Help......whats The Problem

[knotty]

i`ve just installed me radio gear into me car and gone to set the esc up.the led on it blinks continuosly and the steering seems to only flicker if i place the tip of the handset ariel against the receiver ariel.the speed controller is the tamiya teu 101bk and the radio gear is an acoms transmitter and an acoms reciever,27 mhz with band 5 green crystals in.all batteries are fully charged.

[WelshHornet]

Re-check the battries,

but i just pulled out my motor plugs on my hornet with the same ESC

and i get that quick blink, is the car new or old?

w.h.

[markbt73]

They all twitch when you rub the antennas together. It's just a little interference.

If I remember right, the ESC will blink at you until you set it up (push the button, pull the trigger, do the hokey-pokey, etc.). The little instruction sheet that came with the ESC should tell you what to do. But I don't think anything will work until you go thru that setup procedure.

[knotty]

wouldnt the steering servo still work?

[WelshHornet]

your steering servo should work if theres power and a working radio.

is the radio new or 2nd hand?

[knotty]

the radio is new and the reciever is new,the only unknown is the crystals.i thought they were a pair but i am a bit baffled,should there be a tx and an rx in a pair?presumably tx for transmitter and rx for reciever.i know it seems like it but i am not taking the mick,i genuinly dont know.the radio and reciever were bought as seperate items and didnt come with crystals.so i used what i thought were a pair i had left of my last adventures in tamiya land.

[Lemming]

the radio is new and the reciever is new,the only unknown is the crystals.i thought they were a pair but i am a bit baffled,should there be a tx and an rx in a pair?presumably tx for transmitter and rx for reciever.i know it seems like it but i am not taking the mick,i genuinly dont know.the radio and reciever were bought as seperate items and didnt come with crystals.so i used what i thought were a pair i had left of my last adventures in tamiya land.

Check the frequencies on each crystal.

You are right, TX goes in the transmitter, RX goes in the receiver. They should show exactly the same frequency (e.g. 27.495) on both.

If nothing is running on the vehicle (ignore twitches) and all parts are new (Transmitter, Receiver, Servo, ESC) then I would seriously consider crystals to be the main issue. Even if the ESC is older, the fact that the Servo witches shows there is power being fed from the ESC to the receiver, and from the receiver to the servo. Just no control signals from the receiver - probably means it is not getting any clear ones from the transmitter.

Cheers

Steve

[knotty]

yeah both are green band 5 27.195mhz 1 has r27.197 the other one only has the frequency on,no t or r so i`ll get some new ones and try them.cheers

[Wrc action]

agreed with steve, your most likely to be having an issue with the crytals. It is possible that they are the wrong way round something that im sure we have all done in our haste to go running and found our car to be a little wayward in the end.

it is also possible that you have a mixed pair of crystals. different manufactures have different ideas of what "blue" or "red" crystals should have as a frequency, they might only be out by a fraction but it could well be that fraction that is giving you this result. I would therefore look actually on the crystal at the exact freqency and not that freqency on there carrier.

best wishes

Ryck

[knotty]

new pair of crystals just gone in and its working fine now.just one more quick question,is it worth unplugging the battery connection from the esc into the receiver,and fitting the four cell battery holder from acoms?i was wondering if it would let the esc and motor be powered from the car battery while the receiver is independently powered,giving a longer run time per battery pack?or does it not work like that

[Lemming]

new pair of crystals just gone in and its working fine now.just one more quick question,is it worth unplugging the battery connection from the esc into the receiver,and fitting the four cell battery holder from acoms?i was wondering if it would let the esc and motor be powered from the car battery while the receiver is independently powered,giving a longer run time per battery pack?or does it not work like that

Really depends on the battery you are running as to how much difference you will see, but also can make a difference to servo speed.

If the ESC outputs 6v (better than 4.8v) then you would be better off skipping the battery box idea as the Tower Pro servo's don't like 4.8v very much. If the ESC outputs 4.8v, then either way would work about the same.

You won't save a massive amount of run-time on a decent battery (2000mah +) but it will keep the steering/receiver working better right until the battery is dead. Really shouldn't over discharge batteries anyway, so I prefer to ignore the battery box and simply run until the car slows.

Cheers

Steve

[knotty]

thanks steve,i think i`ll leave as is for the moment then.

[WelshHornet]

Dont know if this only applies to my car (101bk esc + acoms set) but when the cars flat out with a tail wind ,

Youll find the range shortened as the motors stealing all the power. so it limits how far you can drive your car away from you.

I tried with the battery pack that came with my acoms and it made a small bit of difference (20 meters maybe),

But i agree with others that this can just lead to voltage problems.

Youre probably better off buying another battery, i use 2300+ and its around 30 minutes of general park bashing.

Charge up two batteries and problem solved. if you want to know a decent brand pm me and ill tell u what i use.

Cause i don't know the forum rules on naming brands ect.

happy running!

welshhornet

[Lemming]

Dont know if this only applies to my car (101bk esc + acoms set) but when the cars flat out with a tail wind ,

Youll find the range shortened as the motors stealing all the power. so it limits how far you can drive your car away from you.

I tried with the battery pack that came with my acoms and it made a small bit of difference (20 meters maybe),

But i agree with others that this can just lead to voltage problems.

Youre probably better off buying another battery, i use 2300+ and its around 30 minutes of general park bashing.

