Gotta love our current economy. The slow last half decade has lead to many hobby shop and track closures, but what lies ahead may leave our hobby unrecognizable.

We are early into this economic downturn, and we are already seeing things we’ve never seen before in our sport. Cashback, GWP (gift with purchase), and Sales!!

Traxxas has a $50 cash back offer on the purchase of a new Slayer. Yes! Just like the full size cars, you get cash back! Send your proof of purchase of a new Slayer to the guys down in Plano Texas, and they send you $50! Once again Traxxas is being an innovator, and we will be seeing more of this in the near future. Not just from Traxxas, who are doing relatively well right now, but especially from those manufactures who’s meager/outdated offerings have deeper roots on the sales floor than a California Redwood.

Horizon/Losi is also running a special, but it’s more like a GWP. Buy a new 18th scale Losi Monster truck, mail in your proof of purchase and get a free Li-po battery and charger. So hit your LHS (local hobby shop to the newbies out there), pick up a new Mini-LST based truck, and Horizon will send you a nice little gift for your purchase. Props to Horizon helping lead the pack on cutting consumers a sweet GWP.

Did anyone say SALE? Well everybody loves a sale, even us rc knuckleheads. MaxAmps isn’t a chassis manufacture (yet), but they do offer some of the best lithium based batteries on the market right now. They are also known for being at the absolute cutting edge of “new age” marketing. Last week, they shot out the emails, shot out the press releases, and their market man posted on lots of message boards information on their battery sale. Yes indeed, a sale on all those high output Li-po’s you need for you brushless set-ups. While MaxAmps has held “specials” before, this is their biggest sale ever, with prices up to 50% off. Oh hell ya! Nothing better than Sale in the middle of the X-mas buying season.

Ok, ok, it’s nice as a consumer to see these specials, but on the other hand, it’s a painful reminder of how bad the economy is. Our beloved rc companies would not be holding these specials if they were making record profits. They aren’t, times are simply tough for everyone. But it’s one thing to hear Circuit Chity filed for bankruptcy, it’s going to be another when we start hearing about rc businesses going under. So all you consumers out there, times are really tough, but keep supporting your sport as much as you can. Family, rent, and food come first of course. But at the end of the month keep your rc hobby in mind with any leftover cash you might have. With the current and upcoming specials, your dollar will go further than ever before in our hobby, and rc cars are a great way to keep a huge smile on your face during the worst of times.

On a different note, during the second week of December I’ll be holding my first “Cubbies” awards. These will be awarded based on reader responses, in conjunction with my input and input from a variety of industry insiders. Email nominees to Brian at BigSquidRC dot com for the following categories-

08′ Car/Truck of the year-
08′ Worst Car/Truck of the year-
08′ Best piece of rc gear of the year-
08′ Biggest POS rc gear of the year-
08′ Zero to hero of the year (person or item that came out of nowhere to pwn)-
08′ RC Man of the year-

Till next week……..

Your Cub Reporter

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For all those looking to pick up some electric power, you might want to head over to MaxAmps.com and check out their 48 hour sale! If you are a MaxAmps member, you can save up to 50% off your packs! They are also offering a free 3 year/300 cycle warranty, and free skins on lipo packs! The info says the sale ends Tuesday November 18th at Midnight! So head on over now! Make sure to tell them Big Squid RC sent ya!

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First off, I would like to personally congratulate all our French readers (as if.. LOL) on their country’s SILVER medal in the men’s 4×100 swimming relay.

Experts seem not to know why ratings are way up for this years summer Olympics. Of course, if you are actually watching them at home, you know the reason, HD baby! Finally, loads and loads of great looking HD programming.

Back to what we’re here for- rc news!

MaxAmps batteries is one of the true “sleepers” in our industry. Based out of the climatic Pacific Northwest, a virtual rc industrial dead zone, they’ve gone from a young man’s dream, to selling more lithium based packs than the nearly all the “big” names combined. And, most impressively, they’ve done it without selling their souls to GP and Horizon.

This week, MA made some big waves, and in more ways than one. The first being they finally got a ROAR approval on their lithium race pack. This was not easy for MA, or at least not as easy as it was for other more mainstream companies that were already in ROAR’s “good ole’ boys” network. Regardless of the political mess behind their approval, the new MA packs are gnarly, and are rated for 35C constant discharge.

MA also introduced their new “leaded” packs- Lithium based packs that come with lead weights under the battery pack. This is something no other company has done in the industry, and it’s a great idea for a couple reasons. Lead added to the packs not only help keep your chassis balanced, but also help meet the minimum weight requirements for sanctioned racing. Props to MA for coming up with something original that can actually come in handy at the track.

