My son and I got 2wd Slash trucks for his birthday and Father’s Day respectively. Since my daughter is left-handed, I would occasionally swap out the radio for the left-handed Arrma ATX-300, put the ESC in “Training Mode” (50% speed) and let ‘er rip. Swapping out the radio was getting old. Plus one time I […]
My son and I got 2wd Slash trucks for his birthday and Father’s Day respectively. Since my daughter is left-handed, I would occasionally swap out the radio for the left-handed Arrma ATX-300, put the ESC in “Training Mode” (50% speed) and let ‘er rip.
Swapping out the radio was getting old. Plus one time I left the ESC in training mode when I hit the track. You can imagine my surprise when I’m getting passed in the back straight like I’m standing still, wondering where all the power went
The Slash is 1/10 scale as advertised, but it is actually larger, closer to most 1/8 scale models. I wanted something almost half of that, like 1/16 or 1/18 scale. I initially looked at the 1/18 scale Dromida Wasteland Truck, with its ability to shoot a Nerf dart:
Those were top of the list until I found out they have a hybrid (combined) ESC/receiver – which would not allow me to replace the receiver with the Arrma one bound to the left-handed radio.
Why not Traxxas?
As I’ve said before, I’m a big fan of Traxxas’ Training Mode. All of the LaTrax vehicles are made by Traxxas and have the same legendary durability plus training mode. Also at 1/18 scale, the cars & trucks are about half the size of a Slash.
Desert Prerunner
I got her a LaTrax Desert Prerunner which comes in an awesome “Color Burst” paint scheme. They’re a miniature short-course truck, so no one feels left out.
It comes with literally everything you need to run, even the 4AA batteries for the transmitter. But the first thing I did was remove the included receiver and replace it with the Arrma one so it can be driven left-handed. I had to remove the water-proof case for the traxxas receiver – so we’ll just have to be careful not to drive into any lakes. Otherwise installation was a snap using some 3M mounting tape.
NiMH is good enough to start
It comes with a NiMH battery and charger, which initially was somewhat of a disappointment, However I understand it due to the cost, simplicity of charging, and no-brainer safety.
However, after seeing this thing go several times I’m convinced that the included NiMH battery is perfect. This little truck rips! Even on 50% power it is fast, and with the reduced top speed the battery will last a good 25 minutes. It is super easy to charge a NiMH battery with the included charger and there’s really no way to screw it up.
Sure it would be cool if they instead included a LiPo battery and a B3 charger. Those upgrades can come later and the LaTrax is LiPo ready. Plus you won’t need the extra power or runtime until your kid has mastered control at 50% power.
Extras
The only thing I’ve had to purchase so far is extra body clips. Kids will lose them. Also if you have other RC cars, one will eventually run over this small-scale truck and the tires will quickly remove the body clips for you. Guarantee we lost one when this E-Maxx ran over the Prerunner:
Our friends here in town at Dollar Hobbyz made a great video about upgrades for these fun little trucks:
Stay tuned to the end where they cover a free upgrade of flipping the shocks for better durability. Sure beats the shock upgrade option which is half the cost of the truck itself.
My daughter is left handed and she also loves to drive R/C cars with dad and her brother. To make sure she has a good experience, she needs the appropriate tools. I’ve seen several lefties use standard right-handed transmitters. They hold the grip in their right hand to work the trigger, and the steering wheel […]
My daughter is left handed and she also loves to drive R/C cars with dad and her brother. To make sure she has a good experience, she needs the appropriate tools. I’ve seen several lefties use standard right-handed transmitters. They hold the grip in their right hand to work the trigger, and the steering wheel faces away, so they reach around the front to work the steering with their left hand.
My left-handed daughter instinctively did just this with a normal transmitter (Tx). Even at only 5 years old, her brain told her to steer with her dominant hand. While it works for many, it’s unfortunate. Left-handed transmitters are not widely available for people entering the hobby, so they try to make it work with a right-handed Tx. By the time they can afford a model that can be converted to left-handed, they’ve already gotten used to contorting themselves, so what should seem natural feels strange.
