Traxxas the way to go?

[KnowAir]

I had not seen that ISDT charger. They make great chargers as well. But I wouldn't spend the money on the Gens D300. It has a fairly average balance circuit. Not that it's that big of a difference, but it is noticeable. And it's Gens

@Greywolf74 actually just tested the differences in charging with two different chargers with different balance current capability and it was worth noting that difference when shopping for a new charger.

IIRC, we're talking 1.2 vs 1.6a balance circuit between Gens and Hota? Notable I admit. Since they're basically the same price, I suppose the D6 is the better choice.
The ISDT K2 Air is down a bit on power, priced a little higher, 1.5a balance circuit. Still a solid unit, but I'm pretty sure Spektrum is made by ISDT, which I haven't had good luck with (Spektrum) myself.

 

[PainKiller]

IIRC, we're talking 1.2 vs 1.6a balance circuit between Gens and Hota? Notable I admit. Since they're basically the same price, I suppose the D6 is the better choice.
The ISDT K2 Air is down a bit on power, priced a little higher, 1.5a balance circuit. Still a solid unit, but I'm pretty sure Spektrum is made by ISDT, which I haven't had good luck with (Spektrum) myself.

I hope I’m able to talk about this stuff like you guys one day. With the brand names and the terminology, I feel like I should be taking notes.

 

[KnowAir]

Great thread. I've learned alot!

A great explanation of the charger balance circuit and importance of here.

 

[WickedFog]

I hope I’m able to talk about this stuff like you guys one day. With the brand names and the terminology, I feel like I should be taking notes.

You'll get there if you hang around here long enough. I built my first RC kit in 1983 at 13 years old. But still learn new stuff every day hanging around this bunch

 

[Lostinthewoods86]

I hope I’m able to talk about this stuff like you guys one day. With the brand names and the terminology, I feel like I should be taking notes.

It will come in time! I’m pretty new to all this as well. I almost went down the path of the smart battery and charger just for simplicity. So glad I listened to wicked back then and went with the hota.

 

[WickedFog]

A great explanation of the charger balance circuit and importance of here.

Hey, that's my guy

And yeah, great vid. Except when he does the straw sucking bit

 

[Chubaka]

I hope I’m able to talk about this stuff like you guys one day. With the brand names and the terminology, I feel like I should be taking notes.

Been here 20 years. It's still foreign at times.

 

[Lostinthewoods86]

But still learn new stuff every day hanging around this bunch

Like what not to do from majin and lost

 

[WickedFog]

Like what not to do from majin and lost

You guys are both my heros. Majin for his rock moving back, and you for buying everything I tell you to

 

[KnowAir]

You'll get there if you hang around here long enough. I built my first RC kit in 1983 at 13 years old. But still learn new stuff every day hanging around this bunch

Dang brother, we're about the same age. Bought my first RC10 gold pan second hand from a neighbor at 15 with "paper route" money.. I would have built the kit if I had known then what I know now! Good stuff! Never stop learning!

Hey, that's my guy

And yeah, great vid. Except when he does the straw sucking bit

Great minds.. well, you and Joshua that is. Mine's mush, LOL.

 

[WickedFog]

Dang brother, we're about the same age. Bought my first RC10 gold pan second hand from a neighbor at 15 with "paper route" money.. I would have built the kit if I had known then what I know now! Good stuff! Never stop learning!

Paper route money was my jam. I had 100 papers I delivered every weekday after school from the age of 9 til about 13. My dad had a woodshop I worked in as well, and he paid me good money. I was earning over $150/week, so I sold the paper route and my paper bags for $90 to a friend lol.

 

[PainKiller]

I’m glad some of you guys are around my age. I’m 50 and I thought for sure I was going to be the grandpa of the bunch.

Also, what exactly is a “smart charger”? Apologies if it was already mentioned. It’s hard to keep all the stuff straight.

 

[Chubaka]

I’m glad some of you guys are around my age. I’m 50 and I thought for sure I was going to be the grandpa of the bunch.

Also, what exactly is a “smart charger”? Apologies if it was already mentioned. It’s hard to keep all the stuff straight.

https://www.rctalk.com/forum/threads/80th-birthday-today.139235/

Can't answer on smart chargers. See my previous response.

 

[Greywolf74]

I have no idea which batteries and charges to get. Should I get a Traxxas vehicle. Which charger and batteries do you recommend?

I suggested a charger and lipos to you on page 4. LINK

Heres why I recommended the lipos I did. LINK

 

[WickedFog]

I’m glad some of you guys are around my age. I’m 50 and I thought for sure I was going to be the grandpa of the bunch.

Also, what exactly is a “smart charger”? Apologies if it was already mentioned. It’s hard to keep all the stuff straight.

No apologies needed. It's a lot to digest if you're new to the hobby. You're researching before buying, so you'll be in good shape once you decide on something.

But I will add, don't let a lack of mechanical skills influence your decisions. In this hobby, that will lead to frustration and an underwhelming experience.

You're back into this for your kid, and I swear there is no better hobby for a kid to get into. I tore apart my Stompers and customised them. I hydro dipped Hotwheels. And I learned a ton working on RC's when I was a kid. I tested in the 98th and 99th percentile on 5 tests my sophomore year, all of which showed I should become an engineer, and I credit a lot of that to RC. It's just an amazing hobby, but you gotta get your hands dirty.

Just continue to do your research about everything. Even tools, paints, glues, grease and olis has something to learn about. There are good things to get, and some, not so much.

 

[PainKiller]

No apologies needed. It's a lot to digest if you're new to the hobby. You're researching before buying, so you'll be in good shape once you decide on something.

