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speedy_w_beans

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Posts posted by speedy_w_beans

  1. Posted

    In the past decade of buying Tamiya RC and static model kits, I've never checked the box to see the country of origin.  It doesn't matter to me if it's made in Japan, Philippines, Indonesia, or elsewhere.  I just care that the end product embodies Tamiya's "passion and precision" brand principles at a reasonable cost point.  To me the heart of Tamiya is choice of subject, product design and packaging design, and mold making.  Where the parts are shot, the fasteners bagged, the instructions and boxes printed, etc. doesn't mean much to me as long as the factory produces correctly per design intention.

    • Like 3

  6. Posted

    Hi @ImALlama, congratulations, you're #1 in the silver can category!

    Since the results were so close to El Dougo's results, I went back to his video and watched it again.  His Garmin showed 44.8 mph while your phone showed 45 mph.  Due to the limited precision of the phone app, I have to assume the internal software truncated the speed from 45.x mph to 45 mph.  Most base software functions are like this.

    Nice run!

  8. Posted

    I've been tempted a few times to buy a NIB from Tower, but I'm awash in RC stuff already.  To keep it a little more fun/interesting, Scollins and I have been actively trading stuff from our caches as the mood strikes.  He sent me some Kyosho, I sent him some HPI, he sent me a Tamiya, I'm sending one to him soon.  I think we all have kits lying around with not a lot of emotional attachment; why not do some horse trading?

    • Like 3

  9. Posted

    On 7/16/2021 at 3:31 PM, Juggular said:

    EDIT:  This arrived today, and it works now!  Like magic!!  Thank you again.  Hopefully the AC would last a couple more years...

    Dj0wpAI.jpg

     

    2 hours ago, Juggular said:

    The breaker tripped last night, so I've ordered the contactor thing too.

     

    Glad to hear the capacitor got things running again!

    If your compressor kicks on and off correctly per the thermostat's demand, then the contactor may not be necessary.  The main ways a contactor could fail include:

    1) The control input to the contactor's main coil doesn't work anymore, so the circuit stays open and the compressor doesn't run any more.  The breaker wouldn't/shouldn't trip in this case since there's no major demand for power from your electrical panel.

    2)  The control input to the contactor is working, but the contacts themselves are shot and you're not getting power to the compressor.  The breaker shouldn't trip with no power demand, although I'm not sure what would happen if only one of the two contacts was shot / open circuit.  For sure the motor would look like an imbalanced load to the breaker/panel.

    3)  The control input to the contactor is working, but the contacts welded themselves together and now the compressor runs all the time even if the house is cool enough.  The breaker shouldn't trip even if the compressor runs continuously, but the coils in your inside air handler / furnace will likely freeze over.

    If the breaker in your electrical panel is as old as the house and/or air conditioning unit, you might have a breaker that is getting weak.  I have a circuit in my garage that can't reliably handle my air compressor even though the motor for the compressor is under the rating of the breaker.  It seems to be a related to the initial transient or power surge when the motor first kicks on.  I've jiggled the breaker off and on a few times and it will work, but sometimes the compressor pops the breaker unpredictably.  I chalk it up to the inrush current of starting the motor combined with the 30-year old breaker in the panel.  I should really get off my dupa and replace it.  Explanation:  https://everythingwhat.com/can-a-circuit-breaker-become-weak

     

    • Thanks 1

  10. Posted

    If you have shut down the breaker at the electrical panel and pulled the exterior disconnect out of its socket, and you are still getting some buzzing at the unit, I would be super-careful about an electrical fault somewhere before touching anything.  Nothing in that unit should be energized or buzzing when all power is cut off.  Use a meter to confirm nothing has power on it before touching it.  (Edit:  Did you shut off the breaker for the inside unit as well?  The controller in the inside unit controls the contactor in the outside unit...)

