Ayk Battery Questions

[Hibernaculum]

G'day,

The AYK Viper has a steel chassis with a hole running horizontally through it for the battery to slide through.

Now for 2 really stupid questions about batteries...

1. I have a NIB AYK brand 1200mah battery that fits into the Viper perfectly. But this battery is quite slim - slimmer than my Tamiya batteries. Trying to shove one of my Tamiya batteries into the car (standard Tamiya brand 1400mah Nimh) is so tight it tears the insulation wrapping from the outside of the battery.

What other 7.2v batteries are slim enough to fit the Viper? I'd prefer to stick with Tamiya brand. Even happy to buy more old AYK batteries if that's my only option (yes, hardcore fan). Not real interested in other brands of batteries (unless it's my only option).

2. The battery plug on the AYK mechanical speed control is female, so it needs the battery plug to be male (the opposite of Tamiya). Fine if I stick with using my AYK battery. But I'll need either a} an AYK charger that will fit it, or b} a 7.2v battery converter plug to convert female to male. Any around? *

Lastly, quick tip (though I guess anyone who actually has a Viper probably knows this already). The Viper is a really weird car to build, and requires some patience with some difficult/weak sections. One problem I noticed was that where the ends of the front telescopic dogbones rotate inside the front wheel hubs, they would rub against the screw holes in the hub that connect the suspensions arms - totally ruining smooth rotation of the wheel at various suspension angles. Instructions say to use 1 washer with the screws above and below the hub, but I found I had to up this to 3 washers above and below, to stop the tips of the screws entering the hub and touching the dogbones. Now it's smooth.

cheers,

H.

* PS. I don't want to cut wires and solder plugs if I don't have to (the battery, MSC etc are all precious, vintage gear to me).

And yes, I'm sticking to MSCs for pure, old skool fun and trauma. Not defecting to ESCs, so don't even waste your breath

[B.M.T.]

I found this battery size drama on saturday, while getting the RC10 and Blackfoot ready for the vintage race at Ryde.

Both my Intellect and slightly dodgy Hotbodies batteries are too long for the cradles in each car. Batteries have gotten bigger.

AYK ran backwards plugs like Kyosho did, in the 80's.

I guess the grinding front dogbone is part of why there is only 4 or 5 manufacturers still in business today from that period. Unless there is a muck up that you're not aware of !

[TA-Mark]

Some new packs have a plastic cap either end of the cells, this adds to overall length. I've found that my newer Intellect sub-c Ni-MH are fatter than my old Ni-Cd 1400 Sanyo cells. Makes them a very tight fit in a TA01/02/03 tub. If you get a piece of gravel in there aswell it's near impossible to remove them.

Only thing I can suggest is to build your own packs like I do for my custom cars and boats. I fit 8.4v (7) "AAA" in a MicroRS4 by making a custom pack. Nearest I could buy to this power in Micro size at the time was Li-Po for which I didn't have a charger for (I do now).

Buy intellect sub-c cells, connector bars and Tamiya plug sets. Where to get the shrink from I don't know. I wrap my packs in material tape and superglue the edges so it doesn't come unstuck.

I can understand you wanting to keep them original. I detest the Tamiya plugs and would rather use a high volt plug for any car that is a runner. I've had Tamiya plugs melt many times and even melt into the chassis tub and ruin it. I've even melted a hi-volt plug using the MambaMax and IB4200's, extreme current draw. It's the first mod I do to any car that I drive.

Prolly not what you are looking for,

Anyways... Cheers, Mark

[Hibernaculum]

Thanks heaps for the replies and suggestions

AYK ran backwards plugs like Kyosho did, in the 80's.

So what do people normally do to get around this? Is there a male-to-female plug adapter, or are the only options to a) stick with proprietary batteries/chargers, or cut wires and change the plugs?

I guess the grinding front dogbone is part of why there is only 4 or 5 manufacturers still in business today from that period. Unless there is a muck up that you're not aware of !

Could be! But no, I think I've got her put together right. Nice buggy the Viper, but this is essentially a new-built, and getting everything to mesh smoothly is a test of patience. I could see no other solution for the dogbones other than the extra washer trick.

cheers,

H.

[B.M.T.]

Way back, you could get adaptor plugs for Tamiya/Kyosho and visa versa, but now... ?... No idea. Maybe find someone who sells those "DIY" Yeng Feng knock off Tamiya plugs, and make your own, with a short section of wire.

Personally, any vintage I run I install an ESC into, as I don't trust the potential runaway from a linkage/plate failure, and the drive line shock a MSC puts on trannies, but that's just me!. I had all the fun of MSC failure before I could afford an ESC, and that's enough for me .