Helion Criterion lost range
 

I'm new to the RC world and was given a Helion Criterion as a gift for Christmas. I took it to a track the other day and had a blast. It turns really slowly and I think the servo will be the first thing I upgrade as I hit a lot of walls, especially coming out of U-turns.

Anyways, I'm having an issue now. I noticed the last time I took the car out, that my range was considerably diminished. I used to be able to drive it down the street no problem but now it makes it about half way. The batteries in both the car and remote have been fully charged. I tried to re-bind the remote but I can't figure out how to un-bind it. I went through the manual's process of binding it but nothing happens as described, likely because it's already bound.

Nothing with the physical antenna seems damaged and I do have it protruding from the vehicle like it's supposed to.

Any suggestions on how to un-bind the remote and attempt to re-bind it? Other suggestions? I'm an hour from a hobby town store.

Otherwise, I love this car! It gets up and goes! I was doing some really impressive long wheelies @ the track.

HobbyTown tested it and found the receiver / transmitter had glitched and we put new ones in and voila, fixed. Then, the motor went out 2 days later. ::sigh:: Less than a month old and so many things have already failed.

Truthfully brushed motors don't really last very long in RTR's. My first and last brushed motor in my HPI Blitz only lasted me a couple of months. Luckily they are cheap. But I'd suggest upgrading to brushless instead of replacing the brushed motor. It's a pricey upgrade but it'll last ten times longer than the brushed would using the same battery

Yea, I'm trying to keep the costs down but if replacing the brushed motor over and over would be stopped by just purchasing a bushless, it seems smart. Can you give your thoughts on this seemingly cheap way to upgrade to a brushless system? The hobby shop yesterday said it would be at least $100 to convert to brushless.

I can't post links yet but an amazon search for this is what I found on the cheap ($60):

SkyQ Racing 60A ESC Brushless Speed Controller + 10T 3900KV Motor for 1/10 1/12 RC Car

1x 3900KV 10T Sensorless Brushless Motor
1x 60A Brushless Electric Speed Controller

I'm not too familiar with that brand but I know Hobbywing makes an identical combo that is a little more expensive but it also comes with a program card to make ESC changes easy like setting low voltage cutoff for LiPo batteries as well other variables like brake strength, start power, and reverse lockout.

https://www.amainhobbies.com/hobbywi...030150/p279167

And if you use this promo code: JAN750 you can get $7.50 off

And to top it all off, Hobbywing is great at replacing their items under warranty and even better if you buy from amain, they will replace the unit themselves if it arrives DOA