The main advantage is increased range. I don't usually change the motors so the power will be about the same, although you can use larger batteries and see how much power the original motor can take.
im not sure but usually power of rx cames from ch2. from motor esc.. but you add 2 esc and add esc on ch1.. does it supply power too on ch1 pins? this is from 2 years ago hows your rx after usage?
The battery supply is a common rail down the whole rack of pins. Note. You are not powering the motor via the receiver. Quite the opposite. The ESC is supplying a 5 volt feed to the receiver, regardless of the battery voltage. The signal pin on the receiver tells the ESC how much power to send to the motor. If you happen to use more than one ESC and more than one battery (such as a separate battery for each ESC), it is recommended that you disconnect the positive lead from all but one of the ESCs so that the battery supplies are not linked together via the receiver common rail, and only one ESC is supplying power to the receiver.
That's also why I like analog servos because they use the force. If you use 2 seperate metal piano wires to steer the wheels you can use 2 holes in the servo arms with also shorter and longer arms on the wheel arms. Notice that the ESC on the stearing motor used to be a very expensive ESC. On big trucks you need a heatsink on the ESC to abduct the energy when braking.
Great tip on the steering brake. Wife bought me a Matchbox branded Jeep Gladiator with Jurassic Park livery, it was in the clearance aisle at Walmart. Am thinking of hobby grading it. This vid was a very good refresher on what to do. Cheers 😎
This method does work, but if possible I would go for a proper servo for the steering. It takes a bit more modification, but is more reliable. Pricewise, there is probably not much difference in the cost of a servo vs a cheap generic ESC when you are just buying one or two, but I usually buy a number of servos together for the discount, so it would be cheaper too.
Using two ESCs like this works, but modifying the steering with a proper RC servo would be more reliable. It just depends on how much work you want to do.
A three channel receiver actually has four ports the first port is for a dedicated receiver battery if you want to run one right? I would like to run three servos with no esc. So the dedicated receiver battery would connect to the + - port of the receiver and the three servos would connect to channels one two and three. And all three servos would get there power from the dedicated receiver battery?
thank you! I have a 24v mechanical speed controller out of a cordless drill. I’m going to use a servo to squeeze the drills trigger and a micro servo to control the forward/reverse switch. And the last servo will be for steering. I just wanted to be sure it was 3 channels plus the receiver battery. Wirelessly controlling a mechanical 24v speed controller with servos means I can use the 24v mechanical speed controller without worry of the speed controller ever burning out on me.
it will be an interesting setup to say the least haha. I was worried about amp draw from three servos on one single receiver. So I’ll be powering the drill motor with the drill battery. The receiver will have it’s own dedicated battery. And lastly the servos will be ran on a three way splitter to there own dedicated battery. That way I can run only the white signal wires/grounds to the receiver from the servos and not burn up the receiver with amp draw. the other tricky part will be mounting the two servos to the mechanical speed controller itself.
Nice radio control and the cheap conversion works nicely.good idea to convert cheap also a Lot of money is being saved on expensive parts too.i like it.😀
I really enjoy all your videos! I am an old granddad too from the states. Question? If you have a broken 49 MHz transmitter can any 49 MHz transmitter work? Or do you have to replace The receiver board too? Thanks. Keep the videos coming, Rob
That very much depends on the manufacturer. With the toy grade RC I find most of them will talk to each other if they are the same frequency BUT not always. I have a box full of transmitters (in fact several boxes full) and when I pick up a car that is missing the controller I run through the box to see if I get a match. Usually I do, rarely I don't. Sometimes you may need to reverse the wires to the steering or the drive motor if you find the controls are reversed. If I can't get a match, the next option would be to find a doner car that you have a matching transmitter for, so you can pinch a good receiver from it, to get you car working again.
Thanks. You will find plenty of other videos on my channel with servo upgrades, here are some examples :- RC Car Red Mini Cooper S from Toys R Us ua-cam.com/play/PLA5a2xPRSrB228La-rTGobhTEDkosRTYJ.html RC Car Blue Mini Cooper S ua-cam.com/play/PLA5a2xPRSrB2rjKYq0llzug3AkHnVLD1s.html Hobby Grade RC Car Lightning McQueen ua-cam.com/play/PLA5a2xPRSrB1-R6MOiKLyAqmnUCXWTGf0.html
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan I have just watched the whole series, it is really awesome. So much detail, helpful advice, a lot of fun and really well edited. I should say I came to your channel on Mr Shrimp’s recommendation.
If you are using one battery to power both ESCs, I would put the switch in the positive lead from the battery before it goes to the ESCs. You could then leave both ESC switches ON, or even disconnect those switches and put a jumper across their tags on the ESC replace the switches.
