Hey and hello,
since this is my premiere appearance on the forum I'd like to greet everyone warmly and pass around a hearthy hello <bows>.
A little introduction. I've always been interested in models. As a kiddo I've been running with a stick and pretending it was a plane, as a boy I had my very first "RC" (cord-steering model of a russian lunar rover). Teenage times passed under plastic models of planes and helicopters. Then other, non RC hobbies came. Looking back I had quite an interesting time. But then came house, family, job... and suddenly hobby time was just a memory.
But it still remained somewhere in me, laying dormant, waiting for a better times. It kicked in again around 2.5 years ago. Family/work issues stabilised, some spare money appeared. Heck, even I got time. And I came back to my early years and fascinations - flying stuff.
Yes, I know, this is a crawler place, but please - bare with me as its heading in the right way. And I must admit, I'm missing someone I can talk to, share my thoughts. And who knows, maybe get some advice or help. Will see, now, let's back to my story...
So I went the hard way and decided to have a helicopter. Among all RC stuff I picked the most difficult one. And to make it even more challenging I decided I will build my own set instead of buying RTF (ready to fly). After a quite long research, reading, comparing, etc. I finally got what I wanted.
Making long story short as it isn't relevant how I struggled: after 2 years Im still a poor pilot. All I can is to hover in the spot, make low and wide turns, square based flight at low altitude. Flying higher (3m+ / ~10ft) ended with serious crash 4 out of 5 attempts. Last time I've been flying was in early June - I crashed hard and since then my heli was lying lifless on the shelf. I didn't have heart to repair it. I had a breakdown with my hobby.
And I started to think - what to do. Drop it? Endure hard time and continue? Get something else, non RC? The answers were: no; no, I feel I'm over with heli; no, I like RC too much, addiction has spread too much. And besides helicopters there are other nice flying things, like multirotors. If I'd had something flying I'd go with tricopter (cheaper, easier to build and maintain and probably easier to master). Also I was flying little due to weather conditions - to fly a heli (especially when learning) you need to have a warm, dry and calm day. So no temps below 5*C / ~41F, no wind, no rain. An where I live we don't have much that kind of days so I was heavily limited.
So I was sitting and having a hard time, fighting with thoughts. And then I recalled one thing - I remember watching on YT some mudding with RC cars. Back then I thought "what a silly idea, driving through mud, every <idiot> can do that, there's no fun in that, helicopters - that's the stuff". Meh, how people change.
So mentally broken in terms of RC hobby I started to watch vids with RC cars. And the more I was watching the more I liked what I see. Especially 4x4 ones on rough terrain. I've also watched trials, mudding again, climbing but found it... not dynamic enough. I was leaning towards 4x4 trucks, dirt, gravel, sand, such stuff.
And I felt that I've found what I have lost. Made a decision: I'm dropping heli (need to repaid it and sell) and getting a truck. And I've picked this: Traxxas Slash 4x4 1/10 VXL. After all the struggle with heli kit and custom electronics I decided I want real RTR and out of the box stuff.
I bought and I don't regret. It's been just 2 weeks as I have it but I'm really happy. Weather conditions don't limit me anymore - is it warm or cold, dry or wet - I go and drive. And upcoming winter isn't a problem. Protected brushless motor, WR electronics and I already plan snow madness. 4WD is awesome and place where I live gives lots of places to use my truck.
Everything would be fine and my story could end here. A guy that finally found his way with RC hobby. But there's a little catch - the more I drive my Slash the more I want to go into harder terrain. Unfortunately Slash is a SCT (Short Course Track) vehicle and it isn't suitable for a places I'd seen it. Sure, I could go into Summit rather than Slash but it was a bit too expensive for me.
Don't get me wrong - I really enjoy my truck and I'm keeping it, that's for sure. I really like it, the power, the speed, the agility and handling. Ability to almost fly over dirt and holes. It's dynamic and tons of fun while driving.
But on the other hand I'm starting to think about SECOND model. Yeah, weird guy me. It's been just two weeks since he got cool truck and he's thinking about another.
Yes, I'm thinking about getting a crawler. Last week I spent watching YT vids with trials and stuff. I'm reading forums dedicated crawling. And I say it loud: I-want-one.
And again I start on "newbie noob" position. So far I realised that crawlers are quite different story than my current truck. First - fixed axles, longer suspension, transmissions (ratios, still can't figure it out properly, the higher ratio the more power and lower speed, right?) and wheels.
What I know is this:
- I'm not in a hurry, I have my Slash for the time being that fulfill my urge to drive (which I bought about 2-3 weeks after initial decision I go into trucks). So I can spare a few months before I start buying things.
- I want a 4x4 monster truck like... something. Right now I'm watching Axial Wraith in action.
- I want to build, not to buy RTR. But still hesitating and nothing is sure atm.
- I'm leaning towards brushed motor but again, nothing certain
- would be really great if it ended cheap. That's why I'm considering building instead of buying RTR
I'd really like to build my crawler rig. It don't have to be pretty, branded or whatever. I want cheap, reliable and tough crawler I can take into the forest, drop on ground and have some fun.
I have quite good LiPos that I want to use - 5200 mAh 30C 2s and that's all what I'm sure about. I found that Axial SCX10 axles can do but still didn't picked a transmission and motor.
I' still reading but can't find straight and simple answer for my questions. Heck, I'm so green that I cannot even articulate my questions properly. So I have a humble request - after that wall of text I gave you - would you be so kind and guide poor soul towards rocky fields of RC crawling and help me get a rig?
Cheers.
since this is my premiere appearance on the forum I'd like to greet everyone warmly and pass around a hearthy hello <bows>.
