Red Cat RC's

[biggman100]

I'm new compared to your experience and those all here before me. I came on late at 44years and I'll be 49 this year. I love to see stories from you all that have come in to hang from the ground up. (y)

I am what you would call a hobby jumper. I jump around, do different things, get bored, come back, get bored again, and, rinse and repeat. TBTH, I started messing with RC cars when i was in high school because there were two girls i went to school with that raced Grasshopper's at the hobby shop their dad owned. Then, for almost 10 years i got completely out of it, then got back in it with nitro stuff, and then got out of it for probably 8 or 10 years. I only got back in it a couple years ago because of my kids and my nephews and nieces. I'm more of a water guy, honestly. I have several race boats, a couple sail boats, and, what i call the drunken submarine. It goes where it wants to, when it wants to.

 

[crimsonfancy]

Dam huh? That's interesting to know. I'm glad the 80a is good somewhere and I'm not mad at it whatsoever...it's prolly a good esc.. I just don't really know what to do with it.
I have a 120a esc (HW EZRUN WP-SC8) I replaced it with but not fitted yet. Kinda wondering if anyone wants any of it.
can't find any photos so I'll make some.

 

[crimsonfancy]

I am what you would call a hobby jumper. I jump around, do different things, get bored, come back, get bored again, and, rinse and repeat. TBTH, I started messing with RC cars when i was in high school because there were two girls i went to school with that raced Grasshopper's at the hobby shop their dad owned. Then, for almost 10 years i got completely out of it, then got back in it with nitro stuff, and then got out of it for probably 8 or 10 years. I only got back in it a couple years ago because of my kids and my nephews and nieces. I'm more of a water guy, honestly. I have several race boats, a couple sail boats, and, what i call the drunken submarine. It goes where it wants to, when it wants to.

The two girls / Grasshopper, perfect.
I'd get a boat but still need to learn how to buy there; I've never owned one. I have access to a lake daily at work.
Any for trade?

 

[biggman100]

The two girls / Grasshopper, perfect.
I'd get a boat but still need to learn how to buy there; I've never owned one. I have access to a lake daily at work.
Any for trade?

Boats arent much different than cars, really. It all depends on what you are looking for. Fast speed boats or hydroplanes, sail boats, catamarans, surface gliders, submarines. The only major difference is, if you arent careful in how well it is secured, or it isnt waterproof enough, you could easily lose a lot. For example, i had a Thunder tiger submersible ($625 when i bought it), that i forgot to check the seal on the nose. It is now at the bottom of Lake Ontario. Although crashes are spectacular with fast boats on water, they get very expensive, unless your electronics are made to float for recovery. Losing signal to the radio, unlike cars, can sometimes be devastating, as the boat takes off into the sunset, but, more modern electronics have helped to curb that some. Oh, and then there is the other boaters and jet skiers who just dont care. Jet drives are notorious for having odd issues, fast boats flip easy, catamarans are, at least in my opinion, the best for a beginner. Sail boats are touchy at times, especially if an all of a sudden wind comes up. With cars, gearing makes a difference, with boats, its all about prop size and pitch. These are some examples of beginner to intermediate boats: https://www.horizonhobby.com/produc...ghting-brushed-tunnel-rtr-white-p-rvos01002t2
https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/electric-boats/react-17-self-righting-deep-v-brushed-rtr-prb08024
https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/...elf-righting-deep-v-brushless:-rtr-p-prb08016
They are all self righting. The last one is pretty fast, and brushless.
This one is fast, but, is easily controllable for a beginner: https://www.atomikrc.com/pages/atomik-barbwire-2-17-rtr-brushless-racing-boat

 

[crimsonfancy]

Boats arent much different than cars, really. It all depends on what you are looking for. Fast speed boats or hydroplanes, sail boats, catamarans, surface gliders, submarines. The only major difference is, if you arent careful in how well it is secured, or it isnt waterproof enough, you could easily lose a lot. For example, i had a Thunder tiger submersible ($625 when i bought it), that i forgot to check the seal on the nose. It is now at the bottom of Lake Ontario. Although crashes are spectacular with fast boats on water, they get very expensive, unless your electronics are made to float for recovery. Losing signal to the radio, unlike cars, can sometimes be devastating, as the boat takes off into the sunset, but, more modern electronics have helped to curb that some. Oh, and then there is the other boaters and jet skiers who just don't care. Jet drives are notorious for having odd issues, fast boats flip easy, catamarans are, at least in my opinion, the best for a beginner. Sail boats are touchy at times, especially if an all of a sudden wind comes up. With cars, gearing makes a difference, with boats, its all about prop size and pitch. These are some examples of beginner to intermediate boats: https://www.horizonhobby.com/produc...ghting-brushed-tunnel-rtr-white-p-rvos01002t2
https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/electric-boats/react-17-self-righting-deep-v-brushed-rtr-prb08024
https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/electric-boats/recoil-14-self-righting-deep-v-brushless:-rtr-p-prb08016
They are all self righting. The last one is pretty fast, and brushless.
This one is fast, but, is easily controllable for a beginner: https://www.atomikrc.com/pages/atomik-barbwire-2-17-rtr-brushless-racing-boat

Very nice of you to show so many options to start out. I'd want brushless and want to be able to cross-utilize my lipos. Thank you very much for sharing. In summer I have the lake and plenty time and a bunch of kid campers out fishing and looking for fun. I feed and entertain as needed. This is perfect information and I highly appreciate it.

