Zebb

Hi there,
I'm looking to buy my first ever r/c and have a few questions since i'm still pretty ignorant when it comes to this stuff.
I've done a little bit of research and decided a EP BLIZZARD DF-300 (Electric would be the wise choice?) would be the logical choice for my first vehicle since i live in Canada and have alot of snow. After looking up the kit on Kyosho's website it says i'll need to buy a "7.2V-1400～3000mAh Battery", obviously i have nooo clue what type or even where to start in choosing one? It also says i need a "BEC compatible 2-channel, 2-servo R/C system" again, no clue where to start in that area either.

Any advice or help in which parts i'll need or any add-ons i'd be advised to look into would be very VERY helpful since starting off the whole market seems very intimidating and confusing with all the options avaliable. Thanks in advance

edsland

I would go to a local hobby shop, they could answer all of your questions. If you don't have a shop near by you could go to Towerhobbies.com and by an all inclusive package or they have phone #s where they will answer all of your questions. Ideally if you have a rc club near you they will teach you all you need to know to be succesful plus you'll have alot more fun. Tonite we have our Christmas party and bid on merchindise with the points we earn throughout the year.

tstotts

Not familiar with that model but if it is a 2 channel setup it has to be a small plane. bottom line small underpowered planes are difficult to fly. If you have a local club nearby get connected. they can save you a lot of heart ache. I would not advise you to try to learn on your own. Pretty rare for anyone to succeed at that. On top of that you would be well advised to start with something in the 40cc size and a 4 channel set up. You will be money ahead as well because if you are successful you will wind up upgrading real soon anyway. Hope I do not discourage you but trying to help.
The best advice anyone can give you is to check with the hobby store and find an rc group and ask for help. Good Luck.

Turd Ferguson

Zebb, I sort have just gone through a similar thing, I was a little into R/C when I was in my early teens, and have just gotten back into it. Two years ago while I was out in Calgary for work, I decided to stop into a hobby store to take a look around. Well I left with a Losi mini-lst, it is a very fun little monster truck (1:18) scale, very quick and comes ready to run. While I was there I remember seeing the Kyosho Blizzard, and have wanted one since back in my early days of R/C and I was kicking myself until last week, when I went ahead and ordered on for myself.

Since I already had the mini-lst, I first thought that I could use the electronics, well, I could have, but buying an additional servo, and a speed control, I was better off to buy a full radio set, which was the Futaba 2PL, which includes the transmitter, electronic speed control, and a servo.
Next I needed a battery, I just asked at my LHS what they had, and picked up a basic 1500mAh battery for 19.99, and a Prophet Plus charger. My understanding is that the higher the mAh rating of the battery, the more power it provides the motor, essentially making the vehicle faster.

I ended up ordering my Blizzard from www.hobbywholesale.com , they were the only online Canadian site that I could find that listed it in stock and let me order it online. The day after I placed the order I recieved a call from them to let me know they didn't have it in stock, but would only take about a week for them to get it in for me. And also they could not honour the price listed on their site and it had not been updated recently, I was fine with that, because I still got it cheaper that going through Ebay, or ordering from the US.

All said and done, if you have to buy all new gear, including the vehicle itself, you are looking at about $500cdn.

My Blizzard should be here next week, I can't wait, we've had a ton of snow here in Ottawa in the last two days!

trinitybrown

I am not familiar with this model but wish to suggest you one thing that go for only model and battery which will better suit your country's climate .

Zebb

Thanks for every1's responces, sorry i'm slow to reply, busy busy


@ Turd Ferguson

Thanks alot for all the advice, just the info i was looking for! I'm assuming the full radio set you are refering to is this: http://www.hobbywholesale.com/Produc...=4513886201479 ?

As for a battery I've heard it suggested to throw a hump 8.4 volt 4500 nimh pack battery to drasticly up the power on the stock engine. Any suggestions?
What should i look for in a battery charger?

I think thats everything. How are you liking it so far? I've been doing some research and so many neat lil things can be done, i'm pretty excited about it.

@Edsland

Sadly i live in the boonies, the closest "hobby shop" which would be VERY small and limited is a good 5 hours away No r/c clubs at all in my area, again in the boonies.

@Tstotts

This is actually a tracked R/c machine that runs in snow, sort of like a tank

Turd Ferguson

Zebb, I still haven't actually recieved mine yet, it should be here in the next couple of days. And, yes that radio will work fine, I went with the Futaba 2PL, which I believe is just a step up from that one, and got it through my local hobby store here in Ottawa.

For batteries I'm not quite sure what to go with for more power, I just have a basic 1500mAh, and also a 2000mAh, they both seem to have decent power and allow long run times.

Lorduss

congrads on your choice, blizzard is a super fun vehicle, and very unique in the RC world, and of course specially suited to the snow, i have one and LOVE it. and finaly live in the snow my self to take full advantage (south lake tahoe)
go with a cheap battery, 3000 mah 7.2 volt well be more than fine, the extra cell *hump pack* wont give you much more. and the high mah batterys run up in price quite a bit, you can get 3000 mah 7.2 volt packs for 20 bucks and there more than you need for a beginner.
keep everything cheep and simple, theres alot to learn.
one special note about the blizzard, it does great in the snow but let the machine cool down to ambient outside temps before running, if you just throw it outside from the house the tracks and sprokets well be above freezing and snow well collect instantly. let it cool down for a bit before running, helps keep the sproket clean.

thankfully the blizzard is also one rc car that doesnt need constant parts or upgrading. infact if you wanted to dump money into it you allmost cant.
congrads and enjoy your new hobby

stang

My Feedback: (1)

I'd suggest you call these folks and get some help. If you get a chance to get in to Winnipeg they are really helpful.
http://www.cellardwellerhobby.com

damfurst

Hey just wanted to let u know that you'll have a blast with the blizzard. I got mine 1 year ago 2nd hand off ebay so didn't have to add a radio or anything but battery. The reason the stock version asks for 2 servos is one is for steering and one to operate the mechanical speed control for the motor. If you get the Futaba radio set with the speed control you will be able to eliminate the need for both the 2nd servo and mechanical speed control. Electronic speed controls (ESC) give you much better control of the motor speed and do not wear out though they sometimes can burn out.

Lorduss had a great suggestion too about setting the blizzard outside and letting it cool down before running it. I wished I had thought of that. Would have saved running the tracks off sometimes. The other thing I would suggest is putting the receiver either in a balloon or even a sandwich bag to keep the moisture from getting into it while it is running. In light fluffy snow you'll get snow all on the inside of the Blizzard and without some kind of protection for the receiver to keep moisture out it can start acting strange and you can lose control of the model. Theres my 2 cents. I also added lights mine to run it after dark . The Blizzard is definitly fun.

klm4488

Dont know if anyone is still reading this thread but here goes. Dudes right on the cheap battery. The more expensive ones are for more serious people. The cheap ones wear almost the same, so why spend the money? Nobody's said anything bout the charger. I had a brain from MRC. Try to get a timed peak charger that can decharge batteries too. If you decharge the battery pack after running it to get that last little bit out, your battery pack will last a little longer. If I remember right, the Brain automatically decharges the pack before charging. Also, do not charge a battery then leave it. Always run as much power out of a pack as possible. I just ordered the nitro version from Ultimate Hobby online. You are gonna love the RC hobby. Lots to learn, constantly challenging, not just for kids, and there is absolutely something to fit everyone.