But I will add, don't let a lack of mechanical skills influence your decisions. In this hobby, that will lead to frustration and an underwhelming experience.

You're back into this for your kid, and I swear there is no better hobby for a kid to get into. I tore apart my Stompers and customised them. I hydro dipped Hotwheels. And I learned a ton working on RC's when I was a kid. I tested in the 98th and 99th percentile on 5 tests my sophomore year, all of which showed I should become an engineer, and I credit a lot of that to RC. It's just an amazing hobby, but you gotta get your hands dirty.

Just continue to do your research about everything. Even tools, paints, glues, grease and olis has something to learn about. There are good things to get, and some, not so much.

Thank you, sir. I feel like joining this forum is the best move I made. In my head I have a list of things I’d like to get for the vehicles we choose. Tools, paint, extra wheels, and tires, different types of bodies. But one step at a time.

Later on tonight, I’ll be looking at the chargers and batteries you guys mentioned above. The plan was to get everything ordered in a couple weeks, but to be honest, I don’t know if I can wait that long. I’m getting too excited. And I’m sure my son will have no problem getting an early birthday present.

 

[KnowAir]

I’m glad some of you guys are around my age. I’m 50 and I thought for sure I was going to be the grandpa of the bunch.

Also, what exactly is a “smart charger”? Apologies if it was already mentioned. It’s hard to keep all the stuff straight.

I'll be 53 in a month.. or was it last week? Oh well, just a number, right?
As to the "smart" charger and batteries, essentially they're plug and play. With the Spektrum, you just plug in the charger, connect a battery, and presto, you're charging. Now the charger does require some programming to tell it how you want it to behave, but essentially it will detect the battery cell count amp, capacity, and start charging automatically once set.
The Traxxas does require you to push a button to get the party started, so much more involved.. LOL.
These "smart" batteries and chargers incorporate a balance connector into the main plug, whereas non-smart stuff will have a main connector and a seperate balance lead that needs to be connected in order for the charger to monitor individual cells while charging.
The drawback, besides cost, is that smart batteries can only be charged on their respective branded chargers. Though, either Traxxas or Spektrum chargers (last I knew) still have balance ports so they can be used to charge standard lipo batteries that use separate balance connectors.
If you're buying from a hobby shop that offers you a deal on batteries and charger, you can still potentially use that charger with "other" batteries down the road. However, Traxxas chargers are rather minimal in specs I believe, they don't like to publish specs as far as I have seen. So not sure how they compare to say a Hota D6 Pro. Likely not very well.

 

[WickedFog]

Thank you, sir. I feel like joining this forum is the best move I made. In my head I have a list of things I’d like to get for the vehicles we choose. Tools, paint, extra wheels, and tires, different types of bodies. But one step at a time.

Later on tonight, I’ll be looking at the chargers and batteries you guys mentioned above. The plan was to get everything ordered in a couple weeks, but to be honest, I don’t know if I can wait that long. I’m getting too excited. And I’m sure my son will have no problem getting an early birthday present.

I can't recommend that Hota enough. So if it were me, I'd order it now. Get that out of the way. You're going to need some balance extensions and some adapter cables as well if you're set on a Traxxas. For any other brand RC, just ask and I'll provide ya with a link to proper adapter cables.

You can get the Hota off aliexpress.com for a lot less, but it'll take at least a couple weeks to arrive. And you can get it for a few dollars less than the link I provided if you shop around. But Heli Direct are great folks with amazing customer service. They will go above and beyond if you have problems, or need help.

 

[9x19]

"Smart chargers" are products from Traxxas and Spektrum which do away with the balance plug on conventional lipos and instead use a tiny center pin in their battery power connector to manage balance between cells. These batteries work great with their own charger but to charge them with a conventional charger you need an adapter plug, and the batteries are over-priced compared to convetional batteries.

Both brands use a plug that can be found in the wild, Spektrum uses and IC5, but it's the same as the EC5 so any battery with an EC5 plugs in no problem

Traxxas has their own connector but batteries can be bought with the TRX plug and again work without any issues.

On the charger side, like with the Hota, you just need an XT60 to EC5, or XT60 to TRX adapter to charge the batteries. Those are easily found on Amazon.

I have batteries with EC3, EC5, TRX and Deans T connectors, I just use adapters for my charger.

 

[PainKiller]

I'll be 53 in a month.. or was it last week? Oh well, just a number, right?
As to the "smart" charger and batteries, essentially they're plug and play. With the Spektrum, you just plug in the charger, connect a battery, and presto, you're charging. Now the charger does require some programming to tell it how you want it to behave, but essentially it will detect the battery cell count amp, capacity, and start charging automatically once set.
The Traxxas does require you to push a button to get the party started, so much more involved.. LOL.
These "smart" batteries and chargers incorporate a balance connector into the main plug, whereas non-smart stuff will have a main connector and a seperate balance lead that needs to be connected in order for the charger to monitor individual cells while charging.
The drawback, besides cost, is that smart batteries can only be charged on their respective branded chargers. Though, either Traxxas or Spektrum chargers (last I knew) still have balance ports so they can be used to charge standard lipo batteries that use separate balance connectors.
If you're buying from a hobby shop that offers you a deal on batteries and charger, you can still potentially use that charger with "other" batteries down the road. However, Traxxas chargers are rather minimal in specs I believe, they don't like to publish specs as far as I have seen. So not sure how they compare to say a Hota D6 Pro. Likely not very well.

The Hota seems to be the charger of choice. I just checked the price on Amazon and they’re not expensive at all. Of course, I didn’t really know what to expect for a price. I just assumed it would be higher.