taliesin

In future I think perhaps something not less than 35C will be in order. I'm at the point of preferring one or two very expensive batteries to several ok batteries. Then if they swell up and go AWOL perhaps I'll take up cross stitch or grab the fly rod and call it a day until battery technology improves.

LOL, beer. Ah, the wonders of a modern education.

Winter is a tough time for RC here in Montana. We got a huge snowstorm in mid-November and we've had about a foot of snow in the yard and thick layers of ice on the streets until just last week when it got to 50 degrees and a Chinook wind melted everything all at once. Almost four months of not seeing dirt or pavement that isn't covered in snow or ice is a bit challenging for those who want to go bash an RC or two around the park. Don't get me wrong, I love snow and winter is my second favorite season, but enough already - I surrender. In years past I spent the winter months buying, building and tweaking but this year it has been more organizing and soul searching. To be honest, I've got way too much RC stuff and it is getting to be a bit depressing to spend time in the modeling room. I'm pulling out boxes of stuff from the closet of forgotten things and making honest assessments about whether I really need this, that or the other. Will it really ever get used? Do I still want it? Have I even looked at it in the last year or two. Mostly I'm just remembering how much fun they were when I bought, built or ran them and starting to realize that I haven't thought about them or ran them for ages. Not so good actually. Now I'm reluctant to buy or build anything new because I'm up to my ears in the fruits of my earlier labors and I can't really muster the attention span for any new projects at all. So I'm kinda stuck now too. What really sounds good right now is a Jeep camping weekend on Fraser Island with a cooler full of cold bear and a kayak. Unfortunately, that is as far from reality as visiting Mars at the moment. Actually, looking at the mileage, Mars is actually a bit closer.

Yeah, sounds like. I'd bin the pair of them right now before they get back into circulation and you forget about them. One of the many things to hate about crystals. The other is that no matter which ones you have, they always seem to be the wrong ones, the same as your buddies, the ones that have the worst interference, etc. or ... the ones you meant to bin because one or the other of them didn't work right but you forgot and tossed them in the box with all the others and now that you're at the park or wherever they don't work. Just my 2 cents worth.

New Boomerang parts - located in US. Make me an offer. Pix available upon request. These are new but partial parts trees that aren't doing me any good as I'm out of the Boomerang game for good. B parts #9005195. I have two new parts trees, both missing the bumper (the best part of course ) E parts #9005267 - missing the battery door pin (again with the best part missing ) A parts #0005231 - missing the wing mount (#s 1 and 2) D parts #9005266 - missing bits #2 and 4 and 1x of the #1 part. Battery door is off the sprue but I think unused (has storage scuffs) R parts #9115022 (rear arms) - missing one upper arm (# R1) Plastic gear bag #9005167 - missing one of the H1 gears, one diff gear and the drive gear One new lower rear arm (# R4) - off the sprue but unused I also have 1x used battery door - light scratching but no damage or cracks (listed here, but this is the only used part, the rest are new)

Some decent used bits for sale, make me an offer - located in the US. PM if interested. Pix upon request. Big Wig subframe Porsche 956 upper deck Porsche 959 rear gear case EDIT: also just found some new unused vintage Boomerang parts Ball connector bag #9405242 (x9811) - looks complete Shaft bag (x9817) - 1x pair of dog bones & the propeller shaft Original manual - fair condition; punched for binder, some writing, a bit dirty Also have Big Wig original manual - fair condition; some writing, a bit dirty I also have some re-re Boomerang parts that I will list in a separate posting since not vintage

The DT-02 doesn't really need much for hop-ups and is tough as old boots in standard format. Fun buggy for a small price. The biggest bang for the buck is to add oil shocks, bearings, a better motor, steel pinion and some front tires with better grip for less under-steer. Otherwise about the only upgrade that I've found useful are adjustable turn buckles. Some people like a ball diff for racing but personally I found the gear diff to be better for bashing - less hassle and cheaper. I agree with GregM above that aluminum bling doesn't add anything except cost and fragility on this model.

Got three bodies for Grasshopper II that I want to part with: (1) a NIB with decals and driver figure; (2) a damaged then repaired beater shell; and (3) a possible fixer upper. Located in the US. Also have a complete Super Hornet runner w/o electronics - recently retired but still very serviceable. PM me if interested.

Then speak to a solicitor about the divorce papers you were just served with if the Missus catches you doing this....

Several times my Lipo batteries have gone all puffy for no apparent reason. Recently it was a Venom 2S 4000 mah 20C battery that was stored at 3.8v for about 3 months through the winter. It was one of four battery packs that were purchased at the same time and stored in the same manner. Three are fine, one is puffy. Also in the latest casualty batch a Dynamite 2S 5300 mah 35C pack under similar conditions. This one continues to take a full balanced charge and other than not fitting well into the battery trays seems to perform just fine. Obviously it is suspect and cannot be used as it seems to be a time bomb and it isn't practical to use a battery that can't be secured in the battery compartment. Not to mention FIRE = BAD. I've also seen this in two ONYX 2S 5000 mah 25C hard packs that puffed up within about a month of purchase with limited use in a stock Slash 4x4 brushless truck. They were charged on a good charger (Racer's Edge) at 1C - never more, never less. Never run below minimum voltage or abused in any way. My LHS exchanged them at no charge as it was just a few weeks since they sold them and the charger to me, but ... Why does this happen? I've also seen it with Duratrax 2S 2500 mah 25C packs several times, but those cases were after two years continuous use and is understandable - at least my assumption was they had reached the end of their lifespan after several hundred charge cycles and heavy use. No hard feelings as they lived a good life and gave good service. But, these other's that just give up and died for no apparent reason? Sorry, they are cowards and deadbeat slackers IMHO. Poor character, no work ethic. But ... why? Just curious.

