RE: RANT: The
[quote]ORIGINAL: Jacobs Jasta 7 A automobile manufacturer doesn't know exactly what will wear out and when, that's plain ludacris. I have a car now that's well beyond the expiration date, the body is rusting off the frame, but everything works including the air conditioning. It's a 1999 Ford Escort with 234,789 original miles on it and it will go another 2 years before I think it might rust out on me. [/quote] They know exactly which parts wear out, that is why they have service manuals and replacement schedules. Sure they may have some unintended wear and damage items such as car crashes but they account for that when deciding their production numbers. Also, most manufacturers outsource most of their parts so ordering more is simply a case of calling their supplier who specializes in making certain parts. I can guarantee you that if an auto manufacturer had to make every single part that goes in every single car like model airplane manufacturers do, they would have part backorders in the thousands and you would be paying 5x as much for each part. [quote] So your company sold what, 3 ARF models last time I checked? What was it the P-40, a stunt pattern style trainer and a Pitts Biplane? You sampled the ARF Market more than me, but to say you know everything from dabbling in the ARF market doesn't make you a expert in the business. When your company made the kits and short kits, how long has it been when you first discontinued those? Now because for what ever reason you are making limited numbers of the short kits. Why did you decide to bring them back if sales were so terrible in the first place? [/quote] We produced a total of 8 ARFs and sold a few thousand. I would say that I have pretty good knowledge of the ARF market. We quit selling ARFs because we didn't have good enough control over production and didn't want to put our name on something that wasn't up to our standards. We didn't discontinue the kits for lack of sales, we stopped making them because good balas was scarce, they were a lot of work, required a lot of technical support and we were busy working on other aspects of our business. We now have our hobby end moving along so we have time to make kits again. [quote] And how long after most of your parts got sold out, people were emailing your company for the FW-190 D9 3-blade spinner? ( I was one of them) That was in high demand, but you refused to come back with it and told people, '' Just buy the 2- blade, we don't have the 3- blade any longer.'' So there you go! You are another one who knows what the demand is, but doesn't make the part to meet that demand. I guess for your business- no money coming in is better than making some money, then you turn around and boo hoo that no one is buying from you. [/quote] 10 people wanting something does not constitute high demand! What you don't realize is that we have to purchase 5000 spinners in order to get them machined and delivered at a decent price. There is no way that we could even come close to selling 5000 3 blade Focke Wulf spinners. So yes, we had to turn down a few sales @ $39.95 each in order to save ourselves tens of thousands of dollars in excess inventory sitting around for 50 years. You will notice that nobody else makes them and now you know why! [quote] So Wombat, if you were to remake the FW-190D9 3-blade nose cone, I'd bet you'ld make more money than if you didn't. Also, how many ARF and kits did you produce and sell? To me that would be the deciding factor if I should continue to make the parts for a few years after the Kit or ARF has been discontinued. [/quote] Like I said above, we would have lost a lot of money if we made such a stupid decision. The only reason we made spinners is because, at the time, we were selling enough kits to warrant making an investment into scale spinners. If someone else was already making them, we wouldn't have even thought about making them. You can bet that Great Planes and Horizon have many planes that they only sell a few hundred of. Why would they stock 50 years worth of replacement parts for a plane they only sold a couple hundred of? That would also be a stupid business decision. [quote] Now if I got a email or phone call from a person who still has my product and needs a part, I would pull out the mold or the plans and make him that part special for him or her. It's called quality customer support which is lacking in todays market and business practices. Believe me, this is what keeps customers loyal to a company. Too many aren't willing to go the extra mile and that's sad. [/quote] Now what you don't realize is that every company selling ARFs buys them from a factory (that may not even be a full time model airplane factory) in Asia. These factories can't just "pull out the mold" and pop out a part. They have to schedule a production time, start a production line, produce a profitable amount of parts (normally 300-500) and then figure out how to ship them to the US in a cost effective manner. Most of these parts are cowls, canopies, etc and take up a lot of room - hence, they are expensive to ship in anything other than a full container. Of course, you can't just ship a partial container because you would lose money on the parts. [quote] Did you know if he had the money, he could buy all the original parts for it? Matter in fact, Lamborghini still makes all the parts for all the models dating back to the 1960's. Did you also know I can still order new parts for a Ford GT40 if I had one? Just like some ARF and kit aircraft they can become a collectors item and become a small investment, so why not continue to make parts and keep them on hand? We can use the car analogy all we want, and can find what ever we want for the use of our arguement, to me it's pointless. [/quote] Did you know that Lamborghini and Ford don't make all their own parts? Did you know that other companies who specialize in making specific parts are the ones making them? Did you know that if those companies stopped producing those parts, they wouldn't have anything to sell? Why don't you call Lamborghini or Ford and tell them you would like a new alternator built only by them. They would probably call you crazy and hang up the phone! The fact is that you can get all the model airplane replacement parts you want. You just have to be willing to pay for them, the same rate as you would pay for a 1960 OE Lamborghini replacement part. [quote] Because we have fallen in to the Chinese way of doing business, and people who run the American businesses thinks what the Chinese do is the right way of doing things, and that we as the consumer is not important. [/quote] Actually, the consumer has forced US companies to do business like the Chinese in order to compete in price. Like I stated above, you can get any part you want made very easily but you will simply have to pay more for it. You can complain about it all you want but the Wal-Mart mentality is really the only thing at fault here. If the consumer made it profitable for companies to stock replacment parts, they would do it. Unfortunately, not many people are willing to pay $80.00 for a .40 size cowl. On the other hand, they will pay $150.00 for a 2-1/2" replacement speaker on a Mitsubishi 3000GT, so the manufacturer is more than willing to stock it! [quote] Fiberglass Specialties I paid $65 for the Discontinued GP Fokker Dr1 Cowl. That $65 could have gone to Greatplanes, but because they aren't very smart in my opinion, they lost out and it went to a guy who saw the flaw and answered the call to make fiberglass discontinued parts. [/quote] Hence the "specialties" in Fiberglass Specialties! That is their business - the same as specialty companies producing car parts for car manufacturers. I don't think that GP is too upset about losing a $65.00 sale when they would have had to spend $10,000 in order to get them produced.
Posted on: 8/12/2012 3:34 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11190720

