Any RC enthusiasts? Input/advice wanted on a project idea.
I've wanted to get into the remote controlled (RC) hobby for awhile now, but scratching just a bit deeper than the cheap toys you can buy at a department store can start to get quite expensive. I also feel like the fun will wear quite quickly buying a complete car. A kit car could be interesting, but I wanted something more.
I recently had the idea (definitely not novel) to make it more of project and build my own RC car, relying on 3D printing, laser cut, and metal components where necessary (though I'm sure after a few crashes, it'll start to feel like every component). My skill level with electronics is relatively low and I know I'll enjoy the mechanical challenges more, so I'm coming to you on the question of electrics.
In my cursory searches for the electrical components, I believe I need the following:
- Transmitter & Receiver
- Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) & Motor
- Battery & some sort of battery charger
- Servo motor
I've mostly been looking for brands that offer the full suite. Probably limiting my assessment, but made it easier to get started exploring. So far it seems like Spektrum might be the best price point for the whole set (though still not cheap by any means):
- Spektrum Dx3 Transmitter w/ SR315 Receiver
- Spektrum Firma 70A Brushed ESC w/ Brushed Motor
- 5000mAh 2S LiPo Battery w/ Charger
- Standard Digital Servo
I'm mostly wondering if I'm missing anything component-wise. Or if I'm going completely off-base with jumping to these types of components when I could be fine with something much cheaper. I tried to start with looking at what entry-level RC recommendations there are, but most of those lead to kit cars. Also, my overall lack of familiarity with electrical components means I haven't even considered what sort of simple DC motors I could get by with, though I guess I'm not looking to program anything at the moment.
I've not invested anything besides time researching so any input/advice is welcome. Thanks for reading!
I don't have a lot of experience in RC, but I have an HPI WR8 flux and my son has a Wltoys 144001. Both cars came pre-assembled a.k.a. ready-to-run (RTR). I would have prefered an assembly kit from the start, but I have disassembled and re-assembled both cars extensively for repairs - watch out for those curbs! - so in the end it does not matter too much for me either way.
As far as I can tell, the electronics above should be everything you need, but you will also want to have a LiPo battery voltage checker such as this one Reely (you can get the very same model on AliExpress or Ebay for 5$ or less). Also Spektrum in general is considered a good brand. I really like that they make battery handling as easy as possible. You can just attach a Spektrum smart battery to a Spektrum smart charger, and it will automatically select the right voltage and current for safe charging. For this reason alone I think Spektrum is worth the premium price. Note though that in the battery+charger combo linked above, the battery seems to be a first generation, not a second generation "2G" variant. The 2G series also includes automatic discharging to storage level after 72 hours of not using the battery. This is also a very nice feature, as LiPo batteries ideally should be stored at around 50% charge level over extended periods. My charger has a "storage" setting, which I use before setting the batteries aside; not a big deal, but just something to think about. With a Spektrum smart charger and G2 battery, you could just charge to full and the battery will do the rest automatically. Or if you did not run it below 50% - which happened quite a lot for me actually - you can just leave the battery as is, and again it will discharge down on its own.
Here is just an idea that came to my mind in case you are looking for a very low-budget entry into the hobby... You could buy an assembled ready to run car such as Wltoys 144001 (1/14 scale) or Wltoys 124017 (1/12 scale), then scavenge the components and build your own. You can get these cars for around 60$ to 120$. Again, of course it depends on your budget and how you want to approach it. Maybe this could be a good way to get started and then you can evaluate whether you want to upgrade to more expensive components in a future project. Or maybe you will be more invested into the project if you buy the "proper" components right from the start (of course, there are wayyy more options available if you truly want to break your bank).
Thanks for the response! I like the idea of potentially scavenging from another car, those Wltoys ones are much cheaper than most of the others I saw recommended (and actually come with the transmitter/batteries). I was looking at $200 being the sot of median price for a kit, so spending a little extra and knowing I'd have all the electronics seemed reasonable.
What repairs did you have to make? Curious if I should be buying additional parts off the bat or if it's something that's more wear and tear. Actually, if there were any issues with the electrics that would be best to know!
The input on the battery is super helpful. I'll look at the G2 series as I'd prefer the more fool-proof options! Could you elaborate on the purpose of the battery checking tool? Is there more to it than knowing what percentages it's at?
