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Old 12-07-2003 | 10:06 PM
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DBCherry
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From: Hubbardston, MA
Default RE: Sig Rascal electric ARF tools needed???

Just glad I can help.

Looked at the site, and please note that it does NOT come with a battery pack. Speed 400 motor and gearbox, as well as the ESC, which is great, but you'll still need to buy two (my recommendation) 8 cell, 600AE packs (again, NiMh's will provide higher mAh ratings at similar weight, but at a bit less power),and you'll need a battery charger.

If you can afford it, I've seen a couple of Nova's and Super Nova's for sale recently; both eBay and here, for around $75. They go about a $100 to $120 new. They're a real good charger, but they only run off 12 volts. Either a battery or a power supply (power supply's can be costly). The Nova series will charge fron 1 to 24 cell packs though, so if you're thinking about getting involved in electrics beyond Speed 400's, you should consider them. (Other equally good brands are available.)

As I said, less expensive chargers are around. GWS makes one that's good for something like, 4 to 8 cells, and I think it will run off either 110 or 12 volts. Shop around for what you think you'll need. (Tower should have some.)

I also have a near new Hobbico 335 (I think), that will charge 1 to 24 cells. It's certainly not a Nova, and it will only run off 12 volts. But if you think you might be interested, I'd sell it for $40 shipped. (Just saw one of these for sale as well. He was asking $45 plus shipping.) Not a sales pitch, because I'll use it at times, but if you can't find anything at a reasonable price....

One more thing I noticed in the Rascal ad, and wondered about last night; you WILL need a soldering iron for linkages. Which means you will also need some soldering flux and some solder. I've recently been using the paste type flux and rosin (resin?) core solder wih good results.

Do NOT waste your money on hobby shop or Tower soldering irons. Go to Sears, or Home Depot, or a hardware store, and buy a good, 80 watt pencil type iron. (Not the pistol shaped things either.) They can be found for under $20.

If you have a "Bernzomatic" type propane torch, that will work quite well for things like linkages and landing gear; metal to metal soldering), but be careful, they heat things up REAL fast! I can solder heavy linkages together in about 4 seconds. (Really!)

Anyway. Good luck, and like I said, keep asking the questions.
Dennis-