HPIracer4

ok about a year ago i purchased an 18th scale hpi rs4 from someone on the buy/sell of rcu. i pretty much got screwed. i was supposed to be getting a bunch of upgrades and a very nice radio. well this and that, i get stuck with a cheap radio replacement, and no batteries and no receipts as promised. i tried confronting the person after the fact told me he was going to send it, and after not recieving anything again he told me he had no idea what i was talking about. but any, i have a hpi rs4 1/18 and im somewhat new to electrics (i own nitro car/trucks and fly airplanes so im not new to the hobby at all) i am not sure how this speedcontroller, hooks up. The speed controller is a Novak Explorer II. and since no reciever was sent with the "new" radio, im going to end up using an hpi radio and reciever on the 27mhz. (in pics, but dont have it in front of me for which one it is) so im looking for advice on what i need to do, based off of pictures pretty much. it has an elite modified motor i believe?? and purple heatsink for the motor and a reg. sized servo. i only found a battery that i had laying around, which is a radioshack battery pack (i believe 6cell) but it is way too long for the micro....i was wondering if i modified the battery to say a 4 or 5 cell would i be able to get it to work for a temporary?? i have no other batterys in my house except lipos (electric planes). thanks for the help in advanced, and until i have a job again, i dont have cash. im working with what i have, and i just want to get this thing to be in use!!!!! any other info i can let you know.

Foxy

Wow, first of all, name and shame, who screwed you? So we don't buy from them in the future...as for immediate solutions...

The speed controller plugs into the throttle channel on the receiver, but I'm sure you know that, maybe your question is something else? Please clarify what you mean by 'I'm not sure how the speed controller hooks up'...

You can't really mod that battery, the cells are too large, 4 or 5 cells would yield very disappointing performance, even if you could somehow squeeze them in there. If you wanted to use the li-pos, you'd prob need some other equipment, I don't know if the speed controller or receiver would work with those, but I'm not all that clued up on li-po stuff. I suggest you get a 7.2v micro pack, they aren't exactly cheap, but I feel it's the only you'll get it running without changing a bunch of other stuff too, basically the most cost effective solution to the problem.

HPIracer4

well what i mean by hooking up, is the wires on the esc. which are for the motor and which for the battery?? and what micro battery would u recommend?
(the guy i got this from was from tennessee, ill see if i can find his username, but last i checked he doesnt sell anymore)

Foxy

Get yourself a novak manual, shouldn't be hard to find on the 'net. As for micro batteries, if I'm honest, I don't really know what's available in the market these days, I haven't touched my cars in over a year (now I'm getting ready for some serious sessions this spring). Go browse the products at Tower, I'm sure it won't be hard to find something.

HPIracer4

do i want nicd or nimh?

Foxy

NimH are better and more expensive. The main difference being that ni-cads, if treated incorrectly can have a 'memory problem' and not charge their full capacity, NimHs do not suffer from this problem so much.

brainleak

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Head over to blindbatts.com He sells prebuilt packs of ib1400's. They are the best batts on the market. Cheap for a 4,5 or 6 cell all of which fit in the mrs4 stock chassis very well.

HPIracer4

this is prolly the last question for right now, but the reciever is a 4channel reciever (yet the radio is 3ch....wierd) but it has battery, channel 1, 2 ,3 ,4.........now csince i hook the battery up to the esc do i even need to bother with it on the reciever??

WackoWasko

No you don't. That is for reciever packs, which are mostly used in nitro vehicles.

HPIracer4

alright well i managed to get this thing running, and so far its been a blast!!!!! i have rubber tires on it, slicks, so its kinda eh on some carpet in my house. but i noticed, i only got 3 of the 4 wheels spinning, im assuming theres a differential in the rear? (the rear left tire is the one not spinning) looks like im going to have to take it apart, but id like to know what im going to have to replace, cuz if i do have to replace something, then im not going to bother takin it apart till i get some cash. but its definitly fun regardless. eventually ill have all the hop ups and a correct battery for it, even though this one works great. i tried doing some experimenting with that radioshack battery, ( i pulled it apart, exposed the cells, and actually it would fit, but solder was a no no on those. i tried everything couldnt get the solder to stay on the battery cells for some reason (i noticed the had the cells together like pinned kind of? it was wierd) but non the less i found another battery that fits and well work temporarly.

Foxy

Yeh, battery terminals are notoriously difficuult to get the solder to stick to, and you have to be careful when trying as well, as you'll destroy the battery with the heat if you're not careful. You have to rub them down and use plenty of flux, otherwise, as you can see, it's a virtual impossibilty. As for your diff problem, it's hard to say whether or not you'll need to replace something, I'd say there's a very high probability, just open it up and take a look, you should take evey opportunity like this to get to know the model. Maybe something just needs tightening, if you're lucky. Well done for getting it running anyway...

HPIracer4

ight well ill open it up alittle later, im havin too much fun lol, i tried doin the electrical tape for "drift" tires hahaha it barely moved, at least not on carpet, o well, im just messin with it in my living room, its fun as hell, considering its too cold (for me at least) to run my nitro.

HPIracer4

ya foxy, ended up tearin apart the rearend, and now it works lol. seems like there wasnt something reinstalled properly when the guy before (im assuming) took it apart. now all 4 spin. and i tried the electrical tape "drift tires" and it works. just wish i had more room!!!!! but thanks for the help this far!

Foxy

Nice one! You must be very happy!! I remember when I first got my micro rs4 (sold years ago)...they are a blast. It's funny, a recent visit to YouTube (SICK RC drifting videos) combined with you saying about the drift tyres, has reminded of something I wanted to do ages ago but had forgotten about, a drift-mini. You probably saw my thread about what stadium truck to buy, well, I'm now thinking about an on-roader, perhaps even both!!

I'm absolutely loving the carbon stuff on the Xray M18 (1/18th on-roader), unfortunately, I'm thinking cos of the foam tyres (yeh, I know I can always change 'em, but when a car comes with foams on it, it's for one thing...pure racing) and the racing geometry it may not make the best drifter. Then again I can always race it in 'normal mode' as well, I used to be an asphalt guy anyway (before I got into buggies and came to greece (very poor tarmac quality)), 1/10th nitro.

Here's one of those sick drift vids I was on about...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW4NZ...elated&search=

Hacker Da-Cracker

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thats a sweet video. the Mirco RS4's are sweet. Will the Mamba fit it? i think it will but im not sure.