My repairs were mainly for crashes. For instance, on the HPI WR8, the front bumper split in two after hitting a wall full throttle, I was very surprised everything else was still in tact. On the WLtoys, the front wheel swing arm and wheel hub broke after hitting a curb. There were also many bent wheel and shock axles, some had to be replaced, some could be straigthened back. The only wear & tear in my case were the tires. By the way, if you just buy the tires, then you need "tire glue" to attach them to the rims. Even if you buy a tires & rims combo, they are not always glued together (unless they are "pre-glued"). Personally, I would not worry too much about replacement parts, and just order them when you need them. That being said, I have also seen people buy the exact same car two times, so that they don't have to wait for replacement parts being shipped.
Regarding electronics, I never needed to replace anything on either cars. One thing to note is that the Wltoys 144001 has a very small battery compartment and you won't be able to fit "standard" batteries such as a 5000mAh 2S Spektrum battery. You can buy 3000mAh batteries specifically made for WLtoys 144001, but in reality they are 1400mAh at best (most chargers can show the actual mAh that went into the battery during the charge process). Therefore, I would probably recommend one of the 1/12 or 1/10 scale models.
The purpose of the battery checker is mostly to read the current voltage/percentage of the battery while you are in the field. Let's say your car stops working, and you measure something like 0-5% charge, you know right away what the issue is. If on the other hand, you measure let's say 50%, then you know there is another problem. A battery checker can also measure and display the voltage/percentage of the individual cells, which can be helpful to diagnose problems with a battery. All cells should be at about the same voltage. So if one cell is measured at 10% and the other at 50%, that battery is no good anymore.
Oh, and something I almost forgot :-)
Battery connectors and the ESC connector at the car must match. The spectrum batteries have so-called IC3 for "lower" current and IC5 connectors for "higher" current batteries. IC3 is compatible to the standard EC3, and IC5 is compatible to standard EC5. (I think the "I" stands for "intelligent", but could be wrong)
HPI and WLtoys use T-Plug a.k.a. "Deans" connectors.
So you would need an "EC3 to Deans" or "IC3 to Deans" adapter to connect a Spektrum battery to an HPI or Wltoys car. You can get these adapters on ebay/aliexpress or in a hobby shop. You can also cut off the Deans connector at the car and solder an EC3 connector to the car.
Sounds about right, as far as your parts list goes l.
I'm pretty happy with the route I decided to go with entering the RC Hobby. I bought myself a used SCX24 for $100; I could have built entirely from scratch, but I honestly found it more enlightening to start with something fully assembled and then gradually replace parts.
I got to the point where I eventually 3d printed a new frame, new mounts and a completely new body from scratch. Then I was able to migrate over many parts, but also put tons of new ones on. At this point, there's nothing left of the original car and I could actually reassemble it from the take offs.
I feel that this helped me learn, but also helped keep the hobby relatively cheap, as I was able to buy cheap upgrades and see what worked and what didn't. At this point between the cost of the original car and replacement parts, I'm probably in maybe $400 or so, which is often cheaper than the cost of more expensive cars, as well as allowed me to replace weak points as they arose and experiment without wondering if I did something wrong.
Funny enough, after fully assembling my own car completely, I got kind of bored with the hobby. I've pretty much just set the car aside and haven't had much interest in returning to it, but it was an interesting little hobby while it lasted. No idea if I'll return to it or not, but we'll see.
I like the idea of a starter car to scavenge from or use as a point of reference, but part of me wants to start with as little as I can and learn from it as I go. Hoping that way I get a bit more mileage out of the project and hobby as a whole. I'll do a bit more digging on low cost starting options, but the points conniereynhart brought up on the battery technology may be my new filter.
Where did you end up with your electrical components when you designed your own? I'm mostly looking for simple/durable, and don't particularly care about trying to maximize speed.
I've just kind of picked and chose whatever would work and what sounded cool or affordable at the time with my electronics.
I have a Meus Servo, Meus Receiver/Transmitter, Moto RC Motor, Furitek ESC and generic Drone batteries. You can kind of mix and match a bit, though I'm not sure if that's really the right way to do it, but I'm still a novice and so far everything has been fine.
My car isn't built for speed though, it's just for rock crawling. I've chosen some components to try and get a little bit of extra speed just because I like taking it on hikes and I want it to be a little faster than my walking speed.
You could checkout WPL for options too. A majority of their cars come as kits, so you can assemble and figure things out as you go. But again, I'm still pretty novice and it's a very tertiary hobby for me, so I don't know if my advice is terribly valuable.