RCCrawler Forums

hotwheels000 · 05-07-2008, 11:42 AM

I did this because the thumb wheel was verticle and wasnt natural in my hands for a third channel rear steer.
When you are finished it will be horizontal and you can return it to its original posistion at a later date if you wish.
The idea is to turn the assembly 90*
Take the transmitter apart and carefully remove the thumb wheel board. It may take some effort but it will pry out easy enough.
You will need to cut the new opening out. To determine the location I rotated the board and placed it on the upper/top side of the upper mount, and started a small opening ,slowly enlarging it until the wheel dropped into posistion.I started with a dremal and cutoff wheel and fine tuned it with and exacto knofe and jewlers file.I also beveled the edges slightly for clearance of the wheel.

Next step is to make the hole for the push button. This is a little tricky since the hole is small. Again start with a small hole and enlarge untill it is lined up perfectly with the button. Stop and check yourself many times so you end up with a perfect fit. You will need to flatten it out a bit as the surface you have drilled thru is curved. For this I used a dremal attachment that looks like a mill bit.You will see the finale look in the above picture.

Next step is to build up the area around the curve for the push button. I used some of the shavings from the cutting and the tenax glue...mixed it up in a tin from a tealight candle and it coagulated into a big ball of goop.Spread it around the area you need to build up. As it starts to dry you will be able to form it with a small tool to get the basic ridge shape, it takes a while to set up so be patient and keep forming it. If you are real good you will not need to conform it any more. ( I wasnt so out came the mill attachment used earlier and a little shaping later...it was a perfect fit.

Now you need to reattach it to the new location.It will sit up against the original upper mounting support as mentioned in the first paragraph.. I used 20 min epoxy becuase I do no plan on changing it back. That caused a few issue's...(I would suggest shoegoo or simular for ease in removal and installation if I were to do this again.) first it was old epoxy and took 20 hours to set

second it was fluid enough for gravity to take over and started to flow to the hole for the push button. I caught this in time and removed the circuit bourd, greased the area around the push button hole and reassembled with epoxy again making sure to pay attention to gravity and location of the applied epoxy.
Clamp it into position and let it set up.

End result is a thumb wheel in a ergonomic and intuitive position for rear steer. Also puts the push button in a spot that the knuckle of your thumb can easily slide over and access if needed.
I dont have pictures to show this, but the ribbon wire for the USB cord was also relocated into the compartment that slides out at the top of the transmitter. It makes it much easier than dealing with the battery compartment door where it was originally located.
I hope this helps if you choose to mod the radio.
Devlin

SVEN · 05-07-2008, 06:24 PM

Thank you for posting that. Just makes me want to get a React even more. I wasn't too sure about the stock extra channel wheel location.

Speedyboy · 05-07-2008, 06:50 PM

Just a newb question.
Who makes that radio, what is it, and where can I get it?

hotwheels000 · 05-07-2008, 10:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SVEN

Thank you for posting that. Just makes me want to get a React even more. I wasn't too sure about the stock extra channel wheel location.

No problem, I was hoping it would help someone

Quote:

Originally Posted by Speedyboy

Just a newb question.
Who makes that radio, what is it, and where can I get it?

Nomadio makes them, react is the model. You can get them at various outlets, to be fair I wont mention one vendor over the next. The choice is up to you. I think the Nomadio web site has a dealer locator feature.

Mnster · 05-07-2008, 10:40 PM

Totally voids the warranty, sweet mod none the less.

05-07-2008, 11:42 AM	#1
hotwheels000 I wanna be Dave Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: under a rock and a hard place Posts: 5,443	React thumb wheel mod I did this because the thumb wheel was verticle and wasnt natural in my hands for a third channel rear steer. When you are finished it will be horizontal and you can return it to its original posistion at a later date if you wish. The idea is to turn the assembly 90* Take the transmitter apart and carefully remove the thumb wheel board. It may take some effort but it will pry out easy enough. You will need to cut the new opening out. To determine the location I rotated the board and placed it on the upper/top side of the upper mount, and started a small opening ,slowly enlarging it until the wheel dropped into posistion.I started with a dremal and cutoff wheel and fine tuned it with and exacto knofe and jewlers file.I also beveled the edges slightly for clearance of the wheel. Next step is to make the hole for the push button. This is a little tricky since the hole is small. Again start with a small hole and enlarge untill it is lined up perfectly with the button. Stop and check yourself many times so you end up with a perfect fit. You will need to flatten it out a bit as the surface you have drilled thru is curved. For this I used a dremal attachment that looks like a mill bit.You will see the finale look in the above picture. Next step is to build up the area around the curve for the push button. I used some of the shavings from the cutting and the tenax glue...mixed it up in a tin from a tealight candle and it coagulated into a big ball of goop.Spread it around the area you need to build up. As it starts to dry you will be able to form it with a small tool to get the basic ridge shape, it takes a while to set up so be patient and keep forming it. If you are real good you will not need to conform it any more. ( I wasnt so out came the mill attachment used earlier and a little shaping later...it was a perfect fit. Now you need to reattach it to the new location.It will sit up against the original upper mounting support as mentioned in the first paragraph.. I used 20 min epoxy becuase I do no plan on changing it back. That caused a few issue's...(I would suggest shoegoo or simular for ease in removal and installation if I were to do this again.) first it was old epoxy and took 20 hours to set second it was fluid enough for gravity to take over and started to flow to the hole for the push button. I caught this in time and removed the circuit bourd, greased the area around the push button hole and reassembled with epoxy again making sure to pay attention to gravity and location of the applied epoxy. Clamp it into position and let it set up. End result is a thumb wheel in a ergonomic and intuitive position for rear steer. Also puts the push button in a spot that the knuckle of your thumb can easily slide over and access if needed. I dont have pictures to show this, but the ribbon wire for the USB cord was also relocated into the compartment that slides out at the top of the transmitter. It makes it much easier than dealing with the battery compartment door where it was originally located. I hope this helps if you choose to mod the radio. Devlin

05-07-2008, 06:24 PM	#2
SVEN I wanna be Dave Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Burnsville Posts: 3,096	Thank you for posting that. Just makes me want to get a React even more. I wasn't too sure about the stock extra channel wheel location.

05-07-2008, 06:50 PM	#3
Speedyboy Pebble Pounder Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Canby, Oregon Posts: 177	Just a newb question. Who makes that radio, what is it, and where can I get it?

05-07-2008, 10:40 PM	#5
Mnster MWRCA'er Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Machesney Park IL Posts: 3,995	Totally voids the warranty, sweet mod none the less.

Sponsored Links

RCCrawler Forums

Thread: React thumb wheel mod