Recommended Equip

[Talan]

I am going to be buying a new Berg and I have a very cheap radio and battery charger I can use.

I was wondering if anyone could suggest what else would be needed that would get me going but as cheaply as possible (biggest bang for the buck).

[jdmstuff]

You'll need 2 motors, and a speed control. Get a couple of Integy lathe motors that will run you about $20 each. You may be able to find these items used for a little less money.

[Talan]

I can get the two Integy lathe motors, 55t I assume? What ESC would be recommended for a dual motor setup? And should I get the split battery packs? 6 or 7 cell? I don’t see where the battery can go on the axle.

[swell searcher]

i'm assuming your radio/receiver is a 2-ch, so you won't need any of the dig electronics.

get 2 integy lathe motors, 45t or 55t would be fine. for the esc, i would recommend on with a drag brake. a sidewinder esc by castle is a great pick. for a steering servo, an entry level servo is hs-645mg but i gather spend the little extra here and go with the hs-985mg. towerpro mg-946 servo is another option especially since it's alot cheaper but i personally have burnt up 3 of the older models (mg-945) for the price of one hs-985mg. let's see, that leaves tires. that's your personally preference but you can't go wrong with losi rock claws or panther cougars.

oh yeah, then there's the batteries. go with the saddle pack in a 7 or 8 cell configuration. you'll have to fab mounts for the axles. the bergs are relatively new and the aftermarket is just appearing. if you have the kit, assembly the chassis and take measurements of the bottom skid plate. you may be able to get a flat pack to fit there. i also recommend 2/3a cells over sub-c cells.

btw, what exactly are you getting? i'm assuming the kit. if you're getting just the axles, you'll need to buy the servo plate, buy/fab suspension and steering links, a chassis, and shocks.

[Talan]

Thanks Swell Searcher!

It is a cheap 2-ch for now, I can upgrade later. And I am getting the full kit. Maybe I can upgrade the chassis to something better later on when I have more money and the aftermarket makes something, I wouldn’t mind a stick chassis.

The Sidewinder can handle am 8 cell configuration! More power is great! Can the Sidewinder handle dual motors without anything extra to buy? I am a total noob to electric, I only had nitro before this.

[Calderwood]

Originally Posted by Talan

Can the Sidewinder handle dual motors without anything extra to buy?

Absolutely.

[wrightcs77]

Talan.....don't be so quick to put down the stock chassis. I am running the stock chassis with 1/4" limiting inside and 3/4" limiting outside with 25 wt Losi oil and the rig is incredible.

[rocresq]

get a 645mg servo youll burn up a digital with a crappy radio. and as hard as it is to drop $20 on a bec do it you be way happier, holmes hobbies will set it to specs if you can afford the castle link (Johns the bomb).
By the way great choice on the way to spend your tight coin on the berg!

[Talan]

Thanks Nigels!

Thanks rocresq! I will just buy the 645mg for now until I get the better radio, I will need to add dig later.

So far my list includes:
Sidewinder ESC
Castle Bec (I have no idea what a BEC does)
x2 Integy 55t motors
8 cell split battery
HS-645MG servo
Losi Rock Claws or Panther Cougars tires

Any other suggestions?

[swell searcher]

BEC stands for Battery Eliminator Circuit. The battery it is eliminating is your receiver pack. The BEC is a completely separate circuit from the rest of the speed control. It is generally a one to two amp linear regulator that converts the motor battery voltage to a regulated 5 or 6 volts to power the receiver and servos.

So in layman terms, it means that you don't need a seperate receiver battery pack to power your servos and receiver. The advantage of a CC BEC versus the BEC in a speed control is more amps for better performance and adjustable to change the amount of volts going to your servos. Most speed controllers are in the 2-3 volts versus the CC BEC is adjustable from 5.1v up to 9v.

From castle creation's site:

What the heck is a BEC?
Our Battery Eliminator Circuit is a little device that eliminates the need for a receiver and servo battery pack. It draws higher voltage from the motor batteries and drops it to a voltage level that is suitable for your receiver and servos. This is required in applications which draw high power for multiple servos or use more than 3S motor packs, as most ESCs with linear BECs are not designed for these applications.

[Talan]

Thanks Swell Searcher!

What do you guys think about a 10 cell saddle pack? The sidewinder says it can handle up to 12 cells. Since we are running 2 motors, it could probably use the extra juice I was thinking.