Seeing as how this is an Olympic week, I’m asking BigSquidRC readers to send in their votes to “America’s Dream Olympic RC Team”. If the summer Olympics actually held rc car racing as an event, what 3 American drivers would YOU like to see representing the red, white, and blue? Shoot your replies to brian@bigsquid.com , and I’ll post your results in next weeks Cub Report.

Btw, last weeks report was probably the most positive and “nicest” report I’ve ever done, yet it yielded the most love/hate mail. Not sure what’s up with that, but keep the emails coming, it proves that at least someone reads this drivel.

On a slightly different note, this week, there has been a lot of talk about what constitutes “C” ratings on Li-po’s, and where capacity ratings come from.

Here’s the scoop for all you lowly rc industry insider wanna-be’s.

Capacity of a lithium based pack, is typically determined at the point of origin by design perimeters. Some underpaid, goofy toothed, marble mouthed engineer in China will sit there and calculate predicted capacity based upon how he has designed the cell. This is typically way off, as much as 20% from what I’ve seen first hand, in the actual end result.

And how is end result/real world capacity tested? By discharging a cell at a 1C rate. For instance, if you are testing a 1000 mah pack, you discharge it at a 1 amp rate, and if the pack meets specification, it will put out 1000 mah. This rarely happens, so it’s really up to the end seller (the reseller/rebranders putting their stickers on the cells) to test the cells they get in, and make sure “real” capacity is listed, regardless of what their manufacture in China says it should be. The better resellers do NOT list capacity as what the manufacture tell them it will be, they list it after their own testing at a 1C discharge.

Oh and, regardless if it’s a Lithium based back, a Ni-mh, or Ni-cad, the higher the discharge rate, the less mah the pack is going to put out. Like Duh. So if you think your Joe Blow’s Battery Shack 5000 mah pack (at 1C) should still put out 5000 mah under a 100 amp load (20C), you are living in a fantasy world- put down the crack pipe, and realize that you can not dodge the rules of physics.

Some consumers are wondering where those wonderful “20C Constant Discharge” ratings come from- just how is that determined? Once again, leave it to the Cub to educate the world. Here’s the scoop. It’s determined just like the capacity is for the vast majority of resellers! Some greasy, overworked, communist China-man mathematically predicts what the maximum constant discharge current should be based on cell design.

But here’s the kicker. This “rating” isn’t one where the cells will live very many cycles, this is just a prediction of what they can theorhetically survive one time. So, if your Joe Blow’s Battery Shack 1000 mah pack is rated at 20C, it will (maybe?) survive a 20 amp discharge. But, don’t expect it to survive a 20C charge very many times without a raging chemical fire developing.

From what I’ve seen first hand in the industry, you are lucky to get 5 to 10 discharges on most cells at it’s maximum constant discharge rate (based on the ratings the overseas manufactures state on their cells), with insane discharge temps and pee poor voltage. Now, that’s not to say that some American re-badgers don’t test their cells, and adjust their stated “max continuous C ratings” accordingly, as
that will vary with each company. But as far as what I’ve seen in the industry, those are far and few between. Most just print the rating that their manufacture gives them, and now you know where the manufacture “rating” comes from.

So, here is what I’ve proposed for a long time. A standardized “maximum continuous C” discharge rating SHOULD be determined this way.

1. No “horseshoe” in discharge curve at this rating (a horseshoe looking discharge curve indicates that a given cell can not handle the load applied until it warms up enough to do so)

2. Maximum temp of 140 F under given charge rate (temps above this start entering the danger area for most common chemistry/designed Li-po cells)

3. Must maintain at least 3.2 volts per cell under this load (anything below this also nears the a danger point for most common Li-po type cells)

4. Should be able to survive this rated discharge at least 10 times without thermal runaway or catastrophic cell damage (what’s the point if it can only do it once?)

So if you are in doubt of whether a certain Li-po pack can do 20C (or 30 or 35), what do you do? Only buy from reputable battery companies with awesome customer service. Great customer service is the single most important factor when buying Li-po packs (or nearly anything for that matter)! That way, if you do have a problem, or have a pack that will not meet your performance demands, they will take
care of you.

One last note on Lithium cells this week. Because of rule changes for 2009, full size Formula One racing will be forced to partially recover energy normally wasted during braking, and use it to help accelerate the car (KERS). So what the heck does that have to do with rc? Well, the Formula One teams spend BILLIONS each year on development, and now, part of that budget will be used on making sure their Lithium packs used for this regenerative braking are the best on the planet. If an rc company can get an inside scoop on the details on the cells they are using, they are sure to blow away anything commercially available right now. Of note, the Red Bull F1 team has already had to evacuate one of their buildings due to a Lithium battery fire. But, with the budgets the F1 teams have, they will solve the inherent dangers and performance downsides. F1 racing will get further with Lithium cell development in a few months than the rc world will in decades.

