A new RS10 XT

[Otis Fudpucker]

I may have missed it, but is that a 2s or 3s lipo? I asked because I'm running 3s and the stock ESC will
not recognize it. I'm running a cheap Neewer I got off Amazon for something like $14.98. The stock
one would only run fan and steering servos.

[sandyx]

Hard tap, hard hammering, intense heating, wd40, lots of prayers of various kinds. When all those failed, i sent for help. Btw, that is kinda the only thing delaying the build.

I've see those high clearance knuckles. All of them were pricey after shipping calculated. My location says IN but it ain't Indianapolis : ) Also, i'm not sure how easy it'll be for BTA steering. Normal type seems best with clearances for that.

Otis, it's a 2s. I've no plans for 3s, hoping it'll last longer working moderately.

[sandyx]

@cabron Those high clearance knuckles seem to be best for its intended task, but it'll lower the tierod too much or foul with lower links in either orientations when used for BTA steering. Atleast that's what my head makes me think. Also i got these two pairs for less than half the cost.

Yes it's India, & we have to import most stuff due to high prices at LHS or outright non availability.

[sandyx]

Front BTA steering complete. Working well on the bench. The turn is not sick but good enough considering i''ll be keeping the rear steering. Feels pretty solid with metal knuckles.

Now a long wait for the second servo to arrive & dismantle rear differential.

[cabron]

I agree, for btw steering those knuckles are not good but I am still working on getting
universals in there and to get the most steering I will need the steering arm up high
(as opposed to very low) to keep it from hitting the axle housing.

you have done wonders in such a short time. it is a very clean build.

you have access to any machine shops? have you seen the talk on the metal backing
plate for the spur gear? that is the last main weak spot left. it is a shame zno-rc stopped
making them.

[sandyx]

Thank you man : ) Could speed it up due to a week off, but that's almost over. And nothing more can happen now for atleast a month.

Yes that back plate is a weak spot. I'll machine that as well as that small plastic tube on the same shaft when i find a precision machine shop. The one i have access to is heavy duty kind which will not work here. Knowing me, i'd end up tinkering a lot more than driving it hardcore, so that plate might last on me.

[Overkel]

Dang, I just bought a set of those knuckles.
I have used the sx10 knuckles from VP and I thought those were the best value and performance available for the money....and that was when I bought them for twice this much.

These berg ones have a nice little bend that looks like it might get me just a hair more turning than the ones made for Axials. Thx for the heads up Cabron. (even if it wasn't aimed at me)

[sandyx]

While waiting(still) for the parts, did a test run of the steering. Also had to flip the electronics tray over to increase battery space. Will be squeezing out few more degrees of turn at final tuning, sanding down the stopper nubs.

[fleckofly]

nice build thread lots of great pix too which is great

[sandyx]

Tnx fleck!

Finally got around to finish it up. Hooked up the lipo too and there's a perceptible increase in wheel speed. Articulation is some more without the canopy. Squeezed out a bit more steering angle too. Gearbox lube is airgun grade moly paste. It's the best for metal gears. Spur gear plate is still the notorious stock plastic disc, will change to aluminium if & when it breaks.

Will keep it this way for a while before going FPV. If sky permits, hope i get to blast it around.

[cabron]

painting those beadlock rings black make those tires look a lot bigger. looks sharp

until you but new tires there are a couple of things you can try to get better traction.
remove the foams, this is like lowering air if you do remove the foams, when you are not using
the crawler set it on a block of wood or something so that there is no weight on the tires, this
will prevent flat spots on the tires. this is a good thing to do whether you remove the foams or not.
trim the tread, you could remove about half the treads, get clever and make some interesting design.

[sandyx]

So far i'm not experiencing much loss of traction, even on wet patches. But i'm yet to crawl over rocks, coz there are no rocks around! It's climbing over pretty much everything available with minimal throttle, & the stock battery is lasting a lot. Lipo, even more. The servos are staying strong, not bad at all considering the cost.

