(Part 2) Top products from r/radiocontrol

I learned to fly on my own, with some input from my uncle who is an expert RC pilot, and alot of online research. First, I would recommend getting a decent transmitter and not cheaping out, for reliability, features, and to have one that will carry over to future planes. I have the Spektrum DX6i for about $140. You can find them at most hobby shops, or Amazon, eBay, etc. You can use this transmitter with a mono 1/8" cable to plug into your sound card, and use the free simulator [FMS] (http://modelsimulator.com/) along with a program called Smart Propo Plus to practice flying for free. For your first plane, I would start with the Hobbyzone Super Cub. It's a nice prop plane with no ailerons, which makes it very easy to learn takeoff and landing techniques. It handles well, parts are readily available and cheap. It is also very durable and will handle rough crashes well. This version is Bind & Fly. This means there is easy assembly, and you simply install a jumper to automatically bind the receiver to your transmitter. Let me know if this helps, I can write more details about how I started learning to actually fly.

You'll have to double check to make sure these are the correct physical size, but knockoff brand batteries can work just as well as the Tyco / Mattel, and be a lot cheaper.

I found this charger with 6v battery on amazon for $20.


Also, wow, that Incredible Hulk truck is $300 on amazon? Hopefully thats some renegade bot pricing, you could get a starter hobby-grade rc for that kind of money.

Hey, that's my thread! It's nice to see that it inspired you. I use a Monoprice Maker Select, and they are about $60 cheaper than when I bought mine a couple months ago, so it's probably a good time to grab one if you're serious about it.

3D printers work well when you keep them working. They need plenty of maintenance and calibration to get nice prints. Be prepared to spend a bit more cash on parts and upgrades, and read through a lot of forums. If you're already DIY prone and have some patience, 3D printing is fun and pretty much the coolest thing ever.

To follow up on my printed Arrow, I didn't get to maiden it until Flite Fest, and even then I almost decided not to because there was a strong tailwind at the time. I finally got brave and gave it a try, but it failed. I don't think I had the elevons set up right. It took a hard dive and the pod got crunched and one of the stabs broke off.

However! I did meet a guy at Flite Fest using the same pod on his Arrow, and it flew great, so the concept is proven! If anyone saw an Arrow with two kiwi birds painted on it, that was him. I'm assuming he was a New Zealander, by the accent and the paint job. It would be pretty cool if he showed up here to give his input...

Aftermath: Mostly Intact

You don't need to spend a lot, but you do need something better than a $7.99 special. I use this http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/ with a fine point tip that I picked up locally. It takes practice to solder to those tiny pins, but it can be done. Get a decent iron, some flux, a brass ball cleaner, and some leaded solder. Watch youtube videos, and practice on old electronics.

The electrons don't care where on the trace that you do it, but the closer you are to components, and the skinnier the trace, the more likely you are to screw something up with too much heat.

I have done the mod you are trying to my 9x, and it really improves the radio. I've since bought a 9xR, and use the 9x as a trainer.

Get the $20 syma indoor helicopters on Amazon. They are great and cheap. They only work indoors though. It’s great for beginners, it’s only 3 channel. Once you master it you can move on to 4 channel. Enjoy. I saw them at fry’s also, same price.

Syma S107/S107G R/C Helicopter with Gyro- Red https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F4WMAAW/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_filkDb5QFAWP8

Do you know what wiper motor you have? Or what year and model car it came from? From that we can get the amperage.

Voltage doesn't matter-- everything is 12 volts (DC).

Amperage does matter, but I'm guessing your wiper motor uses around 1A. The relay of the remote I linked to earlier has a rating of 5A, so you might put a 5A fuse in there. If there's a short, it will definitely go above 5A and blow the fuse (which is what you want). Here's an example of a fuse holder that would work, but there a million options.

Since you're using a 5A fuse, you could use 16 or 18 AWG wire (rated for 7 and 10A).

So far I've been talking about the circuit for the motor that passes through the relay. For the receiver's power, you could use another 5A fuse with the same wire just to be consistent, though it really is only using milli-amps.

So basically, we size the protection (the 5A fuse) above the normal operating current (1A?), and then everything else is sized to be higher than the protection (5A+).

Finally, you'll wonder how you're supposed to connect the wires together. The best option is to solder the wires together and put heat shrink around the joint. If you can't handle that, they sell crimp wire splices for that. You can buy a real crimper or just use pliers.

It appears that your heli doesn't have fwd/backward control. When given enough throttle, the tail rotor begins to spin tilting the helicopter forward. You'll have much better luck with one of these Syma S107 helicopters. They are the best for toy-grade helis.

The Champ S+ RTF

Just make sure you fly it in indoor mode (GPS off), or it may fly away.

There's also the Apprentice, which is pretty much the same thing, only larger. Larger has the benefit of being able to handle more wind, but also the downside of more spectacular crashes.

Personally I learned on a Sport Cub S, but now that the Champ S+ with 2S power and a brushless motor is available, I'd go with that instead.