There are a few convertible left/right transmitters out there – some more affordable than others. Hopefully this list is a good place to start looking. If I’m missing anything that is widely available (even through eBay or other used markets), comment below. Let’s give lefties the experience they should have right from the start!
Available New
Recommending a $500 transmitter to someone starting in RC would be bonkers. However, if you are left handed and know you love RC – check out the Hitec Lynx 4S. It is an oft-overlooked transmitter that looks great and has great features including flexible wheel position and ultra-low latency (for almost half the cost of its competitors). Otherwise the clear entry-level winner is the Graupner at $100.
For my daughter I bought an Arrma ATX-300 off of eBay. They frequently show up there and you can usually get one with a receiver (Rx) for around $50. You will likely need to reserve judgement about it’s looks – it is quite possibly the ugliest radio ever made:
For $50 I can put it in my kids hands and not worry about it. Since it’s so ugly, I worry even less The killer feature is you just hold a button on top to release the wheel angle, and you can flip the wheel all the way around to the other side.
So it doesn’t look great, but it works fantastic and it’s not huge and heavy. My 5 year-old can work it perfectly.
I myself have a Spektrum DX3R Pro – I made sure when I bought it second hand that it included all the parts to switch to left-handed mode. If my daughter ever gets serious, I’m ready and willing to pass the DX3R Pro down to her.
This is an anecdote addendum to my story arc as an RC driver. I’m still not great, but I’m getting better, and in the last month I earned three 2nd place spots at club races 🏆 I’m going to be honest about how I wound up there, but it’s really a commentary on consistency. Speed When I […]
This is an anecdote addendum to my story arc as an RC driver. I’m still not great, but I’m getting better, and in the last month I earned three 2nd place spots at club races I’m going to be honest about how I wound up there, but it’s really a commentary on consistency. Continue reading “Speed vs. Consistency”
Speed
When I first started racing as an adult, I just wanted to rip around the track as fast as possible – walls, parts, and competitors be damned! I had to slow down before I could speed up. I switched my touring car from USGT to a VTA spec car where speed is easier to keep under control. I was steadily seeing my best lap times improve as I got better, but I was still at the back of the pack.
Then, as I was marshalling one day, I came to a realization that the top finishers always give themselves a buffer. They carefully pass, and give themselves extra space around corners. Are they leaving an extra 1/10th of a second on the table? Probably. Is it worth it? No. The time it take to recover from even tapping a board is going to be at least a tenth of a second. The time it would take to get marshalled is more like 10 seconds.
I watched one racer (who was not the top qualifier), slowly and steadily climb from 3rd to 1st in the main – not by having the fastest lap times, but through a total lack of crashing.
Consistency
I had somewhat plateaued in my lap times, but I’m not quite ready to go out and buy a $100 motor. I needed something to work personally to claw my way up – consistency. I started playing Virtual R/C when I couldn’t get to the track. You know what’s annoying (purposely) in VRC? Having to press the spacebar to marshall yourself back onto the track. So I slowed down and gave myself more of a buffer.
When I went back to the track I set a personal goal:
Race an entire qualifying heat or main without needing a marshall.
The first night I told myself this, I managed to put in a session needing only one marshall. It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you just put your mind to it.
Results
So how did I wind up in 2nd? I’m going to be honest, in a few cases guys who were faster than me did not start due to mechanical issues. So in theory I should have been fighting for 3rd place. But there’s something to be said about being consistent – if you’re hitting fewer things, you’re breaking fewer parts so you can show up to race in the main.
In this race, you can see the 3rd place finisher clearly can turn faster laps than I can. His fastest lap was almost a full second faster than my fastest – he was even faster over his top 15 average. But we didn’t race 15 laps, we raced for over 30 and consistency allowed me to go ahead.
With a top driver in this race (actually the TQ driver) not starting, I should have at least finished 3rd since I qualified 4th. But by being consistent throughout the race and minimizing my marshalling needs, I was able to earn a higher spot on the podium.
