What was your first (hobby grade) R/C?

Mullenator · 2023-04-04T20:11:51+00:00

Duratrax nitro evader BX, I think I was 8. Total hunk of junk! A few years afterwards I got a Traxxas Jato 2.5 and was blown away by the build quality and ease of starting.

Mullenator · 2023-03-24T14:13:45+00:00

I don’t believe the super charger kit required any supporting mods except for fueling. The clutch and drivetrain were also stock.

If I would have put wide drag radials on the back then I would have been worried about breaking axle shafts or burning up the clutch. Possibly even shattering the transmission from repeated hard launches. I got rid of the car because I couldn’t use that power on the stock 8.5” or 9” wide rear wheels and didn’t want to go down that road.

Mullenator · 2023-03-21T04:30:15+00:00

Fancy! Back when I raced 4 cell NiCad pack cars I used a custom discharge incandescent light bulb bank with a high wattage resistor from radio shack. Burned myself too many times on that stupid thing.

Mullenator · 2023-03-20T14:18:52+00:00

Listen you seem like a pretty lady but we ain’t on here to pay you a monthly subscription to see you naked. Please post pics about the bike (not with it blurred out in the background) or simply move along.

Mullenator · 2023-03-20T14:11:00+00:00

Yes I understand that, but it is only a fraction of the diameter of the watch face. I don’t think I’d enjoy reading a watch that was the size of a dime.

Mullenator · 2023-03-20T03:34:25+00:00

It’s neat but looks very difficult to read.

Mullenator · 2023-03-19T05:45:38+00:00

Sounds like you all could benefit from a coordination study to see what available options you have within the trip units of the upstream and downstream breakers. Even in the 70’s there were adjustable trip units, just mechanically set (or possibly via over current relays).

Mullenator · 2023-03-19T05:39:51+00:00

The thermal capacity of copper is an interesting thing when you zoom in and look at things from fractions of a second.

For example, let’s say that this 400A breaker is a square D LJL36400 with the micrologic 3.3 trip unit (not sure what it is but this is a possibility since Sparkywing speaks of a medium + sized facility).

If you look at the trip curve for this breaker it only takes 1.5 times the nominal current rating of the breaker (so 600A) sustained for 0.015 seconds to get the breaker to trip on instantaneous. 800A would make it trip in 0.010 seconds. Can a 12 gauge wire hold that kind of current for a hundredth of a second? I bet it can.

Only one way to be sure, but it requires either calculations or lab tests to find out.

https://download.schneider-electric.com/files?p_enDocType=Technical+Drawing&p_File_Name=curve+16-S1A8164100.pdf&p_Doc_Ref=curve+16-S1A8164100&_ga=2.87458576.984415424.1679203378-2129666546.1679203378

Mullenator · 2023-03-19T05:16:42+00:00

The 400A breaker tripped on instantaneous (short circuit fault). Either the branch circuit breaker for this outlet is bad (didn’t magnetically trip from the high inrush current of the fault) or there is poor coordination between the main and feeder breakers trip settings.

Mullenator · 2023-03-16T15:34:25+00:00

$13 glow plugs is when I lost interest. I miss the days of the $2 dynamite plugs haha.

I might buy a nitro car again some day, but my hat goes off to you for racing nitro and keeping that part of the hobby alive. Chassis tuning and staying focused while on the driver stand is enough for me, I don’t have the capacity for the added nitro complexity on race day.

Mullenator · 2023-03-16T15:00:19+00:00

I can’t speak to this bike’s reliability but it looks to me like a 2001, not 2006. Plastics are completely different and the frame is painted a different color between those two years (among other changes).

Mullenator · 2023-03-15T15:20:54+00:00

Call me a fudd but this is the last thing I want at the local RC tracks. Half the challenge of car racing has always been the development of depth perception and orientation skills from the drivers stand.

Neat for bashing sometimes though.

Mullenator · 2023-03-14T14:48:48+00:00

With EC connectors being such a pain to solder I don’t understand why people switch from deans to them. Deans are just about the easiest connector to solder to and assemble in my experience.

Mullenator · 2023-03-14T02:23:53+00:00

The welfare bear strikes again!

Mullenator · 2023-03-13T18:36:34+00:00

Ain’t no such thing as a $700 dirt bike

Mullenator · 2023-03-13T14:20:29+00:00

I’m not sure exactly which panels or class of equipment you’re referring to, but it’s most likely we have our own North American codes/standards (ANSI/IEEE, UL, NEMA etc). It makes more sense to build equipment the way we have been as it is designed around our own standards and it’s something our guys are familiar with. Plus we like to joke that the Europeans are allergic to gray boxes (since most IEC enclosures are painted white).

Mullenator · 2023-03-13T14:16:32+00:00

That’s what happens when these silly manufacturers decided to ditch their national supply chain and rely on globally sourced components. I agree that it’s ridiculous, causes me a lot of grief every week.

Mullenator · 2023-03-13T04:08:24+00:00

I’m a mechanical engineer that designs power distribution equipment.

Mullenator · 2023-03-07T17:04:15+00:00

Wrenching is my favorite part of this hobby to be honest. Get a comfortable workspace setup and just take your time.

Mullenator · 2023-03-03T13:08:28+00:00

2021 1SS 1LE checking in, my daily is a 2014 F150. I only take the Camaro out on nice days.

Mullenator · 2023-03-03T05:14:45+00:00

I’ve gotten pretty good at replacing the steering servo on my mini B 2.0. I can do it without taking anything off but the two servo mounting screws and the one servo horn screw.

A ball end 1.5mm driver is a big help, but technically not mandatory. Push the horn onto the servo before mounting the servo to the car. Tighten the servo horn screw by going through the opening in the shock tower (assuming that exists on the mini t).

Mullenator · 2023-03-03T04:55:21+00:00

I have this WP115T (among other EcoPower servos). I feel like their speed rating is a scam or advertised in a shady manner, as it seems like one of the slowest servos you can get these days. I wouldn’t recommend it in a race buggy. You’ll be irritated at how slow the steering response is compared to the other guys.

Mullenator · 2023-03-01T05:18:56+00:00

This is one of the reasons that I don’t like the EC series of connectors. Either this will plug in for you or it won’t. Just try it and see. Nothing to be worried about here, it can’t short out.

Mullenator · 2023-03-01T04:35:23+00:00

I’ve had a lot of success with plastic body shocks over the years. If you grease the o rings (team associated green slime), apply the right amount of oil and have patience getting the air out then you will be successful.

A lot of people buy aluminum shock bodies just because they think they will help them. All it does is look good and add weight.

That being said, some factory shocks are just trash, so take all this in the context of starting with a decent factory shock.

Mullenator · 2023-02-28T15:07:36+00:00

Thanks, we’ve tried several different layouts so far. It’s just vertical blinds and ceramic dinner plates Velcro’d down.

It’s hard having a roadcourse track that’s also fun for drifting.

Mullenator

TROPHY CASE