ECX Temper 1/24

Oh boy.  Here we go with these thoughts.  I don't like to talk negative about products too much, but here it is.

When I first heard that ECX was releasing the 1/24 Temper, I was very excited.  My first thought was "Cool! They're bringing back their version of the Losi McRC!"  My second thought was "Awesome looking body!  I finally have another body choice for my McRC!"

Turns out I wrong, and semi-right.

At first glance (and for the price), it sees like this would be a low budget McRC replacement.

It isn't.

Looking closer, the first difference is that the links of the 4-link suspension are not setup the same.  The lower links are reverse triangulated when compared to the McRC.  The Temper is narrow at the axles and wide at the transmission.  Looking at my other crawlers (SCX10, Venom Creeper, Trail Trekker, McRC), they are all wide on the axles and narrow at the transmission.  Because of this, they have better articulation.  To fix this, you could pick up a front/rear axle setup from the Losi McRC or Micro Trail Trekker.  If you can find them that is, as both of the rigs have been discontinued.  And either an McRC transmission mount, or attempt to mount the transmission side of the lower links in more.

The next problem with the Temper is that.  It.  Is.  Slow.  I mean really slow.  Slower than the McRC stock.  Slower than the Pro-line Racing Ambush on low speed. The transmissions look similar comparing the McRC and Temper exploded views.  So I'm guessing the transmission gearing is different, it could be the gearing in the axles, or it could be a combination of both.  I really don't feel like doing a tear down just to confirm this.

The third problem is that the radio is NOT Spektrum compatible.  Since both ECX and Spektrum are under the Horizon Hobby umbrella, I feel this is a big miss on their part.  I personally feel that all Horizon Hobby brands that use 2.4 GHz should be Spektrum compatible.  Otherwise why do you have a decent 2.4 GHz radio brand that you choose to NOT put in your r/c models?  Us hobbyists love having options.

As for the body.  It can be used on the McRC, but new holes are needed.  Apparently ECX didn't want to make the body mounts with the same spacing.  I may still try to pick one up and see what happens anyways.

The one good thing about this is that it does have a slightly longer wheel base, which should give it better stability over the stock McRC.  My McRC is not stock on electronics and a few other items so I cannot make a fair assessment on this.

My overall assessment is that this is good for a first time crawler for, like, the first battery run.  After that, it becomes apparent that this has very limited crawling ability.  Poor articulation, really slow speed, and non Spektrum compatibility for those that have a favorite surface Spektrum radio.  I don't fully regret getting it, as I will still drive it occasionally.  And I can let my younger nephews have fun with it.  That is until they see the ones that I drive.  You can try to make this a capable micro crawler, but I recommend picking up the RC4WD Gelande II 1/18 or Pro-line Racing Ambush instead.  They do cost more than twice as much, but they are more fun and a lot more capable.  I even recommend the Orlandoo Hunter over the ECX Temper 1/24.

Happy crawling!

Losi Micro Trail Trekker

Another Losi favorite.

It is based off the Micro Rock Crawler (McRC), but with a different TVP, links, body, and wheels in an attempt to be a bit more scale.  This was probably due to the success of the Axial SCX10 scale trail crawler.

As of this post, it is THE micro crawler to have.  Performance of the stock setup is far superior to the stock McRC.  It too was a complete RTR package.  I love RTR's that include everything you actually need to get driving.  It has a longer wheel base, which gives it better stability but at the cost of turning radius.  It uses the same worm gear diffs, same transmission, and same electronics package.  It doesn't handle like a dream, but of all of my micro crawlers it performs the best.

The only upgrade I did on this one was change the Tx to the Spektrum DX3C.  Since there haven't been any aftermarket upgrades for the ESC and motor, I decided to just run the stock stuff.  Unfortunately I haven't even upgraded the steering servo, though I should try to pickup another Hitec MS-65MG for it.

The only downside that I used to have with this truck is that the body didn't come in a clear option.  That would have been real nice.  I am able to get the Losi Micro 1/24 SCT bodies to work though, so that is an option.

The main down side now to this truck is that it has been discontinued, like the McRC, in favor of an inferior micro crawler.  I would love to get a 2nd one, and upgrade it like crazy.

Happy crawling!!

Losi Micro Rock Crawler

Well after years of owning this little truck, here are my thoughts on it.

In my opinion, the second best micro rock crawler to date (or at least the date of this post).  It started the micro rock crawlers.  The best thing about it is that it is small.  You can setup one heck of an indoor course with even the modest size of rooms.  What was best was that it was truly a ready to run.  Everything was included in the box, including batteries for the Tx.  Charge up the truck battery, put in the Tx batteries, and once charged up you were ready to crawl.  Another plus was that it was one of the first miro RTR's to a have Spektrum 2.4gHz radio system.  (On a side note, Losi should have converted all of their micro's over to Spektrum after this was released.)  Another great feature on this truck is the worm gear diffs on the axles.  This allows you to run an ESC without the need for drag break.