In this last race my fastest lap time was 5th out of 7 the competitors. But, out of 15 laps I managed to put in, 10 of them were 30 or 31 second laps. That’s still not fast, but by being consistent I was able to pass several people that were waiting to get marshalled after crashing. This allowed me to move up from my 5th place qualifying spot into 2nd.
Mental Setup
The next time you’re feeling frustrated about how you’re driving (and placing), take a race day to only focus on the mental aspect of driving. Make sure your car is set up good enough to drive, but don’t obsess over it. Instead, put your energy into your driving. Set a goal of only getting marshalled a few times in a heat, then one, then none. You’ll be surprised how your driving habits will change and how going a little slower will actually make you faster.
This is a response to my position (and the resultant comments) on 61st Ave in Fridley and the crash that happened there in November, 2017. As politics seem to go these days I was labeled as “a liberal taking advantage of the tragedy to get bike lanes added.” So let’s talk about local politics… there is no need for partisan rhetoric in regards to local issues. I won’t even use the phrase bi-partisan because “bi” means two and putting people entirely into one of two different boxes is both unfair and unreasonable. Local politics do not cover divisive issues like health care, same-sex marriage, abortion, etc. We’re talking about roads and schools, parks and plows.
But to placate John, let’s talk about a conservative approach to the problem with 61st by visiting my favorite street in Fridley, Oakwood Manor. If you ever want to visit either and compare, here they both are on a map:
Oakwood Manor sounds fancy, like you’d expect mansions, or at least McMansions out here in the burbs. But it’s the same types of homes you’ll find everywhere else in town. What is striking about Oakwood Manor is the road width:
61st Avenue on the other hand is 24 feet just for the travel lanes:
Add generous 9-foot shoulders, and the full road width is 42 feet.
Road Width – Cost of Materials and Human Life
Why is road width important? Two reasons:
The city is going to eventually go broke trying to maintain its road inventory with limited capital. Roads will follow the same fate as our water infrastructure. Road assessments are not going to get cheaper.
Road width has an incredible effect on the way people travel on it.
On 61st, I had proposed adding bike lanes to 61st as a simple solution to an existing right-of-way. Narrow the lanes with paint to at least make it feel narrow. Put some s#!t in the way. It’s cheap to add paint to an existing right-of-way and repaints happen far more often than rebuilds.
But what if 61st Avenue was narrowed to better reflect that it is adjacent to two parks, the middle school, the high school, and the community center? It could look like Oakwood Manor. Here’s what Oakwood looked like on a spring day in 2018. There’s a car parked on the street and someone is walking in the street.
The 24-foot width doesn’t prevent on-street parking, it actually helps. It will simply narrow the road further which will create a more constrained environment – one in which drivers will instinctively slow down. The best part? This road will cost much less both to construct and maintain.
Why is going smaller never an option? Let’s put the “conserve” back into conservatism and try something bold like this. You won’t have residents complaining that you’re taking away from their property for the right-of-way, you’d be giving them more!
After doing a lipo battery upgrade to my friend’s 1st gen (3906) E-Maxx, we discovered that if you went full reverse followed by full forward, the truck would basically do a flip in-place. We didn’t consider that this is very unfriendly to the drivetrain. After about 10-20 flips (or attempts) the E-Maxx was now front […]
That day I discovered what it means to “candy cane” a CVD – there’s a groove in the inner shaft that allows it to telescope with the outer shaft. Abuse the axles too much and axle will twist, sometimes a full revolution before breaking. Making the groove create a candy-cane like appearance:
CVD Upgrade
Rather than looking for old 3906-spec CVDs, we opted to upgrade to the latest E-Maxx CVDs, which also require some supporting parts. We followed the recommendations from this excellent 3906 upgrade guide.
