joebahl

My Feedback: (2)

I got some sad news for ya the deans plugs you buy from HK are not deans plugs just a copy . If you have them side by side with a real deans plug you can tell , and i woild also think the battery current can tell the difference also. joe

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

1. No. That's just being naive.
2. Maybe.
3. Exactly.
4. Don't recall anyone saying that, but you did put words in my mouth.
5. I wouldn't bother. Most people probably don't care.

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Someone said on one of the electric forums that there IS a difference in the metal used and the difference is significant! I wonder if someone could verify that with some real data.

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

lol, someone said Elvis was abducted by aliens,, didn't back it up with facts though

tailskid

My Feedback: (34)

Not true....I saw Elvis in the mall last night!

scale only 4 me

My Feedback: (158)

they got sick of him too,, huh?

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

For those that don't like the TH HH HK bashing of Poor service and substandard products of this thread ten don't read it take it else ware. these are OPINIONS and You know what OPINIONS are like and every one has one.

joebahl

My Feedback: (2)

Real deans plugs are around 6 bucks for two of them at my local hobby shop with my discount ,yea i buy from my local hobby shop now for the last 20 years to help them stay in buisness so they stick around . lol Dont know the current difference between real deans plugs and HK but i do know the difference in driving 10 minutes to the hobby shop or waiting for 3 weeeks from HK, so witch one you think i buy from. joe

jim billings

re: Deans plugs. I ordered (and received in acceptable time) 10 or 20 or 30 (I don't remember, exactly) "Deans" connectors from Hobby King a couple years ago. They would not fit the real Deans connectors I had on hand, neither male nor female. They LOOKED to be identical , but they weren't. Needless to say, I trashed the HK connectors. I didn't feel like I was screwed by HK. I just accepted the fact they COULD have met my needs but, disappointingly, didn't. The ones I later ordered from Tower were perfect. Moral of story: There may be difficulties ordering from Hobby King. But that doesn't mean everything from HK fails. I followed my philosophy of living with the decisions I make and the results of my actions and fully intend to continue ordering from HK. Of course, there will be sufficient analysis of need, finances, and other facts before ordering. If they diddle me, then caveat emptor applies. You won't see a thread expounding on my horrible, universe shaking difficulties in seeking recompense and satisfaction.

topspin

The only thing that needs to go away is Hobby King. Then people can enjoy the hobby even more by not being swindled out their hard earned cash by a pirate outfit disguised as a business. There are plenty of legitimate companies that sell the same stuff for nearly the same price, all you have to do is look. You can tell the legitimate companies because they offer real live customer service and will actually help you instead of just taking your money Like Hobby King does in which case you really wound up paying more.

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

I'm happy to more and not have the hassle.

Blair K.

Wow so much talk about deans, copies of deans, anything that resembles deans.

I'm well aware they are copies.
I'm a guy that has a stock of pritty much everything, plugs,screws, saito four strokes, you name it.

I'm time poor, I cant get to a hobby store during business hours so I buy spare bits online $200 at a time and have them delivered so when I head to the man cave late at night stuff happens and I dont get stopped in my tracks for stupid little reasons.

I dont care if a deans connector if a copy as long it allows me for example to make a glow driver quick changeable without soldering at the field so I dont head home without flying that day in all good.

My local hobby store sells knock off ones and there $8 a pair, I paid $20 for 50 pairs online, thats the crazy mark up im talking about.

joebahl

My Feedback: (2)

When your hobby store is gone and you cant go there to pick up anything or just look at things there you might want , Just remember you ordering online and saving a few bucks and did not suport them . I see guys saying all the time in build threads complain that their local shop closed and cant figure out why.lol joe

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

Another reason the copies are cheaper is just that. They are copies.
The original designer/manufacturer, puts a lot of time and money into R&D, then someone comes along copies it and sells it cheaper without having to do any R&D.
So it's not the consumer being ripped off by the original manufacturer, it's the original manufacturer being ripped off by the copy cats and then the consumer who buy the copies.

Blair K.

I supported hobby shops for 25 years and got sick of getting ***** r#ped on prices! $20 a litre for %15 nitro fuel.....thats $80 a gallon for you guys in the states and it didnt end there, I simply couldn't afford things I needed and went without for years until I found out just how much these stores and middle men were marking items up so I took my dollar elsewhere.