RE: RANT: The
[quote]ORIGINAL: Luchnia A few things come to mind when reading this: 1. Who is implying that a business should give product away for free when working with replacement parts? 2. Couldn't a manufacturer post parts replacement policy so the customer can be aware that parts may or may not be available for their products and let the consumer decide if they want to play roulette with their items? 3. Do you think car dealers should follow this same line of thought and not stock any parts or provide service for your car? [/quote] 1. Replacement parts are available for every plane because there is always somone who will build one for you if you don't want to make it yourself. Of course, people's time is expensive so it will cost a pretty penny. If cost wasn't an issue, this thread wouldn't have been started in the first place, the original poster would have simply asked someone to make the part for him. 2. Anyone who buys anything knows that replacement parts will not be available forever. Normally when a product is discontinued, replacement parts are also in short supply. I can't think of one product in any industry that comes with the availibility of OE replacement parts for the life of the user. 3. Model airplane parts are normally available from any reputable company while the airplane is in production. After that, they can easily be made by the user or they are available on a custom basis from any good builder for the right price. No car company carries parts long term and most people simply don't have the knowledge or the equipment to build their own car parts. There are aftermarket companies who usually produce them after a relatively short period of time. You have to figure that the life of a car is anywhere from 40-100 years while the life of the typical ARF is maybe 1-2 years. In relative terms, OE parts for model airplanes are available for much longer than OE parts for cars. Having been in the ARF industry for a number of years, I can tell you that no manufacturer can accurately predict the number of replacement parts they will need for any particular model and that you just can't order 1000 of every part in hopes that they will sell (I know this from experience!). Model airplane parts fail for various reasons and most of them are unpredictable (ie: crashes). It's not like an automobile where the manufacturer knows exactly what parts will wear out and when.
Posted on: 8/12/2012 10:11 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11190445

