/diy/ - Do It Yourself

Don't make plans to trade those cars for electric ones until you've actually driven them. Brushless is faster and easier to deal with, but those nitro motors are much more fun in my opinion. If you like tinkering, they will give you something to tinker with, and they make a fun noise and have a good smell. Plus you can just refuel them in 30 seconds instead of having to wait for batteries to charge.

>>1742601
I see. Especially if i can get the remote start to work.

It's funny. I've actually been casually collecting crap to build a little /diy basher from trash just because i miss the hobby and I've got so much bs going on i can't be assed with dropping a shitload of money on the real thing. I'm fixing one of these up this week though. Or at least getting it close and have all major problems figured out.

Thanks for the tip. After watching people cuss and pull on nitro stuff i figured I'd never have it.

But i guess things have come a long way since the old nickle days. If i can get them to run somewhat reliably then I'll leave them as is. Or at least only convert 1.

>>1742586
It might make some sense to swap the radios out for something newer (try the old ones out before you do, of course). Those old crystal sets were pretty prone to interference, and you might be into the benefits of a programmable tx (like being able to use one tx for both cars).

>>1742601
I've had Traxxas nitros before. Even nitro boats. They are fun for about a week. But the constant tinkering sucks. Seriously, you will be spending more time tuning the carb then driving it. I will admit when they are tuned they are fun, loud and fast. But they won't stay tuned. Everytime you want to use it they need to be tweaked. One time I tuned mine before I went up north so I didn't have to fuck with it up there...guess what?? The atmospheric pressure fucked up the carb tuning. Plus those engines only least for about 1 gallon of fuel then you needed a new motor. The idol on those things is at least 13k rpm. I traded mine in for a Franchi sl shotgun and don't regret it one bit. Get rid of that nitro shit it isn't worth the time or patients.

>>1742609
Those nitros have remote start? Like you can start them from the remote control and you don't need to put a glow plug ignition ? Also, those helicopters are a bitch to fly. You have to control the tail rotor. I went through 3 lithium ion rechargeables just trying to make it fly in my living room. They take an extensive amount of practice. Just get a dji phantom.

>>1742986
Well, i fibbed a little. I tried building a battlebot a few years ago and new nothing of transmitters and recievers. So i watched a bunch of episodes and clips and noticed a handful of them using a Spectrum DX6i. Ive used it twice and hung it on the wall since. I think it's good for up to 11 vehicles? I way overpaid for it because it came with a reciever and the guy selling it said he would take payments and help my retarded ass set it up. Between that and the only time i ever flew as a kid a nice dude had a training port on his controller and ket me fly. I was terrified of breaking it but he told me wtf to do and had a switch to swap it back and forth. I was hooked after that but by the time i could afford rc stuff on my own i started building hotrods and chasing tail.

I'll do some research on the newer stuff today.

>>1743014
Well shit. I don't mind tinkering some but i do hate dicking with stuff every 5 minutes. I'll take the advice i to consideration though. I'm going to get all of this fixed up and running and decide then. May as well not reinvent the wheel and just buy electric also.

I discovered the WLtoys a959(?) Looks perfect for beginner level electric. Cheap af with a seemingly awesome aftermarket. That's probably next on the list unless anyone lives near Kansas City, Wichita, or Tulsa and wants to do some bartering.

>>1743018
Yup, this is what I've figured from what everyone else says. They're going to be parted out or traded off. I'm a big fan of tinkering and wanted an rc boat for a really long time. I might pimp out some garbage walmart rig or build a mini twin rotor flat bottom aluminum boat for beer delivery at the lake.

>>1743018
It does have a glow plug. In the manual it has a process to push a button and it heats up the plug and starts itself.

>>1743054
I bought a cheap ass rc boat from harbor freight. Got it like 30% off too. It wasn't a bad little boat. I tied rigged up a tennis ball on a string to tease the dog with it was pretty funny as soon as she got close if floor the boat and that poor dog would just keep chugging along trying to get that damn ball.

>>1743073
I forgot to mention it doesn't even begin to compare to the traxxas spartan. If I were you and came across that rc stuff I'd just get it working clean it up and sell it. Nitro is cool and a fun. But It's almost more of a job than a hobby IMO. Get a metal detector at least you have a chance of making your money back lol.

>>1743073
That's pretty damned good anon. I actually saw a boat there the other day and I'm headed there later tonight. We finally got one under 2 hours away. It's 1 hour away and hardly an excuse for a walk in closet but I'm extremely happy they moved in.

>>1743079
Been wanting one as a kid. Now I'm kinda crippled. I have seriously toyed with the idea of modding an rc crawler into fpv with a metal detector and just driving out to random spots i am allowed in. I live near what used to be the largest cattle shipping hub in the world until semis overtook the railroads. I never see anyone out there. It's tucked back 15 miles from a paved road with a handful of people left and no open storefronts left. There's several old house foundations out there and hopefully a fat payday waiting for me to stroll along.

Well, spent the day all I could at work casually watching youtube and reading reviews.

The WLa959 is bitchin. I do believe I'm going to just trade off the choppers and table the rest dor now because i already have a transmitter and for under $300 i can build an all metal 3s or even 4s depending on what shit breaks. I guess around $500. I'd really like some spare parts, tools, fpv, and gopro or similar dor it. I think I can swing it come payday in a few days. We'll have to see.

I'll probably make both of these electric and eventually build a dual motor drag car for shits and gigs.


https://youtu.be/lGd20kb0QO4

>>1742586

You get those from wombatanon?

