do I really need 5.5mm connectors

[mannytx1]

100_0269.jpg100_0270.jpg 5.5mm connectors

[Chrisg81983]

Anything high current I would try to find something with some silver content in it. At least 2-3 % should be ok. Radio shack has a high performance solder that works great. Ps thats one hell of a long rant.

[Heaving Earth]

Anything high current I would try to find something with some silver content in it. At least 2-3 % should be ok. Radio shack has a high performance solder that works great. Ps thats one hell of a long rant.

Oh man you're just gonna confuse him. That's another opinion. He really needs everyone to give him the same answer. Lol

[sundog]

Angst. Nothin' but angst. Pepper, you sure are long winded. You lost me somewhere around chapter five. Just do what I did and convert them as needed. Use 60/40 solder. Take a breath every now and then and buck up. Life is a b*tch then you get a boat. A boat is a hole you throw money into. Lack of money the root of all evil. It's a viscous circle.

[Chrisg81983]

Oh man you're just gonna confuse him. That's another opinion. He really needs everyone to give him the same answer. Lol

that's why I did it lol

[Chrisg81983]

he should have my 135 I lost 1800 dollars in 5 minutes electronics only

[Heaving Earth]

that's why I did it lol

Oh a wiseguy ey?

[capnswanny]

What an understatement.....we've had some AMAZING weather!! :)

I say throw in some batts, lipo...nimh...nicd, who cares, and go drive it like you stole it!!!

If something falls apart, fix it.
60/40 will work just fine, honestly if our connections are over 368 degrees f there's other problems.
I use hi temp solder at work ONLY on high current RF coils... good quality 60/40 works fine on our 27VDC 570A circuits....with appropriately sized wires, connectors, terminals.

We've only got a couple more days of kick butt weather left....charge some batteries, install something that resembles a prop, and go flog that boat!!!
Corey

I don't want to keep beating a dead horse, so I'll explain my situation and ask you a question based on the first part of your post - it's at the end of this post.

My situation...
I have 3 Traxxas trucks, 4-boats + 3-heli's (don't count cuz they have they're own batts). I'm financially challenged, as such I simply do not have the money to buy 10-dozen batteries so that each of my models can have it's own special group of batteries; sorry, but that's just the way it is, I have to make do with what I have. Which means any batts I buy, have to work with as many of my models as possible.
If you guys can not understand that, well too bad, not all of us are independently wealthy.

2 out 3 of the Trax rigs can run pretty much any batt I have except most of my lipo's, they have 10-ga wire so they won't fit the battery compartment of my Pede & Rusty. My Slash can also run pretty much any of my batts except these... http://www.hobbypartz.com/98p-5000-8...flat-hump.html - because of the design of the batt strap.

Boat #1 (Trax Blast) can run all my 6-cell packs & all LiPo's (2S-5000mAh) I have, but no 8.4v anything. Battery tray / compartment is the limiting factor.

Boat #2 can use everything I own, haven't tried it with the LiPo's yet, hope to get some testing done in the next couple days.

Boat #3 is PB Mini-V - pond boat requiring small batt packs that are expensive. Finding LiPo packs that are small enough has been a real challenge & expensive when I do. I refuse to waste my money on NiMH packs for this boat.

Boat #4 is my PB Impulse 31, same battery needs as boat #1 except that it can also use 8.4v NiMH - in theory, I haven't tried it. I've been told that I can expect about 6-mins of runtime per set of LiPo's. That means I need to buy at least 5 more sets (@ $66 per) to be able to stay at the lake for more than about 20-mins.

The weather has been beautiful the past couple/three weeks; instead being at the lake boating, I'm at home fiddle fartin with the IM-31 trying to learn about FE boats, props, bullet connectors, tryin to get 'er ready for the maiden run - Screw that crap, I'm done.

A couple days ago I got so fed up with that &^$%#* boat that I came this close || to taking a hammer to it & chucking the debris in the dumpster. I boxed it up instead, the first person to offer me $190+ship gets the boat + all the extras I've bought for it.

Time to get to work putting boats #1 & #2 together & going boating, let somebody else play build the boat, figure out the props, figure out the bullets, figure out this, figure out that...

Bottom line: converting all my batts to Castle 5.5's would cost me $144, that does not include the ESC's on the trucks and all 4 boats. Now add in countless hours of un/de-soldering and re-soldering, I'm sorry, but that is just not a practical solution, nor is spending hundreds of $$ buying batts just for ONE boat!!

Given the situations above, I am pretty much stuck with using the Traxxas high current connectors on the battery side of all my models (except the heli's) out of economic necessity, I've made that clear on several occasions, this is the last time I'm going to say it.

Now for the motor side of the equation: I've expressed my views on this subject seveal times also. I also stated that I would put 5.5 bullets on the ESC<->motor side if/when I changed to a different motor in the IM.

A very kind OSE member sent me a PM on the subject of soldering, long story short we did quite few PM's back 'n' forth. Turns out he has the exact same model weller soldering station I have, base unit, pencil, even the same tip. He provided me with honest tips and suggestions (not a bunch smart a$$ remarks) for how to un/de-solder bullet connectors from the motor wires. I haven't had the time to try out his suggestions, but, rest assured I am going to when time permits. Curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought 'em (they have 9-lives).

