ORIGINAL: Meafordguy
Hi all RC enthusiasts!
I am pretty new to RC trucking but loving it and becoming quite involved. I've already been spending a lot of time both fixing, upgrading and of course racing my Volcano brushed, as well as my new Caldera 10E brushless trucks.
I want to learn more about my new RC Hobby and I need to know the basics before I can really get going on this and possibly
even start a local club once I at least know the basics. Hoping a few of you out there have the patience to answer the most basic of questions to give me a good foundation.
Ready? Here goes...
1. The transmitter has two trim switches for the steering. The left is ST TRIM and the dial on the right is ST D/R. Playing around with these dials seem to have random effects.
One trim button would make more sense, left/right to adjust how straight the car goes while not steering. The effects seem to vary no matter how I set them so can anyone explain
exactly how they work and affect the steering on the car?
2. What is the Servo? The part that controls the steering? Or is it the part that controls the transmitter voltage to the motor?
3. What is the ESC? What does ESC stand for? Ditto to the above question.
4. Besides the obvious boost in power, what is the difference between a brushless and a brushed motor?
5. Why do Tamiya to Banana connectors all come with a male Tamiya end? Every car I own requires a female.
6. How can I connect a Banana connector to a wire on my own?
7. Why do Lipo batteries and Ni Mh batteries require different types of chargers?
8. If I put a different motor in of the same type (brushless or Brushed) do I need to change other parts such as the ESC or servo?
9. Why does it matter to have a transmitter with more channels when a simple 2 channel seems to work fine? (more channels are far more expensive)
Again, thanks in advance to any that answer these questions, this would at least help me get off to a great start!
1: trim on the right is to center the steering. trim in the middle is to set the neutral position of the throttle. trim on the left is the steering rate.
it changes how much the wheels turn per the input you make when turning the wheel on the remote.
There are also 2 switches. one is for setting the steering as normal/reverse. the other is for setting the throttle as normal/reverse.
These are only used cause some servos and ESC's are set differenty from one car to another.
2: the servo controls steering. in nitro or gas RC's, as servo is also used to control the throttle/ brake function.
3: ESC, electronic speed control. modern ESCs control the power sent to the motor, as well as provide battery power to the reciever.
4: brushed motors have a rotor with wires wrapped around it, and magnets on the inside surface of the can(case)
the power is transfered by metal brushess to the rotor. thus the term brushed. these wear down over time, cause heat and friction and are less efficient.
brushless are the opposite. the magnets are on the rotor, and the wires are on the inside surface of the can.
5:bannan and tamiya plugs are completly differnt.
6:honestly, i recommend changing over to deans or traxxas plugs.
7:totally different chemical makeup. the individual cells of a lipo pack need to be balanced(charge to the same level)
8: all ESC's have specs(limits)
brushed motors are rated in # of turns. the lower, the hotter the motor(powerful)
most brushed esc's will have a rating stating the min # of turns it can handle, as well as the max battery voltage.
brushless ESC's usually have a rating of battery voltage as well. most brushless motors are rated in KV. this stands for the max # of revs the motor makes per volt applied.
a 3300kv motor will spin at 3300rpms with 1 volt applied(with no load on the motor)
9:a 2ch radio is all you need. more channels is only needed to run other things.
some RC's have a 2 speed trans that is switched by a 3rd channel.
extra channels can be used for light systems, a servo to raise/lower a plow ect.