    The capacitor is used for starting the motors; certain types of motors have an additional winding in them that "lead" the other main windings a little bit.  When power is first applied to the motors, the capacitor provides power to the lead winding slightly in advance of the main windings so the motor has a direction to turn.  These motors are different from the brushed/brushless motors used in our RC cars.  A good explanation:  https://eepower.com/capacitor-guide/applications/motor-starting-capacitor/#

    The contactor assembly that you highlighted in red can be opened, and the contacts can be inspected.  I had one of these units semi-weld the contacts together due to old age, so it had to be replaced.  The outside unit was running all the time even though the inside thermostat wasn't calling for any cooling, so as a result the coils inside the attic air handler froze.  The system expects house airflow to add heat into those coils; when it's not there, there's nothing stopping the coils from freezing.  The other possibility is that your contactor is corroded and won't switch power on at all, in which case your house will circulate air but the outside compressor won't run.

    Most importantly, be absolutely sure the power is completely absent before touching anything!!!  Use a meter to check it all!  (Edit:  Power to both the inside unit and outside units should be off!)

    If your contactor looks good and you replace the starter capacitor and there's still no success, but you hear buzzing coming from the compressor motor itself, it's likely the compressor is frozen and then you're looking at replacement.  In my case my whole system was 20 years old, so it was time to just replace everything indoor and outside.  It was thousands of dollars at that point to replace the system.

    The other concern you might have since you haven't used the system in 8 years is the re****erant level could be low.  I imagine the system is probably even older than 8 years.  Average consumers/citizens can't get access to the ozone-affecting re****erant needed to charge the system; you have to be a licensed HVAC person to handle that material.

    I hope your contactor is good, a new capacitor works, and you have sufficient re****erant!  Otherwise there is not much else you can do and it will likely be a service call since the technician will have additional gauges and re****erant on hand. 

    The joys of troubleshooting and repair...

     

    • Thanks 1

  15. Posted

    The DF03 was the first Tamiya (and first RC) I ever built 11 years ago.  I chose it over the DF02 Gravel Hound at the time because I liked the standard ball bearings, adjustable upper links, standard wheels and tires, better ground clearance, shaft drive, etc.

    It was a mixed bag of good and bad for my son and me.  We took it to the local indoor clay track, and I really liked the way the buggy drove.  With some threaded aluminum dampers, different springs, turnbuckles, slipper clutch, and 19T brushed motor it was actually pretty responsive and maneuverable.  At the time we ground some Pro-Line Holeshot M3 pin tires into slicks and treated them with sauce, and the buggy went wherever we pointed it.

    Unfortunately it wasn't that durable for us.  Lots of screws would loosen during a run, the front diff joints chipped, the front damper stay snapped easily, the body clip on the battery tray retainer would get lost, the rear diff needed lots of rebuilding, the gear on the layshaft would wear too easily, some of the kingpin screws would loosen in the knuckles, etc.  I did make some changes over time, such as running the front diff joints in the rear and using tungsten carbide diff balls.  In the end it felt like the plastics weren't up to the task and we rebuilt the entire buggy from spares, put in a silver can, and shelved it.

    The second buggy was a DB01 Durga, and it was significantly better out of the box.  Again, it came with ball bearings, turnbuckles, CVA dampers, standard wheel and tire sizes, etc.

    To me the DB01 felt more stable and controlled than the DF03, but the DF03 was more sprightly.  The softer springs on the DB01 actually worked better with the kit CVA dampers.

    However, the DB01 crushed the DF03 in terms of durability.  The nylon plastics and machine screws did a far better job of staying together.  I didn't have any diff joint, gear, damper stay, or knuckle issues.  The two biggest issues I remember included the rubber cement slipping between the diff rings and joints, which required a second application of glue, and the rear suspension block flexing a little too much, requiring an aluminum upgrade.  Otherwise the sealed belt drive setup was quiet and robust even with a 4200kV brushless system.

    I kind of want the handling of the DF03 in a more durable chassis like the DB01.  Something like a TB03 chassis running TRF502x diffs and DB01 arms, or a TA05V2 chassis running TRF501x diffs and DB01 arms.  Just something with a shorter wheelbase, better plastics, and machine screws.  Maybe the TD4 will be that buggy?  Time will tell...

     

    • Like 3

  16. Posted

    No idea what happened with him, but I liked his explanations of product line evolution and the master listing of kits.  Can't help thinking real life is keeping him busy, or he burned out and is taking a break.  He didn't monetize anything, so it was a true labor of love.