RE: RANT: The
Personally, I think manufacturers are doing a great job and it's a modern marvel that you can purchase a .60 size ARF for under $500.00. It would cost someone over twice that much to build from a kit when you factor in time and materials. I remember ARFs 15 years ago and am amazed at the quality improvements in flight characteristics, durability, ease of assembly, ease of repair and materials. As far as replacement parts are concerned, it's really a non-issue because if any manufacturer had to stock every replacement part for every plane they ever sold for the life of the company, the parts would be so expensive that most people couldn't afford them in the first place! I don't know of anyone who is in business just to give product away for free. I think the real issue here is that some people want to purchase replacement parts but they don't want to pay the true cost of producing and stocking that part. That is simply a fantasy that will never be fulfilled in every industry!
Posted on: 8/11/2012 6:28 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11189818

RE: TROY BUILT MODELS
I still have to ask....Was the Corsair in the same size box as the Sea Fury or are the box sizes they listed above accurate?
Posted on: 8/9/2012 9:42 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187797

RE: TROY BUILT MODELS
Does anyone know the box dimensions of the Corsair and Seafury. There is an easy way to figure out the exact shipping cost and avoid all the speculation!
Posted on: 8/9/2012 9:55 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Warbirds and Warplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11187022

RE: RANT: The
No company in their right mind would order 500 replacement parts (because 500pcs is normally the min) for an airplane that has been or is about to be discontinued. Even if they could order a shorter run, the production and shipping costs would be so high that nobody would buy them. Any company that operated in that manner wouldn't be around very long to talk about it!
Posted on: 7/28/2012 6:53 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11172715

RE: Big jump in kit prices at Tower
Their P-40 has been at $149.95 ever since I can remember. I ordered one in Nov. 1997 and paid $149.95!
Posted on: 7/5/2012 5:04 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11144545

RE: Big jump in kit prices at Tower
Top flight kits haven't increased in price for at least 15 years. A $60.00 price increase spread over the last 15 years works out to be $4.00 per year or less than the 3% inflation number. Factoring in the labor and advertising costs, they had to be losing tons of money on those kits in the past few years. I guess they figured they would rather make money on the kit or not sell it at all. To me, that's completely understandable, and the only way to stay in business. Look at it this way, you can finish it with Chinese made products at 1/10th of the price you could 10 years ago, so in the end, it's still less expensive!
Posted on: 7/5/2012 2:03 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Kit Building"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11144348

RE: cheap chinese batteries
I think Turnigy batteries come puffed from the factory because I have never seen one that wasn't!
Posted on: 7/3/2012 9:15 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11142092

RE: Are Zap Adhesives Worth the Extra $$$?
Hobby shops sell "house" CA because they make more profit and it's easier to sell because of the price point. I have tried just about every brand of CA over the past 15 years and I keep going back to ZAP.
Posted on: 6/30/2012 6:26 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11138081

RE: going to open my own lhs
[quote]ORIGINAL: larrysogla I am going to guess that the reason w0mbat is having a good success with his hobby shop is because he is located in Lake Havasu City, Arizona...........it is located in a nearby lake(Lake Havasu) for RC boat enthusiasts and is in the middle of the desert with wide open spaces for flying RC and hitting the gas pedal to the metal on an RC truck.......ALSO Lake Havasu
Posted on: 6/28/2012 11:39 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11135281

RE: going to open my own lhs
I started manufacturing kits 10 years ago. Most of our sales were mail order with a few dealers here and there. About 3 years ago, we decided to open a local showroom that turned into a hobby shop. The hobby shop has been a great business - so good that we enjoy it much more than the manufacturing/mail order end of the business. Our town has a population of about 50,000 people and we started out with about 100k in inventory/cash on hand. In a little over 3 years, we have grown to over 200k in inventory. Needless to say, it's a big shop for a small town but our sales have been growing by 30% every year since we opened the shop - and that's during a recession! I can only imagine where our business would be in a good economy. There have been at least 5 other shops in town before us and they have all closed in short order. I work with my wife and we both really enjoy the business and make decent money at it. In fact, after 10 years, I am enjoying the hobby now more than I ever have!
Posted on: 6/27/2012 10:36 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Car General Discussions"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11134735

