Who's the better PCB donor?

ejaf · #1 12-06-2002, 12:53 AM

Wondering which car is better for donating its PCB to my ZZs, the Panther or the Shen Qi Wei.

Current to the motor on the Panther is higher, but the Shen Qi Wei is a faster car (didn't measure voltage at the time, so I don't know whether that is a factor on the speed difference).

Anyone have a clue?

hogjowlz · #2 12-06-2002, 10:21 AM

i suggest before you sacrifice a perfectly good car and risk destroying the circuitry, you buy rare earth magnets. it is a cheap and easy mod that will make your clones steer better than zipzaps.

ejaf · #3 12-06-2002, 12:16 PM

Thanks...but I'm not after steering for a clone, I'm after speed for my Zip. Like the size and bodies of ZZ better, and I can get the clones cheaper.

marc515192 · #4 12-06-2002, 06:58 PM

see which one works best with your zz controller.

ejaf · #5 12-07-2002, 11:56 AM

Did that...there's no issue with either on the controller side.

I guess I'll try both, and let the board know which is faster.

Stridex · #6 12-07-2002, 12:48 PM

Two birds, one stone.....

Put in a Z-car PCB. They already come with an LED and increased my speed by 2. Then put the NOS motor in and see how fast it really is. By far my best motor. Blows my 3.0 lxx away.

ejaf · #7 12-07-2002, 12:51 PM

Don't have one of those, stridex.

I was waiting for you to chime in, you're the one that convinced me of this mod in the first place! And thanks for all your expertise here on this forum. I feel like a kid in a candy store

marc515192 · #8 12-07-2002, 05:29 PM

If they both work good then I say just pick the pcb from the set-up you like least.

What I did was draw a small diagram of each pcb and swapped.

Worked great my zipzap flys.

ejaf · #9 12-07-2002, 07:14 PM

Yeah...they both work...looks like the receiver on the Panther is a little better (not as many dead spots), but that could be just the antenna length difference between the two.

I had measured current, and the Panther was higher, but with the same motor/gearing combo, the Shen Qei Wei seems faster (could be the lube they come with, they put grease on the gearings which attracts every dog hair in my house, and stops the car dead in it tracks after a 3 minute run!).

It could also be the tire compound (something I just thought of).

Anyway, no big difference between the two, I guess.

marc515192 · #10 12-07-2002, 07:47 PM

I wouldn't choose by which one is faster because the zips weight is totally different

ejaf · #11 12-07-2002, 09:13 PM

I would think no matter what the weight is of the zip, as long as the two clones are comparable, that would be the more important point, no?

I think I'll measure voltage, and then decide.

Stridex · #12 12-07-2002, 09:52 PM

I'm about to do two more PCB swaps too.

With a Mini Precision-X I got from Autozone (which flies on it's own, but the handling is the worst I've seen) and with a LXX.

Here are some tips for you:

Before you cut (unsolder) any wires, make a diagram.
With the turning threads, mount them to the chasis and run regular wires from the PCB to them. This way your risk of wripping them are less. Keep the lengths on all the wires and just solder and cover them with electrical tape. I did this so any future modifications, I'd have the room to play. My next Mod will come with a connector so I can just take the PCB clean off. I've just taken some pictures of it and will put them up in a few minutes under this thread.

Stridex · #13 12-07-2002, 09:55 PM

Here's the first pic

It's hard to see and I appologize. I even tried holding it up to the light. What I was hoping to point out in this pic is how I mounted a plastic piece and melted three copper slivers into them. I then soldered the turning threads to them. The middle was for both positives and left and right are of course for left and right steering. Then I ran regular wires form the PCB to the proper copper sliver. The plastic piece is glued in place as well. The turning threads are also taped to the bottom of the chassis (on the inside) so they're out of the way and out of harm.

Stridex · #14 12-07-2002, 09:57 PM

Second pic

This is a better picture of the turning mount I mention above.

This picture shows how I propped up the PCB on it's side. It was small enough to do this and it didn't interfere with the body I'm using. I normally have a thin strip of tape draped over it to hold it in place, but removed it for the pic.

Stridex · #15 12-07-2002, 09:59 PM

Last pic.

Ahhh...what I wish I had used on the car above. This is a ultra thin connector cable I found in an old CR-rom drive. I was only looking for springs (which I found nice and tiny) when I came across this beauty. I figure, If i start using these, swapping PCB boards will be a snatch in the future. If you have some old computer equiptment that you'll never use again, open it up and try to find something similar. This should cut down on the weight of the car and make your wire storage nice, neat and clean.