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Old 07-24-2015, 08:07 PM   #1
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Default Professors Ascender... complete?

This truck has been evolving for a while and I thought I would share it in a possibly/nearly complete state. What do you think would you add/change anything?

I cant seem to resolve some torque twist, dont think it effects performance much but it looks goofy. Also get some bump steer. Any ideas on these issues?

Anyway here is the setup...

-Tekin RS Pro, 17.5 motor w/ high torque rotor, Savox SB-2270SG brushless servo
-RC4WD front/rear bumpers, RC4WD steel 8 spoke wagon wheels with RC4WD irok super swapers
-MIP driveshafts, hd pinions, rear upper link relocation, cf rock sliders
-Stock ascender shocks with modded (notched) pistons, 25wt shock oil (so much better than stock)
-Winch for looks and weight in the front, no controller didnt really use it anyway
-Full LED kit, headlights/taillights and several red rock lights so you can see exactly what is under the truck at night, red is easy on the eyes as well. highly recommended/functional.










Last edited by professorcake; 08-03-2015 at 05:35 PM.
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Old 07-24-2015, 08:24 PM   #2
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

Cool rig nice man nice and neat liken the lights to I'll have to try that,
So red Eh.....I wonder about cool white.

What size is that battery your using for your lights LWH the one in the rear.
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Old 07-24-2015, 08:29 PM   #3
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

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Originally Posted by rustneversleeps View Post
Cool rig nice man nice and neat liken the lights to I'll have to try that,
So red Eh.....I wonder about cool white.

What size is that battery your using for your lights LWH the one in the rear.
Thanks, battery is a 460mah 2s. Didnt have any white led strips left, had green/blue/red available. Chose red because its easy on the eyes at night and I am pretty happy with the results. The white front lights are powered from the RX.
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Old 07-24-2015, 08:49 PM   #4
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

460Mah 2S great thanks My next order to hobbyking will have to get that.
What kind of C discharge is it ..20,25 ....
Thanks for the info......
forgot to mention the tires wheel combo is nice to ..
I have set of those wagon wheels on one of my rigs from rc4wd and they are like 5 years old too.Check out the show off your chev picture thread they are on my Silverado.....
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Old 07-24-2015, 08:53 PM   #5
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

Looks good, thanks for the pics, do you have a side pic? Looks like ride height may be little too high which can cause little bumpsteer, my RTR has tiny amount if you cycle suspension and watch, but none perceived when crawling. Those wheels and tires look great too.

What have you done to fight torque twist other than the GCM rear upper truss?

CF rock sliders may not last long, but I'd use CA and seal all the edges on them to help prevent cracking, fraying fibers and sharp edges. I'm interested to see how they hold up.

Did you notch one or both shock piston holes?

What LED kit did you use? I like the little strips look like cut to length from a reel? All that type \I've found are rated at 12 volts and I'm running 2S wondering if they would be bright enough, but I hate all the super blinding bright lightbars. The red rock lights are awesome, they won't affect night vision...that's why aircraft cockpits are all red lighting. How many hours of light do you get using the small rx pack?

Love the clean wiring job! I've got some of those little red JST plugs, crimpers, wire, led (for headlights), trying to decide what rock lights.

Last edited by Natedog; 07-24-2015 at 08:58 PM.
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Old 07-25-2015, 01:17 PM   #6
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

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Originally Posted by rustneversleeps View Post
460Mah 2S great thanks My next order to hobbyking will have to get that.
What kind of C discharge is it ..20,25 ....
Thanks for the info......
forgot to mention the tires wheel combo is nice to ..
I have set of those wagon wheels on one of my rigs from rc4wd and they are like 5 years old too.Check out the show off your chev picture thread they are on my Silverado.....
Its 25c but that should not matter much for LEDs. 3s batteries make the rock LEDs a little bit brighter but not really necessary.
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Old 07-25-2015, 01:33 PM   #7
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Originally Posted by Natedog View Post
Looks good, thanks for the pics, do you have a side pic? Looks like ride height may be little too high which can cause little bumpsteer, my RTR has tiny amount if you cycle suspension and watch, but none perceived when crawling. Those wheels and tires look great too.

What have you done to fight torque twist other than the GCM rear upper truss?

CF rock sliders may not last long, but I'd use CA and seal all the edges on them to help prevent cracking, fraying fibers and sharp edges. I'm interested to see how they hold up.

Did you notch one or both shock piston holes?

What LED kit did you use? I like the little strips look like cut to length from a reel? All that type \I've found are rated at 12 volts and I'm running 2S wondering if they would be bright enough, but I hate all the super blinding bright lightbars. The red rock lights are awesome, they won't affect night vision...that's why aircraft cockpits are all red lighting. How many hours of light do you get using the small rx pack?

