Sorry for diving into a politically tinged topic, but alas, an editorial from The NY Times this morning causes me to reflect on a recent discovery.
The editorial is How to Collect $1.4T in Unpaid Taxes, and it begins by reflecting how the imposition of payroll withholding drove the spending required to be victorious in WWII, even leading to wealthy people being proud of what their money was accomplishing (albeit a rare sentiment).
(more…)
This weekend, I spent a few hours upgrading the electrics in the Slash. I had a $60 “reward” at Amain Hobbies, so I bought a Hobbywing Max10 combo with a 3300kV motor, a “drop in” replacement (almost), to go to a brushless propulsion system.
(more…)
A quick recap: I started with a vanilla 2WD Traxxas Slash, with the intent to pretend I was an 8 year old who got his first hobby-grade RC car, and to experience the joy and wonders as I learned to drive it, how to work on it, and how to make it perform better.
(more…)
As my father is ailing (alzheimers, and now failing health) I am making the drive to visit more frequently. And that means I spend long tracts of time on the road to San Diego.
Long times behind the wheel and a naturally curious personality, coupled with the keen observation skills of my trade (product manager) and I have some thoughts…
(more…)
When I first began to get interested in RC cars, I spent a lot of time comparing several different cars and one of the brands that was very interesting was the Arrma cars. They make great bashing cars, in a wide range of styles and configurations.
(more…)The next step in the Slash project was to add a LiPO battery into the mix. The XL5 ESC is compatible with 7 cell NiMH batteries, or up to 2S LiPO batteries. The switch over is trivial: turn it on, then press and hold the power button for about 12 seconds and it will switch from red to green. This enables the low voltage cutoff (or LVC). Without the LVC, the LiPO battery can discharge too much, and that can ruin it (as in, it will no longer hold a charge), or even catastrophic failure (as in a fire – if you google “lipo fire” you will find some scary videos).
(more…)
I have about a half dozen battery packs through it, and after a couple of minor mods, it is actually a blast to drive.
(more…)
I am having so much fun with my 2wd Traxxas Slash “project” car, that I now want a 4WD version to complement it. Not wanting to pay retail, and knowing that I will customize it, I was thinking of buying what is known as a “roller” or rolling chassis.
(more…)In case you want to know why I have become somewhat of a fanatic of driving model RC cars, it is because I can’t afford to drive a Stadium Super Truck.
Rear wheel drive, spec built, jumps, and a lot of 3 and 2 wheel action.
In the last post, I mentioned that I was going to put my money where my mouth is. I recommend for new RC drivers to strongly consider the Traxxas Slash, in the two wheel drive variant. A base 2WD Slash, brushed, retails for a nickel under $180. Of course you need to add a battery to that, or you can spend the additional $50 and get the version with an included charger and NiMH battery pack.
(more…)