>>1743228
I hope so but doubt this guy is a 4chan. He's in his late 50s and a successful business dude

>>1743254
Wtf?

I have a T-maxx and a couple of other nitro R/C cars that I haven't had time to fuck with in years and years. They are a blast when you get them tuned and running right, but yeah you have to dick with them constantly. A lot of the newer battery R/C stuff is freakin amazing. Instant torque and just plain work all the time every time.

I kinda outgrew the go-fast r/c stuff and got into RC rock crawling for a while too. You can get in pretty cheap with a Redcat or similar off brand/import crawler. Slow and steady and picking your line to see what kind of obstacles you can overcome is pretty fun...

>>1743408
Kind of a long story. But basically he was related to me through marriage for a few years. He built a business and sold it. I still run into him sometimes. He was clearing out an old barn and remembered us talking about getting a few rc cars to bash around with these when they were still new and on a workbench.

So he grabbed them up and brought them over.

>>1743433
Cool. I will definitely have to try it out also!

>>1743254
Nah, Wombat ain't in his 50's.... Yet. No way to tell unless you either get a core sample or cut that mofo in half. Don't cut him in half, he regrows on the cut-halves.

>>1742586
>Never flown either one yet but I'm told if you aren't an old school helicopter pilot it's better to build or buy a drone

What you have there are basic beginner helicopters; the blade pitch is fixed which prevents them from doing anything fun. They can only turn or go forward by pitching down using the tail fan. Should be good to dick around with for a bit if the batteries are still good.

Proper helicopters have complicated linkages that vary the blade pitch at specific points in their rotation so that one side of the rotor produces more thrust than the other which allows a helicopter to pitch and roll and be difficult to fly.

>>1742586
I'm sorry mate, but this stuff is nearly worthless. The long antennas tell me it's probably 72MHz, or at least some MHz stuff, and that was outdated even 10y ago. Everyone switched to 2,4GHz as frequency from 2006 on. Next, glow engines are often called "nitro" not only because that sounds cooler, but because there is actually up to 20% notromethane in the fuel. Problem is, this stuff decomposes to acidic residues, which will make glow engines severely corrode at the inside. You need to run a special oil through them after use to prevent that, and I doubt the previous ovner took very good care of them, so I fear that your engines look like pic related.
Next problem, even if your engines should run, you constantly need to manage a Reveiver battery, a glow battery, and maybe a starter battery. You need to buy several types of glow plugs until you find one that neither makes you engine run hot nor die at idle, you need to readjust your carb because the stars are aligned differently than last time, you annoy all neighbors with the noise, and the whole car is covered in a mix of oil residues and dust.
Seriously, glow engines made some sense when batterys were expensive, had no power and charged slowly, but this is not the case anymore. If you want constant frustration, go nitro. If you actually want fun, go electric.
I'm into RC since 1990 or so, so I know the drill.

>>1744081
Kek. Well, the dud that donated my broke ass a bunch of rc stuff is a really good dude. The world would be a netter place with a few million extras of him!

>>1744246
Good to know anon and i appreciate the input. I'm getting some cheaper stuff and when i find the time and money I'll cannibalize the gasser trucks for brushless bashing.

I'll probably take the choppers and gas motors and electronics including servos to the closest/best rc club i can find and just donate them. Paying it forward some and a gesture of good will for people that are likely decades ahead of me. All I'm left to buy is a spot welder and i can make my own packs which i am pretty excited about. I have a rotted out old metal tank on my property i was going to junk when metal goes back up. Its about 8 foot diameter and 7 feet long. I'll stand it up and run electric to it. If i insulate the shot out of it the electronics alone should keep it heated enough to not damage the packs. I may run a little natural gas heater to it if i need. Not sure. This would ensure that i don't burn my shit down. And I'd bet money myself taught quality control is as good or better than the china packs.

Should make for some cheap bashing anyway. I am surprised at how affordable things have finally become.

>>1744246
>You need to buy several types of glow plugs until you find one that neither makes you engine run hot nor die at idle

I call bullshit on this. The glow plug is only there as an additional heat source to get the engine running. After the engine is warmed up and running off of compression ignition the glow plug has fuck-all to do with anything.

>>1744266

>I have a rotted out old metal tank on my property i was going to junk when metal goes back up. Its about 8 foot diameter and 7 feet long. I'll stand it up and run electric to it. If i insulate the shot out of it the electronics alone should keep it heated enough to not damage the packs. I may run a little natural gas heater to it if i need. Not sure. This would ensure that i don't burn my shit down.

I'd say that would be excessive overkill. Just buy an old ammo can that you can fit your chargers and batteries into and drill a few vent holes in the top and then set it somewhere on a concrete floor not next to anything flammable.

>>1744286
Nope. The glow-plug's coil is a platinum alloy. It acts as a catalyst with the hydrogen atoms of the fuel's methyl alcohol. When the engine is running, the heat of the explosions and the catalytic reaction together create enough heat to ignite the mixture. But there are warmer and colder glow plugs. They influence the ignition timing. Colder plugs ignite later, warmer plugs earlier. A colder plug is good for high rpm, high nitro content, and a generally hot-running engine. But when the engine runs at idle and only little heat is produced, a cold plug can be too cold, and after some time the engine dies. So you take a hotter plug so that the engine idles happily. But this hotter plug advances the ignition timing, and this may make the engine overheat when running at full throttle, leading to piston jamming.
https://rogershobbycenter.com/allaboutglowplugs

Concerning battery safety, just buy a hollow brick, put the packs inside and a plastic bag filled with dry sand on top. Should the packs burn, the plastic will melt and the sand pour on the packs, extinguishing them.