All these have SAFE mode, which will keep you from crashing unless you point the plane into the ground or other obstacles. If you feel out of control, simply let go of the sticks, and the plane will right itself and keep flying. Switch into advanced mode, and you're in full control, and if you crash, you can only blame yourself. :)

Can't go wrong with this, $19.07 shipped with Prime.
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-SP40NUS-Medium-Soldering-Black/dp/B00B3SG6UQ/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1398198851&sr=8-3&keywords=weller+40

If you need something safe for smaller projects as well, this would be fine. $41.19 with Prime
http://www.amazon.com/Weller-WLC100-40-Watt-Soldering-Station/dp/B000AS28UC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1398198808&sr=8-2&keywords=weller+40

I guess I'm a fan of weller products. I've had them at home and a shop. I got one of their higher end soldering stations when I was about 11 to build my own battery packs for my R/C cars and it saw a lot of use. Back then we hardwired the leads from the ESC to the motors and batteries between heats for the lowest resistance. (not to mention deans plugs weren't a thing yet, tamiya connectors would melt together with a hot motor/battery combo) I still have it over 20 years later.

I would say 40 watts is about the standard with typical R/C projects. Also, the lower end brands 40 watt irons don't ever seem to create the heat as something of decent quality.

Also, if you don't have something like this yet, pick one up. $7 shipped all over Amazon. Also available at Harbor Freight for about the same price if you have those in your area.
http://www.amazon.com/SE-MZ101B-Helping-Hands-Magnifying/dp/B000RB38X8/ref=pd_sim_hi_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=0TB7X5RYFKZ3SR4EXY1P

I have one, works great, however it was a little confusing for me at first, but now that I get the menus it is great.

I picked up one of these for my power supply and I was going to just clip off the cigarette lighter and solder the thing together with the charger, then I realized I can get one of these and now I can use the charger in my car too. The power supply may be a little weak, since I can only charge at 5.8Amps max, but it works for me, and was cheap.

I also picked up this and this now I can charge just about anything.

The one you picked charges at 800mAh, so it'll take nearly 3 hours to charge a 2200mAh battery, and you won't be able to tell what it's doing.

You can get the $20 DC version, if you've got a 12 power supply of some sort, like old PC or laptop power supply. Or you can get 12v DC power supplies designed for the job

The B6 isn't even a 'good' charger, it's a cheap clone of the $50 DC chargers everyone used to use before it came along. It's popular because it's cheap.

You'll have a charger for many years, so while you could manage with a cheap one, you'll end up buying a better one sooner or later.

Thanks for the response! So, evidently I don't know a lot about this kind of thing, but is there any way I can tell if a converter has input protection? Would something like this work?

For your requirements you should check out a Devo transmitter running open-source Deviation firmware. You'll get 12 channels of DSM (2 or X) with any supported Devo transmitter with no hardware mods.

The Devo 7e is USD$60 at the low end. I like the Devo 10. And 12S at the high end.

The 7e is range limited unless you make a hardware mod, but probably not necessary for combat robots.

And only one antenna :)

You might be cutting it close. Here's a 6 channel tx and rx for 52$: flysky i6 Then a motor and ESC will probably run you another 30-40$. But youll also need servos (~10$) , battery connectors, batteries, charger, etc. If you already have any of those you very well might be ok.

Check Here. Most places charge $10-$20 for the test. This is the go-to book to get your technician test. Be sure to take plenty of practice exams here, and you'll be just fine!

All electric..I used a solution called corrosionX, i wouldn't suggest soaking you're motor in it though. Just the ESC and servo.

This is what I use. http://www.amazon.com/3010-Liquid-Masking-Film-16/dp/B000X4J7UW It is a huge bottle so it will last you for ever. I put three thin coats on it and its best to let it dry over night. Im real chill about it and do one coat a night. I like taking my time so I don't fuck up. painting a body usually takes me over a week from mask to decals. I have pics of it with the final coat on but dont want to post till im finished because it still has the outer over spray protector on it (with a shit ton of over spray on it.) and there's no decals yet or spoiler yet. I am actually not too pleased it came out a little too white. oh well. I reddit at work so It will probably be monday by the time I can post it finished. thanks for the feedback

I would recommend this radio to start, I have had it for over a year, and I’m not close to outgrowing it yet. FlySky FS-i6-M2 2.4GHz 6-Channel Transmitter https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PF160IK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_uMcLzbNJZVAWH

As far as servos are concerned, you can use the super cheap blue 9 gram servos, as they are almost disposable, but I would recommend the metal gear mg90s servos. Nothing more frustrating than landing wrong and accidentally stripping a Servo.

Here are the blue servos: http://r.ebay.com/s0XKOt

And here are The mg90s: http://r.ebay.com/d8mu3D

Here is the mobile version of your link

sport cub s http://www.amazon.com/Horizon-Hobby-HobbyZone-Sport-Cub/dp/B00LOC0BSE

Here is the desktop version of your link

I have tried many styles of T wrenches, from the cheap chinese knockoffs to the more expensive lines. My favorite by far is Bondhus. Lifetime warranty is nice and all, but their tools are so great I have not even needed it!

http://www.amazon.com/Bondhus-13389-T-handles-Stand-2-10mm/dp/B00012Y38C/ref=sr_1_20?ie=UTF8&qid=1395387734&sr=8-20&keywords=hex+wrenches

My only issue with them is the lack of a 1.5mm wrench which is handy in RC. You can get 1.5 in other types (ie, socket wrench, modular drivers, etc), but I would prefer a T-wrench myself.

Is this the correct one?

Can you recommend a good fixed 4ch fixed pitch for me to get? The CP X looks cool, but I bet I would destroy it, having flowing nothing other than a s107, even after a while at the sim.

4Pack LiPo Battery Checker - RC 1-8S Battery Tester Monitor - Low Voltage Buzzer Alarm - with LED Indicator - for Lipo Life LiMn Li-ion Battery (4PCS Old BX100) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07VNW4MXL