Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

oops, didn't realize you did the artwork just for Jimmy I'll PM you about one, your avatars do look cool

holycow

I also did Johns, Dans, Shermans, mine, Kraig's from KT hobbies, and a half dozen others I also did a new 468x60 ad banner for jimmy and dan, just waiting to see if they are going to use it

Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

That's really cool, I used to be into graphic design, but dont have the software anymore to do the cool stuff..

mike_Webb

So with all you guys getting hooked up with the Putnam Power, I take it Fukuyama is not going to do Motors now???

Or once the Fukuyama Motors come out you will dump the Putnams?

I don't understand...I was looking forward to trying out your motors.

Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

I drive for Putnam, so for the time bieng, I'll be running just his motors, although when the Fukuyama stuff comes out, I think 90% of the people in this thread will run those.

Maj. Teeth

We might have a little pushback in our plans. Hopefully before Xmas but then again. It really depends on the market.

Dan

David Root

Thanks for the info on the plugs. I knew it all along, and I use deans plugs for a lot of reasons. I hardwire my 1/12 because my son (11) has to lean to perfect his soldering technique. We both solder our batteries in, but my driving negates any alleged gain. Only ONE mistake driving would take away the advantage of hardwiring. I aint there yet.

Thanks Again
David Root

holycow

dan YGPM

Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

That sucks... I hope that you'll be able to get them before XMas, I know it would make a nice present for a lot of people.

dpaton

I learned to solder from my dad when I was 10, he was mil-spec certified. Since then I've learned to solder to slightly higher standards, since I spent some time doing solder metallurgy work with some very wierd formulations. My solder joints probably look a littl elight on solder by most standards, but are more than sufficient, I promise.

The best way to learn to solder is to practice. There are several places on line that have good pictures of acceptable and unacceptable solder joints. The URLs escape me right now, but I'm sure Google will remember.

-dave

wyd

iTrader: (51)

I'm done racing til I can get some Fukuyama motors.

dpaton

If you don't solder properly, yes, that's true. If you can (and a number of people I know that race do), the plugs add insignificant resistance, and infinite convenience.

The nice thing about plugs is that they're a lot easier to solder than batteries. The amount of metal to heat is smaller, allowing the little 40-50W irons most racers have to work just fine. Batteries have a lot more mass that needs to be dragged up the thermal slope to the melting point of solder, and small irons just don't do that very well, leading to the bad soldering on packs I've seen.

For the record, even Deans goofs sometimes. I got a pigtail set that had almost 100 ohms between the red wire and the positive contact on a mating connector. Turns out the red wire wasn't really soldered, it was just kinda nearby, necessitating some solder and new heatshrink.

Moral: Nobody's perfect

But that doesn't mean plugs are bad either...

-dave

Jon Kerr

iTrader: (17)

You said you have a 350 watt soldering gun, correct? I have always been told that soldering guns dont retain their heat well and don't work as well. I had a 150 watt gun that I used for a while and always got frustrated with it. It would loose heat if the slightest breeze was blowing. I went and got a $15 40 watt weller iron and it seems to work great, as long as it has a new tip. Even building batts. How much would a gun like you have run?

holycow

I have experienced the exact same thing. My 40watt weller gets 2x as hot as my 250watt solder "gun". They are and always have been, total crap. My weller can sink a tinned battery par onto a tinned cell in about a second (granted it has a nice, clean tip)

Maj. Teeth

Want to know the extremes? but don't tell Jimmy I said this. He's got a digital weight they use for weighting in gold and jewelry and he'll weight each and every solder bit so they all have the same amount on his packs. Then with a long tweezer, he'll solder his packs together. I think he uses the brand "Kesters" for his solder and they're shiny nickel-like when it's done. Neat but waaaaaaaaaay too extreme for me. Then on his motor, he'll flatten the 12g wires and count the wires and strip the rest and solder it the same way so they're perfect each and every time. Don't even get me started on what he does to his ESC.

Dan