RE: LiPo Battery Availabilty
[quote]ORIGINAL: Chip_Mull Can anybody tell me if there is a close replacement for the LIPO? How did we get wrapped around the axle with a battery that completely dies if we allow it go below a secret voltage, dies if we overcharge it and OH by the way catches on FIRE if we don't baby sit it while charging? What a great investment tool for some chinese companies. [/quote] Sounds like someone has been feeding you the wrong information! A lipo battery should not be discharged below 3 volts. All ESCs have a voltage cutoff that is set to 3 volts or higher so you know when you need to stop and recharge. All current chargers stop charging at 4.15-4.20 volts so there is no chance of overcharging unless you have some kind of charger malfunction (which can happen with any charger for any battery). Lipo batteries do not just automatically catch fire, no matter what people try to tell you! There has to be some trigger caused by the user in order to start it burning. Lipo batteries are not difficult to use at all, as long as you know a few basic safety procedures. Ni-cads and Ni-MH batteries are far more dangerous in the event of a short or charger malfunction.
Posted on: 6/6/2012 8:06 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11108611

RE: Auctions on Fleebay are NOT binding contracts, according to them
To me, it's no different than when people bid your item up in order to find out your reserve and then cancel their bid. Ebay allows that without issue even though your bid is a "binding contract".
Posted on: 5/25/2012 1:02 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11094557

RE: Very bad answer from HH service department
I too have been waiting over 9 months with all the support equipment on hand. I pre-ordered the day they were announced. I have been in the hobby long enough to know that delivery on this type of thing could take a year or longer so it's no big deal. Once you are in the hobby for a while, you will learn not to believe most ship dates, no matter who lists them!
Posted on: 5/3/2012 10:37 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Jets"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11067787

RE: Want to get into larger electrics...worried...
How do you store your rc car batteries?
Posted on: 4/20/2012 9:26 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11050625

RE: Official DF-03 Ra Thread
Just finished mine: Pearl white Castle Sidewinder 4600kv 2S Lipo Upgrade slipper clutch
Posted on: 4/7/2012 12:49 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Electric On-Road vehicles, race cars and more"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11032047

RE: RTF Beginner?
Here you go: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXAYWT&P=ML
Posted on: 3/22/2012 6:28 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11010446

RE: Chinese Hobby Shops.
[quote]ORIGINAL: Mustang Fever Most of the stuff we buy is made in Asia anyway. Why pay inflated prices for it, particularly if it's no damn good? [/quote] You probably purchased all that stuff from Tower because you are used to ordering from them due to the fact that they always provide a lower price in other areas of the hobby. Rimfire and Flightpower have never really been known for making a quality product (they simply put a lot of money into marketing). If you would have taken that money and purchased a motor from E-flite, Hacker, AXI, Scorpion, etc. along with Hyperion batteries and Jeti, E-Flite or even Great Planes controllers, you would have been assured a well tested, durable setup. Either way, I hope you called Tower and returned those items for a refund because that is what you paid for. While it's true that most of the electric components sold by these companies are made in Asia, they are not the same product as Hobby King and others are selling, even though they may look the same. There are many different manufacturers and grades of batteries out there, no matter what people try to tell you. If you are getting 2100mAh 3 cell for $10.00, you are not buying a top of the line battery. Most quality manufacturers in China wholesale that size battery for about $16.00-$20.00. People get sucked into buying a battery based only on price. What you really should be looking at is your cost per flight. You may pay $30.00 for a Hyperion, but that battery will likely last you for 300 flights as opposed to a $10.00 battery that, if you are lucky, may last you 40 flights (or may not be usable at all). With brushless motors, there are many considerations; quality of the magnets, bearings, wire, adhesive that holds the magnets, etc. Unlike batteries, most motors I have tested will run for a while but as soon as they have some wear (or one hot run), the bearings or the adhesive will begin to break down and the problems will start. Not to mention that it is very difficult to find parts for them (such as mounts, shafts, etc.). When you purchase a quality motor, you are not only getting a quality control, thoroughly tested motor but you are also getting replacment parts availability, technical support and a warranty. There are so many different grades of speed controllers that it boggles the mind. Some use low priced FETs that easily overheat and don't hold up under any stress at all, others have bad solder joints, bad timing, etc. Some have programming that actually works, and others do not. We have been importing ESCs for about 6 years and we have to test every controller before it leaves. Even our supplier has a 10% defect rate and they are considered one of the best in China. Most others I have tested have a 30-40% defect rate. Even the controllers we sell don't stay as cool as well as controllers from Jeti or Castle but we use cheaper components in order to keep within our target price range. When it comes to ESCs, there are always tradeoffs - nothing is free! Think of it this way; if all Chinese made products really were the same quality, no matter the price, wouldn't Hobby King still have a good reputation in the industry?
Posted on: 3/11/2012 8:19 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10995313