Love the clean wiring job! I've got some of those little red JST plugs, crimpers, wire, led (for headlights), trying to decide what rock lights.
Thanks for the tip on the GCM truss, ill check it out. The LED strips I used will take 3s but I run them on 2s. Not sure how long I will get on the small pack, im guessing at least an hour or so but I will report back on that.

Here is a great recommendation for LED wiring that I figured out just recently. ***Find an old computer network cable and recover the wiring from inside!***. You will end up with 4 twisted pairs (perfect for LED positive/negative) of wiring that are just the right gauge and very east to work with/solder.

That reminds me, I meant to put some chassis protector on the bottom of the CF rock slider plates to improve durability. ill superglue the edges forgot about that thanks. They were super easy to make so even if these are trashed I still have the template.

On all four shock pistons I used a thin dremel disc to cut a small notch in the side of the piston (~1.5mm) to allow oil to flow through more easily. Loosened up the suspension a lot, no more bouncy landings!

Here is that side pic.

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Old 07-25-2015, 01:46 PM   #8
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

A 10ft network cable produced enough to wire probably 3+ trucks!

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Old 07-25-2015, 09:12 PM   #9
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

Thanks, Cherokee looks really good with the steel spoke wheels, fender flares etc...but might lower ride height a little. Wiring tip is good as long as the wires are not bent around often, terminate with the multi-stranded and it can help. I used some low strand count wire on my Honcho lights and they broke after a couple months near my power plug.
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Old 07-25-2015, 11:00 PM   #10
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

Killer build...love the CAT5 idea! What fender extentensions/flairs are those? I like the jeep style more than the big axial ones. Also did you do some trimming under them?
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Old 07-27-2015, 01:26 AM   #11
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

How do you like having the body held on with Velcro? I like the look, but every time I try to mount a body this way, it doesn't stay on very well. Looks and work fine for me for a while, but usually ends in frustration with a body that won't stay put. Looks good! I'm using the same body on my Ascender.

FLM BL E-Maxx - BL Slash - BL 4Tec - 1/16th Fiesta - Wraith - SCX-10 - Custom Axial 6WD - Custom Losi micro Monster Truck - Losi Micro-T Hummer - Custom Losi Micro Peterbilt Crawler - soon '65 Malibu Micro T Drifter
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Old 07-27-2015, 09:54 AM   #12
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

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Originally Posted by MAXXMASHER View Post
How do you like having the body held on with Velcro? I like the look, but every time I try to mount a body this way, it doesn't stay on very well. Looks and work fine for me for a while, but usually ends in frustration with a body that won't stay put. Looks good! I'm using the same body on my Ascender.

FLM BL E-Maxx - BL Slash - BL 4Tec - 1/16th Fiesta - Wraith - SCX-10 - Custom Axial 6WD - Custom Losi micro Monster Truck - Losi Micro-T Hummer - Custom Losi Micro Peterbilt Crawler - soon '65 Malibu Micro T Drifter
I have not mounted bodies with velcro, but I have used this for mounting lots of other things...this stuff is badass velcro:

VELCRO brand Model # 90197 Internet # 202261919 Store SKU # 847003 15 ft. x 2 in. Industrial Strength Tape
VELCRO brand 15 ft. x 2 in. Industrial Strength Tape-90197 - The Home Depot
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Old 07-27-2015, 04:57 PM   #13
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

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Originally Posted by MAXXMASHER View Post
How do you like having the body held on with Velcro? I like the look, but every time I try to mount a body this way, it doesn't stay on very well. Looks and work fine for me for a while, but usually ends in frustration with a body that won't stay put. Looks good! I'm using the same body on my Ascender.

FLM BL E-Maxx - BL Slash - BL 4Tec - 1/16th Fiesta - Wraith - SCX-10 - Custom Axial 6WD - Custom Losi micro Monster Truck - Losi Micro-T Hummer - Custom Losi Micro Peterbilt Crawler - soon '65 Malibu Micro T Drifter
Love/Hate kind of thing with the velcro...

Pros: Body easy on/off, no ugly posts/clips
Cons: You have to line it up every time you put it on.
Pro and Con: When you take a bit hit/roll the body kinda just pops off, i think this saves the body some damage (pro) but then you gotta put it back on and line it back up again (con).

I think some better velcro like Natedog suggested would definitly improve as I have old/cheap stuff on there now.

I have some small disc style neodymium magnets that I was thinking I might use to mount the body instead but that will be tricky and not sure if its worth it.

Last edited by professorcake; 07-27-2015 at 05:04 PM.
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Old 07-27-2015, 05:03 PM   #14
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Killer build...love the CAT5 idea! What fender extentensions/flairs are those? I like the jeep style more than the big axial ones. Also did you do some trimming under them?
Hmm not entirely sure what flares they are sorry! Ill edit this post if I come up with an answer.
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Old 08-03-2015, 05:31 PM   #15
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Default Pics from a new spot!