A little introduction. I've always been interested in models. As a kiddo I've been running with a stick and pretending it was a plane, as a boy I had my very first "RC" (cord-steering model of a russian lunar rover). Teenage times passed under plastic models of planes and helicopters. Then other, non RC hobbies came. Looking back I had quite an interesting time. But then came house, family, job... and suddenly hobby time was just a memory.
But it still remained somewhere in me, laying dormant, waiting for a better times. It kicked in again around 2.5 years ago. Family/work issues stabilised, some spare money appeared. Heck, even I got time. And I came back to my early years and fascinations - flying stuff.
Yes, I know, this is a crawler place, but please - bare with me as its heading in the right way. And I must admit, I'm missing someone I can talk to, share my thoughts. And who knows, maybe get some advice or help. Will see, now, let's back to my story...
So I went the hard way and decided to have a helicopter. Among all RC stuff I picked the most difficult one. And to make it even more challenging I decided I will build my own set instead of buying RTF (ready to fly). After a quite long research, reading, comparing, etc. I finally got what I wanted.
Making long story short as it isn't relevant how I struggled: after 2 years Im still a poor pilot. All I can is to hover in the spot, make low and wide turns, square based flight at low altitude. Flying higher (3m+ / ~10ft) ended with serious crash 4 out of 5 attempts. Last time I've been flying was in early June - I crashed hard and since then my heli was lying lifless on the shelf. I didn't have heart to repair it. I had a breakdown with my hobby.
And I started to think - what to do. Drop it? Endure hard time and continue? Get something else, non RC? The answers were: no; no, I feel I'm over with heli; no, I like RC too much, addiction has spread too much. And besides helicopters there are other nice flying things, like multirotors. If I'd had something flying I'd go with tricopter (cheaper, easier to build and maintain and probably easier to master). Also I was flying little due to weather conditions - to fly a heli (especially when learning) you need to have a warm, dry and calm day. So no temps below 5*C / ~41F, no wind, no rain. An where I live we don't have much that kind of days so I was heavily limited.
So I was sitting and having a hard time, fighting with thoughts. And then I recalled one thing - I remember watching on YT some mudding with RC cars. Back then I thought "what a silly idea, driving through mud, every <idiot> can do that, there's no fun in that, helicopters - that's the stuff". Meh, how people change.
So mentally broken in terms of RC hobby I started to watch vids with RC cars. And the more I was watching the more I liked what I see. Especially 4x4 ones on rough terrain. I've also watched trials, mudding again, climbing but found it... not dynamic enough. I was leaning towards 4x4 trucks, dirt, gravel, sand, such stuff.
And I felt that I've found what I have lost. Made a decision: I'm dropping heli (need to repaid it and sell) and getting a truck. And I've picked this: Traxxas Slash 4x4 1/10 VXL. After all the struggle with heli kit and custom electronics I decided I want real RTR and out of the box stuff.
I bought and I don't regret. It's been just 2 weeks as I have it but I'm really happy. Weather conditions don't limit me anymore - is it warm or cold, dry or wet - I go and drive. And upcoming winter isn't a problem. Protected brushless motor, WR electronics and I already plan snow madness. 4WD is awesome and place where I live gives lots of places to use my truck.
Everything would be fine and my story could end here. A guy that finally found his way with RC hobby. But there's a little catch - the more I drive my Slash the more I want to go into harder terrain. Unfortunately Slash is a SCT (Short Course Track) vehicle and it isn't suitable for a places I'd seen it. Sure, I could go into Summit rather than Slash but it was a bit too expensive for me.
Don't get me wrong - I really enjoy my truck and I'm keeping it, that's for sure. I really like it, the power, the speed, the agility and handling. Ability to almost fly over dirt and holes. It's dynamic and tons of fun while driving.
But on the other hand I'm starting to think about SECOND model. Yeah, weird guy me. It's been just two weeks since he got cool truck and he's thinking about another.
Yes, I'm thinking about getting a crawler. Last week I spent watching YT vids with trials and stuff. I'm reading forums dedicated crawling. And I say it loud: I-want-one.
And again I start on "newbie noob" position. So far I realised that crawlers are quite different story than my current truck. First - fixed axles, longer suspension, transmissions (ratios, still can't figure it out properly, the higher ratio the more power and lower speed, right?) and wheels.
What I know is this:
- I'm not in a hurry, I have my Slash for the time being that fulfill my urge to drive (which I bought about 2-3 weeks after initial decision I go into trucks). So I can spare a few months before I start buying things.
- I want a 4x4 monster truck like... something. Right now I'm watching Axial Wraith in action.
- I want to build, not to buy RTR. But still hesitating and nothing is sure atm.
- I'm leaning towards brushed motor but again, nothing certain
- would be really great if it ended cheap. That's why I'm considering building instead of buying RTR
I'd really like to build my crawler rig. It don't have to be pretty, branded or whatever. I want cheap, reliable and tough crawler I can take into the forest, drop on ground and have some fun.
I have quite good LiPos that I want to use - 5200 mAh 30C 2s and that's all what I'm sure about. I found that Axial SCX10 axles can do but still didn't picked a transmission and motor.
I' still reading but can't find straight and simple answer for my questions. Heck, I'm so green that I cannot even articulate my questions properly. So I have a humble request - after that wall of text I gave you - would you be so kind and guide poor soul towards rocky fields of RC crawling and help me get a rig?
Cheers.
I'm just dropping heli. Turned out it's too demanding for me, don't have enough time to practice and weather conditions highly limit my flight opportunities. Besides I was fascinated with mutlirotos along with helis. Just being a complere noob in terms of RC and flying I decided to get a heli first - more knowledge, kits, parts, support. Everything. Back then multirotors were far less developed than today.