After purchasing the first set of parts, I went to install everything and discovered the arms were way too short. There were apparently two arm-length options in the 3906 series alone, wide and narrow. If you don’t know what you’re running, here are the specs:
110mm Narrow Arms
127mm Wide Arm (no need to upgrade)
But that’s not the full story. I did some research using the E-Maxx 3903 front and rear exploded views to see what else is different. Notice how the longer arms have narrower hinges where they connect to the bulkhead? This is for adjustability, and that’s where the 5134 Spacers/Shims come in. Use the removable C-clips in front (so you can adjust the camber):
Install the circular spacers in back:
The shorter 5141Â turnbuckles used for steering linkages come with offset ball mounts. Make sure the extra space faces up:
Attach the turnbuckle to the new style Axle carrier using the longer Traxxas 2580 screws. That’s it for assembly, time to adjust everything before putting it back on the road.
Set Toe & Camber
Camber is adjusted using the pivot ball screws that connect the axle carrier to the arms. According to the manual, the top screw is normally all the way in, meaning the camber adjustment is made primarily through the bottom screw. Stock camber angle is one degree of negative camber.
Toe is adjusted with the turnbuckles and stock adjustments are one degree of toe-in at the rear and zero degrees at the front. I adjusted the front to 1 degree out to soften the turn-in.
With the wider stance you can probably go a little nutty on your wheel/tire options. But mostly you have a more robust platform that will be easier to replace and repair with more widely-available parts.
I have a feeling something upstream in the drivetrain will fail next: driveshafts, slipper clutch, spur gear, etc. But until then, we’ll just enjoy the ride.
My good friend Joe has an old E-Maxx – not wanting to miss out on any bashing and crashing fun, I had him dig it out. It’s an oldie but a goodie. A 1st Generation E-Maxx with dual motors, dual batteries and a 2-speed transmission. It’s the one with the chassis that looks like this: […]
My good friend Joe has an old E-Maxx – not wanting to miss out on any bashing and crashing fun, I had him dig it out. It’s an oldie but a goodie. A 1st Generation E-Maxx with dual motors, dual batteries and a 2-speed transmission. It’s the one with the chassis that looks like this:
It’s also a bit of a relic. NiMH batteries, brushed motors, and AM radio aren’t exactly state-of-the-art. But I don’t want to upgrade everything, I just wanted to get it back on the road – so where do we start?
I know the old NiMH batteries were going to suck and what really impressed me when I came back to RC was how awesome Lithium batteries were. But do we need to get everything that goes along with it – like the newer EVX-2 electronic speed control that has low voltage cut-off? Heck no, we’re just trying to get it running. A simple low voltage alarm will do just fine.
So we’re going to get only batteries, but the 3906 chassis is sort of particular about fitment. Each battery sits (snugly) in a tray, and there’s battery strap that goes directly across the center of the battery. I found these 2S lipos that have the power and balance leads coming off of opposite corners, so they can sit in the tray nicely and have the strap close them in without crimping any wires.
But when it came time to put them in, we needed to trim one more piece. The old NiMH battery packs have rounded edges, where LiPos are square and about 2mm taller. The edges of the battery were getting hung up on part of the gear cover. The solution was to remove the gear cover and cut off the wire routing slots using a side-cutter:
Re-install the gear cover and the batteries will now snap into place. They’ll be snug, but they’ll fit. You’ll need to loosen the metal battery clip screw & post a couple turns to accommodate the LiPos thicker profile. Then you can use the original battery strap to hold everything in.
Here they are installed. The low voltage alarm is just zip-tied to the rear shock tower:
That’s it! Now go have funÂ
I will warn you that the 1st Generation 3906 E-Maxx is capable of doing a backflip with some backwards/forwards throttle – but the old drivetrain is not up to the task. Next time we’ll tackle CVD upgrades to the newer E-Maxx units for better durability.
Flite Fest Ohio 2018 is on the books – we went, we flew, we crashed. Here’s a little brain-dump of lessons learned from our second year. More Stick Time My first year I spent a lot of time building a project that ultimately didn’t fly. For me it was a disappointment. So this year I […]
Flite Fest Ohio 2018 is on the books – we went, we flew, we crashed. Here’s a little brain-dump of lessons learned from our second year.