If you watched the video you will understand what I did. I used two ESCs, one to control the drive motor and one to control the steering motor. It is not a very good way of controlling the steering but it saves replacing the steering with a proper servo, which would require more work. However, from a cost point of view, a proper servo is probably cheaper than an ESC. If you have the skills to modify the steering to have a proper servo, that would be a better option.
Yes, as far as I can see, they have just used a different label to change the branding, they even used the same colours, so you have to read the label to know which one is which.
Unfortunately, hobby grade ESCs are not compatible with toy grade receivers. Changing the receiver to hobby grade has many benefits but obviously the initial cost is a problem.
hi, Dad! You are pretty sharp for sure. I am new and I'm trying to learn how to solder. I had blisters on 5 of my fingers. 1 was bad, so it's still raw meat 🥩 lol! GrandadIsAHellOfAGoodRCMechanic
When you say it is 4WD do you mean it has one motor with drive shafts to the front and back axle, or does it have a motor for the front axle and a motor for the back axle, or does it have a motor for the left wheels and a motor for the right wheels (know as skid steer or tank steering)?
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan thank you for the response! Backstory: I found this crawler chassis sitting out for the garbage man. It’s pretty big, and though it is really heavy duty, the components are toy grade. But to run something of that size that’s 4WD, the motors, though brushed, had to have some giddyup to them. But as I disassembled it to figure out what type of servo I needed, I realized that the crawler is mirrored. The rear wheel assembly is the exact same as the front. It’s cut out for another servo but the mechanism is screwed closed. So I figured out how to wire it and I bought 2 servos. The transmitter has a 3rd channel that I could program for 4 wheel steering. Sound feasible?
@@alandewhirst7211 If it has two motors you could either run two ESCs of the same channel or have a larger ESC and power both motors from it. If your Tactic controller is similar to the controller shown in this video, then you will struggle to enable 4 wheel steering as the third channel is just a single push button, so you cannot use it for proportional control. If yours has some other feature, then you may be OK. You could run both servos off one channel, but it is not always a good idea to have 4 wheel steering permanently in action. Sometimes you want opposite lock etc.
Here is a small toy grade crawler I converted to hobby grade using a single ESC to power both motors ua-cam.com/video/u3KMpZIxqLM/v-deo.html And here is my HBX Devastator which is a tiny 4WD and 4 wheel steering crawler ua-cam.com/video/H7dPTHQzdww/v-deo.html
Great video man! Learned quite a bit just reading your comments. Just got into upgrading vintage rc’s. I just completed my radio shack Porsche gt1. But it has original TWIN motors. How would you go about replacing twin motor set up?!? Thanks if you reply!!! Got a sub from me.
hobby components are very cheap now unless you go for high brand stuff problems is the quality of the RC you are converting are really not worth the effort as the driveline and plastics on these toys break very easily most modern toys these day are pretty poor quality not like the old Nikko and Tyco of the 1980s those things were made to last and some even had digital proportional control
It really depends on why you are doing it. I pick up RC toy cars in charity shops and 90% of the time they don't have a controller, so a few hobby grade components are the quickest way to get them working, with the added bonus of proportional control and increased range. I also get regular request from my viewers "I have lost/broken my controller, how to I get a new one?", and the hobby grade route is often the simple answer as it is not easy to identify a suitable replacement toy grade controller. You could buy a matched toy grade TX & RX on AliExpress or similar online store, but the price is not much cheaper than the hobby grade kit anyway. If you are looking to "improve the performance" then that is a different type of project and the general consensus there is "Throw away everything except the bodyshell".
I absolutely love this idea I have a few semi hobby grade toys I wouldn't mind putting life into again! Thanks
The main advantage is increased range. I don't usually change the motors so the power will be about the same, although you can use larger batteries and see how much power the original motor can take.
im not sure but usually power of rx cames from ch2. from motor esc.. but you add 2 esc and add esc on ch1.. does it supply power too on ch1 pins? this is from 2 years ago hows your rx after usage?
The battery supply is a common rail down the whole rack of pins. Note. You are not powering the motor via the receiver. Quite the opposite. The ESC is supplying a 5 volt feed to the receiver, regardless of the battery voltage. The signal pin on the receiver tells the ESC how much power to send to the motor. If you happen to use more than one ESC and more than one battery (such as a separate battery for each ESC), it is recommended that you disconnect the positive lead from all but one of the ESCs so that the battery supplies are not linked together via the receiver common rail, and only one ESC is supplying power to the receiver.
Great monster truck! Very effective conversion.
That's also why I like analog servos because they use the force. If you use 2 seperate metal piano wires to steer the wheels you can use 2 holes in the servo arms with also shorter and longer arms on the wheel arms. Notice that the ESC on the stearing motor used to be a very expensive ESC. On big trucks you need a heatsink on the ESC to abduct the energy when braking.