RE: Chinese Hobby Shops.
Unfortunately for manufacturers and hobby shops here in the USA, people hold Hobby King to a different standard. If a customer buys a product that I manufacture and has the slightest perceived problem with it, he will be on the phone or on my doorstep in 2 hours demanding satisfaction. Same goes for items we import and sell at a discount. We were selling our batteries for less than Hobby King for a while but it got to the point where we had to replace so many batteries because of people misusing them that we started losing money and had to raise prices. Hobby King doesn't have to deal with customer service because they are untouchable by customers, regulation, consumer groups etc. Sure they have bad feedback and angry customers all over the web and all over the world but in this day and age, perception and price is king. There are enough people out there who claim that Hobby King products are the best quality for the lowest prices that new people in the hobby start to believe it without even experiencing anything else. While some people are happy with the Hobby King experience, truth is that most people are getting screwed under the guise of low prices - they are just to inexperienced in the hobby to realize it! I really find it odd that people can place 50 orders from a Chinese company and never have a problem or defective item, when I constantly order and test Chinese products and find that many of them don't work as advertised or break in short order. I would say that placing that many orders without a single issue is a 1 in 1,000,000 chance. Even though I read such reports every now and again, I personally don't know anyone who has that kind of luck with Hobby King. If that truly was the case, I would be ordering all my products from them in container loads and selling it at a huge profit. I would never have to worry about returns, angry customers or defective products. My business would transform from selling, servicing, training and problem solving to simply walking in the door selling products that I know will never be defective and leaving with a big load of cash in my pocket every night! As it stands now, Hobby King, Exceed RC, Hobby Partz, etc. have been great for my business. People walk into the store daily with broken motors, burnt up speed controllers, defective helicopters, dead cell/puffed batteries, etc. and think nothing about paying a little extra for a quality product, warranty and good service. If they don't buy a new one, they usually pay me to fix the broken stuff!
Posted on: 3/10/2012 10:51 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10994254

RE: Question on location
If you had purchased it from my shop, I would have figured out the problem in 5 minutes and exchanged it out - assuming it hadn't been flown and crashed. Of course, I would have to wonder at what point did you throw the box away; once you got out the door of the hobby shop, once you got home, or after the manufacturer told you to return it? Normally people keep the boxes so they can store and transport the planes, chargers and batteries in them. It probably seemed really, really strange (as it would to anyone who worked in a hobby shop) that someone would pull the plane out of the box and set it aside, throw the box away, then wait a few days before testing the plane. Honesty, there is really no profit in those planes anyway. They normally cost more to ship in, stock and service then you make off them as a retailer. Unfortunately, if you don't stock them, you have to answer to people who become angry because they can't see them in person before ordering them online in order to save the tax!
Posted on: 3/8/2012 6:26 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Questions and Answers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10992202