Hopefully that tech shows up in the rc world sooner rather than later.

That’s it for this week folks, be sure and get your daily dose of BigSquidRC.com , support your local LHS’s and tracks, and shoot us an email with the top 3 guys on your American “Olympic RC Dream Team”!

Cubby

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I’m still down here at the Snowbird Nationals ,my cell phone keeps going off every 3.259 minutes.It must be BigSquid calling, urging me to get out of this wonderfully heated outdoor pool and submit my daily report.

I must admit- the reasons are few to pluck myself from this perfectly warm water, with a perfectly clear view of the evening stars, with a calming view of the underbelly of the surrounding palm trees, with drunk scantily clad 20 something year old females wearing virtually non-existent swimming attire mindlessly bumping into me underwater. Only for you readers am I willing to make a such sacrifice.

Cheater, cheater, cheater!! So just what is cheating? Just what are the rules? Here’s the low down. If you are running a factory issued, non-tweaked BRUSHLESS motor at the Birds, consider yourself in the minority. In the “unlimited/mod” type classes, it doesn’t matter much if your brushless motor is putting out twice the power that did from the factory. But in other “slower” classes, where 10.5, 13.5, and 17.5 motors are mandated, this enters a grey area. Isn’t the entire point of specifying turns in these mandated classes to keep everyone roughly on the same playing field? Did you know you can fairly easily tweak 10% more power out an OEM 17.5? I learned how to do it today, and it took less than a half hour.

And it doesn’t stop there. The Li-po world is also home to the tweaking game. Seems the standard procedure now is to “bump” your Li-po. This is how it is done. First, fully charge your pack on a Li-po charger. Second, immediately charge the pack as a Ni-mh until it reaches 20-40 degrees over ambient temperature (btw sports fans, this is EXTREMELY dangerous, do NOT do this at home!!!!!). This typically yields another half volt or more while being discharged under a load. A half volt under load is a MILE in stock class racing.

Rules state that Li-po packs can only be of 7.4 volts. Now, there are “roughly” two ways to actually see a 2S Li-po pack at 7.4 volts with a DVO. The first, a static voltage reading of “roughly” a half charged pack. And second, a 2S Li-po pack under “roughly” a 8-10C discharge load. Neither of which are easily tech’able at races. So- because you can’t really “see” 7.4 volts in a legal Li-po racers car, a person tech’ing can’t really deem a “bumped” pack illegal. A maximum static voltage rule should be implemented. 8.4 volts maximum with the pack at rest would eliminate “bumping”, and is easy to check for. Or better yet, remove an upper voltage limit altogether. There would be no reason to dangerously “bump” a Li-po if the driver would be faster by simply using a properly charged 3S or 4S pack.

More Li-po news. The hottest rumor around the pit is that SMC is about to jump into the Li-po game. The best part of the rumor- their Li-po’s will be the first to be fully matched with numbers printed on each pack. The other hot Li-po rumor is about the MaxAmps “B.R.O.” packs. Word spread early and quickly at Snowbirds about these producing unheard of voltage under load for 4000 mah packs, and about their high-end price tag rumored to be $300 each. The best never comes cheap.

Everyone by now has heard about Muchmore products are now being exclusively distributed by Hobbico/Great Plains. The basher crowd may not know what they sell, but they do have one product on nearly everyones pit table at the Birds- the CTX-D2 discharger. This is the discharger of choice by the esoteric racing crowd on 6 cell ni-mh packs. You too can join that crowd for slightly over $200.

That’s it for today, I have to get back to the pool. Babes, beer, and warm water await me.

Sincerely, Your
Scrub-A-Dub-In-The-Tub-Cub Reporter

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Week two in 08′ has flown by.

Product wise, MaxAmps, trying to make good on their vow to dominate in 08′,
introduced another product- some hard case saddle pack li-po’s. The jury is still
out on encasing li-po’s in a hard pack. On one hand, protecting them is very
important. On the other, li-po’s don’t like being contained in essentially, a
warming blanket. Before it’s all said and done, a compromise of the two- a hard case
with either a cooling system or vent holes, is bound to become the standard.

Speaking of compromises, Schumacher USA issued their press release on the Speed
Passion brushless controller this week. What really catches the eye is their use of
hybrid technology. It uses sensors like a Novak or LRP for the first few feet off
the line, then switches to non-sensored mode so motor timing is adjustable. This
seems to use the best of both worlds. Several of these systems were used at S&N’s
Trackside’s US Touring Car Championships last weekend with great results. Expect an
interview with the suits at Schumacher right here at BigSquidRC in the near future.