 

[biggman100]

Very nice of you to show so many options to start out. I'd want brushless and want to be able to cross-utilize my lipos. Thank you very much for sharing. In summer I have the lake and plenty time and a bunch of kid campers out fishing and looking for fun. I feed and entertain as needed. This is perfect information and I highly appreciate it.

you're very welcome. One thing to pay careful attention to though is the length. The first one i think is only 10" total, so a lot of standard batteries wont fit. Even some of the 17 and 26" models, bigger batteries wont work, so before you decide to buy, check the specs very carefully. Some of the smaller and less powerful boats take what i call the half size (1800 MAH and smaller) batteries. Some of them even have a built in battery that you can't replace, that only charge from a phone style charger. This one, for example, has a max size 7.2v 1100Mah: https://www.horizonhobby.com/produc...ats/mini-thunder-hydroplane-rtr-blue-aqub46bb
Whereas this one can run up to a 3200MAH 3S: https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/...self-righting-brushless-deep-v-rtr-p-prb08022

One other thing to look for is if it is self righting or not. If it isnt, It can be a pain if it flips and its 50 feet from shore.

 

[cootertwo]

I've watched a few boat Guys. Most carry a fishing pole, with a tennis ball on the end, to cast out over the overturned or broke boat, to retrieve. Kinda cracks me up watching the real fast ones. Seems they have to throw them into the water to get going. From a dead stop, they just cavitate. Too much mula for me to be throwing into the water! But definitely fun to watch. Back to RedCats, I ran my stock Volcano EXP Pro on 3S the other day. Hauls butt! Got a little warm, and ESC started hesitating a bit. I have a nice 3S motor/ESC to implant soon. I also really like my Landslide. It's a big truck. What I find really strange is that I cannot find any Redcat forum that has much of any traffic. Nothing like this GREAT Arrma forum!

 

[Jimbobjr]

^^^i have that little Volcano exp and run it on 3s. Stripped out the plastic hexes. Bought some aluminum ones for a few bucks, good to go. Bend up the dog bones now and then too. Fun truck, mine is actually a re branded HPI Brontosaurus. They come up on sale from time to time very cheap. Got mine a year or so ago for $115 shipped. Not bad for a 1/10 4wd brushless truck.

 

[crimsonfancy]

I've watched a few boat Guys. Most carry a fishing pole, with a tennis ball on the end, to cast out over the overturned or broke boat, to retrieve. Kinda cracks me up watching the real fast ones. Seems they have to throw them into the water to get going. From a dead stop, they just cavitate. Too much mula for me to be throwing into the water! But definitely fun to watch. Back to RedCats, I ran my stock Volcano EXP Pro on 3S the other day. Hauls butt! Got a little warm, and ESC started hesitating a bit. I have a nice 3S motor/ESC to implant soon. I also really like my Landslide. It's a big truck. What I find really strange is that I cannot find any Redcat forum that has much of any traffic. Nothing like this GREAT Arrma forum!

This is a redcat group at Facebook managed by Karl Stephen McCann, a Redcat dealer and builder. Pretty good group of folks.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/Redcatdealer05/

 

[biggman100]

I've watched a few boat Guys. Most carry a fishing pole, with a tennis ball on the end, to cast out over the overturned or broke boat, to retrieve. Kinda cracks me up watching the real fast ones. Seems they have to throw them into the water to get going. From a dead stop, they just cavitate. Too much mula for me to be throwing into the water! But definitely fun to watch. Back to RedCats, I ran my stock Volcano EXP Pro on 3S the other day. Hauls butt! Got a little warm, and ESC started hesitating a bit. I have a nice 3S motor/ESC to implant soon. I also really like my Landslide. It's a big truck. What I find really strange is that I cannot find any Redcat forum that has much of any traffic. Nothing like this GREAT Arrma forum!

I've done the fishing pole retrieval, and mini grappling hook, and a few other odd combinations, but, now any time i drop a fast boat in the water, i keep a kayak or canoe close, just in case. Its much simpler. Ultra fast boats are fun to watch, but typically are way, way out of my price range. I prefer self righting simply because, even if i only use a pole for retrieval, its easier to hook on if the boat is up right, than trying to hook onto a smooth hull.

As for the Volcano, i couldnt even get mine to stay on its wheels on 2S, so I'm not even going to try a 3S setup.

 

[bicketybam]

The reason I haven't bought a boat yet is because you need to buy 2. One to run and one for retrieval.

