lastmojica

Hello everyone!

I am returning to the hobby after 12 years. I alwaysloved flying and was always very passionate about it as a young teen. Soon after my passion turned to cars , girls, and finally now a house and family. I am 28 yrs old now and I always knew I would return to the hobby. I saved all my stuff butt im afraid all or most of it is now outdated. I was hoping to jump back in the hobby with little expense but i'm not sure if that is still possible after some of the things I have been reading online.

I have a decent grasp on the new 2.4 ghz stuff but I have some questions also. Can I use all my old servos with the new 2.4 ghz recievers? I have a bunch of Futaba s148 servos and some tower hobby 3000 servos.

I am assuming that I am going to have to buy all new batteries for my TX's and RX's since they are 10+ years old or would it be possible that the battery packs are still useful?I charged them all for 1 hour and they all turn on but im not sure how safe it would be to use them.

Is it it worth me buying new TX and RX batteries and extra Rx'sto use my old 72 mhz TX's or is it more cost efficient to purchase a new 2.4 ghz system and a extra RX's and batteries for my planes? I would hate not being able to use my old equipment and feel like I saved it for nothing but it almost seems cheaper to just buy a new system.

Here are some pictures of my equipment and some of my planesin the attic soon to be out though

lastmojica

lastmojica

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

Welcome back!
Servos are ok but can the batteries. Radios with 1991 gold stickers are still ok. Really DO NOT EVEN TRY THE BATTERIES. Also check out any flex hinges for cracking pinned hinges might be ok.
I took a few years off, and upon return, my trainer flew just fine...into a tree. Well I flew several flights and it was just fine. My Rx on my glasses however was BAD and that was the cause of the tree incident!

Just be safe

ameyam

A flier at my field still uses just one of those TXs. Dont think the batteries would have lasted the 10 years though. I think you should be able to use all the equipment without any problems, even the airplanes, except for the batteries. Best would be to test out your equipment without the engine running for a couple of hours indoors. If you see no jittering, you should be OK

Ameyam

jeffie8696

You can replace your old Nicd trans batteries with new amazing Lipos and only have to charge them once a month. If your radios and receivers are narrow band (there is good info on the manufacturers sites) use them till they are dead, Ihave radios going back like 30+ years.
2.4 is cool but not essential. Glow engines are about the same, some new models and a lot more 4 strokes but other than that .
Heck the sport is cheaper than ever, you can even upgrade an old radio to 2.4 for cheap. Check this one out.

MetallicaJunkie

just swap out your batteries and use the equipment on a trainer...if it functions flawlessly why not.... i still use a old 8303 on 72mhz and i converted my old 10x to 2.4

CGRetired

My Feedback: (1)

No, you cannot just change to LiPo. In most cases, a regulator is required for changing your receiver power to LiPo power systems. Adding a regulator adds a point of failure, which is something you may want to consider before adding any complexity to your system. It's always best to keep it simple to get started back into the hobby.

Not so with LiFe packs, they will work, as is, on the receiver side.

Contact a site like RadicalRC.Com to get exactly what battery packs you need for your transmitters as well as your receivers. Be aware that there are many choices and you must make them wisely... so ask questions before you buy any battery pack.

CGr.

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

lastmojica,
+1 on what CG said. Nicads are cheap and very reliable and are likely what you have chargers for. Having said that, there is a whole new world of electric stuff out there now.
Prices on electric equipment are all over the place right now. SHOPPING AROUND WORKS THESE DAYS. Electric planes of all sizes and shapes are coming out of the woodwork.
You have some nice planes there, they will be much happier now that your flying agian!

jeffie8696

No you dont need a regulator. All you need to do is add a diode ( very simple and trouble free) to the battery. The diode drops the lipo voltage by .7 volts so the radios regulator will not overheat and it prevents the battery from being accidentaly charged through the charge port. Easy Peezy.
The diode is IN4001 from Radioshack and costs 50 cents. Install it in the positive lead of the battery with the stripe towards the radio and simply charge your lipo from the balance port. All my radios are now lipo including the Kraft 2.4.

MetallicaJunkie

what receivers to you use with the Kraft 2.4?

jeffie8696

It is a Corona system.

jeffie8696

To be clear, I am only talking about using a lipo on the transmitter. If you want to use a lipo on your receiver you must check the manufacturers voltage specs.

blueapplepaste

My Feedback: (5)

I was in exact same situation as you (26 yrs old at the time, out of hobby for 13 years). I just scrapped all of my old radio stuff and invested in a Spektrum DX6i. I'm glad I did. The stuff I had was just fine (minus batteries), but I didn't want to have to deal with frequency pins anymore, and wanted a computer radio as well that would be more flexible in the long run.

oldtyme

I have a lot of S148 servos I use and they are among my favorites....I just fly sport so they are just fine. As for batteries......do not buy NiCds........they have a charge memory problem. I use NiMh batteries they do not have a memory problem and are very trouble free. That and a good charger........Accucycle Elite and you're good to go in the battery department.

lastmojica

Thanks for all the responses so quickly.  So I guess I will be sticking with my current setup I just need to get new batteries. So Nicds are sitll available just not as efficient? Are they any cheaper then the lipos?  I am fine with the nicds as thats what i have always been used too but if lipo is the cheaper more efficient way then I am all for it.

I was concerned with the price of new 72 mhz receivers, new batteries, for Tx's and RX's totalling more then a new 2.4 tx/rx bundle.  How much do the batteries for the 72 mhz Tx's and Rx's run ? Where is a good place to buy them?

When I was flying last i would buy all my stuff from the local hobby shop or tower hobbies. Now it seems the local hobby shops are all gone so I am assuming its because they cant compete with the internet prices.Only thing is I still only know of tower hobbies online and Hobby horse lol.

jeffie8696

Hobbyking gets a lot of my money too.
And they carry transmitter lipos.

lastmojica

also my recievers say narrow band but the Tx's don't. the old 7 ch has gold stickers on it but doesnt say narrow band. the skysport has a silver stickers and the Hitec doesnt have any stickers

jeffie8696

Ibet all of them are narrow band. Heck my old Futaba FG 6 channel is narrow even without a sticker.
http://www.futabarc.com/faq/service-faq.html#q41

lastmojica

So is it right that I am seeing 2.4ghz receivers under $20 and 72mhz narrow bands for like $50? lol

Red B.

No need to switch to LiPo. Do not bother with diodes and voltage regulators. The "new" generation of NimH batteries with very low self discharge are ideal for powering your radios. The have the same voltage and dimensions as your old NiCd batteries, but with four times more capacity. Look for Sanyo Eneloop and GP Recyko, which I know from experience are performing very well.

jeffie8696

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...7&ParentCat=85

jeffie8696

Last, where are you buying your receivers?
Heck even a nice Berg4 from Tower is only about $30.

lastmojica

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0093p?&C=LDN

lastmojica

Is that zippy one the one I need? all the rest are on back order