Your biggest mistake!
10-13-2010, 07:28 AM
#32
I've made a few..
..One of the biggest was opening an RC track..what a money pit..it cost me $1000 a month out of my pocket to keep the doors open..and had guys complaining about the cost to race..it was $20 for the first and $10 for the second..not bad for indoor carpet..
..here in Ca. large buildings cost quite a bit..most in my area are going for 75 cents to 1 dollar a square foot..I got mine for 35 cents a square foot..$1800 a month..
..One of the biggest was opening an RC track..what a money pit..it cost me $1000 a month out of my pocket to keep the doors open..and had guys complaining about the cost to race..it was $20 for the first and $10 for the second..not bad for indoor carpet....here in Ca. large buildings cost quite a bit..most in my area are going for 75 cents to 1 dollar a square foot..I got mine for 35 cents a square foot..$1800 a month..
10-14-2010, 07:23 AM
#33
Tech Apprentice
Joining these forums, getting all the free advice one could need and then after a 10 year break...rejoining the hobby and now wondering why I can't stop thinking about RC.
In all seriousness, my biggest on was not paying attention while plugging the wires into my batter - ie: flipping the poles and then connecting to my speed control...
And then having a GF wonder why the room smells like burned electronics.
Now I know, once I plug the wires in and they're correct...leave them!
In all seriousness, my biggest on was not paying attention while plugging the wires into my batter - ie: flipping the poles and then connecting to my speed control...
And then having a GF wonder why the room smells like burned electronics.
Now I know, once I plug the wires in and they're correct...leave them!
10-14-2010, 07:46 PM
#34
started this hobby... 
10-14-2010, 08:50 PM
#36
This one is sorta funny..it was quite a few years ago..I had this old bolink pan car and my son had just finished a rocket class at his elementary school and we had a few motors left over, 2 of them were some long burn Apogee E6's..lots of thrust....so we hooked them up on the bolink went out to the street (it was Sunday about 7:30 in the morning) turned the radio on made sure the steering worked and fired the rockets...dammmmmm that thing was fast..their was a small rise in the road about 200 feet from where we were standing, problem was at 60 it was more of a jump than anything, I went to hit the brakes and realized there weren't any....it was only about 2 and a half seconds into the burn (the rocket motors burn time is about 7.2 seconds) when it was to the "jump" it just took off..it hit at least 30 feet in the air, maybe higher..it must have flown 80 to 90 feet out in a field..my kid wanted to do it again..but there was not much left of the bolink..
..so we hooked them up on the bolink went out to the street (it was Sunday about 7:30 in the morning) turned the radio on made sure the steering worked and fired the rockets...dammmmmm that thing was fast..their was a small rise in the road about 200 feet from where we were standing, problem was at 60 it was more of a jump than anything, I went to hit the brakes and realized there weren't any....it was only about 2 and a half seconds into the burn (the rocket motors burn time is about 7.2 seconds) when it was to the "jump" it just took off..it hit at least 30 feet in the air, maybe higher..it must have flown 80 to 90 feet out in a field..my kid wanted to do it again..but there was not much left of the bolink..
10-14-2010, 10:41 PM
#37
This one is sorta funny..it was quite a few years ago..I had this old bolink pan car and my son had just finished a rocket class at his elementary school and we had a few motors left over, 2 of them were some long burn Apogee E6's..lots of thrust....so we hooked them up on the bolink went out to the street (it was Sunday about 7:30 in the morning) turned the radio on made sure the steering worked and fired the rockets...dammmmmm that thing was fast..their was a small rise in the road about 200 feet from where we were standing, problem was at 60 it was more of a jump than anything, I went to hit the brakes and realized there weren't any....it was only about 2 and a half seconds into the burn (the rocket motors burn time is about 7.2 seconds) when it was to the "jump" it just took off..it hit at least 30 feet in the air, maybe higher..it must have flown 80 to 90 feet out in a field..my kid wanted to do it again..but there was not much left of the bolink..
