'm no RC superguru but I think tower hobbies is great. I have orderd from them twice with no problems and it is much cheaper than buying the stuff in Australia!
For batteries you can get cheap Ni-Mh 3300 from tower. If you charge at 5 amps it will take about 40 mins probabley, but if you use a stock motor you can get 10 mins runtime. So not much has changed since you last used them by the looks of it. You can get Li-po and Li-lo batteries but you need a good charger and I don't know about them...mabye someone else can help ya. You should be ok do do some fairly messy work offroad. When I am in mud and stuff I put a ballon over my reciever and esc and servo. Then you just gotta clean the moter and everything really well afterwards.

Anyways good luck with it and have fun. Check out Xtreme RC cars magazine to. They are cool.

[rocknbil]

Welcome aboard puman321! :D
Anyways I might hit a newstand this week and see if R/C car action is still around.

HAHA! Yes this board is sponsored by Air Age which publishes RCCA and RC Nitro. :D

Tower is still by far the most reliable and easiest place to shop. The accessability and searchability far outweigh the few bucks you might save by ordering from a cut-rate online site. But to be fair, it's like anything else, there are cheaper sites ou there. Don't get caught up in one of those "cost-comparison" sites. They don't seem to really apply to RC.

The higher maH of today's batteries indeed give you longer run time but charging is still a tedious hurry-up-and-wait. It just takes time to pack in the electrons. niMH are the way to go, they require less maintenance, but I still prefer the extra punch of a peaked niCad. :D Most would disagree.

On that topic, the auto-peaking technology of chargers has progressed more than anything else in this hobby (that, and stock cans are rebuildable now.) I am still old-school and like to manually peak my batteries, I see a lot of false peaking issues with a lot of people.

Yeah lipo's are being used these days, here's a great reason for Craps to come in and toot. :D He really likes lipo's.

The other thing that's come about is brushless motor technology, but that's a much more expensive proposition.

Running in heavy water is still not recommended but can be done. You just seal everything up except the ESC (because the heat generated by it would melt or burn anything you seal.) Search for "plasti-dip" on this board, Flash posted a step-by-step on waterproofing servos. If you have problems, just shut everything off and leave it over the heater vent and all should be fine by morning.

While you're buying for your nephew, get two. You'll save on the shipping charges for the one you're going to want the moment he fires it up. :D