Senior Moment question

[oldblue2010]

It's been over 20 years since I parked my Clod along with my RC-10T anyway I am trying to get them back on the road- NOW I seem to remember a small 4 cell aa battery holder that plugged into the ESC(?) to run the servos? anyway the motors run like hell but no other response from the Clod. Maybe the crystals went bad- but I believe I need this part to have the Clod run right? I can't find it so I may have to get a new one like this one

https://www.amazon.com/Tactic-Cell-B.../dp/B002I9V60E

any ideas? Thanks in advance- Vic in SoCal

[JatoTheRipper]

Holy cow that is old school!

You needed that to power the receiver back in the day. Modern electronic don't need them. What electronics are you using in your Clod? If you are talking crystals I'm guessing all of your electronics are old.

[B-MOW71]

Way back in the day (1987), I (luckily) never needed to run the AA 4-pack batteries. I was running a Novak T-4 ESC in my RC10 and the AA's were not needed.

I remember my Futaba radios back then would come with a servo, receiver and the AA holder.

If I remember correctly, you could hook up the AA pack to power the up the receiver and servo.

I'm not sure if the crystals go bad over time. Maybe they do. I haven't tried to use any of my radios with crystals since 1995!

[JatoTheRipper]

Originally Posted by hobbyjumper

I don't know the answer but I like that someone else here goes back that far. I have a 35-year-old buggy on the shelf next to my 10ii. Now that's old school.

A lot of the members on here are old heads. 42 myself.

[JacktheRipper]

Originally Posted by oldblue2010

It's been over 20 years since I parked my Clod along with my RC-10T anyway I am trying to get them back on the road- NOW I seem to remember a small 4 cell aa battery holder that plugged into the ESC(?) to run the servos? anyway the motors run like hell but no other response from the Clod. Maybe the crystals went bad- but I believe I need this part to have the Clod run right? I can't find it so I may have to get a new one like this one

https://www.amazon.com/Tactic-Cell-B.../dp/B002I9V60E

any ideas? Thanks in advance- Vic in SoCal

That was for the receiver, when using a servo as the speed control.
Upgrading to the ESC, removing the servo speed control, eliminated the need of the battery pack. So in essences the ESC upgrade offered 2 upgrades.

pep

[oldblue2010]

yup old OLD electronics- I am seeing a lot of guys had to wait till the kids were up and gone before we got back or TRYING to get back into RC hahaha- I will take some pics of my stuff but I'll tell you its 24mhz radio AM sooo.... I just find it hard to believe when I change the ESC the motors have to be changed oh and the servos- sheeesh- Vic in SoCal

[Prescott John]

I still have a couple of old school RC's with old school radios and speed controllers. I would definitely recommend upgrading to modern electronics. Batteries last much longer in the new radios and generally only half as many needed. New speed controllers are more efficient, provide power for the recievers and servos, and yielding longer run times.

[chevy42083]

Everything i have is crystals still. They MOSTLY still work. I've had a couple fail over the years, but I think they were related to falling/being knocked.

Let me give you a bit of advice... the 10t trans won't hold up to brushless power (especially 3s), especially with paddle tires. lol

On my shelf,
A VERY low usage 10t, all original.
A ~1992 RC10t that I beat on as a kid/teen, then beat on again with brushless.
A 1990 gold chassis buggy that my brother beat on as a kid/teen,
and now an rtr RC10T4... which handles brushless without ANY issues. lol

[JacktheRipper]

Originally Posted by oldblue2010

yup old OLD electronics- I am seeing a lot of guys had to wait till the kids were up and gone before we got back or TRYING to get back into RC hahaha- I will take some pics of my stuff but I'll tell you its 24mhz radio AM sooo.... I just find it hard to believe when I change the ESC the motors have to be changed oh and the servos- sheeesh- Vic in SoCal

You're correct no need to change anything else for the ESC upgrade.

A picture of the ESC would be more helpful, did it not come with instructions?

pep

[oldblue2010]

I can't post any pictures here...yet instructions? nope But I think I may just have to upgrade like most of the fellas here recommend- it's gonna take more time and money this time around

[ferp420]

Originally Posted by oldblue2010

I can't post any pictures here...yet instructions? nope But I think I may just have to upgrade like most of the fellas here recommend- it's gonna take more time and money this time around

i think you need to post your pics to a third party i use imgru as recomended by others on this forum i think there is a way to post directly but i dont have that information lol



this hobby has come along way since the clod was a thing the good part is pricing has come way down a esc now can be had for $11 a pop and a ok new radio is under $30 so for around 50 bucks your rollon with modern electronics although they would be bottom line but more than enuff to make the clod fun again

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by B-MOW71

Way back in the day (1987), I (luckily) never needed to run the AA 4-pack batteries. I was running a Novak T-4 ESC in my RC10 and the AA's were not needed.

I remember my Futaba radios back then would come with a servo, receiver and the AA holder.

If I remember correctly, you could hook up the AA pack to power the up the receiver and servo.

I'm not sure if the crystals go bad over time. Maybe they do. I haven't tried to use any of my radios with crystals since 1995!

X2, in 1986 my first buggy had Novak T4 so no need for the receiver battery pack or the resistor/wiper speed control using a servo.

[87lc2]

I would recommend upgrading to 2.4 radio gear and an ESC for the Clod. The Hobbywing 880 ESC will work with the Clods stock motors and plug right in - https://www.amazon.com/PCtech-HOBBYW...0131122&sr=8-3

For the radio, the FlySKy GT3C will work just fine and you can get extra receivers for around $5 and run up to 10 vehicles from it - https://www.amazon.com/FlySky-GT-3C-...NsaWNrPXRydWU=

If you plan to use the truck and want it to be reliable this will get you started in the right direction. If it's an original 87 truck you'll probably need to replace some of the plastics after running it, they're most likley nice and brittle at this point and will break. Good news is all Clod parts are still available and very cheap.

Good luck with it, Clods are still my favorite after all these years.

[tamiya]

Don't be in such a hurry to "upgrade"... if stored correctly, basic vintage Radiogear can work as well today as anything new. Crystals don't age (they're literally chips of rock), they can get damaged if dropped but not too fragile. Old electronics can get water damaged or dry caps, but if it was working fine then it'll usually work ok now.

Most Ts back in the 80s had room for Rx pack (4xAAs), cars like Hornet, Frog etc. When Hotshot came along they didn't have room so T started making a switch with Battery Eliminator Circuitry that tapped power from drive battery 7.2V and fed 4.8-6.9V to the RX.

Original Clods with MSC had a unique a Economy switch, the twin motors can be switched between wired in parallel (faster as both motors get 7.2V each) or series (motors share 7.2V between them). When Sanyo nicads were 1200mAh you'd barely get 5mins runtime on Fast; the Economy mode ran a bit longer & looked a bit more 'scale' speed.


Nowadays us vintage T restorers are preferring to leave MSCs in there, if not for use then just for show. Some hide a little ESC somewhere else (often in AA battery box cavity haha) and try route power thru the original power leads; others gut the 2nd servo to hide the ESC inside there.

But yeah, losing the Power/Economy switch would be a real shame - it's the original Clod's identity.