In the sport of rc racing, if you talk about the single best American racer, the talk always begins and ends with Brian Kinwald. Arguably, he’s the best American of all time.

This week, the press release went out that BK had signed with X-Ray. Nothing wrong with that of course, Brian is top of the heap, just like X-Ray is. But, it brings up a problem that is particularly bad in the rc world. Brian drives for X-Factory in electrics, and now, X-Ray for nitro and touring. This is sort of like Dale Jr. driving a Chevy in the car series, and a Ford in the truck series. Only one chassis can be the best, so it sends a mixed message to consumers.

Every time a factory shoe signs a contract, they always say “I truly believe they have a superior product”. But if they are driving for two chassis manufactures (or three!), how can this possibly be an honest statement?

So what’s the cure? A couple. Factory shoes should limit themselves to only driving for one similar sponsor at a time. Just because you can get free gear from everybody on the planet doesn’t mean that you should. It devalues both the driver and the manufacture when they send out conflicting signals to consumers.

Manufactures should demand exclusivity from their drivers. When someone asks “what chassis does National Champion guy drive?” there shouldn’t be a half dozen answers. Manufactures are only sponsoring “National Champion Guy” to increase their own exposure, not other companies as well.

On the racing front this weekend, the biggest race in the country is the annual Midwest Electric/Nitro Off Road Champs in Columbus Ohio. This weekend, they are racing electrics, next weekend, nitro’s. The host club is CRCRC, say that 10 times fast!

Some pro’s love this event, as it gets them away from the office for 2 full weeks. Others loathe it because of having to spend 2 full weeks in a cold, humid, shed in the middle of nowhere. (most SoCal guys consider anyplace other than California as being the middle of nowhere!)

That’s the highlights from this week in rc. Support your local hobby shop, get off the computer and go racing!!! Oh and remember, Red lost the war at CES, buy Blu Ray!

Straight from a cold bunker in the middle of the desert,
Cub-a-dub Reporter

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Here we are, kick’n off 2008 with a (soft) bang in the rc world.

On the product side- MaxAmps, who promised to make huge strides in 08, has already fired the first shot. Early on in the week, a press release was sent out about their exclusive 4700 mah sub-c ni-mh’s. That’s pretty ho-hum in itself, but the bold statement “We offer a 100% money back guarantee that these cells will be the highest voltage, freshest cells you have ever used.” that came along with those cells certainly is not. A 100% money back guarantee on batteries? Those guys out in Washington state just upped the ante for the entire industry.

I had the chance to chew the fat with Austin Else, owner of MaxAmps at the Ihobby show back in October. First off, Austin is about 20 years younger than the typical rc industry type. Secondly, it’s quite obvious he’s got about double the IQ of most guys in the industry. Lastly, he knows more about new-age internet marketing than anyone I’ve met in this industry. He, and his crew, are hungry and focused. A dangerous combo for their competition. Austin talked about making big strides in 08′, and after his December 31’st press release, it’s obvious he wasn’t kidding.

The only other product news worth knowing was Associated’s RC8 “service pack”. These are being provided free’o charge to RC8 FT owners. Hummmmmm, who’s designing the cars at AE now days? I doubt Cliff Lett would let a car go out the door that required a “service pack” a few weeks later. Maybe they need a memo over there that says “do not ship cars that break when you open the box”.

Oh and, it really wouldn’t be a week in the rc world without Losi/Horizon announcing yet another new mini based off the Mini-T, Micro-T or Mini- LST platforms. This week was no different, so world, please welcome the 18th scale Rammunition (yawn)!

The big race this week is the US Touring Car Champs at S&N Trackside in Wisconsin. Now, this race may not mean diddly squat to most bashers. But to many in the industry, it’s one of the top 5 races of the entire year.

Like many of the largest races in this country, this event is not ROAR sanctioned. Seems if you want a huge turnout, it’s better to leave ROAR out of the picture and run the races properly.

Scotty Ernst, a name many may not know, is actually one of the makers and shakers in the racing world (and he runs the track in Wisconsin). No, he’s not the worlds fastest racer, but he is the worlds best race announcer. He gets flown all over this country, and the world, to announce races. He’s also perhaps the best promoter in the country. Between the US Touring Car champs and his Vegas event, not many other promoters can brag about pulling so many racers and media coverage.

Scotty is also one of the very track owners that treats a noobie driving a Mini-T exactly the same as Pavidis, Baker, or Kinwald. He respects everyone, and does what he can to make sure Everyone has a good time at his races. The industry needs a lot more Scotty Ernst’s, homeskillet should be given a medal for his sportsmanship and ethics.

That’s it for the world of rc this week- support your local LHS (or at least go hang out and bug’em)!
Cubbie Dubbie Reporter

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