I have little need for a local store but I wont hand over ridiculous amounts of money for simple things for example I haven't been able to buy a glow plug for under $10 for 10 years yet I can buy 4 x OS F genuine plugs from Japan for $30 delivered to my door.

So who is not supporting who??????

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

$7.50 / plug direct from Japan. So it goes through maybe 2 middle when you buy it in Aus. $2.50 / plug extra. I don't see how that is getting ripped off. If you buy them here you most likely wouldn't buy 4 at a time so it wouldn't cost you $40 up front.
OS plugs last forever so there's no need to buy too many. I get hundreds of flights out of a OS F plug so only carry 2 spares. I buy another when I change one, so I spend $10/ year on plugs. The other $30 stays in the bank earning money.

Blair K.

I said under $10, normally 15-16$ each and most hobby stores will say I never heard of a four stroke glow motor and order it anyway.

Im time poor and cant get to a shop in business hours so it works for me, 4 for the price of delivered to my door.

How many plugs in a radial four stroke plus my other 4 planes ????

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

Well you should have said you can't get them under $15 ea.

It doesn't matter what engine they are in, they still last for hundreds of flights and if they are in a radial well I presume that wouldn't be an every day flyer, so would last for years.
Time poor, you're not the lone stranger there.

What, you only have 4 other planes?

Blair K.

[QUOTE=drac1;11889875]Well you should have said you can't get them under $15 ea.


Not an everyday flyer would not be correct, 2 planes per weekend , every weekend weather permitting. I run high nitro content with custom exhausts and tune for all out speed, my plugs get a real hiding and about 2-3 plugs per plane per year is my change out rate to avoid failure in flight. I have a Saito 82 that has been GPS'ed at 210.3 kph, any motor working this hard will gobble up plugs.

Plus there's the plugs the friends borrow occasionally

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

[QUOTE=Blair K.;11889878]I assumed wrongly. Lol.

It doesn't get much harsher than in the combustion of YS DZ's on 30% nitro. On average a dozen flights a week and plugs last more than a year.

But that's a bit off topic.

Blair K.

[QUOTE=drac1;11889880]
Ive never owned a YS but I have had my Saito 115 powered Spitfire destroy a new OS F plug inside of 3 minutes but it did record a top speed of 196 kph before the plug let go.

I fly really hard and I love it.

Back on topic, all my local hobby stores almost only do rc cars, small heli's or parkzone bind n flyers, I have no issue with that but everything I ask them about they have to google, they are not so well rounded on the hobby and if they have to order it I may as well do it myself.

I used my local store for fuel a few times 2 years ago and they special ordered 2 gallons in for me and the price for a gallon went up from 45$ to $62 in 14 days.

I now mix my own as I just cant get to the shop to get it and mix my own for 6.80$ per litre whenever I need it, I often find myself mixing fuel at 11:30pm after working on planes all night.

drac1

My Feedback: (4)

[QUOTE=Blair K.;11889892]Most of the items I use are specialised (that's why inferior products don't cut it) and the general hobby stores don't keep them. I have one guy near me that can get a fair bit of what I need, but even his suppliers don't have all I need.
I buy local wherever possible but specialised items are getting harder to get locally. In this case I buy from overseas.
I also mix my own fuel, have done for 12 years. This way I can get the exact mix I need. I can't buy the mix I use. About the same cost as yours.

Blair K.

[QUOTE=drac1;11889897]Yeah I did have a guy that had a really good home hobby store that specialised in planes, it was a 3/4 hour drive but he would get my special orders with just a txt message.

He decided to retire again and closed his doors to live the quiet life.

I make all my own custom gear, manifolds, exhausts, adaptors for carbies so I only need props and some electronics type of stuff , I have special order guy for important electronics.

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

There is so much mark up in hobby stuff that all these "EVIL" Hobby Shop Owners are Millionaires ... NOT.
One should give the hobby shop a chance to match a price. Many will try all depends how good a customer you are. Mail Order has it's place but then again this thread is about the Mail order guy RIPPEN PEOPLE OFF ain't it.

Blair K.

Ive been to the states, you have no idea how lucky you guys have got it when it comes to value for money.

I couldn't believe how cheap things were, I saved over $400 on a digital SLR camera, I only have to look at horizon hobbies rc engines, an evo glow radial will be $400-$500 more expensive here in OZ.