RE: Motor starts, then quickly dies
Dear all, well, the resolution was much less dramatic. I emailed Redcat to send me the "factory settings" for the needles (they do not write about them in the manual for whatever reason). I set them to the factory settings and the motor started again! Still thanks for all your suggestions. Best, Oliver
Posted on: 7/4/2012 11:57 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11142860

RE: Motor starts, then quickly dies
Thanks! I have run the car a total of maybe 4 hours so it would be weird if the glow plug would not be OK. And again, the motor does start, and I keep the glow plug igniter on ... why would the plug and igniter not sustain the motor running? But I also saw something else when I tried it again: When I close the exhaust with my finger and pull the starter cord to prime the motor gas does get sucked into the motor, I can see the carburetor getting wet and little spits of fuel flying out. I still have an air bubble or two in the line. I release my finger and attach the glow igniter, start the engine. The motor starts, but the air bubbles stay in place. Maybe the fuel just flows around them. Or does maybe the motor just not suck gas from the tank once I release my finger from the exhaust? Is that a clue?
Posted on: 6/22/2012 10:16 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11127816

Motor starts, then quickly dies
I had a fine racing session for a tank-ful with my Volcano S30. Then I made a small change to the position of the metal thingy which sits on the rod from the throttle servo to the carburetor (what they call the "throttle/break linkage set", I guess). I am not sure why that would have made any difference but afterwards the motor would not start, though I made sure that the carburetor opening was large enough. I twiddled with the low speed needle and the idle screw. So where I am now is that after I prime the motor it starts (so plug and plug igniter work), and I keep the plug igniter on, but after a second or so the motor dies. I looked at the manual and it says to check for: Idle set too low (no, I see a good gap in the carburetor opening) Need to lean low speed needle (I did for multiple iterations, no effect) Engine not getting fuel (fuel line is intact, and fuel is running from tank opening where the fuel line attaches) Bad glow plug (no, I keep the igniter on) But it looks like after the motor starts it does not get additional fuel and thus stalls. Any idea how I could further troubleshoot this? The frustrating part is that had had that great session just before and life was good... - Oliver
Posted on: 6/21/2012 9:20 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11126599

RE: Carburetor yes, fuel line no
Thanks so much for your help. I have to admit that I made a silly mistake: after I bought the car I never fiddled with the three needles/screws on the motor again and simply confused which one was the idle screw. After figuring that out I could get the motor running again.
Posted on: 6/21/2012 9:06 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11126575

Carburetor yes, fuel line no
Here is the prelude to the story: I was happily racing my Volcano S30 and then thought that I should try leaning the low speed needle to save some gas. Somehow that led to the car stalling when I applied the brakes. I opened up (tightened) the idle needle a bit more. I am not sure whether the prelude has anything to do with the main story. And now the main story: when I now try to start the car it does not. But when I put a few drops of fuel in the carburetor it does start and runs for a few seconds and then stops. When I then try to start the motor it engages a little bit but does not start. At subsequent pulls it does not start. But I also don't see air bubbles in the fuel line move closer to the fuel intake of the motor. Could it be that the fuel intake is clogged. And second question: is there an easy way to "reset" the idle and low speed needles? And third question: when you adjust the idle screw it does not open and close the carburetor hole, right (like the trim setting in the transmitter)? It does something else to adjust the idle motor speed, right? Thanks, Oliver
Posted on: 6/16/2012 6:39 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11120659

RE: Lost binding to my Tornado S30?
OK, so I looked at this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejxTETBTePU (our radio is this older-looking one). Switched on Rx and Tx. The Rx has power. It is blinking right away (meaning: I am not bound). We press the bind button on the Rx once, just for good measure. Rx still blinking. OK. Now we push the bind button on the Tx, and hold ... but the LED on the Tx does not go off an on, and the LED on the Rx does not stop flashing. Any idea?
Posted on: 5/23/2012 6:33 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11092370

Replacing Tornado S30 tires
A rear tire on our Tornado S30 is really worn out. I bought spare tires but when we tried to remove the old tire we saw that they were glued on on one side (not much so on the other side). WHat is the secret to replace the tire? Remove it from the rim with force? And does the new tire need to be glued on again, and if so with what kind of glue? Thanks, Oliver
Posted on: 5/23/2012 12:09 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11091945

