ASK Cubby, 03.12.2014, Version- You Write, I Rant

“Hey,
I have a “team Durango” DESC210 and I want to run my 12mm wheels on it (it comes with 15mm hex) and have been looking EVERYWHERE for a conversion.
Have you heard of any or have any suggestions for me?
I only found one so far and it was in a blog that named a company that is not on the internet (M+M RC products)
Please help
Fred
“Sent from a Pirate ship somewhere in the Caribbean”.”

Cubby- Hey now Fred, thanks for somehow getting me an email from that Pirate ship in the Caribbean, LOL.

I have never converted a Durango 2wd SCT over to the smaller, but much more common, 12mm hexes, so I can not give you first hand info on the best way to do it. I have heard that you might be able to do it with Losi 22 hardware, but I have no idea if that will actually work or not. If you have a kick ass local hobby shop, you should be able to take your truck down and test fit a bunch of different parts to see what works and maintains the proper width. I for one am still amazed that none of the bigger aftermarket companies have made adapters for the Durango 10th scalers (hint hint Pro-Line, Exotek, etc).

Hit the “Read More” button to read the second question for this week (it’s about a Helion Dominus 10SC)…

“Helion Dominus 10SC

I read your review of the Dominus 10SC and have had quite the opposite experience. Parts have broken twice on fairly minor hits. Since Day 1, the remote loses connection with the truck. I took it back to HobbyTown to fix it (when it lost connection to the remote, it ran off the road and hit a tree), they fixed the broken parts around the front wheel and said it just needed to be re-bound to the remote. I had already done that before the crash and it continued to regularly lose connection. We put the car away after only using it for a total of two days. We got it out again, took it to HobbyTown USA and it is just out of the warranty period now. They didn’t fix it right the first time, but now they tell me I need a $59 receiver part that they won’t pay for and $30/hr to fix it. I spent nearly $1500 on four cars, fast chargers, extra batteries but their customer service has been terrible.

So my question (as a first time ever buyer of RC vehicles)–is there a place I can get RC parts where I don’t have to deal with Hobbytown? Have you had any experience dealing with Helion directly? And is this something a novice like me should be able to fix on my own?

I found your site on a google search and found it helpful, so I thought maybe you can answer my simple-minded questions.

Thanks,
Heath”

Cubby- Yo yo yo Heath, MTV raps and thanks for the email.

Sucks to hear you are having some issues with your new truck. Well, don’t feel alone in the matter, people have issues with all sorts of different brands, regardless of the price point.

To get to your questions…

Can you get Helion parts someplace other than your local HobbyTown? Yes, you can now get Helion parts directly from Helion. It’s pretty simple, just hit the Helion RC Website and order up what ya need. Like I always say, “support your LHS when you can”, since your local shop isn’t hooking you up they are forcing you to look elsewhere.

Have we dealt much with Helion directly? Yes, we’ve gotten to know several members of their crew quite well over the last couple of years. They’ve got some good people over there that should take care of you very well.

Can a noob like you switch out a receiver? Yes, it’s one of the easiest things you can do on an rc car, especially on that model where the receiver is easy to get to. It is as easy as plugging in some wires and putting some double sided tape on the back of the new receiver. Tip- make sure you put the wires into the correct slots and in the proper direction. You might want to make a note (or take a pic) of how the wires went into the stock receiver.

However… my recommendation would be to just ditch the stock radio gear and upgrade. If you plan on staying in the hobby you’ll want to get a good transmitter, they are the core of a good set-up. I don’t know if you’ve looked at a Futaba 4PLS, but they feel great in hand, their performance is top notch, and spare receivers are reasonably priced.

Have fun, go fast, and let us know what you end up doing.

That it’s for this week rc fans, shoot me your questions/rants/random thoughts to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If your letter hits the big time you will win a free sticker pack, if I proclaim it “Letter of the Month” you will win a new BSRC t-shirt, so keep those emails coming.

YOUR Cub Reporter