What a sweet spot to run my ascender!





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Old 08-03-2015, 11:44 PM   #16
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

Wow, nice crawl spot! Swimming and crawling...nice.
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Old 08-06-2015, 05:47 PM   #17
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Default Professors ascender evolves again!

Well I decided the esc and servo were better suited to a wraith I am building so I decided to reconfigure the ascender yet again.

Changes:
-Speed Passion Reventon R esc
-BMS-630MG servo
-Castle BEC
-modified the battery tray to be fixed instead of floating
-adjusted panhard link
-Weights relocated
-fresh velcro for body
-Horn!

The servo is bare minimum as far as specs but it did pretty good during my test run. The esc on the other hand is excellent loaded up with crawler firmware. Actually I am really impressed with this esc, just as smooth as the rs pro on the low and and somehow it even has considerably better top end then the rs pro. solid programmable drag brake too. Another awesome coincidence is that I can run my rock LEDs off the fan port (8v) so I dont need a separate battery any longer (only need the fan for low turn motors).

Battery tray is locked in its upper most position by securing it to the shock mount support brace. Very slightly higher CG but I took a lot of complexity out of the setup.

Adjusting the panhard link helped me reduce bump steer a bit, i think my axle was off center just a bit prior to this. This was actually a lot of experimentation as I tried a 4 link front with deleted panhard, this did not work out and multiplied bump steer by a LOT!

I had a great idea for the weights I previously had mounted on the forward portion of the rock sliders. These durango weights ("TD320008") have two m3 tapped holes on the bottom of each, and the distance between them happens to be the distance between the two servo screws on each side of the servo (i run my servo horizontally). This puts the weights in a much better forward position, and gives you something solid to screw your servo hardware into. Weight added in an ideal location and locked in servo ftw!

But the best addition, a functional horn! Just a receiver controlled switch and a buzzer but pretty fun/inexpensive. Got the parts from hobbyking. You can see the buzzer mounted on the shock mount. Controlled via switch "F" on my DX4Pro.




Last edited by professorcake; 08-06-2015 at 07:02 PM.
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Old 08-06-2015, 06:39 PM   #18
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Default Re: Professors ascender evolves again!

That Speed Passion ESC looks interesting and only $50 on the bay, have you used this before? Good to be able to plug LEDs in to it too, I was thinking about soldering in the JST plugs to my ESC power plug, but didn't really like the idea even though that's how I've done it before. Think I'll solder the LED JST plug to my batter posts like your BEC is, I'm not running BEC at the moment buy may have to later when I replace servo wtih Hitec HS-7955TG.

Nice idea on the servo mount weights too, I see Losi Parts House has them on clearance:
TD320008 Side Weight Brass 24g Total DEX410 2

Cool little horn, how's the sound?
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Old 08-06-2015, 06:52 PM   #19
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That Speed Passion ESC looks interesting and only $50 on the bay, have you used this before? Good to be able to plug LEDs in to it too, I was thinking about soldering in the JST plugs to my ESC power plug, but didn't really like the idea even though that's how I've done it before. Think I'll solder the LED JST plug to my batter posts like your BEC is, I'm not running BEC at the moment buy may have to later when I replace servo wtih Hitec HS-7955TG.

Nice idea on the servo mount weights too, I see Losi Parts House has them on clearance:
TD320008 Side Weight Brass 24g Total DEX410 2

Cool little horn, how's the sound?
I have run a Reventon S in my SCX10 with a speed passion 17.5 mmm motor for well over a year now and it performs great. So far so good with the Reventon R in the Ascender. Also have a Reventon R in my touring car with an 8.5 motor and it runs great too. They are versatile/inexpensive ESCs with several firmware options available to suit any vehicle (including crawler firmware). They come with a programming box that you can use standalone, or plug the programming box into your esc and pc (like a tekin hotwire or castle link) and you can use software to change all the settings (this is where you choose firmware). I would only recommend plugging accessories into the fan port when using a seperate bec or it draws from the internal bec (might be ok depending on a few factors).

Seems like a decent deal for the durango weights. I spent quite a bit more when I bought them for my DEX410v4.

The horns sound is loud, but higher pitch then I was hoping. I am satisfied with the few bucks invested.

FYI:
Receiver Switch
Buzzer
Splitter

Last edited by professorcake; 08-06-2015 at 07:05 PM.
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Old 08-06-2015, 10:00 PM   #20
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Default Re: Professors Ascender... complete?

Thanks for info. Maybe put a small piece of tape over speaker and see what it does to pitch and volume? Try plain old Scotch tape first?
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