More Stick Time
My first year I spent a lot of time building a project that ultimately didn’t fly. For me it was a disappointment. So this year I did a build ahead of time and planned to do much more flying. It turned out to be much more crashing because I didn’t have all of the bugs worked out of my plane. But it did fly, and it helped me achieve my goal of more stick time at the event. But the stick time paled in comparison to the time I spend in the bean field looking for my plane after a crash. You haven’t fully experienced Flite Fest until you’ve gone looking for a downed plane in the bean field. Continue reading “Flite Fest Ohio 2018”
Tips for recovery after a crash
My son, now age 9, is an excellent spotter. The only problem is getting him motivated to come with me to the flight line. He probably knows that a crash and a long “walk of shame” are inevitable when I’m the pilot. So he’s content to make friends his age and help locate the YouTube stars for selfies – more on that later.
This means without my expert spotter by my side, I recruited some random passersby to help. They weren’t as adept at helping with crash location, but luckily I had a trick up my sleeve.
Even if your plane is bright pink, it’s easy to get lost in the bean field at Flite Fest in Malvern. The beans aren’t as thick as you’d think from the photographs. Planes tend to slip past the top cover of leaves and find their way to the ground. Now they’re covered by a canopy of bean leaves AND if you have a plane made of water-resistant foam board like this:
It’s likely sitting on the dirt that is approximately the same colorÂ
You could buy a beeper for your model, but I suggest a simpler solution: add a streamer. The streamers are more likely to stay above the leaves. If you choose a color that is not green, it will make spotting your downed plane much easier:
Spot the purple in a sea of green.
YouTube Stars
So while Jules didn’t accompany me often to the flight line, he was keen at finding several of our favorite YouTube personalities so we could snap a pic.
Drew “Le Drib” – awesome freestyle FPV pilot and vlogger.
Stefan & Alex of Flite Test – keeping the crowd entertained.
FT STEM build
I did manage to get Jules to do the FT STEM build. It was a free-form challenge to build and test a plane design using a pizza delivery box.
Our guys decided to go with a tried-and-true Nutball design they dubbed “The Pepperoni Plane.” As a coincidence I had built a Nutball just weeks before so the build details were fresh in my brain. I was able to give them tips – at least how the Flite Test guys do it – and let them do all of the labor.
Out of the entire class only two planes actually flew and this was one of them. Here’s Jules (blue hat) buddy boxed with an expert pilot/volunteer during the maiden flight:
Take a break from flying
Also, Flite Fest doesn’t have just flying enthusiasts. We brought our Slash trucks to drive if the flying (or crashing) was getting frustrating. These kids made the best of a giant Nutball carcass by turning it into a jump:
I think Flite Fest fully embraces the RC mantra: JUST SEND IT!
Marshalling To ceremoniously guide, conduct or usher. In R/C club racing, similar to 1:1 scale club racing, the drivers must also help as a corner marshal after they race. This means helping out cars that get stuck, crash, or flip so they can continue their race. It’s a dance as you help crashed cars while […]
In R/C club racing, similar to 1:1 scale club racing, the drivers must also help as a corner marshal after they race. This means helping out cars that get stuck, crash, or flip so they can continue their race. It’s a dance as you help crashed cars while other cars are still racing on the track. I’ve picked up a couple of tricks here and that help me – and maybe they can help you be more adept at marshalling. And since every driver is also a track marshal – there’s a section for drivers too. You should read both.Â
When I’m marshalling, I follow a few of safety precautions:
Watch for traffic – be aware of what is heading in your direction, especially when you’re about to jump out onto the track. Some of the more spry marshals will literally jump over cars to help someone. If you’re feeling your oats, go for it. But if you have to wait for some traffic to pass, wait. Better to have helped one driver recover than to have caused an additional 6-car pile-up. Watch for traffic as you return to your corner position – there’s zero need to do any athletic moves at this time.