 

[biggman100]

The reason I haven't bought a boat yet is because you need to buy 2. One to run and one for retrieval.

Do you mean use an rc boat for retrieval? I dont think i have ever seen that one before, except once with a custom built flat deck. A guy built a custom semi submersible barge as a retrieval vessel, but, i havent seem him in a long time, and i dont think there are any commercially made. I guess you could use a modified tug with a winch, but, I'm not sure how you would attach it for recovery.

 

[bicketybam]

Do you mean use an rc boat for retrieval? I don't think i have ever seen that one before, except once with a custom built flat deck. A guy built a custom semi submersible barge as a retrieval vessel, but, i haven't seem him in a long time, and i don't think there are any commercially made. I guess you could use a modified tug with a winch, but, I'm not sure how you would attach it for recovery.

Guys around here will buy a cheap one from Walmart and fit what looks like a football goalpost lying down to the front. They use that to corral the stranded boat and push it in.

 

[biggman100]

Guys around here will buy a cheap one from Walmart and fit what looks like a football goalpost lying down to the front. They use that to corral the stranded boat and push it in.

That might work. I prefer using a kayak or canoe, that way i also get a bit of exercise, since i do a lot of sitting, so i need all the exercise i can get. I wonder how well that would work on a sailboat though. I already have 2, so that might be worth looking into. Another way could be to make something like that on a tug, with a winch to raise it when not using it. As for buying boats, those i wont hesitate to buy 3 or 4 at a time, unlike cars, where i hesitate to even buy one sometimes. I'm focusing more on submarines though. I want to build a typhoon like the one they did on Nautilus drydock, but, I'm not sure I'm that ambitious honestly.

 

[crankestein]

The Readcat Blackout SCT Pro is a good platform, swap servo saver and later on the road better tires.

Its been completely covered in mud, hydroplane, jumps and all day bashing. The weakest link is the cvd that tend to bend if bashed hard. Some patience, vice and haer will fix them quick. I ended putting truggy tires, raised the body w Traxxas mounts and looks like a SCT Blackfoot, lol.
Geared it down w the bigger tires, gorilla tape on the body, cnc china shocks. One of my favorite bashing trucks. Have not broken a a-arm or diff yet. Its not ballistic on 2S 4000mah 30c, its more of a fun stress free ride, my son usually runs that one and then I break out the old school black chassis Bandit converted to BL w a Ebay goolrc combo, fun chill times around the neighborhood.

 

[Bri26]

+1 on the Redcat Blackout Pro. The newer ones have hardened metal gears (instead of pot metal) and better plastics. It's a great truck that uses a lot less parts than other RC trucks on the market. Sometimes simpler is better. The only downside is that it's a little undersize for 1/10 scale but a ton of fun to bash nonetheless.

Brian

 

[Mmcbryar]

I owned 2 blackouts. Upgraded then to brushless. I didn't have a ton of issue with mine except little things would break. Once I learned to drive that is. It always ate drivetrain parts. Little pins and what not. Always having to mess with it.

My son on the other hand broke it every time we took it out. Something always happened. That and getting to things like the gear mesh you have to take a lot apart.

Our new sentons take much more abuse and are much easier to work on. Plus since they are wider and longer they handle better at the track. They were fun, and with a brushless motor on 2s felt plenty fast, just not as durable. O and the bodies seem a lot thinner than the senton's. The body mounts poked through

 

[biggman100]

I owned 2 blackouts. Upgraded then to brushless. I didn't have a ton of issue with mine except little things would break. Once I learned to drive that is. It always ate drivetrain parts. Little pins and what not. Always having to mess with it.

My son on the other hand broke it every time we took it out. Something always happened. That and getting to things like the gear mesh you have to take a lot apart.

Our new sentons take much more abuse and are much easier to work on. Plus since they are wider and longer they handle better at the track. They were fun, and with a brushless motor on 2s felt plenty fast, just not as durable. O and the bodies seem a lot thinner than the senton's. The body mounts poked through

That is my biggest issue with Redcat stuff. Their quality is hit or miss. You either get a good one, or you dont, and since an ECX Torment is not much more, and neither is a Senton, i would rather spend that little extra for a more durable vehicle, than to spend the difference in parts and upgrades, but, i also dont like working on my vehicles much, unless its my boats.

 

[biggman100]

Anyone know who makes the ESC/Receiver combo in the Redcat Pirahna/Fossa 10/XB10? My nephew has one on the way, and, i thought, since he already has a FlySky transmitter that is bound to his other 2 cars, i would see if it works with this one, but, this is the first time i have even heard of the ESC and receiver being all in one, so i dont know if it will work or not.

 

[Bri26]

It's sometimes hard to get a good read on any of the RC vehicles since the experiences can be all over the map in regards to a particular model. I just read this one about a user with an ARRMA Senton 4x4 - Bad Luck

I own an ARRMA 2wd Fury which has been really good to me but another poster on this forum has gone thru parts left and right.

Brian