Radio controlled cars.


 
Arun L.

Arun L.

TVWBB All-Star
Does anyone on here repair radio controlled cars? I figure if people on here restore grills, then someone might be good at repairing other things too.

I have a Radio Shack Tsauro-X from 1993. I turned it on today and it's not responding. I charged the battery pack and replaced the batteries. Can someone fix it?

I have 3 dreams when it comes to radio controlled cars. Perhaps some of them can be combined, but if not, I'll have to achieve them separately.

1) Get my Tsauro-X working again. I just had the tires replaced last year, so disappointing that after taking the time to fix it, something else is wrong now.

I don't care if it costs more to fix it than the car was worth. I've kept the car this long, I just want it working again.

2) Get a car that looks like a Dodge Viper, one with blue racing stripes, one with black racing stripes. I coincidentally see a few on eBay today, so after asking them some questions, we'll see how this goes.

3) Get a car that does a 360 spin in place, preferably a buggy.

It doesn't matter if it's toy grade or hobby grade. I've always wanted a car that could do this.

If anyone can recommend a model that is in stock, that would be great.

It would be great if # 2 and 3 could be combined, or # 1 and 3, but if not, I'll just get separate cars. It's ok if I don't have a car that "does everything".
 
There's a whole lot to go over in your post. I'll start with the Tsauro-X. And it's day it was a decent RC car. But things have come a long long way since then. Picture trying to open a brand new Windows 95 computer and hooking it up to the internet today, if that makes since. The web browser that came with it would be useless along with everything else it was built with. The problem is if a part failed on your old RC car it was never a (hobby grade) so replacement parts were never a thing to begin with. Unless there is some sentimental value with it it is worth as much as an old cell phone from 1993. My advice would be not to bother trying to fix it.

As far as the other two,
Dodge Viper, and car/buggy for 360.

The 360 buggy can be had through an internet search anywhere from $20 and up. They are toys and 360s aren't something that most RC hobbies think about.

The viper, I honestly recommend waiting until you're able to find a good RC hobby shop in your area that is open. I realize that you can't do that right now, none of us can. with that said I think you should wait until you could go into a good RC hobby shop and learn about what things are in the current RC market. Ask the people behind the counter all your questions and get their advice.
 
I understand the sentimental value. Your old battery pack is probably shot, do you have any sort of volt meter?

I was going to recommend a 1:18 scale Team Associated buggy/truggy but they don't seem to be around anymore.
 
Thanks.

Yes, there is some sentimental value. But as you're saying, there probably are not replacement parts that exist. So probably nothing can be done. I'm trying to see if something can be done, but I understand there might not be.

For the 360 car, I don't mind having a toy. There is room for something simple.

Yes, I'll probably go to a RC shop when they are open again. And I'll learn about hobby grade cars. Maybe even get one.

But in the meantime, I don't mind something simple.
 
Clint said:
I understand the sentimental value. Your old battery pack is probably shot, do you have any sort of volt meter?

I was going to recommend a 1:18 scale Team Associated buggy/truggy but they don't seem to be around anymore.
Click to expand...

I have 2 battery packs. I put them in the battery pack charger. Both eventually went from "charging" state to "charged" state, as indicated by the battery pack charger.

Because I have 2 packs and not 1, I am less likely to think the issue is with the battery pack.

One of them is the original one from 1993. The 2nd one I got a few years ago on eBay.
 
Arun L. said:
I have 2 battery packs. I put them in the battery pack charger. Both eventually went from "charging" state to "charged" state, as indicated by the battery pack charger.

Because I have 2 packs and not 1, I am less likely to think the issue is with the battery pack.

One of them is the original one from 1993. The 2nd one I got a few years ago on eBay.
Click to expand...


That's still the first thing I'd check.

This Kyosho Ultima was my first hobby grade car - they brought it back a couple years ago (first one featured in the opening & vid).

I spent a lot of time making a carbon fiber chassis to replace the aluminum one after hours when I worked in a composites shop many years ago - never got everything to fit quite right.

 
Clint said:
I understand the sentimental value. Your old battery pack is probably shot, do you have any sort of volt meter?

I was going to recommend a 1:18 scale Team Associated buggy/truggy but they don't seem to be around anymore.
Click to expand...

Ok, let's say I get a volt meter.


Can I connect the probes of the volt meter to the connectors of a batter pack that looks like this?

s-l640.jpg
 
yep.

I don't think I'd get that Ultima, the more modern ones will be more reliable.

My latest have been short course trucks from Team Associated & I also got one from Losi. I never thought much about Traxxas until a few years ago when there was a kid ripping one around in a field track we found......and then a friend & a cousin had/liked them........... and I wound up with an eRevo (big & expensive Traxxas).

I'd probably recommend Traxxas :) But 8-9 years ago I wouldn't have. You won't see T @ the tracks often (I haven't even stopped at the track for >3-4 years), but who cares.

RC Vehicles For Sale | RC Models | Traxxas

Welcome to The Traxxas Model Showroom. Please review our lineup of RC cars, RC trucks, RC crawlers, and RC boats.
traxxas.com traxxas.com
 
Jason in CA said:
The 360 buggy can be had through an internet search anywhere from $20 and up.
Click to expand...