In stock setup, it wasn't terrible.  I think the worst thing about it was the shocks.  They were not oil filled, so it had serious rebound.  And the stock setup gave the truck a bit of a high center of gravity.  One of the first free mods to do was to remove the springs from the shocks.  This gave it more a droop setup, and drastically lowered the COG.

The other issue initially was with the transmission.  The internal gears didn't mesh right, and you would get some binding.

Luckily it was popular enough to get quite a bit of aftermarket support.  And one of the first things was a new transmission case from Hot Racing.  This did seem to help the gears.  Other items available were wheel weights, bead lock wheels, different TVP's, different tires, front axle battery mount, etc.  I ended up picking up a few of these parts for it.

Performance is pretty decent.  It's not a shrunken down comp crawler for sure, but still lots of fun to drive.

I did end up upgrading the electronics on this one.    I replaced the front servo with a Hitec MS-65MG.  The battery is an old Losi Xcelorin 7.4v 180mAh 2-cell LiPo.  I also threw in a Losi Xcelorin micro brushless ESC+8750KV motor combo.  For control I went to Futaba with a R204GF-E Rx which has an internal antenna, and a 4PL Tx.  I chose this 4 channel radio as I decided to also give this little monster 4WS with an additional MS-65MG servo on the back.  With this setup the truck does have better performance than stock, but I do get some motor cogging since it is a sensorless brushless motor.  I do wish the differnet/better electronics was one of the things the aftermarket would have come out with.

Overall a very good micro crawler.  If it was still in production, it would be in my top recommendations and I would pick up a 2nd one.  I do wish Losi and Horizon Hobby had kept this one around instead of what Horizon Hobby now has available.  But that is another review for another blog entry.

Happy crawling!

Inductrix and the DX6

Woohoo!  I just discovered some new (well new to me) things with the Inductrix bound to my Specktrum DX6.  I'm sure a lot of other Indutrix fliers with the D6 have already discovered these, but I am sharing anyways.

I found that the Inductrix has an acrobat mode, or acro mode.  This is a flight mode with the self leveling turned off.  The default switch when binding to a new airplane model is the D switch.  You actually need to cycle 1-2-1 to change mode first time, then it's just cycling 2-1.  As you cycle the D switch, the mode light on the quad will change between blue (normal) and red (arco).  Putting the D switch in 0 does no changes.

The other thing, which is more of a DX6 item than the Inductrix itself, is setting up the dual rates.  So I am sure a lot of DX6 pros already know this.  I wanted to setup the Elevator and Aileron D/R but wasn't sure how.  I did do some searching and found a forum thread that got me on the right path.

1. Turn on your DX6.
2. Go to the Function List.
3. Scroll to D/R and Expo, and enter.
4. On the D/R and Expo screen, leave Channel set on Aileron.
5. Scroll down to Switch, enter, and change do the desired Switch. For me I used F.  But remember, that switch D is already used for the norm/acro mode.
6. After selecting the desired switch, make sure the switch is in the position you want for low rates.
7. Scroll up to the Dual Rate, and enter.
8. Scroll do the desired low rating.  For me I used position 0 and 70%.
9. After setting the desired low rate, enter, and scroll up to Channel.
10. Enter and change to Elevator.
11. Repeat the above steps 6-8 for the same switch and low rates.

Now you are all set for Dual Rates on your Inductrix, or any other model.

With the D/R and Expo screen, you can also choose a 3-pos switch.  I am guessing this means that you would actually be able to setup Triple Rates.  For example, you could do 50%-75%-100%.  So for the beginner, they use the low.  For those with experience and wanting to limit the speed a little possibly due to flying in a high obstacle environment, use the medium.  Then for full on flight, use the high.  This is just a guess right now, but I may actually try it at a later time.

Tiny Whoop stuff

You can do a simple google search for Tiny Whoop, but here are a few links:

• https://tinywhoop.com/ - the main site
• TINY WHOOP Build Video - a how-to build video
• https://micro-motor-warehouse.com/ - motor and battery upgrades
• TINY WHOOP 2016 Micro Racing World Championships - a race video

I love watching these Tiny Whoop videos.  With these, any indoor location becomes a FPV race track.  I am actually keeping a watch on 2 retails versions:

• Official Tiny Whoop RTF
• Official Blade Inductrix FPV

And I am looking at picking up the Friendly Hobbies Whoop Dee Do (if it is still available).

Flying Quads in 2016

I've been flying my quads quit a bit now.  I have been taking them to the office and flying on my break time, so I have dubbed these breaktime flight times.  No I haven't hash tagged it.  Not sure if I will.  But anyways, while flying I have been recording most of the flights.  And today I finally uploaded a completed video.

I am going to try to get more videos going, but I have a back log so may take some time.  I have tried to keep any references of where I work out of the videos as I don't want to misrepresent the company.  These flights are solely for me on my breaks, and I make sure that others are not around.  Which means that the shots do not have much of a variety.