RE: Extra 300 tech flight issues
True, anyone can make a good flying Extra 300 by adjusting the scale dimensions and substituting lower weight materials but in the end you don't really have an Extra 300. You have either a fun scale, a plane that is not durable, or one that is extremely expensive (or a combination of all 3). Most manufacturers are forced to substitute easy flying for scale appearance, durability and affordability because that is their market. Most of the stall issue with the Extra 300 has to do with the original design and how it scales to model form. As long as you know what to expect ahead of time, they are a blast to fly!
Posted on: 3/7/2012 9:07 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10990025

RE: Extra 300 tech flight issues
That's normal for a mid-size Extra 300. They are fun once you get used to their stall characteristics. You have 2 options that will help lower the stall speed: remove weight from the plane or add washout in the wings. You can raise the ailerons a couple degrees to try and create some washout but it probably won't make a big difference. The best thing to do is learn to fly it properly. Be careful when doing hard loops, hard cornering and keep the landing speed up. You will get used to it over time!
Posted on: 3/6/2012 6:58 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "The Clubhouse"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10988559

RE: SPEKTRUM Misrepresentation?
[quote]ORIGINAL: rmh Frankly - 99% of the wild eyed screaming about brownouts /loss of binding is 100% operator error As I read thru many comments -it is obvious . The forum provides as much bad info as good ino [/quote] From someone who sells and deals with Spektrum on a daily basis, these issues in combination with defective transmitters are much more common than you think. Regular range checks and test runs will find most of these issues before they result in a crash.
Posted on: 2/26/2012 11:24 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10976779

RE: Hangar 9 NEW DUE March P-40 B !!!!!!
As much as people hate to admit, .40 size and under is where the market is right now. They are inexpensive to buy, inexpensive and easy to power, easy to store, easy to fit in the car and easy to carry. I have owned planes up to 100cc and I always go back to .40 size.
Posted on: 2/24/2012 3:32 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10974329

RE: Hangar 9 NEW DUE March P-40 B !!!!!!
I guess it kinda looks like a P-40! At least someone finally came out with a B model, although I would have liked to see a Flying Tigers scheme on it. Hopefully the markings won't come pre-applied.
Posted on: 2/20/2012 8:26 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "ARF or RTF"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10967413

RE: Where to buy least expensive quality Lipo batteries?
[quote]ORIGINAL: g725s What online seller sells the least expensive quality battery?  [/quote] The real question is: Do you want a $5.00 battery that may last you 50 charges or a $25.00 battery that may last you 300 charges? I prefer to spend more on a better quality battery because I hate ordering cheap batteries over and over, hoping that they arrive in a timely fashion and in usable condition. I will pay a little more for the piece of mind, however, opinions will vary! www.empirerc.com sells Hyperion batteries. Their prices have come down quite a bit and they are one of the better quality batteries for the price. If you are only looking for the cheapest batteries, then Hobby King is your best bet.
Posted on: 2/13/2012 8:18 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10956842

RE: suggest a good 100w + charger to start out with
Definately check out Hyperion chargers. They operate flawlessly and their customer service is top notch if you have a problem or question about programming: http://www.empirerc.com/hyperion-eos-1420i-net3-charger-1s-14s-20a-max-550w-p-5669.html
Posted on: 2/4/2012 7:02 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10943247

RE: Novak Smart Stop 2s Voltage Cut-Off Too Low?
Voltage cut-offs are only there for protection. They are only intended to stop the discharge of your battery before it gets so low that it can no longer be charged. You are better off just picking the amount of time you want to run for and size your batteries from there. I don't see anything wrong with using 8000mAh batteries - as long as they will fit.
Posted on: 2/3/2012 6:59 AM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10941676

RE: Novak Smart Stop 2s Voltage Cut-Off Too Low?
It depends on how much load you have on the battery and the actual C rating of the battery. If you want your batteries to last a long time, you should only run them to 3.7 or 3.8 volts per cell. You probably won't find a cutoff in that range so you will have to time your runs or take an educated guess. It's better to stop and charge them at 3.9 then 3.5v.
Posted on: 2/2/2012 6:17 PM by Author "w0mbat" in the forum "Batteries & Chargers"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10941058