Trying to keep it simple 😊
Great tip on the steering brake.
Wife bought me a Matchbox branded Jeep Gladiator with Jurassic Park livery, it was in the clearance aisle at Walmart. Am thinking of hobby grading it. This vid was a very good refresher on what to do. Cheers 😎
This method does work, but if possible I would go for a proper servo for the steering. It takes a bit more modification, but is more reliable. Pricewise, there is probably not much difference in the cost of a servo vs a cheap generic ESC when you are just buying one or two, but I usually buy a number of servos together for the discount, so it would be cheaper too.
Thanks! I have a lot of hobby grade RC c a rs and parts. I had forgotten how to wire toy grade steering! I have Mach 5 to convert!!
Using two ESCs like this works, but modifying the steering with a proper RC servo would be more reliable. It just depends on how much work you want to do.
hey Grandad.. i cant believe since 3 year seen this video. how are you doing? i hope you doing well my fren. cheers from singapore.
A three channel receiver actually has four ports the first port is for a dedicated receiver battery if you want to run one right? I would like to run three servos with no esc. So the dedicated receiver battery would connect to the + - port of the receiver and the three servos would connect to channels one two and three. And all three servos would get there power from the dedicated receiver battery?
Yes, but ensure you use the right battery voltage as specified by the receiver manufacturer.
thank you! I have a 24v mechanical speed controller out of a cordless drill. I’m going to use a servo to squeeze the drills trigger and a micro servo to control the forward/reverse switch. And the last servo will be for steering. I just wanted to be sure it was 3 channels plus the receiver battery. Wirelessly controlling a mechanical 24v speed controller with servos means I can use the 24v mechanical speed controller without worry of the speed controller ever burning out on me.
@@v8hackshack667 that all sounds a bit complicated, but it sounds like it could work 👍
it will be an interesting setup to say the least haha. I was worried about amp draw from three servos on one single receiver. So I’ll be powering the drill motor with the drill battery. The receiver will have it’s own dedicated battery. And lastly the servos will be ran on a three way splitter to there own dedicated battery. That way I can run only the white signal wires/grounds to the receiver from the servos and not burn up the receiver with amp draw. the other tricky part will be mounting the two servos to the mechanical speed controller itself.
Nice radio control and the cheap conversion works nicely.good idea to convert cheap also a Lot of money is being saved on expensive parts too.i like it.😀
I thought it would be interesting to see what the cheapest option was 🙂💰👍
I really enjoy all your videos! I am an old granddad too from the states. Question? If you have a broken 49 MHz transmitter can any 49 MHz transmitter work? Or do you have to replace
The receiver board too? Thanks. Keep the videos coming, Rob
That very much depends on the manufacturer. With the toy grade RC I find most of them will talk to each other if they are the same frequency BUT not always. I have a box full of transmitters (in fact several boxes full) and when I pick up a car that is missing the controller I run through the box to see if I get a match. Usually I do, rarely I don't. Sometimes you may need to reverse the wires to the steering or the drive motor if you find the controls are reversed. If I can't get a match, the next option would be to find a doner car that you have a matching transmitter for, so you can pinch a good receiver from it, to get you car working again.
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan thanks so much
Great video Grandad. I would love to see a hobby grade conversion using a SG90 or similar cheap servo for the steering
Thanks. You will find plenty of other videos on my channel with servo upgrades, here are some examples :-
RC Car Red Mini Cooper S from Toys R Us ua-cam.com/play/PLA5a2xPRSrB228La-rTGobhTEDkosRTYJ.html
RC Car Blue Mini Cooper S ua-cam.com/play/PLA5a2xPRSrB2rjKYq0llzug3AkHnVLD1s.html
Hobby Grade RC Car Lightning McQueen ua-cam.com/play/PLA5a2xPRSrB1-R6MOiKLyAqmnUCXWTGf0.html
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan I have just watched the whole series, it is really awesome. So much detail, helpful advice, a lot of fun and really well edited. I should say I came to your channel on Mr Shrimp’s recommendation.
@@dubiouscircuits thanks, Atomic Shrimp is a great guy, very genuine and well meaning 😊👍
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan I could not agree more.
Cool! I should upgrade my rc car motor and make it.😀👍
Some cars are easier to do than others 😊
can I solder the on/off switch wires from each ESC to the same switch to use only one on/off switch?
If you are using one battery to power both ESCs, I would put the switch in the positive lead from the battery before it goes to the ESCs. You could then leave both ESC switches ON, or even disconnect those switches and put a jumper across their tags on the ESC replace the switches.
so you can use the servo that is already in the car! Correct?
If you watched the video you will understand what I did. I used two ESCs, one to control the drive motor and one to control the steering motor. It is not a very good way of controlling the steering but it saves replacing the steering with a proper servo, which would require more work. However, from a cost point of view, a proper servo is probably cheaper than an ESC. If you have the skills to modify the steering to have a proper servo, that would be a better option.