Lost binding to my Tornado S30?
We were playing with our Tornado S30. The gas ran out, we paude and then refuled, we switched on again the receiver and radio, but the car did not react. We put in new batteries, same. When I switch on the receiver it applies the brakes, so I guess it must be in fail-safe mode. When I switch on the radio the red "Batt." light is on, as is the "LED" light. After a while the Batt light starts to blink, I guess because we do not use the radio. So I think that maybe for some reason the binding between radio and receiver got lost. Does that sound reasonable? And how would we try to re-establish that. There is a "Bind." button on the radio, but no instructions in the manual what the binding process looks like. When we got the car a few weeks ago the binding worked right away out of the box. Thanks, Oliver
Posted on: 5/23/2012 12:07 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11091938

RE: Tornado S30 Transmission/Differential Broken?
There are two, right, one in the front and one in the back?
Posted on: 5/12/2012 4:03 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11078331

RE: Tornado S30 Transmission/Differential Broken?
Thanks! Actually the whole mystery was solved today. The rear grub screw, the one where they tell you in the manual to definitely loctite it (which we never did because it is so hard to reach), had come loose. Aha! So today I invested four dollars in a hex key set and tighten it. Of course we were so eager to go run the car again that we did not bother to loctite it and then lost the screw alltogether. OK, go an buy grub screw, this time loctite it for sure, and off to happier times.
Posted on: 5/11/2012 8:59 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11077644

RE: Tornado S30 Transmission/Differential Broken?
But which one, where? How do I investigate? And how do I fix it?
Posted on: 5/11/2012 4:32 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11077364

Tornado S30 Transmission/Differential Broken?
I am relatively new to RC cars. We have been running the Tornado S30 off-road for three times. The last time we were at a racing track. We used the car without a problem for maybe an hour. Then it was my turn and I did a few laps. I had a light crash and the motor went out. After we restarted it the motor was able to rev up but the car did not move. When I just roll the car on the ground now (at home) it rolls freely but rolling it does not turn the central drive shaft. Also all wheels spin freely. I am not an expert, but on my recently bought Volcano S30, when I turn one wheel the other turns as well, the other way. And when I roll my model on the ground it turns the central driveshaft. What is the issue here with the Volcano? Is the gear box for the rear wheels (is that a differential?) broken? Would I just buy the whole thing and then replace it? Or whatever is in the midle of the car, that enclosed box between the tank and the motor, could that be broken?
Posted on: 5/11/2012 2:37 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11077275

RE: no radio power
Not sure it is any solace, but I had the same issue with the battery tabs needing to be pulled out more. Redcat should put this in their manual (or better yet improve the radios). http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_11067682/tm.htm
Posted on: 5/10/2012 10:18 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11075912

RE: Several issues with brand new Volcano S30
Oh, thanks for the tip ... I did go through shallow water yesterday, I guess I got lucky! There is no way to retroactively seal the servos, right ... going through the water and mud was a lot of fun ;-) ! See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ad3M5FpcNk&list=UUfiR6WAmsDGtuyFAUw4X2mw&index=1&feature=plcp
Posted on: 5/6/2012 10:01 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11070389

RE: Several issues with brand new Volcano S30
Yes, eventually we got the radio to work. It was a simple solution: I had used NiMH batteries. When I put them into another Redcat RC radio they worked, but not in mine. Redcat support suggested to try bending out the tabs, as NiMH batteries (so they say, though visually I can't agree) are slightly shorter than alkaline batteries. First I thought that maybe the 1.2 V voltage of the NiMHs would cause the problem, but read on the Internet that it does not matter. So I bent the tabs and low and behold the radio worked. I would swear that they already had firm contact on both ends, but the final result matters. As for the grub screws, did you use a very long hex key?
Posted on: 5/6/2012 9:59 AM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11070385

RE: Several issues with brand new Volcano S30
Well, I have watched more Ali Shanmao videos than I ever would have cared for, but there is just nothing where he shows the securing of the drive shaft screws. I would think that they don't show this because it must be very hard to do with this model. Or did you see such a video?
Posted on: 5/4/2012 2:10 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11068542

RE: Several issues with brand new Volcano S30
Thanks so much for your help!! Just some follow-up questions. Binding the Tx and Rx: I looked at the video titles at http://www.redcatracing.com/information/videotraining.html ... I could not immediately see one which is for this topic. I checked out the first one "Setup - The Basics" but that video is so old, the Tx uses crystals, and mine now has DSM2. It came with what looks like a binding plug, but I am not an exert on the propr procedure. And: with "tranny" side you mean the transmission side ... sorry, I am not up on the lingo (yet) ;-)
Posted on: 5/3/2012 9:58 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11067770

