Yup... then just be careful which way you plug it in, you have 50/50 chance...


Or if you have a 'sacrificial' JR servo handy, you can do a lead swap to be really neat. Sometimes you only have to swap over the plastics (fiddly but they can be unclipped from the wires), don't need to unsolder the whole wire.

Our first KO (labelled "Kondo Kagaku", then "KO Digiace") radio joined us in the late 70s.

In 1983 KO brought out the first "EX-1" (AM) and it was the year's must-have item if one was racing RC then. KO's gold-label ball-raced "BZ" servo was also very popular.

This EX-1 has the exact same footprint as the Mars like you say... and the ones we bought new are still in active duty today. (There's still quite a few of these 20yo EX-I and EX-IIs around the tracks today too, we are by no means 'odd'.) However our EX-1s doesn't see racing much anymore as its 3ch capability is required elsewhere... in its place we now use EX-5s ("spaceage design"!).

I always wondered about the "missing link" between the AM EX-I and the later Presto/Mars... and hey hey, only just last week discovered there's a "Series II" model.

Can sleep well now...

Has anyone else had troble running Hitec and JR together?

very comforting there WC... hehehe the Futaba J leads should work... as Hitec sells the same servo for Futaba and JR but the only difference is that the JR ones are camfered on the edges... where as the futaba aren't... so i am assuming that anything for a Futaba shold be the same for a JR, as long as you camfer the edges to make it fit to the JR...

Hey Jordan, I dont have problems with JR and Hitec... Its just that I might go and try the KO servos if they are compatible...

Okay peeps, I got this message back from Danny who is part of Team JR, and here is his response in regards to JR receivers using other Servos...

This is in regards to the Futaba 9000 series and the KO FET 2000 series (both latest models), so all is good. Might look into getting me the KO's...

i reckon the mars is easy to program i didnt even read the manual and i put it straight onto level 4 .... seems like they have kept the same design for ages... i still think it looks cool though

I think the shape of the KO is the best out there, unfortunately on the series 2 models and all newer models, KO decided to make the grip smaller, as a result i cant comfortably hold the transmitter, there is not enough room for my fingers.

you mean its not suitable for people who have fat fingers like myself?

Have had *no* problems using a mish-mash of brands, our cars sport everything from KO, Futaba, Acoms, JR, Sanwa, Hitec etc etc and some other brands from Lord-knows-where that I can't even remember.

Just remember to plug everything in and CENTRE the servo on your intended radio before screwing it in and installing the horn. Sometimes when you put a servo onto a different RX the centering differs. Occasionally the direction differs too, so just flick the 'reverse' switch, no probs.

Dunno... the grip on the oldies seems same size as all the newer ones, hasn't changed enough for us to notice.

You mean the 'stem' bit is too skinny and your fingers are too long, right?

This is the 1983 model:-


vs Mars:-


Pretty much all the current radios out there are about the same size too, but there are some skinnier pistol-grips out there too. Some people wrap on some tennis-racket "overgrip" to make them more comfy, maybe you could try this?

Personally I like bigger wheels, the little 2" job doesn't allow for much finesse imho. I just replace the foam with a thicker-sidewall donut from a 1/12 pan car, works well.

The brigde below the throttle, is mostlikely the culprit, it takes up about a cm of space, and not all grips are skinny and short, the M8, 3PJ and 3PK all have quite long handles, also the R-1 is what i have now and it has a pretty good contoured grip.

But it is pretty amazing in 20 years they have barely changed their design, also personally i would get a Mars for the fact of its compact shape, is able to be stored away much easier.

I see what you mean; yes, that cross bar is a bit silly. Doesn't really do much, does it? Its as silly as the 'boomerang' bit on the EX-5... what's that for, wrist support??



Anyone remember the old Futaba square box with wheel?