Now we did get a replacement entertainment system for downstairs, which has finally gotten me to tidy-up that area.  Once done, I should be able to get some flight time and shooting done there too.

I also got some new quad stuff.  Yes I keep saying quad as I still don't like the term drone, but I do use it as that is what most people know.  For the Estes, I found another brand/model body that sort of works.  It was a bit to get on, but it is on and looks awesome.

The body is an Ares Ethos PQ red canopy.  They have a blue version that I am going to try and find.  I love having options for my r/c's, and for quads it is hard to find non-stock options.

I also picked up a few new quads.  The Blade Glimpse is a Wi-Fi FPV quad which uses your phone to view live feed from the camera.  I haven't had much chance to fly this one, but I will get there.

I also got the Blade Inductrix.  It's a non camera quad, but there has been a big boom in what is called the Tiny Whoop.  One of the members of a FPV group, Big Whoop, decided to do something for indoors and mounted a tiny FPV camera to one of these.  This mode has really taken off.  There are now faster motors and larger capacity batteries for the Inductrix.  And another good part is these are compatible with the Blade NanoQX.  The Tiny Whoop has been such a huge hit that a local hobby shop is actually selling their own version called the Whoop Dee Do.  This is good as I can't/don't (pick one!) solder.  Sorry about that, I am a fan of Archer.  And what really confirms that this Tiny Whoop has hit big is that Blade is releasing their own *official* version: Blade Inductrix FPV.  So yes this is now at the top of my next kit list.  Cannot wait!  I am also hoping that the body will fit the regular Inductrix.

For all my micro/nano quads, I also picked up some helipads.  One is an Eagle Pro Helipad that has lights.  The other is from a local hobby store Friendly Hobbies.

I may look at building a custom one with a light setup that I like, but we'll see.

That's all for now.  Have fun flying, use common sense, and stay safe out there!!!

2016 1st post

Yay!  I'm finally doing my first post for 2016!

Quads:
First off, my awesome wife got me a new quad-copter: the Dromida Verso.  The yellow one.  And this is one awesome micro/nano (whatever size class) quad.  I have flown it a few times already.  It can do inverted flight.  There is a flip button that will flip the quad 180 degrees in the direction you want to flip.  And it does flipping the best I have see!  There is hardly any loss in elevation.  This makes it very useful in smaller/tighter areas.  This quad also has a new feature when flipping.  If you flip forward/backward, it changes the front/forward direction.  So in normal orientation, the color blades are front.  After flipping front/back, the color blades become the rear.  This can be confusing.  I haven't researched if there is a way to disable this, but it would be nice for those pilots that use other quads with inverted flight.  For 1st time flyers, it will probably be good until they start flying other 3D quads.

Another great thing is that this quad comes in 4 colors.  So if you don't like the color you initially bought, you can pickup other prop and body colors to change and customize.  In fact, this is probably one of the biggest selling points to me for most of the Dromida quads with exception to the Kodo.  If would be nice if the Kodo also came in different body colors,  Apparently you can also use the Helimax 1SQ props with it.  So there is a little customizing you can do.

The downside of the Verso for me, is that the motors are soldered directly to the main board.  this means that if there is a motor or main board failure, some serious electronics soldering skills are needed.  I don't have that.  Which means that I will have to buy another when this one wears out or gets broken.  Though with a price point of only $40 as of this post, that's not too terrible of a replacement purchase.

Verso vs nanoQX size

Speaking of the Kodo, mine is currently out of commission.  When I do try to fly it, it keeps wanting to drift to the right no matter how much left trim I put in.  Dromida support agrees that it most likely is the main board.  Unfortunately for me, the motors are soldered to the main board.  So it looks like I'm going to have to budget a replacement at $60.  But on the good side, I will have some extra batteries, props, and even a body as replacements already.  Woohoo!

Micro/mini  cars:
Last month, I ordered and received in the new HPI Q32 D8T.  I so enjoy the Q32 Baja buggies, and when this was finally release I was happy.  However, when I was finally able to get to it, the battery will not charge.  A total bummer, dude!  I like trucks and cannot wait to get a working one of these.  Well I e-mailed support, and worked with them.  After all was done, it turns out that the truck electronics are indeed bad.  They will be ordering and shipping out a new one just as soon as they have stock.  Unfortunately no estimated time on this.  I do hope it is soon as I really can't wait to get this Truggy driving and flying.

For my HPI Q32 Baja buggies, I have recently picked up a new clear body, 2 speed gear/stabilization sets, a set of black star wheels, and a set of firm foam tires.  I do love customizing and options.  I may get another buggy and keep it factory stock.

On the Micro RS4 front, HPI released the 2014 Ken Block body and fifteen52 Turbomac wheels.  So I purchased these and updated my Ken Block Micro RS4.

Here is the original kit (top) and new setup (bottom):

New setup installed:

I think this looks better.  But then again I do like 8-bit looks.

That's all for now!