3 Easy RC Hacks - To Improve Your Radio Control Experience
Easy RC hacks are always great to have in your playbook. They’re good to know even if you don’t need to use them. Sometimes these hacks are great for when you have no other options available. Some help you save money, and sometimes they help you from ruining your components. That’s why we’re going over three super easy hacks you can do with your radio control vehicles.
Hack #1 - Splice Sleeves
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you need to extend some wire or have too much wire and need to cut some out. These little splice tubes are a great way to splice together two wires without using a soldering iron. All you need is a little heat. "Wow!"
Strip back a little of the insulation on your wires, stick those wires in the correct tube for your wire gauge, and then apply heat. You can use a heat gun, a torch, or a flamethrower. No, no, sorry, that’s a typo! A flamethrower is definitely not recommended!!! You can also use a lighter, although the sleeve will turn black from soot.
There is a pre-flexed solder ring at the center of the sleeve, and the colored markings on the end are melting adhesive. When the adhesive melts on the wire, it creates a waterproof seal. The nice thing about these solder sleeves is that they had no more resistance than a solid piece of wire when we tested them. And that’s why these splice sleeves are great RC hack.
PRO TIP
It’s not recommended to be splicing in extra pieces of wire or having too many solder points because it causes resistance in the circuitry, which equals heat.
Carry these with you or leave them in your shop. They’re great on the fly field or when you go out bashing. They can also be used around the house, shop, or garage. They’re inexpensive and available in three different sizes.
ProTek RC 3mm EZ Solder Splice Tube Sleeves (5) (16-14awg Wire)PTK-5650
ProTek RC 6mm EZ Solder Splice Tube Sleeves (5) (12-10awg Wire) PTK-5652
ProTek RC 6mm EZ Solder Splice Tube Sleeves (5) (12-10awg Wire) PTK-5651
Hack #2 - Liquid Gravity
Often, RC guys buy accessories to drop weight from their car or truck, but sometimes you need to add a little weight. For example, let’s say you have an R/C crawler, and you want to add some weight to the lowest point of the chassis to keep those CG’s down. Well, Liquid Gravity can help you out. Liquid Gravity is essentially a bottle containing 240 grams of really tiny weighted balls that can fit almost anywhere. This stuff is so amazing, and most people have never even heard of it.
In this example, we took an Axial SCX10 skid plate that weighed 22 grams, added Liquid Gravity in all the empty cavities, smoothed out the top, so it was nice and flush, and then added “thin” CA glue to lock it all in place.
"Boom," we turned that scrawny 22-gram skid plate into a beefy 44-gram mega skid plate—that’s a 100% weight gain. The extra weight at the absolute lowest point on a crawler chassis helps your tires stay right side down, plus you can brag to your friends about how clever you are. Liquid Gravity works in all sorts of situations and applications. For example, if you’re crafty with a 3D printer, you can print a little cavity in almost any size or shape to fit your need and then fill it with Liquid Gravity, and Bam, you’ve made a custom weight!
Hack #3 - Tape
Our third and final RC hack is perhaps the least expensive of them all but can save you potentially hundreds of dollars in failed electronics. Let’s say you’re out bashing around with your RC, and you’re like, “Wow, look over there, it’s a big pile of sand to drive my car in.” STOP! Please do not do it until you’ve done this first! Take a little tape like duct or gorilla tape—whatever you have will probably work. Apply a small piece to the hole on the inside of your wheel. These small holes are there to help your tire and foam insert ventilate, but you don’t want them sucking up sand.
When you drive your R/C in the sand with those exposed holes, the sand will go through those holes and get inside the tire, where it will stay and not escape. When it collects inside your tire, all you’re doing is filling your tires with weight. As if driving in the sand wasn’t already hard on your R/C, sand logged tires are almost a sure way to fry your electronics. Once you’re done in the sand, you can peel the tape off the wheel so your tire and foam can ventilate.
PRO TIP
Suppose you don’t have ventilation holes in your tires. A good alternative to aerate your tires is to use a tire hole punch and pop a little hole through the actual rubber tire before you glue your tires. If you have pre-mounted tires, you can take the round tip of a hot soldering iron and burn a tiny hole right into the rubber tire.
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3 Easy R/C Hacks
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Featured Items
ProTek RC 3mm EZ Solder Splice Tube Sleeves (5) (22-18awg Wire) PTK-5650
ProTek RC 5mm EZ Solder Splice Tube Sleeves (5) (16-14awg Wire) PTK-5651
ProTek RC 6mm EZ Solder Splice Tube Sleeves (5) (12-10awg Wire) PTK-5652
Deluxe Materials Liquid Gravity Mini Weighted Balls (240g) DLMBD38
Great Planes Pro CA Glue Thin 1 oz GPMR6002
AKA Pro Multi-Tip Tire Punch AKA44010