Are you able to find one that looks like a dune buggy, and is in stock? I remember seeing a lot of commercials for those in the 90s. I'm trying to find something that looks like a dune buggy.

Instead, I see something that looks like this, and this isn't the look that I want.

www.tomtop.com

2.4Ghz RC Stunt Car 3D Rotating Drift Telescopic Stunt Car Climbing Drift Deformation Buggy Car

2.4Ghz RC Stunt Car 3D Rotating Drift Telescopic Stunt Car Climbing Drift Deformation Buggy Car
www.tomtop.com www.tomtop.com

A truck would be ok too.
 
Batteries good in the transmitter, transmitter works? The meter Clint linked should be fine for what you're doing; batteries are where I'd start checking as well.

Ahhh, fond memories of rc cars from back in the day! I built a Team Associated rc10 back in the late 80's. This was before carbon fiber & had a gold aluminum "pan" for the chassis. Tough as nails. You could drop it from head high, hit the gas & it'd just go! I still have it somewhere, haven't played with it in years. Rc cars have come a long way since then - even the monster trucks are faster than my rc10. If I was to get one now, I'd probably get the Kyosho Chevelle or Camaro.
 
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Brian_D said:
Batteries good in the transmitter, transmitter works? The meter Clint linked should be fine for what you're doing; batteries are where I'd start checking as well.

Ahhh, fond memories of rc cars from back in the day! I built a Team Associated rc10 back in the late 80's. This was before carbon fiber & had a gold aluminum "pan" for the chassis. Tough as nails. You could drop it from head high, hit the gas & it'd just go! I still have it somewhere, haven't played with it in years. Rc cars have come a long way since then - even the monster trucks are faster than my rc10. If I was to get one now, I'd probably get the Kyosho Chevelle or Camaro.
Click to expand...
I had a couple of those aluminum body rc10 buggy's and trucks. And the Rc10 gt gas version. Had a lot of fun with them. Also a Losi truck and various non hobby RC cars and trucks. After getting out of the hobby for several years I went to the hobby shop to find out everything I had was basically obsolete. Now I have a Traxis Baja 4x4 truck. It's probably over ten years old now but I could still find anything I could need to keep it going if something does break. Though I don't know how long that will be the case. I'm not really into the hobby like I used to be. It was much funner for me when there were still a bunch of tracks to race them on with other people. I think the hobby as a whole just doesn't draw as many people as it once did. Now the big thing seems to be drones since they have become so easy to fly anyone can do it. At one time I was getting decent with a model helicopter. But I never got good. And I've had a couple opportunities to fly other people's planes. I thought that was the next Xavier I was going to get into and bought an expensive simulator for the computer to practice with. But the simulator is as far as I ever got.
 
The durability of the HPI Savage X is what got me back into it, I couldn't believe how well it held up after a huge cartwheel------no bent dogbones or cracked A arms like on the 1/8 scale 4x4 buggies. Also, it was RTR, no 1-week assembly which was good for a working man.
 
Brian_D said:
Batteries good in the transmitter, transmitter works? The meter Clint linked should be fine for what you're doing; batteries are where I'd start checking as well.
Click to expand...

Yes, when I put the batteries in the remote, and turn the power on, the light goes on.
 
Jason in CA said:
Unless there is some sentimental value with it it is worth as much as an old cell phone from 1993. My advice would be not to bother trying to fix it.
Click to expand...

Here's part of the sentimental value.

My parents were bad at surprises.

This was one of the only 2 times they've given me something that was a surprise. I don't think I had said a word about a radio controlled car.

But they saw this and bought it on their own. This was also $180-$200, so it was expensive.

So I like keeping it, as a reminder for one of the few times I was surprised to get something.

Last year, I had gone to a hobby shop, and they were able to replace the tires, so I had it working again.

That wasn't the first hobby shop I had gone to, as I had tried going to at least two others, each of whom had said they couldn't fix it. So finally I had found one more and was happy that they were able to find a way to make it work.

So it's a little disappointing that after all of the calling and going to shops over the past few years, that it stopped working a little over a year after I finally had it fixed.

But yes, I will try testing the battery pack.
 
Clint said:
Did you look at any of the traxxas cars? Are you more interested in street or off-road? Street won't even be able to go up a ~1.5" curb, & cracks in the sidewalk will be hard or problematic. The 4x4s will be a lot of fun to rip around the neighborhood, & the bigger trucks, especially the 4x4s will be able to roll over just about anything - the 2wd trucks might have a little trouble on grass & weeds off-road, but the larger trucks will just blow right over that stuff. Check out the videos, most of the cars there have little ~1.5 minute clips. the 1:16th scale cars are a lot of fun too, none of them will really be good inside the house though, they're fast & have a bigger turning radius than you might expect (fun though once in a while)
Click to expand...

I did, but I'll come back to them later.

Based on your description, I think an off-road one will be better.

I do want to initially use them inside the house initially. Partly to get used to them. And partly because I don't want them going into bushes right away.
 
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