Newbie (kid found old rc at grandpa's house)

[Setser1991]

Hey everyone, kid found this old KO propo rc at his grandpa's house. Don't know much about it. Have done a little research into how they work and what does what. Needs a new battery, but was able to get it to work with an old battery I had. My question is that it has a very old esc that uses a servo to control a potentiometer. I was wondering can I just upgrade this to a newer style or is their something more to it?

 

[biggman100]

Hey everyone, kid found this old KO propo rc at his grandpa's house. Don't know much about it. Have done a little research into how they work and what does what. Needs a new battery, but was able to get it to work with an old battery I had. My question is that it has a very old esc that uses a servo to control a potentiometer. I was wondering can I just upgrade this to a newer style or is their something more to it?

You can upgrade any car to newer electronics (ESC, motor, servo, receiver), but, can the car handle upgrades is the bigger question. See my response on your other post. The chassis actually looks kind of like an old RC10 from Team Associated, but, as I've never owned one, and only ever seen a couple in person, and a bunch in pics, I'm not 100% sure of that.

 

[Setser1991]

Yes from the pics of the vintage rc10 and the body does say team associated on it I would agree that's probably what it is. Don't want to do anything crazy with it. My 7 yo is very interested in working on it and I just want him to be able to drive it around. I just don't really like the style of esc on it and the newer ones look different just want it to work properly without investing slot of money in it. If he seems to enjoy it I'll get him a better one.

 

[biggman100]

Yes from the pics of the vintage rc10 and the body does say team associated on it I would agree that's probably what it is. Don't want to do anything crazy with it. My 7 yo is very interested in working on it and I just want him to be able to drive it around. I just don't really like the style of esc on it and the newer ones look different just want it to work properly without investing slot of money in it. If he seems to enjoy it I'll get him a better one.

Unfortunately, a lot of money is subjective. You can replace the motor and ESC with newer electronics, that would run anywhere from roughly $30 to well over $100. On the lower end, with everything i would replace just to make it reliable, you are looking at right around $70. That would consist of a HobbyWing WP-1060 ESC-$16 or so on eBay, Surpass Hobby 15T motor-$15-$20 on eBay, and, i would get rid of the original AM radio system, and replace it with a DumboRC set up. which runs right around $30 on eBay or Amazon. The bigger issue is that the RC10 is discontinued, and I'm not sure what parts, if any, are available. There seems to be a decent following for them though, so some of the guys more familiar with them might have more advice there.

This is the ESC I'm talking about: https://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobbywing-30120201-QUICRUN-Brushed-ESC-WP-1060/123340672781?epid=1779871826&hash=item1cb7ad4f0d:g5oAAOSwh6Vbhv36&LH_BIN=1 (waterproof, fairly durable, easy to connect and mount)

This is the type of motor I'm referring to: https://www.ebay.com/itm/HobbyStar-Brushed-Crawler-Motor-With-Fan-Waterproof-21T-RC-Car-Truck/174124618535?hash=item288aa2d327:g:428AAOSwD1Ne6N9m&LH_BIN=1 (brushed, 540 size, try to stick with a 15T to 21T, 12T might be too fast and too much power, the higher the T number is, the slower, but more torquey the motor is).

This is the radio and receiver i use on most of my vehicles: https://www.ebay.com/itm/DUMBORC-X6-6CH-2-4G-RC-Controller-Transmitter-W-X6FG-Receiver-for-RC-Car-Tank/274599142408?epid=9041891310&hash=item3fef626408:g:MPwAAOSw9wpfM2i6&LH_BIN=1

A lot of guys will try and push you to a brushless combo, but, for a vintage car for a younger child, brushed is more than adequate, and i wouldnt run brushless in that car. Too much power, which just translates to broken parts.

 

[Setser1991]

Yea don't want to break parts. Thanks for the info. To start out would that esc work with the current motor and receiver just to see if he's gonna stay interested then upgrade the other parts. The current esc works just looks really worn. And with the mechanical moving parts I feel it probably isn't very reliable. I guess I'm asking could I start with the new esc and still be able to run it and replace the other parts o e at a time.

 

[biggman100]

Yea don't want to break parts. Thanks for the info. To start out would that esc work with the current motor and receiver just to see if he's gonna stay interested then upgrade the other parts. The current esc works just looks really worn. And with the mechanical moving parts I feel it probably isn't very reliable. I guess I'm asking could I start with the new esc and still be able to run it and replace the other parts o e at a time.

You could, but, as old as the motor is, once you replace the ESC, the motor may not last through a single battery. Brushed motors need maintenance, and if its been sitting for a long time, could have gotten moisture in it, or could have been wore out before it was put aside. As for the radio, as long as it still controls the car, you can use it, but, being that its an old AM system, is way more susceptible to interference, which could cause anything from intermittent running, to the car outright taking off. Newer radios and receivers also have fail safe systems, so that if the car gets out of range, it will just roll to a stop, but, with that older AM system, it wont have that feature. Most of the time the fail-safe isnt important, but, in the case of AM, could be if the car gets far enough away and then gets a signal from another source. The new 2.4GHZ stuff makes it nearly impossible for interference. The real problem with the car is its age. You dont want to go overboard updating it, only to have it work once and break some part that is no longer available. Unfortunately, hobby grade RC stuff typically means money will be spent somewhere. My honest recommendation, especially if you arent sure if they will even continue to be interested, would be to get a cheap wal-mart car (you can get them for as little as $15, and as high as $100, sometimes a little more), and see how they are with that. The car you have could honestly become a major money pit (especially if it turnsout to need a bunch of upgrades), or, if parts arent available, could be a total loss. I'm not trying to dissuade you, just letting you know what you might be in for.