Yes i'm resting it on axle supports from the beginning itself. My snips are broken, so can't cut into the tires just yet. I wanted to do it from the start but after seeing the bite from stockers, kept it for later. Definitely it should improve the bite when done. Rovers will come later, & foams will stay till i come across a rock pile. With the tracks i have now, it wouldn't make a difference.

[cabron]

go look for a pile of broken concrete and bring back a load of it. build a small course
in a corner of the back yard. maybe some river rocks as well.

[sandyx]

Great! After rain, the nearby river it is. Maybe get some rocks or take the truck over.

Some wheel walking over the curb & spins. Front left tire has this tendency to go up in air during full speed turns. Need to adjust it.

[cabron]

I had that problem a lot with my crawlers, not just the rs10,
it has to do with the suspension geometry and the location of the shocks. moving the bottoms of the shocks
farther out, both front/back and left/right. that is why I recommend wheel wideners and mounting the shocks
on the axle housings. the other thing to do is to move the lower link mounting points on the chassis
more towards the center of the chassis. for this you would have to make a new skid plate and be
clever with the bending of the links so they wont be hitting the motors.

if you look closely the rear outside shock compresses a lot when doing a high speed turn. so using stronger springs
or putting on a preload will also help. if you will also do high speed turns going backwards you will need
to make the front harder too. took me a looong time to figure that particular problem out

this is another place that lowering the center of gravity helps, also where adding knuckle weights or wheel weights
will help. knuckle weights are better than wheel weights but I believe that adding the weight to the bottom
of the axle tubes right next to the knuckles will be the best way to add the weight.

[cabron]

a video I made
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPBULTmWGCg

[sandyx]

Sweet! FPV is what i'm gunning for, with a wide angle lens. Sadly it's a long road since video Tx(any Tx) is highly restricted for import here.

Did some fine tuning to correct the toe-in on both axles along with some servo tuning. Seems to have arrested the tire rise somewhat. As expected, the rise happens only on hard grippy surface.

Must say this radio is a guzzler. Need to lipo it. The wideners are next in line, to open up more steering especially with the bigger rovers. Moving the shocks to axle is a tough task with BTA steering in the way. Maybe at wit's end with current setup, will try fab some mounts.

Forgot to mention, i got a full differential set from redcat free of cost under warranty, no questions asked. The hopelessly stuck old one had to be dremeled & is now useless.

[sandyx]

Finally FPV done.

Emax Night Vision IR 1/3-inch CMOS 800TVL cam
2W 5.8G VTX
AOMWAY 3dBi SPW antenna
2S 2.2Ah 20C lipo
1.5A vtx current consumption/2.3A @full load
3W leds
~45 min runtime
Range untested.

A small test run. There's no DVR yet so video & screen grabs from goggles with the phone, so the lower quality & hard to control due to phone delay.


I know the 2W vtx is overkill but i got it new on offer<600mw price. Can't complain, & i don't feel cooked around it yet. It doesn't get hot on 2S even after a full battery run unlike some reviews say, just feels warm to the touch & it stays constant.

There's some level of pops & cracks around obstacles but feed remains drivable, and some noise probably from the high power vtx but no interference with truck's electronics or servos. I'm still waiting for the IR led to arrive, so the NV part isn't fully tested but there's a bit more exposure with NV on. So it's fun to drive around at night with headlights & NV, looks like blair witch project! The body is modified for that H1 feel which gave more space for the electronics. So far so good.

[cabron]

way to go .....

one more thing that would be killer ... an airsoft gun ( same as a tank gun)
an electric gun firing bbs. then with the fpv you go and chase cats!!!!!

I say cats but I am just kidding, I like cats. you could set up small targets, add a small sight
so you can aim with the fpv. if you are lucky you might find a snake or something appropriate.

have you tried running those tires without the foams? might get a bit better traction,
those stock tires are pretty hard. some guys like cutting off some of the lugs as well.

[sandyx]

I already got an airsoft but that's one heavy AK! More than the tank gun, i'm looking at the burning laser. The pointer or the high power diode with aixiz module. Someday.