fail safe owners please!!

[nitromaniac]

After losing frequency to my storm this past weekend and kissing a lot curb face first I have been toying with the idea of a fail safe, although the damage was small(1 screw) I am a bit concerned about this thing getting away from me again for any reason. I know a fail safe is a good idea but I dont know enough about them to choose one, now , I just came in from bashing 1/2 tank in my yard and noticed that the bug is runnin way too hot, and has run this way since after break in,( i know to richen) I have a ofna temp gauge but I think it took a dump some where between Orlando and home, it never gives a correct reading, my question (finally) is, can I incorporate a failsafe and a on board temp gauge without hindering any thing else? electronics etc. has any one else done both?

 

[BigBadWolf]

I had both on my .21 T-Maxx and never ran into a problem but I would make sure you use a 5 cell RX pack.

 

[nitromaniac]

sorry, forgot to mention, I am using a 5 cell hump pack, thats another thing I was wondering about, is this gonna create too much wiring?

 

[BigBadWolf]

The only time there is too much wiring is when you can't stuff it in the RX box anymore.

Seriously, the more you add the more you have to manage. As long as you're comfy with that amount, do your best.

 

[Error401]

I run the XTM FS on my Lightning, as well as an onboard temp gage. Why would the onboard temp gage affect the battery pack? Mine has it's own button cell power supply. Anyway, I mounted the FS on the gravel guard with some clear packing tape as a water barrier and sealed the leads (comming out of the FS) with some red silicone sealant. then I ran the Rx lead t the Rx and connected the other lead to the throttle servo and sealed that connection. Works great, and I have had it kick in a couple of times. I have not noticed any loss in battery life, and I'm running dry cells.

One thing on Fs choice. I have another one that was (past tense) on my Savage. It was an Ofna micro FS. It's a POS. It made my throttle servo act like it was getting interferance, while the steering was rock solid. I talked with a couple of other people here local, and they said the same thing. I would not reccomend that one. The XTM is 100% rock solid.

 

[nitromaniac]

Thankx error, interference was a concern, I wasn't sure if a button cell would cause it or if just the wiring alone could cause it, I am doing a search for xtm's now, you know that sick feeling you get when your car goes away from you and all you can do is watch, I really dont want that again! this helps alot , thanks!

 

[DarthRacer]

I have an MPI one in my Savage and had no problems with when it was in my T-Maxx. Worth the $40. I bought an Ofna one for my Storm and after reading error401's post I now know why my throttle is flaky sometimes.

 

[Error401]

In the past week and a half there have been two instances of runaway buggys here local. Both times a FS would have prevented damage. The most recent one involved low batteries in an Inferno. It went WOT into the turn wall, cleared about 20' of air and landed rubber side up. I barely got to the buggy while the Omega Picco was doing about 40K rpm, and managed to shut it down. there wasn't any real damage, but the guy was a bit freaked about it.

The other incident involved nother buggy that landed rubber side down, crossed about 100' of yard, jumped in the road, cleared that, another 100' or so of grass and did an impression of a submarine in the river. Not pretty.

$40, cheap insurance.

 

[nitromaniac]

Yeah , I have been reading some great horror stories about wot runaways, one in particular about a guy who lost his savage and the thing went straight for his 8 year old daughter playing in the neighbors yard, my storm is a beefy little bitch and I definitly do not want anything like that to happen, cheap insurance is zip ties on your cooling head! great insurance is a rc that will stop before damage occurs, in this case I would pay for the great insurance!
now I have also read that the failsafe can fail itself and cause a runaway so I have to ask ,, whats the best and most reliable one out there?

 

[slothy]

well i would also get a throttle return spring too.. failsafes are useless if the battery goes dead or gets disconnected..

 

[Error401]

Very true about the TRS. I have a futaba 9401 throttle servo in my savage. It's coreless, BB and high speed. But most importantly it's easy to turn the arm when the power is off. The stock servo that came with my savage wouldn't return with the stock TRS, but the 9401 will. I would have had to put a really beefy spring on to get the stock servo to return, and that would have put a big drain on the battery pack.

But running both (FS and TRS) is the best option.

 

[robriguez]

I have the mini ofna FS in all my rides and have not had one bit of problem with them. They always kick in when voltage starts dropping and they have saved my ass a few times for going out of range.

Heres a pic of how I have the onboard temp guage and the FS installed on my LD3.

 

[FastEddy]

After all these years I have purchased a Venom failsafe. In the past I have used an M8 radio and fail safes don't work with it. Weird but true. Dynamite makes one just for the M8 but I couldn't get it to function properly.

The Venom fail safe works great and is small. I have meticulously tested it and can't say anything bad about it at this point.
When you have as much time and money invested in equipment as we do not to mention the spectator safety issue, 30-50.00 is cheap insurance.

 

[mcvickj]

When I went out to Buffalo I picked up a Venom FS from Fields. Best money I have spent IMO. It has already saved me from two possible disasters. I plan on getting another one for my Savage. I am still looking for a good TRS for both.

 

[w0d00]

Venom racing has the smallest fail safe i think..:hammer: + much other cool stuff...

http://www.venom-racing.com/

 

[RiceLaxer06]

i bought this little ofna one from my LHS, its saved me from 2 40+ mph collisions. Also make sure u get a throttle return spring. They are just as important as a failsafe because if your battery dies your failsafe is next to useless if it doesn't have its own batt.

Andrew

 

[nitromaniac]

Well, Thanks for all the input, after yet another bad run the other night I went out and got the small ofna fail safe, havnt had a problem since! While I'm looking at the storm now, I really can't see where a trs would go, I know I need to put one on, but where? I am running an OS21rgx, any one have a pic?