..so we hooked them up on the bolink went out to the street (it was Sunday about 7:30 in the morning) turned the radio on made sure the steering worked and fired the rockets...dammmmmm that thing was fast..their was a small rise in the road about 200 feet from where we were standing, problem was at 60 it was more of a jump than anything, I went to hit the brakes and realized there weren't any....it was only about 2 and a half seconds into the burn (the rocket motors burn time is about 7.2 seconds) when it was to the "jump" it just took off..it hit at least 30 feet in the air, maybe higher..it must have flown 80 to 90 feet out in a field..my kid wanted to do it again..but there was not much left of the bolink..Mine was quite a few years ago. I was about 12 and racing my first big race with my brand new, bad ass, JRX-2. Had a new, tuned motor for the main. Got it all soldered up and ready.
Back then we would walk our cars over the timing loop to check in. Battery tech omg. Anyway I set up on the grid about mid back. Feelin myself for making the amain. "Less than 5, Go!!!!!"
Squeze the trigger and the car shoots backwards at full throttle. Soldered it backwards and in all my swoll headedness I didnt double check. I missed all the others cars thank god.But can imagine their suprise when a Losi goes shooting by them backwards. Have always quadruple check my wiring to this day.
10-14-2010, 11:15 PM
#38
heres one from last sunday........i decided to tooth up on my clutch bell (yes i use a clutch for my electric set-up) she was really screamin right up til the clutch bell shot forward and came off the spur, thank god my brake servo was there to keep it from just flying off. i now have a real nice crater in the side of my servo. lesson? always threadlock your setscrew.......
10-17-2010, 04:02 AM
#39
I bought my first real race engine(os v-spec) as a hop up for my then
EB-4 s2 buggy, having run the OS for a few local meetings, and might I say, was very impressed..Then I sold the EB4, and got an RC8(1st gen) and this engine went in the AE buggy, one day was in my shed, had motor running,
doing some fine tunning(no wheels on car), and lets just say I must have over reved the engine, and it came to a very sudden stop..DOH!!
Lesson learnt, always have wheels or some sort of load on engine,
expensive mistake, and had to borrow an engine to race next meeting.
EB-4 s2 buggy, having run the OS for a few local meetings, and might I say, was very impressed..Then I sold the EB4, and got an RC8(1st gen) and this engine went in the AE buggy, one day was in my shed, had motor running,
doing some fine tunning(no wheels on car), and lets just say I must have over reved the engine, and it came to a very sudden stop..DOH!!
Lesson learnt, always have wheels or some sort of load on engine,
expensive mistake, and had to borrow an engine to race next meeting.
10-17-2010, 08:05 AM
#40
I had just broken in an o.s speed engine with the magnesium head at the track tuning for the race later when i took the wrong humpack to run again and went wide open and shot the rod threw the bottom of the case and shattered the rod in three pieces.A 500$ mistake switched my 8ight-t 2.0 to electric
10-17-2010, 08:48 AM
#41
I had just broken in an o.s speed engine with the magnesium head at the track tuning for the race later when i took the wrong humpack to run again and went wide open and shot the rod threw the bottom of the case and shattered the rod in three pieces.A 500$ mistake switched my 8ight-t 2.0 to electric
..electric is just as prone to failure as nitro..can't blame YOUR mistake on nitro..I guess you never thought of a return spring for your throttle..
10-17-2010, 03:36 PM
#42
10-17-2010, 11:12 PM
#43
Tech Rookie
Letting the missus see my credit card statement.....
10-18-2010, 10:51 AM
#44
Tech Master
Haven't made that mistake yet. I'd be a dead man!
10-19-2010, 08:04 AM
#45
I tell G Force to keep the reciepts... it's just evidence.
Dumbest thing I've done so far was not switching models on the TX and thinking my batteries were dead right before first heat. Wait no, I remember trying to start my truggy with no gas once or twice.
Dumbest thing I've done so far was not switching models on the TX and thinking my batteries were dead right before first heat.
Wait no, I remember trying to start my truggy with no gas once or twice.