GPZ1000RX

If you have standard stick packs and don't go to organised racing then Spatto's right. Run your car till it won't run any more then give NiMh about a third charge before storage. For Nicads store them completely discharged. If you have expensive matched racing packs then a discharger is a good investment. Trinity Real time is a good one for saddle packs. Wire up a car headlight bulb to a connector to suit your batteries, plug bulb into batt pack, when light goes out batt is discharged. Be careful, the bulb gets hot enough to melt carpet, guess how I know?

We used to do drift racing all the time in the mid to late 70's We called it indoor electric RC model car racing! We did it on the polished wooden floor of village halls and factory restaurants. Grip was VERY hard to get even if you did "stipple" your tyres with silicone sealant. Kept the fun level up and the cost down as anything hotter than a 35T stock motor (pretty much a Tamiya "kit" motor) was just impossible!

For the standard mechanical speed control a 24degree stock will be fine until you can afford an ESC. Keep clear of the 36deg stocks they draw too much current for a MSC and they don't last long. If you can find a "run out" discontinued model 27T 24deg rebuildable stock you should get a good deal. For a first time upgrader which particular one really isn't important!

You want speed? Well speed costs! and this is where you start paying. UK prices 9T motor £50 No limit ESC £120 3 good spec NiMh race packs £40 each charger for above £100 power supply for charger £60 discharger £35 car to handle all the power £150+ comm trueing machine (a 9T will need a true at least every 5 runs)£150 bulk pack of motor brushes £30 and all that is just for starters!!!!! If you can afford all that I wish you good luck. Or you could start out a little more modestly, as suggested by Jimmy and myself:-) Have fun, but remember that fun is often in inverse proportion to money spent:-) :-)

Lets hear it for the 27turn stock motor!!!!!!! Both of my sons and myself discovered, a long time ago, that, for a novice, more power often leads to a SLOWER race and more breakages! Because...... the car becomes more difficult to handle, meaning more time being marshalled. Impacts become more frequent and harder, due to more speed, which equals more repairs. And to finish first,......... first you must finish! To anyone upgrading the kit motor for the first time buy a stock, you will be surprised at the power, it's plenty for a novice or a novices car to handle.

If I have an original copy of an out of print manual for a no longer produced kit I'm OK to sell it for what I can get. However, if I copy it and sell the copy(s) then the manufacturer "could" sue me for breach of copyright, but for any thing which they regard as ancient history (as above) I don't suppose they would care, and even if they did care, they may not want to risk the bad publicity of a court case against a hobbyist. I'm no legal eagle tho!!!!

What car do you have splatto? Do you want to race? if so on or off road?

Was it really that long ago? For power poles in the UK if you need a lot. www.farnellinone.co.uk Farnell Sales 08701 200 200 They come in packs of five at £1.05pk for housings and £0.625 for contacts. This works out at £1.58 per 2 pole connection inc VAT. 30A housings red 397-3840 green 397-3552 black 397-3864 white 397-3876 blue 397 - 3888 30A contacts 397 - 3906 Normal delivery free This is probably cheaper than hobby shops and almost certainly a better choice of colours. I colour code my connectors red/green for 12V red/black for nicad. This makes for max flexibility.

I'm pretty much with Jimmy on this one but would go even more sensible! A 27turn 24degree stock motor is plenty fast in an otherwise standard car and you don't have to be concerned about lower gearing, speed control spec or anything. You can pretty much bolt it, in mesh it up and drive. But it will be a lot faster than the kit motor.

RC Car Action Magazine did a test of the above mentioned connectors several years ago and concluded that Deans were, by a very little bit, the best resistance wise. Closely followed by power poles. There are other consideations tho, Deans are quite difficult to solder up, insulate and physically operate but they are very small if space is tight. Powerpoles are much easier to fit, operate and more "idiot proof" because they are colour coded and can be "gendered". But are much larger. If you get them from Farnell in bulk they are much cheaper than deans. Power poles are my favorites if space permits. Your local store should be able to show you all the types. Don't forget to put matching connectors on your chargers and a couple of adapters to Tamiya plugs/sockets is a good idea too.

Think I saw this guy fly "in the flesh" several years ago, he was awesome then and has obviously improved! If I hadn't seen it for myself I'd have trouble believing the video, but he really can do that with a RC copter.

Be carefull, lighter fluid is VERY flammable.

The "gold block" is (was) a big fat 50watt 1ohm resistor used in series with the nicad pack an the 12volt battery to limit the current. I actually still have one mounted on a heat sink, I carry it in my pit box "just in case" my expensive electronic one fails. Even the new budget quick chargers still use a resistor to control charge current plus a clockwork timer to switch off at 1/2 hr. Less nicads get cooked that way!

I'll try to scan it in and send it to you but the manual is very small and the print may be difficult to read! The ESC itself was only ever described as the 350pb or whatever, there were no airs and graces with Mtronics back then! As I said its a good unit, give it a try, you may be surprised!

Reading from the manual, Forward only Torque control 12 turn limit 4 to 10 cells forward resistance0.0054 ohms BEC output Built in schotty diode. It may be a bit old fashioned but its a nice punchy ESC with good brakes

More thinking, if it needs twelve volts, then it probably needs to be connected to the red (+12v) and black (-0v) pair. Sorry it takes me a few goes but I will get there eventually!!!

Thinking about it a bit more, your unit has two pairs of wires, so it may need a seperate supply on one of the pairs to make it work, probably 12v dc. Does your unit have any relay coils or contacts not visible in the pics?

Spot on, it's a discharger and a darn meaty one at that! I've built, and use something very similar myself. Mine loads the battery with 1/2 ohm resistance so it discharges at 14amps from a fully charged pack, it has the further refinement of a "self latching" 12volt relay with manual test button. Connect battery, press button, relay latches in, battery discharges thro resistors, when battery voltage falls below about 4.8volts relay drops out, automatically ending the discharge. cunning! You appear to have something very similar, very useful for making sure your batts are flat before you put them away.

Just spoken to Hobby Co (UK importers) They were very helpful but say that, at the moment, acoms don't supply the necessary bitz but Hobby Co are trying to persuade them to! Meantime I'm going to see if I can cannibalize an acoms 2ch for the springs etc. Screwdriver again please nurse!

Wrong I'm afraid, you need a much SMALLER pinion (low gearing)to run "hot" low turn motors, they rev higher/make less torque so you need to allow them to rev high. If you gear too high you stand a good chance of cooking (in no particular order) motor, speed control and batteries! Start off with the smallest pinion you can mesh up and go larger in 1 tooth steps, watch your runtime/ temperatures during every run. Err on the side of too small in the pinion, all you will lose is a little speed, much cheaper than losing expensive hardware!

Do any tank guys out there know what part is required and where to get the "thingy" to convert the throttle from rachet (a la aircraft)to sprung to centre (a la car) on the 4ch Acoms radio? I know I'm a slow witted old fool but twice now I've turned on every thing and the Tiger has charged off and tried some blitzing all on its own! No damage so far but it's only a matter of time! Any ideas greatly appreciated.

Have you been spying on my top secret kit building techniques?

Motor cleaning spray. From your local friendly model shop. Don't forget to relube it afterwards tho!

Try a 27X1. turn 24degree rebuildable stock motor first, they are much faster thn the kit motor. They cost about £27 UK £1 per turn............ spooky !

You've got yourself a good radio, why not see your flying friends and ask if someone has a basic trainer plane for sale, rig it all up and go fly? Most UK flyers would give their eye teeth to have access to the sort of flying facility that I think you may have!