Several issues with brand new Volcano S30
Here is the out-of-box experience. Need help with these issues: 1) Put fresh batteries into the transmitter. Switched transmitter to "Power On". "Power LED" does not come on. 2) There are no instructions how to bind transmitter and receiver in the box. Sigh. How do I do it? 3) The picture in the manual on how to set the gear mesh is just so grainy and the arrows are not accurate. Is there a much better picture to clearly show where to insert that strip of paper? 4) The battery compartment cover in the car does not close tightly in the middle even after both screws are all the way in. It bulges up 2 mm. Water could come in. 5) The manual suggests to also loctite the grub screws on the center drive shaft. It seems to be nearly impossible to me to access them from any angle, let alone put them back in with Loctite. Any tips on the best angle? Thanks so much, Oliver
Posted on: 5/3/2012 8:08 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11067682

RE: Some fundamental 2.4 GHz questions
Thanks a lot, everyone, for the helpful comments! Oliver
Posted on: 5/1/2012 9:04 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11064939

RE: Erratic charging patterns
@traxdemax - They are 8.4 V batteries
Posted on: 5/1/2012 8:52 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11064927

RE: Strenght of an electric airplane motor
Thanks for the suggestions. What I call wind is a typical ocean breeze, maybe 15-20 mph. I am not sure whether I would go flying then, but as I wrote, the Firebird Commander can handle just very light winds. Actually I flew it yesterday in a bit more wind and I lost it ... it disappeared behind some tall trees into an urban area, could not find it again. I am a beginner RC pilot, so a high wing is definitely better. So I liked your Skytrainer suggestion, and the price seems to be good as well. The only thing is that I am getting tired of all these transmitters and was thinking to buy a serious transmitter (considering a Spektrum 6-channel) and then only buy PNP planes, or for Spektrum BNF, or whatever they call it. The Skytrainer comes with a receiver. Do you have another tip for a 4-channel plane with LiPo batteries and a brushless motor, which does not have a transmitter and receiver pre-installed? In my area near Santa Cruz CA it is easiest to fly without a landing strip, just land in the tall grass. So a model where I can take off the landing gear and just land on the belly would also be good. Thanks, Oliver
Posted on: 5/1/2012 8:49 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Brushed/Brushless motors, speed controls, gear drives"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11064919

Strenght of an electric airplane motor
I have a Hobbyzone Firebird Commander 2 plane. It is a nice beginner's plane and does well with no or very light wind, but is outmatched by even lower moderate winds. You may still be able to fly but the plane will wobble a lot and be erratic at times. At moderate winds it it easy to crash the plane. It just does not have enough "oompf". According to the web site the plana has a 380 motor. So I went to the local hobby store and asked how I can find out when browsing plane catalogs whether a plane has more power than another, and which planes can fly well in moderate winds. Of course I understand that this is a combination of the motor, the prop, the wight of the plane, the shape of the plane, etc. But just to begin with, wouldn't the "number" of the plane motor indicate more strenght (and I think for LiPo-powered planes these are different)? The store clerk said there was no answer for that. But for example, the web site for the Hobbyzone Super Cub says "Powerful 480 motor for impressive speed and climb performance". Now does this mean anything? How can I find out which models will nicely cut through the fresh breeze of a California coast afternoon? I am not asking for single model suggestions, but: how can I figure out which planes are strong enough when for example browsing hobbyzone.com? Thanks for your suggestions, Oliver
Posted on: 4/29/2012 6:53 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Brushed/Brushless motors, speed controls, gear drives"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11061838

Erratic charging patterns
I am fairly new to RC planes. I have an older Piranha Digital Peak Charger. I have two NiMH 8.4 V batteries (7 cells) with 1300 mAH, and two with 1700 mAH. I looked around on the web for charging Amperes, and found all kinds of different answers, some say 10% of battery capacity, others have much higher numbers. So I tried charging these with 0.2 A and also with 1.2 A. I set the "delta peak" (sensitivy for detecting peak charge to 8 mV/C (milli Volt per cell). To show the results for just one battery, here is the end charge for the battery, and for how many minutes I could afterwards run the plane at full speed. The battery had cooled down after the run. 1) 208 mA / did not run (why does it not fully charge?) 2) 210 mA / did not run (again, why does it not fully charge?) 3) 1300 mA / ran for 10:22 (ah, that is what I want) 4) 878 mA / 8:30 (why did it not fully charge) I get similarly erratic results for the charging of the other batteries. I know it is next to impossible to remotely diagnose this, but when you charge your batteries, do you get very consistent results? Like: charge it for n minutes up to full capacity, and then motos runs for m minutes. It always charges to full capacity. Is my charger maybe crappy, and I should get a better (which?) one?
Posted on: 4/29/2012 6:25 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11061801