Be careful of hot motors – many R/C cars have their motors exposed to keep them cool from the passing air. You don’t want to touch these parts. I find it best to grab the cars with two hands somewhere around the body. Be careful of stuff you can’t see – there might be something hot waiting to burn your fingers underneath. Try to just grab what you can see that’s safe.
Don’t grab moving parts – wheels, avoid them. There are way too many overzealous drivers (see below) out there willing to pull the trigger before you get their car fully righted. You don’t want your hands to be a fresh recipients of road rash.
Marshal with your ears and eyes
When I’m marshalling, I play zone defense. Keep an eye on the parts of the track that you can get to quickly. Don’t pay attention to the race, it will be dizzying from where you’re at.
You want to be paying attention to what’s going on in your zone – the area you’re responsible for. If you’d like, you can study the cars lines through your area and learn something. How are the fastest drivers getting through the corners?
But you don’t necessarily need to watch every car come through your area…
I allow myself to unfocus my eyes without checking out mentally. I don’t watch every car come through, but I’m looking generally at my area. This is where using your ears helps a lot. Especially in electric on-road, any driving drama is going to be accompanied by some noise. A car hitting the boards or crashing into another car. The sound of a brand new lexan body sliding across the asphalt. Off-road gets a little noisier with all the jumps, but you’ll come to recognise the sound of a buggy wing hitting the ground first when the wheels should have. Nitro adds even more noise, but once you do it a few times you’ll begin to recognize the sounds that are clear signs of trouble. This is when your marshalling duty calls. Once you’ve got your ears tuned to the right sounds, you can use them to locate their position (which might be behind you) for your nest assist.
At the ready
Sometimes tracks will provide a chair or a bucket to sit on at the marshalling points. You’re welcome to use them and sometimes sitting is compulsory to provide a better view for the drivers.
But you should always be ready. Some marshalls on the outside of the track will opt to stand – especially for the mains. If you’re in the infield, you can sit but should be ready at any time. You can even play shortstop by almost sitting if the action is particularly hot that day.
Marshalling tips for Drivers
The single worst thing you can do as a driver is yell at a corner marshal from the driver’s stand.
The only thing you should be yelling about is if there’s a hazardous situation like a car stuck in a straightaway. If that’s the case you should be generally yelling to inform your fellow drivers on the stand. Something like “Back straight!” should be good enough. If you want, even add “Outside on the back straight!” to instruct them to take the outside line if the hazard is on the inside of the back straight.
Do not, I repeat, DO NOT yell at a corner marshal for doing what you might think is an unsatisfactory job. To illustrate this point here’s an anecdote.
Why So Serious?
At my first official off-road race as an adult, I found myself marshalling a section of that track that was rather quiet. In a 5-minute qualifier I didn’t have to help one car, but I noticed there was a section of the track that saw more action.
Not wanting to be a slouch, I chose the busy part of the track on my next stint, which was a qualifier for A-main stock buggy drivers. Stock buggy drivers are serious – perhaps too serious.
One driver flipped over a jump and when I went to turn his car over I wound up flipping his car too much so that it landed on the roof again. I could hear from the driver’s stand “Awwwww, COME ON!!!”
Did I do a bad job? It wasn’t my best, but I felt the feedback was unwarranted. So I confronted the driver after the heat. I told him
If you don’t like my marshalling, then you should work on your driving because you were all alone on that jump – and the only one responsible for the crash was you.
Tough stuff, but I’m glad I said something. He said that his comment was merely expressing disappointment in himself. So we were cool and went on with our races. If I had not said anything, I would have perceived it as a dig on me personally as a marshal.
Marshal Preference
At a big race there’s probably some sort of law regarding racing leaders getting marshal preference first if they’re caught in a tussle. But during club racing, I give everyone the same treatment. If you as a driver feel you’ve been treated unfairly, it would be better to talk to the driver that took you out, not the track marshal who is on your side trying to help you out.
The killer feature is you just hold a button on top to release the wheel angle, and you can flip the wheel all the way around to the other side.
I’m going to be honest about how I wound up there, but it’s really a commentary on consistency.