Anyone interested? Located in US. Make me an offer. Came in a shelf queen that I bought with some other items. Didn't appear to be used, but was installed and hooked up with all the other electronics. I never tested because I don't have an FM transmitter.

Tastes like chicken?

In the States 72 mhz was the primary air frequency for a long time. Now I think it is all 2.4 ghz. 75 mhz was touted as the "better" technology until 2.4 ghz came along. There was a brief FM period but it never really seemed to take off here - not 27 or 75 mhz, although both were available. I've got one kind of cool "adjustable" FM receiver that had two dials and the frequency could be dialed in. It was a JR if memory serves. It came in a lot of stuff I bought and I never used it so it now lives in the closet of forgotten things with so much other stuff. Think I even have a new 72 mhz AM receiver that I got by accident and couldn't return. (Also now living in the closet of forgotten things....)

Curious to read that old thread and to see that De-Solv-It wasn't available in the U.S. back then. It is quite common now.

I wouldn't even consider using a soft pack in the DT-01 because the shape and location of the battery compartment just begs for sharp debris to wedge the pack in the slot and puncture the casing. Even a normal hard case NIMH battery can get wedged in with just a few bits of gravel or small stones or rubbish in just the right place and it can be very hard to get the battery pack out again. Usually with some damage. That same situation will certainly ruin a soft pack and probably create a fire danger that could ruin your buggy. Even sand can make battery removal a real pain on this model. I'm a big fan of the DT-01 chassis with all its flaws - they are just cheap and cheerful runners and tough as old boots. The bump steer is just part of the charm, but nothing will make you curse the chassis more than half an hour spent trying to extricate a battery pack only to find you've badly damaged it after all the effort. Grrrrrrr. Just my two cents worth, but I've got five of them and run them quite a lot. I've gotten to the point that I prefer older NiCad or NIMH batteries because they fit better. Old 2000 MAH batteries seem easier to get in and out with less problems - that very slight diameter difference seems to be the difference. And they won't burn my buggy to the ground if the casing is ruptured. BTW - I've had to replace the shrink tubing on the old packs several times for this exact reason - the debris tears the old casing to ribbons. Easy and cheap to do on non-Lipo packs though.

Like others, I've got a bunch of 27 mhz gear that works fine and I just haven't bothered to switch it over. Also as above, some of the receivers are starting to fail - mostly the antennas that get tattered. When I do make a change it usually is with 2.4 ghz but not always. I've gave up on 75 mhz though. I was always told that it was better and had less interference and glitching, but that was not true. Perhaps it was just excessive interference in my area, but I had no end of trouble with 75 mhz - lots of glitching regardless of the brand of transmitter. I used matched crystal sets and always ran the same brand of RX / TX to no avail. Also, the longer antennas had a very short life span and were just annoying. Last but not least, my wife finds the simple 27 mhz radios easier to use and feels less intimidated by them so I tend to keep them around for buggies that she likes to drive. There are bags of cheap receivers still out there for give away prices too.

Yup, that is exactly the stuff. It takes a while and several repetitions before the paint gets soft and rather gooey and then you can scrub it off with a stiff bristle brush and a lot of rinsing in warm water. Seemed to work OK and I was surprised that it didn't lift any of the decals on the outside of the shell since it was a rather messy affair. It hasn't made any of the shells I've done cloudy or brittle either. Not the quickest or easiest method, but it seemed to work just fine and the smell wasn't awful either, unlike some things I've tried.

The Brat tires won't fit on Grasshopper wheels, sorry.

Should clean up nicely. Great find. I actually like this car a lot and prefer it to the Boomer, but it seems to have a smaller fan club than it's better known cousin. Still - a lovely buggy IMHO.

I should mention the shell that I cleaned with De-Solv-It was also either painted with the wrong paint or perhaps not properly cleaned of possible contaminates &/or oil residue prior to painting - or maybe even wrong paint and poor prep work. The paint flaked off in great huge patches just like the pictures above, but what didn't flake off was nearly impossible to remove. The De-Solv-It cleaner and lots of elbow grease did the trick though.

I used a product called De-Solv-It available in most hardware stores. It is a grease and graffiti remover and it works quite well without making the Lexan cloudy or brittle. The decals were unharmed on the outside. The "contractor's grade" works better than the regular strength but both seemed to soften up the paint so it could be scrubbed off. It was a slow process and required a lot of patience and scrubbing with a stiff bristle brush - repeat often until finished. Not quick, but I stripped a truck body for my Twin Detonator in one day. Not sure if it is available where you are, but I've tried a lot of things and this worked the best for Lexan of anything that I've tried with one exception - a product called "Chameleon" made by a company called Walther's (if memory is correct) but the company appears to have gone out of business around 2009 or so and unless you can find a bottle on a shelf in an old hobby store it is no longer available. Word of caution: DON'T use De-Solv-It to strip paint on hard bodies as it will make them soft and ruin them. Figured that out the hard way.

Manufacturing error? Still on the sprue because it is unusable? Interesting.

Love a happy ending!

Awesome! Love what is happening with this chassis already. Great design mate!!

PM sent.