    • Like 4

  17. Posted

    Bought a couple of these when they were closing them out at $3 a pop:  Turnigy Torque Metrix Hexdriver

    The torque settings are continuous, meaning you can set any value between the marks.  The driver itself holds the bit firmly until reaching the target torque, then it slips smoothly.  It's a way to set the absolute minimum torque necessary to install a fastener without distorting/damaging the plastic hole it goes into.

    I bought it more out of curiosity than anything else.  It's not something I use regularly.

    • Like 2

  19. Posted

    I think I would have designed this slightly differently:

    • Provide regular 2.2" wheels and tires instead of the proprietary stuff.  The Avante MkII wheels and dual block K tires would have been just fine.
    • Provide the softer springs from the Durga kit; the suspension looks way too stiff in the running video
    • Provide metal gear diffs instead of ball diffs; the majority of target consumers want less internal maintenance and the option for more power
    • Reconfigure the electronics
      • Mount the servo under the IFS
      • Provide a stopper so the battery tray can accept shorty LiPos
      • Retain the ESC tray with clips instead of screws to access the shorty LiPo more easily
    • I can't see the motor setup yet, but I'd want to have a mount for a fan to force some cooling like the TA06
    • Like 5

  20. Posted

    5 hours ago, TurboTimmy said:

    Thanks for all the replies. I am, however, curious as to how many folks out there have used the RJSpeed 3.2 Pan Car as a basher. I realize that I did say that I wasn't really interested in one, but I have read other forums and some people have liked them for that purpose. There are some areas of very smooth pavement near my home that might accommodate it. But I will also look into drift chassis and the others that were mentioned.

    Yes!  I have built a few RJ Speed Sport 3.2 over the years and was never really happy with the kit foam tires in the street.  However, I finished another one some time ago with a 962-style shell and used F104 soft rubber tires on it instead.  I found it very enjoyable to drive with a silver can and 3:1 gearing; it wiggled just a little under hard braking but was otherwise planted.

    I 3D-printed the wheels designed from the original foam wheels and F104 wheels, so that gave me some latitude on offset and mixing metric and imperial parts together. But if you want to avoid that, maybe a set of World GTR rubber tires/wheels from CRC would make a good substitute.  I didn't buy or test them because they are a bit pricey, and they didn't fit the scheme on the 962 shell.  I've also heard of people using sections of bicycle tubes to wrap the foam tires.

    I'm only guessing the soft compound of the F104 tires, combined with the ~1mm air gap between the tire and the inner foam, gave it the grip/contact patch/compliance needed to stick and handle some small bumps in the asphalt.  I did take my time polishing the front kingpins and drilling the knuckles ever so slightly to get smooth, but slop-free front suspension movement.  I also run the rear suspension with as little preload as possible.

    Out of the box, the Sport 3.2 likely won't bring you much joy bashing it in the street or parking lot.  But if you put some extra care into the build and put some soft rubber tires on it, it seems to work pretty well.  Keep in mind it's a 254/260/266 mm wheelbase, 200 mm width chassis, so that will affect your body choices a little bit.

  22. Posted

    Maybe to add a little more to what I wrote earlier...

    Tamiya's production/distribution model exists to aggregate volumes and protect regional distributors/retailers from each other.  We as consumers buy individual kits, but the local retailers hope to have several customers and will stock multiples of that kit if they think they have a hot seller on their hands.  The retailers buy multiples of the kit, but the distributor/importer/agent hopes multiple retailers will purchase stock.  Of course, Tamiya schedules and runs batches of kits based on agents ordering multiples of the kit.

    This model probably worked OK pre-Internet sales.  Now, if a USA customer chooses to purchase a kit, body shell, or something else from a Hong Kong retailer, he's completely bypassed the regional retailers and importer/distributor/agent.  A different region's retailer and agent have made the sale.  So it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation, because the regional retailers and importer would certainly stock more if those customers would buy from them, and those customers would buy from them if they would stock more.  In this age of (near) instant gratification, the distribution/retail chain can't react quickly enough and the customer just orders from almost anywhere in the world from whoever can fulfill the request.