For anyone that is interested, the transmitter also comes from a company called goolrc, same thing but rebranded, on eBay :)
Yes, as far as I can see, they have just used a different label to change the branding, they even used the same colours, so you have to read the label to know which one is which.
Great video. Can this reciver + esc combo handle higher volt battery pack? Lets say 8.4?
The ESC handles the battery and provides a 5 volt supply to the receiver. Do some research on ESCs.
I'm trying to figger out how to get a good esc to do the two toy style out puts. On off throttle and left right. Edit. This is perfect
Unfortunately, hobby grade ESCs are not compatible with toy grade receivers. Changing the receiver to hobby grade has many benefits but obviously the initial cost is a problem.
Almost 100k sub!
Thanks. It has taken 8 years to get this far so it will probably be at least another year if I am lucky, longer if I am not.
thanks pops
hi, Dad! You are pretty sharp for sure. I am new and I'm trying to learn how to solder. I had blisters on 5 of my fingers. 1 was bad, so it's still raw meat 🥩 lol!
GrandadIsAHellOfAGoodRCMechanic
I spent many years soldering telecoms equipment.
How do I get this set up u have where I buy it at
Checking the details in the video description would probably give you a starting point. 👍👍
I have this giant toy grade crawler that I want to upgrade and use my tactic radio.
But it’s 4 wheel drive and I’m not sure how to wire it
When you say it is 4WD do you mean it has one motor with drive shafts to the front and back axle, or does it have a motor for the front axle and a motor for the back axle, or does it have a motor for the left wheels and a motor for the right wheels (know as skid steer or tank steering)?
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan thank you for the response!
Backstory:
I found this crawler chassis sitting out for the garbage man. It’s pretty big, and though it is really heavy duty, the components are toy grade. But to run something of that size that’s 4WD, the motors, though brushed, had to have some giddyup to them. But as I disassembled it to figure out what type of servo I needed, I realized that the crawler is mirrored. The rear wheel assembly is the exact same as the front. It’s cut out for another servo but the mechanism is screwed closed.
So I figured out how to wire it and I bought 2 servos. The transmitter has a 3rd channel that I could program for 4 wheel steering.
Sound feasible?
@@alandewhirst7211 If it has two motors you could either run two ESCs of the same channel or have a larger ESC and power both motors from it. If your Tactic controller is similar to the controller shown in this video, then you will struggle to enable 4 wheel steering as the third channel is just a single push button, so you cannot use it for proportional control. If yours has some other feature, then you may be OK. You could run both servos off one channel, but it is not always a good idea to have 4 wheel steering permanently in action. Sometimes you want opposite lock etc.
Here is a small toy grade crawler I converted to hobby grade using a single ESC to power both motors ua-cam.com/video/u3KMpZIxqLM/v-deo.html
And here is my HBX Devastator which is a tiny 4WD and 4 wheel steering crawler ua-cam.com/video/H7dPTHQzdww/v-deo.html
Great video man! Learned quite a bit just reading your comments. Just got into upgrading vintage rc’s. I just completed my radio shack Porsche gt1. But it has original TWIN motors. How would you go about replacing twin motor set up?!? Thanks if you reply!!! Got a sub from me.
I am not familiar with that car. Does it use the motors to drive the wheels independently?
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan yes sir that is correct! One motor per wheel. I just don’t know how to replace with a better motor?
@@GrandadIsAnOldMan it’s ok if you don’t know, just thought ide ask!
@@everythingrc2324 if it is one per wheel, does it steer using them, rather than turning the front wheels?
Thank you.
Thank you for watching 😊
I'm early to the party ......ps your videos are great
Hey thanks 😊👍
Lots of fun thx
It keeps me occupied 😆
Subed
Thanks, you will find I cover a wide range of projects, there is no particular theme.
hobby components are very cheap now unless you go for high brand stuff problems is the quality of the RC you are converting are really not worth the effort as the driveline and plastics on these toys break very easily most modern toys these day are pretty poor quality not like the old Nikko and Tyco of the 1980s those things were made to last and some even had digital proportional control
It really depends on why you are doing it. I pick up RC toy cars in charity shops and 90% of the time they don't have a controller, so a few hobby grade components are the quickest way to get them working, with the added bonus of proportional control and increased range. I also get regular request from my viewers "I have lost/broken my controller, how to I get a new one?", and the hobby grade route is often the simple answer as it is not easy to identify a suitable replacement toy grade controller. You could buy a matched toy grade TX & RX on AliExpress or similar online store, but the price is not much cheaper than the hobby grade kit anyway. If you are looking to "improve the performance" then that is a different type of project and the general consensus there is "Throw away everything except the bodyshell".