I need some urgent help....

[vaderbxman]

My dad's willing to get a better charger for my little bro and his vendetta batteries. Only problem is, he's 11. What kind of charger is out on the market that is frendly to him and will safely charge small 7.2 battery packs for the vendetta/mini quake.

He was thinking of this:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXCLD5&P=ML

I think it'll be OK as long as we get the right pigtail to use as a charging jack. However, we also think it'll be cramming too many amps into it at a time, which is what's happening with the charger that my dad has (intellipeak adjustable amps)
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUF45&P=ML



Please give some imput. I think that he doesn't want to go over 50 dollars, but if the features aren't available on cheaper chargers, I bet I can show him ones that cost a bit more......

[norcalracer_707]

I recommend the duratrax prianha charger. It'll safely charger mini batteries, as I use mine to charge my rc18t packs. If you charge it at about 1 amp you should be fine.

[vaderbxman]

Cool!!! So other than a pigtail, I should be fine?

Thanks man!

[norcalracer_707]

Yeah, other then getting the adapter, your be good to go. I would also use a 3 to 5 mv/c setting (thats what I use on mine).

[vaderbxman]

Does that mean a more slowly charged battery? That's actually a good thing if that's the case. His batteries tend to overheat on peak charging, so that might be cool! (no pun intended)

Thanks again man!

[norcalracer_707]

On a one amp charge, it takes my stock 18t battery about 45 to an hour to charge, and it's warm but not hot to the touch. Nice thing with this charger (anod all peak chargers) it shuts off when the battery is done so it doesn't overheat. The duratrax charger beeps to let you know it's done. How's the vendetta? I'm thinking about picking one up.

[evst 360]

Does that mean a more slowly charged battery? That's actually a good thing if that's the case. His batteries tend to overheat on peak charging, so that might be cool! (no pun intended)

Thanks again man!
that means the sensitivity of the peak detection I think. To charge the battery more slowly you need to use less amps. The dtx piranha charger will go down to 1.1 amps (1C rate for that battery which is the safest charge rate) and will work no problem on the mini battery. :cool:

[vaderbxman]

On a one amp charge, it takes my stock 18t battery about 45 to an hour to charge, and it's warm but not hot to the touch. Nice thing with this charger (anod all peak chargers) it shuts off when the battery is done so it doesn't overheat. The duratrax charger beeps to let you know it's done. How's the vendetta? I'm thinking about picking one up.


Which one, the buggy or the stadium? The buggy pwns my local track with high speeds and lots of low-end grunt. He's put on the VR3 motor and gone through 3 sets of tires and almost 2 sets of knuckle arms having a blast for almost a year now.

[norcalracer_707]

I was gonna get the buggy. What are the pros and cons of it? You'll be happy with that charger.

[vaderbxman]

Pros:
-It spanks anything else 1/18 out of the box (not with anything aftermarket)
-It handles great
-it jumps flat as a pancake, so you almost can't screw-up a jump
-With the hop-up motor installed, you can hang with 1/10 guys (until they hit you)

Cons:
-the front knuckle arms are the weakest. There's a fix by drilling a screw into them, but I haven't tried that
-the stocker battery doesn't have much in the way of life and repeated charges, so go with Nimh
-Duratrax makes only 3 types of tires, and they're all soft compounds. However, the 12mm hex accepts any rim with a 12mm hex design. (I've seen racing street foams on vendettas!)



I think that's about it. We're probably gonna get him the heatsink so when he uses the Nimh we're getting him, it doesn't cook everything!

Thanks a bunch. I think we'll get an order in soon!

[norcalracer_707]

No problem, enjoy it, hopefully you will. Be sure to read the instructions, unlike me. I didn't read the part about holding the "E" button down for 3 sec to start charging (I had a brain fart that day, lol).

Edit-Sorry for another vendetta question. Would a novak spy work with the stock motor? I'm looking at getting the vendetta st, but I read you have reset the esc whenever you change the batteries. If the spy won't work, whats another good esc that you plug in, without having to change any wires?

[vaderbxman]

I think the novak would work: All you'd have to do is get the motor leads right and get the connectors right too. We just hard-wired his to his ESC to get rid of that problem.

And it's no prob about the vendetta FAQ. I'm glad that more people are interested in the vendetta ans ST now. More power to ya!

[norcalracer_707]

Can the spy handle a a 370 (or whatever size) motor it is in the vedetta st? If that doesn't work, i'll get the micro gt.

[vaderbxman]

Tower says the speed control is limited to 280-size motors. That's bad, because the Vendetta ST runs 380-size motors.

The Micro GT can run any motor with a motor smaller than 540, easially powering the vendetta ST.

Hope this helps!!

(oh, and as far as other choices, LRP makes a micro ESC, but LRP sucks at making them!)

[rcfreak9]

ummmm are u serious? lrp makes some of the best speed controls out there! aparently u dont know what ur talking about

[norcalracer_707]

Thanks for the q&a about the vendetta st Vader. I think when I can save the $$ up i'll get it. Can you run 18t batteries in the vst (vendetta st)?

[vaderbxman]

ummmm are u serious? lrp makes some of the best speed controls out there! aparently u dont know what ur talking about

It's apparently, not, "aparently." I've had more cons told about that ESC than I've heard pros. I think it's weak as in it doesn't send as much power to the motor as most others do, and it's prone to failure with high-quality battery applications. I've already asked around and found out why because I was shippopping for ESC's for my T4 factory kit.



On to the vendetta: Sadly, no you can't run tem without some form of modification to the battery tray (I don't know really, but I remember a guy talking about it at one point)

They do make some decent Ni-mh packs for the Vendettas though for only 15 bucks!

[norcalracer_707]

I plan on picking up a 1200mah battery when I get it, whenever that is.

[vaderbxman]

Cool!!! We're getting 2 or 3 for my bro when his B-day rolls around! :D

[vaderbxman]

Well, I've got another question:

The batteries we want to get him are out of stock at tower. Where else can we get them, or should we just order them at our LHS (he can get just about anything)

I found this:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXLFX4&P=7
It says for mini trucks, and one18th.com links to this as a battery that'll work. Is it worth to get it?

[norcalracer_707]

I would try your lhs. I would ask people at one18th.com to see if it'll fit to be on the safe side.

[vaderbxman]

Thanks again man!! My LHS should pull through with this deal.......

[rccardude04]

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LOSB1206
If you haven't bought a charger yet... Even a 4 year old could handle this one.
-Eric

[vaderbxman]

Cool!!! I didn't know that they made a mini peak charger!!