    One of the problems with this is sometimes customers buy product from an out-of-region retailer, something goes wrong, and then they expect service in-region.  Tamiya USA put up a notice a few years ago about "gray market" items and not providing service for them, and that is well within their rights to do so.  Since the customer purchased it out of region, Tamiya USA never made any margin on it, yet service to that customer costs them something.  With shrinking revenue and rising service costs, that's no way to run a business.  I think historically this parallels the situation with some camera equipment; if you're on an overseas trip and buy a camera lens, then try to get service for that lens at home, it might be a hassle or a no-go.  It's not unique to just Tamiya.

    If you think about it, each person in the value chain has misaligned incentives.

    • The consumer wants good/fast/cheap/plentiful/convenient as much as possible, and buys locally or places his order with a retailer based on some combination of those factors.
    • The retailer is a business and wants to turn maximum profit, which means he stocks whatever sells fastest and whatever he is making the best margin on.  In many cases this is RC product that is not Tamiya.
    • The agent is also a business and wants to turn maximum profit, which means importing and selling whatever retailers are seeking in sufficient quantity to justify a cargo container of product.  Since he doesn't want retailers undercutting each other and therefore driving some of them away from the product/brand, he sets a MAP price so every retailer is on a level playing field.  It's not great for the consumer, protects individual retailers a little bit, and helps the agent spread out his inventory and maintain a larger marketing presence.  Tamiya USA instituted MAP pricing for this reason and justified the pricing based on the perception of it being a "premium" brand.
    • The factory wants to turn maximum profit and does so through operational efficiency, aggregating orders, locating production in lower cost regions, reusing common kit parts, etc.  It does the same thing to agents that agents do to retailers, meaning they will police agents and retailers that are cutting into other agents and retailers territories excessively.

    So I think in the pre-Internet retail environment, this model worked OK, but what we've seen post-Internet is that Internet businesses tend to undercut brick and mortar businesses, and opportunists in other regions will sell to end consumers out of region.  Each time an Internet retailer fulfills an order, a local hobby shop loses that revenue.  Each time a retailer in Hong Kong fulfills a UK or USA order for product, the agents and retailers in the UK and USA lose out on that sale.  Of course, we as consumers will continue to buy from Hong Kong as long as they have product at a reasonable price, are willing to sell to us, and shipping times are faster than working through the regional entities.  We tend to goal-seek and will buy in-region, out of region, and even from kit breakers on eBay.

    It's a bit chaotic and seems to suggest there ought to be a better way.  But better for whom?  How do you optimize this to make everyone in the chain happy?  It would be interesting to compare the RC situation with the plastic model situation, where I think Tamiya has a larger fan base.

    • Like 2

  23. Posted

    Tamiya USA is one of many official "agents" or importers of Tamiya Inc. products in the world.  Basically, Tamiya Inc. sends product to each agent to service the retailers in each region.  In theory you visit your local hobby store or your regionally-appropriate online retailer, buy a kit from their inventory, and that inventory comes from the importer/agent, who in turn gets it from Tamiya Inc. in Japan.

    It's not in anyone's interest to hoard inventory; everyone makes more profit the more they cycle inventory.  Therefore, if you're not finding Tamiya RC products at your favorite retailers, it's because they're not ordering them from the agent and not stocking them.

    There's no conspiracy for Tamiya Japan or Tamiya USA to hoard kits and charge higher prices; the more inventory they turn, the better it is for them.  I think the reality is Tamiya enthusiasts are the minority in the US RC market, and therefore it's in the best interest of retailers to stock other brands that sell more often (they want to turn inventory as well).  So, if a retailer has historically moved more of other other brands, they're going to continue to stock more of those other brands.  If a retailer is selling lots of Tamiya, they'll likely continue to do so.

    My local hobby shop used to stock 1-2 Tamiya kits on the shelves, but they had dozens upon dozens of Associated, Kyosho, Losi, Axial, and Traxxas.  I was pretty much the only person who ever came in looking for kits and paint; everyone else was buying race-grade kits to run on the outdoor dirt track or indoor carpet track, or buying extreme bashers to take to the park.  There weren't many people interested in building a "model suitable for radio control."  So if my local hobby shop is like many other local hobby shops or online retailers, then the only reason Tamiya USA has stock of certain kits is because the retailers aren't carrying them.  Talk to your retailer and see if you can get a better price.

    • Like 4
    • Thanks 1
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