Just got my Bully

[Sagitta]

Hey fellas,

Well I just got my Bully today, I bought it for AU$230 posted.
Had been wanting to get a crawler for ages but never went through with it, but I did this time.

It came ARTR, with RC4WD dual motor ESC, the cheap 55T RC4WD motors, a Bluebird BMS2514 servo, 2 sets of wheels/rims, Losi body, 6 lipos and a bunch of rod ends and a few links.
Also came with the RC4WD dig unit but not fitted.

I thought I got a pretty decent deal.

Just been messing about it with, it was all just plugged together and ran, so I pulled the electrics out and did a quick job of cleaning it up.
Shortened wires, mounted bits better, hard wired the motors and changed over to XT60 connectors.

I changed the servo to a Savox 1283-SG, which was going to go into my truggy but I may change back (although it's a pretty decent servo, seems something even stronger may be nice, what torque do people usually go for)?
I also have a 1268 which was in my truggy but wanted to remove the HV setup.
I have a CC Pro BEC aswell, which I considered putting in the Bully but figured the RC4WD one should do the job.

Also seems the 55T RC4WD motors lack some torque, stall very easily, but I may get some 3s lipos to see if that will help (only have 2s).

How do I fit the Dig unit?
Was expecting to see another pair of wires, is it designed to run both motors from one ESC?



Some before/after pics, please excuse the quality, couldnt be bothered getting the SLR out.

 

[nzcrawl]

Nice, looks like a few bullies have been heading down under recently!
I think you got a pretty damn good deal! i paid half that in freight.
A bit gutted to hear about the lack of torque on your 55t motors..iv got 45t's on the way, but will run it on 3S..hopefully its all good and not lacking too much torque.

 

[Wadsta]

Nice one that is such a good deal! Me and NZC ordered new ones and shipping alone was crazy like he says

Now the fun starts with supeing it up. As far as servos go get the most powerful you can, and since you got such a bargain you can afford it "thumbsup".
Having said that the Savox should be fine, but heaps of good info here on what people are running.

Instructions for the DIG are here:
http://killerkrawler.com/Electronics/Instructions/RC4WD Rocker Dig unit Instructions.pdf

Still waiting for mine to arrive...

 

[nzcrawl]

Nice one that is such a good deal! Me and NZC ordered new ones and shipping alone was crazy like he says

Now the fun starts with supeing it up. As far as servos go get the most powerful you can, and since you got such a bargain you can afford it "thumbsup".
Having said that the Savox should be fine, but heaps of good info here on what people are running.

Instructions for the DIG are here:
http://killerkrawler.com/Electronics/Instructions/RC4WD Rocker Dig unit Instructions.pdf

Still waiting for mine to arrive...

Yea same, im still waiting. I ordered mine on the weekend.
I have just recieved my confirmation of shipping emails today. With any luck it will be here for the weekend but im not holding my breath.
I have secured a couple of days off work whenever it arrives so i can spend a couple of days getting it together and messing with it :lmao: 8):ror:
the wait is killing me!

 

[Sagitta]

Cool, nice fellas.

I'm a close neighbour in Tassie.

Got the Dig on but my controller doesnt have a 3way switch, I was hoping to assign a trim switch to it but nope.
I'll have to use my Hitec Auora 9.


Yeah, I think 3s will help, gonna get a couple myself soon, the compact zippy 1000mah ones, bout $6 or something.

I might run this servo till I find another high torque one pop up cheaply (I hardly ever buy new stuff, haha).

I only had to wait from last thursday, wouldve killed me if I had to wait up to a few weeks, haha.

 

[Wadsta]

Did you buy it locally or overseas?

FWIW I wouldn't buy second hand servos, you might get lucky or you might end up with an expensive paperweight unless you get a transferable warranty. Me and many others have been there, you're not saving money in the long run "thumbsup"

 

[Sagitta]

Bought it from QLD.

I've had a fair bit of luck with buying 2nd hand stuff, not expecting it to last forever, but usually pay pretty cheap prices.
I got the Savox one for $50 I think.
I bought my 1268 new though.

Well it seems the RC4WD BEC can't cope with the savox servo on the Hitec gear, browns out very easily, so now I've hooked up my CC PRO BEC.
Trying to find a place to mount everything, not a lot of room.

 

[Sagitta]

Well all back together again and running properly on the Aurora 9.

Still needs to be neatened up and BEC, DIG and RX are kinda vulnerable.

 

[Wadsta]

Sweet does the DIG work ok?

 

[Sagitta]

Yeah, works fine, I think the motors are letting it down though, doesnt have a lot of holding power for brakes.

It also came with a 2nd set of shocks, which are much longer, I changed the rear ones over and it flexes much more now.
Appears to be an improvement in its ability to climb over bits.

 

[Sagitta]

Well that was weird...

Just changed the servo back over to the one that came with it, turned it on, drove it around the lounge for about 30 seconds and then smoke everywhere.


Oddly enough the negative receiver wire was fried, looks like the only damage I can see.



A couple of build tips I can give right now though is, get some threadlock and better screws.

 

[Wadsta]

That'll be one of those second hand servo paperweights...:roll: :lmao:

Bummer dude hopefully didn't fry anything else?

 

[Sagitta]

Oh, I meant to say the fried wire was from the ESC, lol.

I just replaced the ESC receiver wires and it all booted up and worked fine, including the servo.
No idea what caused it.

I did bump up the voltage to 7.5 on the CC BEC, the bluebird servo seems to be doing a reasonably decent job now, not quite as strong or as fast as the Savox but not far off it.

 

[Wadsta]

Are you powering your Rx with the CC BEC? Just wondering if it can handle 7.5v?

 

[Sagitta]

Yeah, powered through the CC BEC.
Receiver can handle 4.8-7.4v.

 

[Sagitta]

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[The Jackalope]

The problem with you El-cheapo RC4wd motors, is the brushes were never properly broken in, Here's a pic of my 45t of the same. This " [ " shaped brush was designed for speed, but not torque. Plus, if they're well used/dirty after never being broken in, they just can't get enough contact area on the commutator. You should get a tonne of torque from a 55t

I did a serious water break in on mine to wear off the burr. Might be too late for you, but I'd give it a shot anyways.

 

[Sagitta]

Oh, ok, I see it now, mine still has that "[" shape but looks like theres a couple of nice groves on the comm.

I never really played around with brushed motors before, I got into the hobby just as brushless was becomming big and affordable.

I still gotta get some electrical cleaner to clean them, they are quite dirty, I used to use it on a Tamiya TZ 23T motor I had ages ago, made quite a difference.

So did you wear them in until the "[" was gone?

 

[The Jackalope]

So did you wear them in until the "[" was gone?

Yup. From new, they spent nearly a weekend in a cup of water, running on 3volts. it took forever. At least get them till they are wearing on the entire comm, and not just the top and bottom. the more surface area the better though. They've been good motors since. But it took a lot of work to get them there. "thumbsup" on the cleaner too.

 

[Sagitta]

Cool, fair enough, thanks.

I'll get to doing mine over the weekend, just a couple of D size batteries or something right?