The question: several members including yourself have brought up the subject of the actual solder being used in several posts - a very valid point. So just how the heck does one go about choosing the "correct solder" for this particular application?? I am of course referring to the bullet connectors for R/C boats.

I have a brand new in the stink wrap roll of... Radio Shack 60/40 Rosin Core Solder, .032" diameter, P/N 64-005... http://www.radioshack.com/product/in...ductId=2062711 - is that the correct stuff to use?? - I would really appreciate an answer so I'll be using the correct stuff when I try out the tips & suggestions the OSE member I mentioned above gave me.

Thanks...

[J.W. Pepper]

Pepper, I'll try not to confuse you here, because you seem to get frustrated rather easily.
60/40 is fine.
Where on earth does it cost that much money to convert a few things to Bullets?
How many batteries do you have? Are you really bad at math?
You can make a couple of traxxas plugs with bullets on the other end, then just use them when you want to run a car or something.
Change em, don't change em, whatever. What's with the huge rant? Nobody cares if you do or don't. Wtf is your question here? What kind of solder to use?
As far as I can tell many of your responses contain attitude, yet you don't want any smartass answers?

I always use 60/40 solder.

Are you really bad at math... no it's the only subject I got "A" throughout school. Even if I did suck at it, calcutors can be had for $1. I have 27-batts total, Jan charges $5.30 for 3-pak of Castle 5.5mm bullets 27 x $5.30 = $143.10 - sorry guy, that's not bad math, just reality.

You can make a couple of traxxas plugs with bullets on the other end, then just use them when you want to run a car or something. could have swore I read more than a few posts on the subject of running models battery connector converters - see attached example.

As far as the attitude part, it's not intented trust me. But it's very difficult for me to see myself the way other people do. I've also had a lot on my plate lately, I think it's safe to say that most people get cranky when they're trying to deal with the B.$ life throughs at you periodically.

[J.W. Pepper]

What an understatement.....we've had some AMAZING weather!! :) -- Completely agreed.

One of my concerns.. I read a lot stuff here on OSE bout those boats having issues with the wood interior separating from the hull. I got one these kits... http://www.walmart.com/ip/Bondo-Fibe...1-2pt/17056867 - with the intention of reinforcing the interior to prevent that issue.

Even if I don't use that kit, water likes to thrash wood, so seems logical to apply some kind of coating to protect the wood. I've sanded all the interior wood smooth, so now it's just finding the right sealer to use.

I say throw in some batts, lipo...nimh...nicd, who cares, and go drive it like you stole it!!!
Actually, I'm going to bust out my other 2 boats, prep 'em and go "drive it/them like I stole it/them!!!"

[J.W. Pepper]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]98489[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]98490[/ATTACH] 5.5mm connectors

Do you know what I like about your boat?? - You inspired me to move my ESC (SK120) to that location.

[J.W. Pepper]

Anything high current I would try to find something with some silver content in it. At least 2-3 % should be ok. Radio shack has a high performance solder that works great. Ps thats one hell of a long rant.

Wasn't intended to be a rant (long or short), and there won't be anymore.

[J.W. Pepper]

Also, what's wrong with the impulse?
Plug some friggin batteries into it and go have fun. This has to be the 3rd thread I've seem you crying about this boat and talking about giving up, but nobody has any idea what the problem with this boat is? What's wrong with it? Anything?

Lost interest, happens.... could also use the money bout now.

Crying?? I seem to remember expressing frustration, or least trying to.

[sundog]

Argh. Pepper, get some sleep. Then go back and read what you had posted. I'm afraid we can't provide the help you might need.

[TheShaughnessy]

Pepper you are turning a mole hill into a mountain here. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...irs_20pc_.html
There are some affordable bullets get like 4 packs so you have spares that's 20 bucks plus some shipping. Make sure you get the ones linked with part number AM-1005. Not KG55001

If you have been soldering proffeciently since 14 it shouldn't be hard or very time consuming to solder up a few dozen connectors, think of it as stress therapy.

Secondly, you don't need the perfect prop to go sport run. Slap on a sharpened and balanced x442 and put the damn boat in the water.

If you ever start racing( probably don't want to do that, your head will explode) then you can start fussing about modifying props to give you that extra 1-2 mph etc.

Have you ever heard the saying paralysis by over analysis ? Don't over analyze the situation , go play with your toy boat.

To be perfectly honest though you may not be cut out for rc boating, there are gonna be days that really frustrate you. I sank a $800.00 insane FE 30 a couple months back, didn't sleep right for a week. I've had boats flip and had to wait 30-60 min before I could get them out. I could sit here and tell you tons of story's about frustrating things that have happened to me while FE boating its part of it and I guess to me is what makes having a successful day that much more gratifying.

Further more sundog has been boating for years, he helped me with a lot of stuff back in the day when I was new and messing around with jet drives on rcuniverse.com and when we were all trying to get our stock SV27 to do 40 mph of NIHm cells.

Lastly if you are a sheriff it disturbs me that you can lose your cool so easily. Are you not trained to be able to handle stressful situations without breaking down? Ok I better stop here or $h!t is about to get real.