 

[Setser1991]

I appreciate the honesty.. I don't plan to invest a lot of money. $70 not too bad but may do one part at a time and make sure the car keeps going and not having any major issues and I can find any needed parts before going too far. May just get a battery and try to run it as is and see what happens before I do any upgrades. Any suggestions on maintenance I need to do before trying to run it?

 

[tntpoof]

Thats a RC 10 gold. might get up to 100$..
id sell it and venture into something new.. maybe a 1/16 or 1/18 scale.....parts will not be available as for upgrades sure you can do that but a esc for that car will be 15 $+ and a radio and charger and a new battery n charger it all adds up...
Nothing like the new age radio 2.4ghz .and a 2 cell lipo and charger.
Lc racing emb-1h 1/14 4wd brushless racing off road rc car vehicle without battery transmitter Sale - Banggood.com

 

[biggman100]

I appreciate the honesty.. I don't plan to invest a lot of money. $70 not too bad but may do one part at a time and make sure the car keeps going and not having any major issues and I can find any needed parts before going too far. May just get a battery and try to run it as is and see what happens before I do any upgrades. Any suggestions on maintenance I need to do before trying to run it?

As i have never owned one, the best i can do is some general tips. I will point a couple guys that do know Associated stuff better to this thread, but, for now, the biggest things to look for is any binding in the drivetrain and steering, check the suspension to make sure it moves smoothly, see if anything is loose, such as the wheels and hubs, look for loose fasteners. As for batteries, look for 7.2V NIMH batteries. You can find them on eBay and Amazon, but, a couple things to look out for are MAH rating ( for example, the battery might say 1300MAH, or 2200 MAH, and can go up to 5000MAH and possibly higher), but the lower that number, the quicker the battery discharges. NIMH batteries can be fairly cheap, and fairly expensive. You will also need a charger for it, but, the cheaper the charger, the longer it takes to charge the battery. Some of the ultra cheap chargers, like the ones that sometimes come with the battery, can take up to 8 hours to charge, and the battery might last 20 minutes.

 

[Setser1991]

I have the charger already he found that too and the charger works. Think I'm gonna get a battery and try it

 

[biggman100]

I have the charger already he found that too and the charger works. Think I'm gonna get a battery and try it

Is the charger a NI-CD only charger? If so, it might charge a newer NIMH, or it might not. Is there a name, or any specs on the charger? Could you add a pic of it?

 

[Setser1991]

Here is the charger not sure exactly what it is

 

[AClegg]

If you work out the numbers, after getting a new ESC and motor, you would be spending about $50, on the cheaper end. Like TNT said, you could get around $75 to $100 for that car. Take the money you get from it and add it to the $50 you were going to pay to get it going. He could get a pretty decent little car/truck for $150. Either in 1/10, 1/14, or smaller. He might have more fun with a the bigger 1/10 scale car.

Updating that 30+ year old RC10 wouldn't really be worth it unless it is a sentimental thing. By looking at the screws on it, the bearings might need to be replaced also. The gears in the gearbox might be getting a little to fragile also, unless they are well lubricated. However, the spur gear would be strip pretty easy. Either way, to have that thing done up right, you would need bearings, stealth gearbox, ESC, and a motor. You can keep the RC unit he has. It is quite outdated, but it will work. Might a little glitchy here and there.

I'll tell you what, that wiper speed control was the best one out at the time. That's what the racers used before ESC's came around.

 

[biggman100]

Here is the charger not sure exactly what it is

It is a Model Craft MFG. Pro-Tech DC703. According to what little i could find about it, it wont charge NIMH batteries properly, only NI-CD, which arent easy to find. I did find this one: https://www.amazon.com/Volt-NiCd-Ba...ld=1&keywords=7.2v+nicd&qid=1607666887&sr=8-6
but, with such a low capacity (1500MAH), at full charge it might last 10 minutes.

 

[tntpoof]

there is no difference in the way a charger charges nicad and nimh but its all in the delta peak a nimh needs a few more millivolts than a nicad (3 typically for nicad and 5-7 for nimh) this is the only difference.. that 15 minute charger can charge both it just will have to be reset as in selecting time to more minutes....Dont get me wrong you will be ok to charge a new nimh with that charger you will do no hard and I know people like to save money ..I have a few old school chargers that I still use when I want to turn heads CDR 5000 not made for lithium cells but with the right internal settings it can be done with no issues or hard to the cells...I have a 4 button (aka 50 watt charger ) I test all my lipos when I 1st open them .X charger

 

[>BD]

Cool find. Looks like a Traxxas from the late 80s.

 

[tntpoof]

when in the entire life of Traxxas did they use a gold tube? Ill give you a hint never ...

 

[>BD]

when in the entire life of Traxxas did they use a gold tube? Ill give you a hint never ...

I thought it was white because of the dust, It is probably Acosiated.

 

[alfredwong2003]

It is definitely an old RC10 Gold edition. It has is a Mechanical Speed Controller (MSC) not ESC. I would just clean it up and use it as it. For value wise, It is worth more than replacing all the guts. By the time all said and done, the money you spent will allow you to buy a cheap plastic RC car.

 

[JJAX]

I honestly dont know where to look on that gold pan rc10 chassis but if it is original(by looks yes) then look for a machine stamp into the chassis. If it has an a in the front you have yourself a lil piece of r.c history. You can get some decent money on eBay for it.