My RC10 World's Re-Re Pre-Build Q's

[howaboutme]

Nice progress. I stared at the shock O-rings for quite a while and still got it wrong, luckily I caught my mix-up before the oil went in.

I built mine with the included spacers, and my travel matches Kinwald's setup within 0.5mm, and the bones should stay put, so I'll let it be for now. I picked up extra o-rings to be safe with my last Tower order. Alot of guys use silicone fuel line for spacers, but any nylon washer of a close size should work.

A note on the antenna-less Rx, Futaba indicated they were only good for ~230' IIRC. Just in case you didn't see that

Thanks! Honestly, I'm still in the learning mode so I need to get a grip on how and why for the shocks to being to understand what the washers may or may not do but I know I'm in a good hands here if I need help!

I didn't read the fine print on the receiver but that shouldn't be a problem. I don't intend on going too far. I plan to test on baseball fields and my local tracks...I should be okay but that info may affect my decisions in the future though.

By the way, where do people put the on/off switch? The Tamiya's typically have a nicely designed area for it but I guess for cars like this, you just lay it in the chassis somewhere?

[OUTLAWD]

Alot of people remove them and connect the wires permanently. Or you could servo tape it to the side of the tub. You're right, there is not really a convenient spot for it

[joey_zrl]

Looking good on your build Jack! For the on/off switch, I moved mine to the left side of the battery cup using double-sided tape, making sure that 'on' is facing towards the front. If your car for instance, hit an obstacle head on in a race, it wouldn't accidentally flip the switch to off.

[howaboutme]

Alot of people remove them and connect the wires permanently. Or you could servo tape it to the side of the tub. You're right, there is not really a convenient spot for it

Looks great. I see what you did. So you moved the battery compartment back for shorties and distributed all of the weights more evenly and added extra on the sides? Very clean.

Looking good on your build Jack! For the on/off switch, I moved mine to the left side of the battery cup using double-sided tape, making sure that 'on' is facing towards the front. If your car for instance, hit an obstacle head on in a race, it wouldn't accidentally flip the switch to off.

Thanks for the advice!

By the way...found the baggie of tools....My build would have been slightly more efficient if I had noticed it earlier...

[OUTLAWD]

Looks great. I see what you did. So you moved the battery compartment back for shorties and distributed all of the weights more evenly and added extra on the sides? Very clean.

Sorry for the confusion, that is not mine(Kinwald's actually), although I wish my setup was that clea. Just a good example of general layout/switch placement

[howaboutme]

Well...This soldering issue is all coming to a head now. I am just about to that point for the car and one of the battery connector wires came off of the board from my heli last night! Ahhh, no!!!

As much as I am apprehensive, I am expediting my research and purchase of soldering equipment. I'm thinking of this iron:

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXATBK&P=SM

But if anyone has other suggestions that are a bit cheaper, I'm all ears! Non-hobby stores are helpful too!

What else do I need?

- Solder? Which one? 60/40? Lead or lead free? I WANT rosin core, right? There's soo much! Prefer to buy stuff like this from a non-hobby store like Amazon, etc...Any suggestions?

- Flux? What is it? Used to clean and prep, right? Which one to use?

- Tips...The link above comes with chisel and pencil. That should be all I need, right? For my heli, I know I'll need a very small pencil tip...Will the chisel but fine for typical RC CAR motor, esc, battery solders?

- What else?

There's plenty of "how's" on the interwebs...but the what is harder to come by easily. I know it's a matter of a opinion but any helps.

Thanks!

[jwscab]

that iron looks pretty nice and it's a good price for an adjustable iron that will suit all of your needs.

you should use lead solder if possible, and yes, rosin core. 60/40 63/37 whatever is fine. lead flows much nicer than lead free. you shouldn't need flux unless you really want to use it. the rosin in the solder is the flux, but if you have some nasty connections, applying flux will burn off impurities. think of it as an oxygen shield, it burns off oxygen and impurities so the connection is good.

the chisel tip will work better for thicker wire, motor leads, etc. anything that's like 16 AWG or larger.

really, all you need to do is tin the two parts you want to solder together, so take the wire, strip it back what you need, apply some solder to the iron and it will pool in a particular spot, place the wire in the pool of solder and touch the wire with the solder strand off the spool until it starts to melt into the wire, flow a little until the wire is flooded. at that point stop.