RE: Some fundamental 2.4 GHz questions
Hi Rich, thanks for the answers! Ah, I think I get it. So "Plug'n'Play" planes are those where you install your own receiver, and then you just use one which matches your transmitter. And "Bind'n'Play" is just a marketing term for planes that already have a Spektrum receiver installed ... so you know your Spektrum/JR transmitter will work with them. Correct? Just to ask again: I can only use transmitters and receivers from the same manufacturer? So if I like a plane and it has a Futaba 2.4 GHz receiver pre-installed I can't use it with a Spektrum 2.4 GHz transmitter?
Posted on: 4/29/2012 4:10 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11061616

Pistol grip vs. regular transmitter
I am a newbie to RC cars. I have a RTR Redcat Tornado. I guess all RC cars come with pistol grips. However, I also fly RC planes (currently all RTF) and eventually want to buy my own transmitter and have all new models be run via that transmitter. So if I would buy a new car in the future, is it definitely much, much better to use a pistol grip transmitter for an RC car, or could I just as well use a regular transmitter with two x/y sticks?
Posted on: 4/29/2012 3:09 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11061544

Some fundamental 2.4 GHz questions
I am a relative newbie to the RC world. I have two planes, two helicopters, one car. They are all RTF or RTR, so I ended up with five transmitters. Two use the 2.4 GHz technology, the others don't. I want to expand this hobby and find ways for the future to only have one transmitter. I would probably only buy models which come with a receiver and battery installed. I guess the 2.4 GHz technology is the way to go. I looked around for 2 hours on the web but still have some fundamental questions: 1) When I buy a 2.4 GHz transmitter from one manufaturer, can I only use models which have a transmitter from that company? I read about that "Bind-N-Fly" system between models from Horizon Hobbies and Spektrum and it sounds good ... but does that mean that I can only buy models from Horizon Hobbies (with receiver pre-installed) if I want t use a Spektrum transmitter? 2) I have this cheap-ish Double Horse helicopter and cheap-ish Redcat nitro car which came with 2.4 GHz transmitters/receivers. If I would buy a new "universal" transmitter could I ever hope to use it with these models? 3) Is there a fundamental difference betwen the 2.4 Ghz radios from Spektrum, Futaba, Hitec, Airtronics ... and whoever the other main makers of RC radios may be? I am sure they will point out many benefits on their web sites, which are hard for the newbie to decipher. So does it really, really matter which vendor I would go with? Thanks so much, Oliver
Posted on: 4/29/2012 2:54 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11061526

RE: Use Marvel's Mystery Oil as After Run Oil for Tornado S30?
Thanks so much for your answers!! I decided to invest five dollars in a bottle of MMO which looks like it will last me a lifetime ;-) Oliver
Posted on: 4/26/2012 9:29 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11058581

Use Marvel's Mystery Oil as After Run Oil for Tornado S30?
I read elsewhere on the good practice of using after-run oil. But people were all over the place which oil to use. Some recommended Marvel's Mystery Oil as a cheaper alternative, though some said that it would depend on the engine whether that oil is safe. Does anyone have experience whether it is OK to use MMO for the Tornado S30? Thx, Oliver
Posted on: 4/25/2012 3:21 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Redcat Racing Support"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11056644

Engine revving up when idle screw tightened
I just got a Redcat Tornado S30. When we first started the motor to break it in the wheels were turning a lot. First we did not know what to do but then I loosened the idle screw which really set the car to idle. But when I tighten that screw the car starts to rev up (a lot). I thought it should be the other way round, that tightening the idle screw should lower the car's RPMs. Is something wrong with my motor, or am I understanding this wrong? Thanks, Oliver
Posted on: 4/16/2012 10:45 PM by Author "fun4oli" in the forum "Car Nitro & Gas Engines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11045226