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Thread: Total Noob - with some total Noob ?'s

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2009
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    IL
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    Default Total Noob - with some total Noob ?'s

    OK, let me start by saying I apologize, but this will read like total noob trash (not entirely familiar with all the nomenclature yet).

    Anyway, long time RC fan, owned a couple of Traxxas vehicles in the past (mostly nitro), but VERY new to the RC boating world. Wanted an electric boat to keep the overall maintenance down (nitro is a headache most of the time), found the Apache and purchased due to the low cost. Some have commented in prior threads that the purchase price may suck in some new addicts - I'm a prime example of that. Should have bought the BlackJack in retrospect, but I'm already knee deep in this boat and have actually enjoyed hopping it up a bit and learning. I've had the thing for about 5 days now and have run it at least once a day for those 5 days. When I first ran her I was a little dissappointed in the speed - better than a toy, but not quite what I was hoping for.

    OK - now for the fun part. After the first day I decided we were under-powered. I kept the stock drive train setup, including the u-joints, although I understand I may need to look at upgrading this too.

    I slapped a Traxxas Velineon setup in this boat. That's a brushless 3500kV 10-turn motor along with the VXL-3m ESC which puts out 326 amp peak. Took a little creativity and a lot of programming, but it definitely improved the boat. I'm running Venom 6 cell 7.2V 4600mah NiMH batteries.

    Here's my questions, if anyone may be able to help:

    1) I 've read a lot of threads that indicate the number of turns on a motor (i.e. mine is a 10-turn). What the heck does this mean? Should I be looking for something more in the realm of a 19-turn and why? I kept theoriginal water cooling system and fit it to this motor because they were both of the 550 size.

    2) Batteries - the battery is the only thing running hot in this boat right now. I originally ran an 1800mah but got about 3-5 minutes of run time if I was lucky. The 4600mah gives me a good 10-15 minutes while running the boat very hard. What's the difference between the NiMH and LiPo batteries? What should I be running and why?

    3) Props - anyone have an idea of what I should be running and where I can find one that fits this thing? I've looked but struggled to find one. I understand this can add even more speed. I want to get away from the plastic and go to something metal. Obviously I have rookie stamped on my forehead right now so I would prefer something that came at least "mostly" pre-sharpened.

    4) How do you tell how fast these boats are moving? Any guesses on how fast I'm running (approx) at this point? I'm guessing maybe the low 20's. What else can I do to push this thing to the absolute ragged edge? I will upgrade the hull when I get to this point.

    5) Flex drives - someone want to give the rookie a decent explanation? I can't seem to get a real good idea of how to order something that would fit.

    I'll probably have more questions that make me look even more rokie-style, but those will have to wait. I look forward to some new ideas.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    IL
    Posts
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    Default

    OK - so I've now figured out that the lower turns on a motor means more RPM, but less torque. Should I have gone with a motor with a higher number of turns? I'm looking for this thing to be a real screamer on the water.

    No takers on my prior questions?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    NJ
    Posts
    1,322

    Default

    Hi i think your brushless set up is a bit to much.... Try a titan 12 traxxas motor and use a 40mm carbon fiber graupner prop that should make it a bit faster than stock ...stock motor is like 16,000RPM Titan 12 is like 22,000 that's 6,000 more rpm and with the 40mm prop it should move much faster.
    :p What go faster that's what I like to do!
    Custom RC radio steering grips
    WWW.PPRSLOTS.COM

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    8

    Default Noob ?'s

    Sweet Z28, I'm taking your comment as a compliment I'm hoping that it means I'm headed right where I want to be...towards a very fast boat! I actually got this motor and ECM in one of those "far too great to pass up" deals. I'd like to stick with it - if it's do-able. Do you have any thoughts on my questions above?

    I assume your prop size recommendation would remain the same if I kept running this motor, at least for now?

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2007
    Location
    NJ
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    1,322

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    Hi the prop size depends on your motor RPM's a high RPM motor needs a smaller prop best thing to do is get a temp gun and watch your motor and esc temps when testing props.
    :p What go faster that's what I like to do!
    Custom RC radio steering grips
    WWW.PPRSLOTS.COM

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Location
    CA
    Posts
    502

    Default

    Hi shortround good to see a new member here.
    Ok i can at least help you with understanding the basic differences between lipos and Nimh. A nimh is as you can tell is kind of a heavey battery compared to a lipo of around the same specs (volts mah). A nimh is a very durable battery while a lipo is a very sensitve battery. A lipo is a high maintenence battery that hates water and loves to be kept at a certain vlotage. While a nimh will take some water and as long as you put a little charge through it every now and then will last.
    Your next question was how do you tell how fast you are actually going. Well if you start looking around here and different video sites like YouTube and Rcflix you will see these guys useing a tiny GPS. As for where to get one I am not sure but every so often ill here somin about Ebay. There is also a little recorder you can get from this site that will measure more than speed RPM's amps voltage. Its called "Eagle Tree".
    And your last question. Have you ever seen a steel cable? If you have you notice its actualy not one but many cables wrapped together. Now think of this but realy tiny that is what a flex cable or shaft is. If you get one of these you can get rid of your ujoint and make your boat a little more stream line. As for what size check your manual if you have it or go online and chek the prop shaft size. Once you find that you can start looking for a flex shaft.
    Failure is the First step to SUCCESS

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    IL
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    Default

    Thanks Ocean Racer! So, if I'm understanding you correctly...LiPo batteries would be far more maintenance but could be an avenue for lowering my overall weight? I may have to wait on that idea...I don't need the boat to be too light and the battery tray is rather high on this boat.

    I'm going to go and look at this Eagle Tree thing right now.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    fl
    Posts
    14

    Default

    you should just cut out the plastic tray and start from scratch. then it will be a very worthy handler with getting rid of the steerable outdrive.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    nj
    Posts
    162

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by bluthndr View Post
    you should just cut out the plastic tray and start from scratch. then it will be a very worthy handler with getting rid of the steerable outdrive.
    bingo, if you want to go fast and be some what controlable once you go lipo brushless~
    Pro Boat Apache 24 Brushless, Thunder Cat 31
    AquaCraft SV27, AqauCraft UL-1

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