Charge up two batteries and problem solved. if you want to know a decent brand pm me and ill tell u what i use.

Cause i don't know the forum rules on naming brands ect.

happy running!

welshhornet

No issues on naming brands at all.

For best value in the UK I use Vapextech, as not only are they cheap compared to power, but are comparable to several "top brand" batteries on punch. Also, their warranty service is awesome which makes all the difference with this sort of thing. Just had my E-Maxx eat one 16.8v battery and it was replaced immediately with no fuss.

Just my thoughs

Steve

EDIT: Running 4 x 3300mah 7.2v nimh and 4 x 4400mah 8.4v nimh from Vapextech.

30+ cycles on the 7.2's and they still take 3500 - 3600mah - 3 cycles on the 8.4's and they take 4600 - 4700mah.

[WelshHornet]

No issues on naming brands at all.

For best value in the UK I use Vapextech, as not only are they cheap compared to power, but are comparable to several "top brand" batteries on punch. Also, their warranty service is awesome which makes all the difference with this sort of thing. Just had my E-Maxx eat one 16.8v battery and it was replaced immediately with no fuss.

Just my thoughs

Steve

EDIT: Running 4 x 3300mah 7.2v nimh and 4 x 4400mah 8.4v nimh from Vapextech.

30+ cycles on the 7.2's and they still take 3500 - 3600mah - 3 cycles on the 8.4's and they take 4600 - 4700mah.

i fancy some of those 4400mah vapextech

someone a while back recomended 'ansmann racing 2300mah' for bashing a hornet, and i find its also very nice.

i think sometimes shops and websites can force newbies into overly expensive equipment and for bashing

or when you're new to the hoby you want a battery that you can charge badly and get wet and so on.

only through breaking stuff will you learn the hoby.

welshhornet.

[Lemming]

i fancy some of those 4400mah vapextech :)

someone a while back recomended 'ansmann racing 2300mah' for bashing a hornet, and i find its also very nice.

i think sometimes shops and websites can force newbies into overly expensive equipment and for bashing

or when you're new to the hoby you want a battery that you can charge badly and get wet and so on.

only through breaking stuff will you learn the hoby.

welshhornet.

Good point! Also need to bear in mind battery size...

New nimh batteries are slightly bigger that the older Tamiya nicd ones. An example is that the Vapextech ones won't fit in my Avante, but the Tamiya batteries will, as will my cheap 1700mah nicd's.

Then again, a 3300mah nimh battery will run over 30 mins on a standard silver can , so great for bashing if you can fit it into the vehicle. Luckily Vapextech do give dimensions on their batteries.

Most batteries are OK to get wet, as long as you disconnect them when they do, and then thoroughly dry them. Tried that with the 8.4v's in my Emaxx at the beach!

Failing that, stick them in a condom!

Cheers

Steve

ps - Where are you in Wales mate? I'm Pontypridd, and often bash at Ogmore (down by Bridgend)

[knotty]

Good point! Also need to bear in mind battery size...

New nimh batteries are slightly bigger that the older Tamiya nicd ones. An example is that the Vapextech ones won't fit in my Avante, but the Tamiya batteries will, as will my cheap 1700mah nicd's.

Then again, a 3300mah nimh battery will run over 30 mins on a standard silver can , so great for bashing if you can fit it into the vehicle. Luckily Vapextech do give dimensions on their batteries.

Most batteries are OK to get wet, as long as you disconnect them when they do, and then thoroughly dry them. Tried that with the 8.4v's in my Emaxx at the beach!

Failing that, stick them in a condom!

Cheers

Steve

ps - Where are you in Wales mate? I'm Pontypridd, and often bash at Ogmore (down by Bridgend)

take it your on about physical sizes rather than mah`s when you say the nimh are bigger?and does the condom idea work?i`ve heard mates mention it(mates you geddit? ..sorry)but never seen it done

[WelshHornet]

ps - Where are you in Wales mate? I'm Pontypridd, and often bash at Ogmore (down by Bridgend)

I'm living in oxford at the moment but i'm always at my parents place in monmouth,

i looked on google maps quick and its an hour or so.

Might be able to make something work in the future.

I had that size problem when i went from classic hornet to re re.

the new one didnt accept my re-packed humpbacks, hence the 2300s i got.

welshhornet.

[Lemming]

take it your on about physical sizes rather than mah`s when you say the nimh are bigger?and does the condom idea work?i`ve heard mates mention it(mates you geddit? ..sorry)but never seen it done

Yep, physical size of the pack. Means I have to keep my old Tamiya packs for the Avante, and modified the Top Force and Dyna Storm accordingly.

With the condom trick you need to make sure of 2 things:

1. You don't break the condom when putting it on or in the car (easy to do even without long female nails involved )

2. You seal the end around the wires. Fill the end with a bit of silicone sealer, then tie with a cable tie to squish the silicone.

I'm living in oxford at the moment but i'm always at my parents place in monmouth,

i looked on google maps quick and its an hour or so.

Might be able to make something work in the future.

I had that size problem when i went from classic hornet to re re.

the new one didnt accept my re-packed humpbacks, hence the 2300s i got.

welshhornet.

I've got a 16 month old terror, so can't always get out but feel free to let me know via PM when you are back in Monmouth. We love getting out and running the multitude of beasties.

All the best

Steve