Help me spend $350

[StevenZ]

Hey guys, I ordered my first scale crawler yesterday (Axial SCX10 kit) and now I'm at a loss for which electronics to buy. After purchasing the kit, I'm left with $350 that I've set aside for all electronics including battery, charger, esc/motor, steering servo and radio (preferably 2.4ghz). Can it be done? I've really been looking into the Novak Timbuk2 and believe that it can be had for $150 from Tower Hobbies with a certain coupon. What do you guys think? Can y'all give me a list of everything I'd need to complete this kit and get up and running while not going over $350?


Cheers,
Steven

 

[squatch71]

OK, ready...send me the 350...I'll spend it for you...


nah, take 20 of that and become a member, you will then have a forsale section at your finger tips...you can get all your needs there, easy for 350 I would think....just depends on what you want and what you want to do with it.

your list is good,

Radio/Receiver
ESC
Servo
Battery-s
Battery Charger - make sure it can charge your battery you pick---LIPO--for example.
Tools

 

[TONKA TOY]

Instead of the Novak, I personally would go with Holmes Hobbies ESC & motor combo. He's also got good quality batteries fer cheap and chargers. Check him out in the vendors section or check out his website www.holmeshobbies.com Killer products at great prices.

Do some homework & see what direction ya want to go with it.

Welcome to the addiction. "thumbsup"

 

[TexasSP]

x2 on the Holmes BRXL, much better all around than any novak ever made.

For a motor, a nice hand wound Holmes motor would be my choice. For the radio, you could get the GT3B from hobbypartz and save some cash, then while there pick up some 2000-3000mah gens ace lipos and a lipo charger. For the steering a nice futaba, savox, or hitec metal gear servo with at least 150oz torque at 6 volts and call it a day.

 

[hitman46mod]

Do you want my PP address?"thumbsup"

 

[StevenZ]

Thanks for the replies guys. I had actually ordered the Novak Timbuk2 18.5T ESC/Motor combo right before the first post so I think I'll just keep it and if later on it gives me problems I'll switch to Holmes. I also just ordered the Fly Sky FS-GT3B radio that was recommended in the previous post because it was just too good to pass up at that price, plus the many positive reviews made it an easy and economical choice. Those two items chewed up $200 of my $350 budget. So now I have $150 for a quality servo, and charger / battery. If need be I can increase my budget up to $50 more to give myself $200 to work with but that is a last resort. What do you guys say? Can I get a good steering servo as well as charger/battery(ies) for $150-$200? Shoot some prices and model numbers at me and I'll go from there. Thanks again guys!


Cheers,
Steven

 

[benoj]

for a good servo i would look at a hitec 7954 ($80-90) and a castle creations 10A Bec ($20) to power it, and for a charger and batteries go to hobbypartz.com and look at the gen ace lipos and a lipo charger

 

[losikid]

Honestly, i'd return the novak and spend that $150 on this

Holmes Hobbies LLC / Holmes Bikes :: Combos :: TorqueMaster Puller combo

get this servo (no bec is needed since your running a holmes esc)

Savox SC-1256TG Standard Digital "High Torque" Titanium Gear Servo

The gt3b is a great radio (if its hacked)

As for lipo/charger

this one works ok, (charger), but if you have the spare $, get a sky charger

Dynam Supermate DC6 DC Multi Function Balance Charger/Discharger 1-6 cell Lilo/LiPo/LiFe, 1 to 15 cells NiCd NiMH

And for lipos, find the Gens Ace pack at Hobbypartz that suits your wants and needs.

 

[squatch71]

yep yep, would go nothing less than 25C (30C are all I have now) on a lipo...2 or 3S, your choice (3S)...and anywhere between 130mAh and 2500mAh

 

[R/CMaxximus5.0]

Get a STAR! best $20 you'll spend in R/C"thumbsup"

The amount of quality items you can get from the classifieds, is worth it alone!

 

[928darwin]

4pl new, esc and servo on the classifieds here

 

[asian195]

Spend the $ on getting a Star. im going to right now also. this forum has helped me alot on my build. Got some great deals in the classifieds.

this is the servo im running. not the greatest, but works.

