Red RC

October 1, 2014

New Futaba S.Bus2 brushless HV servos

Available now from Futaba are three new high voltage compatible S.Bus2 brushless servos for electric and nitro applications. The BLS371SV (0.10s), BLS471SV (0.07s) and BLS571SV (0.08s) all offer brushless motors, dual bearings, metal gears and they are water sealed making them ideal for on-road and off-road racing alike. While the standard size BLS371SV features a heatsink middle case to dissipate heat better the BLS571SV is a low-profile servo for electric touring car and 2WD buggy applications. All three are compatible with Futaba’s S.Bus and S.Bus2 system and programmable through the 4PX transmitter for channels, normal/reverse, dead band, speed, travel and more.

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October 1, 2014

Nejc Mihelic wins Austrian 1/8th on-road nationals

Last weekend saw the final round of the Austria 1/8th scale nitro on-road championships run at the Mac Amstetten track. Motonica team driver Nejc Mihelic had a splendid weekend by taking the TQ for the 45 minute final which he then dominated till the end to take the win. With the victory at the final round he also took the overall Austrian national championship title.

Source: Motonica [motonica.com]

October 1, 2014

EMR Factory hard anodised pinion sets

EMR Factory have released their new hard anodised laser engraved 64 pitch pinion sets. Designed specifically for stock on-road racing, each set includes 7 lightweight pinions. They are available in 40T to 46T, 47T to 53T, and 54T to 60T sets and come laser-etched for easy identification.

Source: EMR Factory [emrfactory.com]

October 1, 2014

TrakPower TK955 digital soldering station

TrakPower introduce their TK955 digital soldering station for a wide range of soldering jobs. An easy-to-read digital display on the control unit shows the selected temperature, heating status and operational alerts. Simple, push-button controls allow to adjust the heat in fine 1° increments and the included security key locks in the selected temperature so that it remains steady within 1° Celsius (or 1.8° F) even while the iron is idle. In addition to the digital control unit, the TK955 also features a heavy-duty soldering iron with comfortable grip and ceramic heating element. For best results with any soldering task, two tips are included. The chisel tip increases surface contact for stronger joints, while the pencil tip allows precise solder application. The 60W soldering station also comes with a stand, sponge, and ready-to-apply decals for the control unit, iron and iron stand and it is available very soon.

Click here to view the specifications

October 1, 2014

Jan Popic takes Austrian Junior championships

Xray’s Jan Popic recently took the Austrian Electric Touring Car Junior Championship title after finishing in 10th place overall. Some missed races due to other commitments prevented him from achieving a better overall result but nevertheless he became the best junior of the 2014 season.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

October 1, 2014

Tekno RC SCT410 stub axles & serrated wheel nuts

New from Tekno RC and made for the SCT410 are M5 thread stub axles and matching serrated wheel nuts. Pro 4 SC vehicles have a lot of power and the 12mm wheel hexes that are used can strip easily if the wheel becomes loose. This results in wasted wheels and tyres and so Tekno RC have equipped the new stub axles with a large M5 thread in order to use a larger M5 serrated nut that will not come loose. This makes for a far more durable stub axle, fewer stripped nuts and less tyre waste due to wheels coming loose. The axles are of a hardened steel construction and come black oxide coated for hard wearing characteristics. The matching wheel nuts are made from black anodised aluminium, they offer a serrated back to ensure the wheels stay on and they come in sets of four nuts.

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October 1, 2014

International Carpet Challenge 2015 – Announcement

The organisers of the ICC have confirmed that the event will return in 2015. Building on the success of last year’s event, which saw the UK’s Kyle Branson narrowly beating top German drivers Freddy Sudhoff and Yannic Prumper, the event will return across the weekend of the 20th to 22nd February 2015. The format will remain largely unchanged for 2015, being held at the same location in Essex, South-East England, and organised by the world-famous EWS Team and RC media personality Oli Meggitt. There has been a slight tweak to the classes for 2015 – the Open Modified and HPI Vintage Challenge classes return, but the Stock and Pro Stock classes have been combined into the new Super Stock class – for 13.5T motors with zero timing (“blinky”) speed controllers. More details and sign-up for the event can be found here.

September 30, 2014

Stepping Out Of Stock

Contrary to what many of you will think, my inspiration for this column came not originally from me thinking about an R/C race, but about full-size racing. I was reading an article (and the subsequent comments beneath it!) recently, discussing whether top driver should be ‘forced’ to move up the racing ladder, or prevented from competing at certain levels based on their results. For those of the guys who race regularly with me at a track, you’ll all groan at the following – specifically this came about whilst I was watching NASCAR, where a number of the sports top drivers compete in their ‘second tier’ series too, primarily to promote sponsors or gain additional seat time or track knowledge. I realised there was a lot of synergies to R/C racing, with the same discussion flaring up seemingly every year about the state of “Stock” class racing.

Continue reading Oli’s column here