move to the next part, say a solder cup or tab on a motor. same principle, you can wipe off or flick off excess solder on the iron, and a small dab to apply solder and flux, and touch the pool to the solder cup or tab, and then touch with the solder off the roll, when it flows, apply some to tin the entire area you need.

then get your two parts in alignment where you want them, hold together with clips, fingers, etc, leave the solder strand 'floating' in air off the spool, touch it with the iron, and then immediately bring the iron to the work and when they flow together, remove the iron to let it cool.

just remember to keep your iron at about 720-750F, apply heat and then remove, don't waste time. short hot is what you are looking for. and it will heat up the wires and tabs, so be careful!

[howaboutme]

that iron looks pretty nice and it's a good price for an adjustable iron that will suit all of your needs.

you should use lead solder if possible, and yes, rosin core. 60/40 63/37 whatever is fine. lead flows much nicer than lead free. you shouldn't need flux unless you really want to use it. the rosin in the solder is the flux, but if you have some nasty connections, applying flux will burn off impurities. think of it as an oxygen shield, it burns off oxygen and impurities so the connection is good.

the chisel tip will work better for thicker wire, motor leads, etc. anything that's like 16 AWG or larger.

really, all you need to do is tin the two parts you want to solder together, so take the wire, strip it back what you need, apply some solder to the iron and it will pool in a particular spot, place the wire in the pool of solder and touch the wire with the solder strand off the spool until it starts to melt into the wire, flow a little until the wire is flooded. at that point stop.

move to the next part, say a solder cup or tab on a motor. same principle, you can wipe off or flick off excess solder on the iron, and a small dab to apply solder and flux, and touch the pool to the solder cup or tab, and then touch with the solder off the roll, when it flows, apply some to tin the entire area you need.

then get your two parts in alignment where you want them, hold together with clips, fingers, etc, leave the solder strand 'floating' in air off the spool, touch it with the iron, and then immediately bring the iron to the work and when they flow together, remove the iron to let it cool.

just remember to keep your iron at about 720-750F, apply heat and then remove, don't waste time. short hot is what you are looking for. and it will heat up the wires and tabs, so be careful!

Thank you.

Has anyone used paste?

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00M1RC0YY/ref=cm_sw_r_taa_gnKHybPBTSAB0

This was given as a suggestion by rc heli people....It has flux inside. Low shelf life though..

[RC10th]

I wouldn't worry about flux, just use 60/40 Rosin core as jwscab mentioned. High quick heat is the trick, only a couple of seconds is needed. Chisel tip is the one you want as it provides heat transfer better.

[jwscab]

Stick with the spool of solder. Paste is a mess and low shelf life. The spool will last forever.

[howaboutme]

Thanks all.

I'll stick w/ 60/40 rosin core. Anyone have any links to Amazon for the solder? Hate to have to buy those from a hobby shop and pay the hobby shop premium..

[howaboutme]

Well..I decided to go rogue a bit last night in terms of soldering equipment purchases..

I chose to go Amazon because a lot of the miscellaneous stuff were just cheaper there and I was able to find a soldering iron w/ good reviews and same (or better) specs than the other one I linked and at a better price point.

Soldering Iron:
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B01DGZFSNE/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Jig:
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B000RB38X8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tips (since the iron only comes with one):
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B00GZGLQW4/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Rosin Core Solder (I bought 2 thicknesses. One thicker for most rc car jobs and a thinner one for my heli jobs because the PCBs and connections are super small):
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B00030AP48/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
and
https://amazon.com/gp/product/B000G36BYU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Hoping this all works out!

[jwscab]

you should be just fine with that stuff. that looks like a nice iron.

[howaboutme]

you should be just fine with that stuff. that looks like a nice iron.

Great! Looking forward to learning and messing up and learning and messing up.....

[howaboutme]

Gluing tires! (With my only jconcepts bling I can claim at the moment.... ) I used dollar store CA glue that I had left over from my saltwater reef tank days as I used them for gluing corals inside the tank....Since these tires are going to be used for "getting to know the car" at the baseball diamond, I'll experiment a bit.



Also getting real serious about electronics as I wait for my soldering iron. I have decided to solder myself!

I think I've found everything that I need but still can't find a 4mm banana to 5mm bullet charger cable...Anyone know of any? I'd like to skip one cable to charger the battery directly....