Towerpro MG946R Metal Gear Digital Standard Servo

charger

Imax B606-AC 80 Watt-6A 6S Balance Charger (Built-in AC Power Supply)

batteries

GForce 30C 800mAh 2S 7.4V Lipo

GForce 30C 1300mAh 2S 7.4V LiPO

 

[StevenZ]

Well guys, I really appreciate the help. I got anxious and ordered everything yesterday while I was at work. Here are the links to the products I ended up getting. As for the Holmes motor/esc combo; I'll be building a CR-01 before Christmas and will use the Holmes Hobbies combo on that one.

Axial SCX-10 kit

2 25C 2S 3000mAh Gens Ace lipo's
GENS ACE 3000mah 2S1P 7.4V 25C hard case Lipo battery(TRX) Racing Approved Batteries

1 Thunder AC6 Charger
Thunder AC6 Smart LiPo Balance Charger/Discharger w/ AC Adapter for 1-6 Lipo/ 1-15 Nimh + USB to PC Software

1 Fly Sky FS-GT3B
FlySky FS-GT3B Digital 3ch 2.4ghz TX & RX LCD Transmitter & Receiver

1 Steering servo (Weak I know, but had to to keep within budget)
T-Pro MG996R 55G High Torque Digital Servo 10kg / .20sec

1 Novak Timbuk2 18.5T ESC/Motor combo
TowerHobbies.com | 3225 Novak Timbuk2/Ballistic Crawler Brushless System 18.5T
(Paid $150 with coupon)

And this little guy
3Racing Automatic Crawler Winch (1/10 Size) WITH Controller [cr01-27] - $23.99 : CKRC Crawlers, RC Rock Crawlers

Can someone explain how to "hack" the radio? Also, the steering servo is only 167oz/in @6V, I figured what the heck, it's only a couple bucks and it was one of the corners I had to cut to maintain budget. As for battery size, I'm hoping those big 25C 3kmAh batteries will fit, as I was going on the recommendation in one of the first replies. Do you guys think the batteries will fit, as well as do y'all think that the batteries would be a good match for the Timbuk2 18.5T combo? I really hope I got all the parts right and everything goes together smoothly. Please let me know your thoughts so I can rest easy. As always, I appreciate the replies and the comments.


Thanks,
Steven

 

[forbid89]

"hacking" the FS-GT3B is as easy as getting the hack kit from losikid (or digikey):

Products - OverkillRC

Basically you solder a header to your radio and you can flash new firmware to your radio, if you want to read about the evolution of the firmware this is the original thread:]

FLYSKY GT3b Transmitter - R/C Tech Forums

Its an easy modification that unlocks the true potential of the radio. Even out of the box the radio is great for the money, but I highly recommend you flash the radio. It fixes the few quirks with the radio.

As far as your battery choice is concerned maybe you wait until you can do some real measurements. In my opinion it's better to get several smaller batteries than one big heavy one. Good choice on the battery charger BTW!

 

[StevenZ]

Thanks for the hack link as well as the insight about batteries. I was merely going off what TexasSP had said about just ordering a couple 2S Gens Ace lipo's between 2000 and 3000 mAh. I guess time will tell if they actually fit or not. If they do, I'll be looking at some crazy run times :lmao:

If not I won't be out too much money and will just tell myself to buy another RC that will accept their size. Hahahah, this hobby is dangerous. :ror:

 

[TexasSP]

Your battery size will be fine for the SCX, now worries there. I have some 3800 3s packs in mine and they fit very well. Everything you got will get you off the ground and running which is a good thing.

 

[StevenZ]

Awesome. Hey TexasSP, I'll be traveling to Houston in the spring time for business. Maybe we could meet up and crawl some time.

 

[TexasSP]

Awesome. Hey TexasSP, I'll be traveling to Houston in the spring time for business. Maybe we could meet up and crawl some time.

Sounds good, we have a local group and should have plenty planned for scale off road in the spring. Keep in touch in the Texas forums near the bottom for updates.