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Calculating Run Time |
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To calculate run
time you must first know the
approximate current drain for your car. You can use the
Mini-Meter Pro (See
Tutorial Here) to measure this, but you only get a
bench reading.
For on the track testing, you need a more advanced
solution such as the
MicroPower V2 USB E-Logger. This
 device
goes in between your battery and the car and is small
enough to be used on 1/28th scale cars. This 17 gram
wonder gives you an amazing amount of information. The
two data streams we typically are concerned with are
voltage and current which are plotted below. After
running typical laps for 8 minutes on an RCP track we
determined that the average current draw is 1.2 amps for
a
Mini-Z AtomicBuilt Manhattan.
Read More...
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Cristian's Corner |
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this month I decided to do a short article on one of our newest
products: the
Atomic Mini-Z AWD Aluminum Steering Knuckles Vers. II.
What’s so great about these you ask? Well, there are several
things I really like about them.
Silky Smooth Inserts
First, you have the all new
plastic inserts for the kingpins, similar to the PN racing ones,
this is a must on aluminum knuckles.
 Coupled with an aluminum
top deck, they really make suspension action extra smooth and
precise. This helps the car absorb bumps better and practically
eliminates chattering when cornering hard.
Bearing Inserts
Along with the plastic inserts for the kingpins, they now
feature plastic inserts for the driveshaft bearings. No more
slop or binding for the axles as plastic is flexible enough to
“give” a little bit and hold the bearings in with a snug fit
without binding the bearings. This modification to the knuckle
eliminates slop in the suspension, which in turn results in more
precise handling for your AWD.
Read More... |
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The
Vader Video |
Not so long ago in a workshop not so far away, a new
weapon was forged...
We
have gotten fantastic feedback on the AtomicBuilt Vader as well as an
incredible number of requests for a video, so we finally
decided to create one. We couldn't use our typical
approach for Vader. He required a special approach.
There were more people involved in shooting this video
than any we have ever done. Some of the scenes required
a tremendous amount of coordination and were shot over
and over until we got it right. In fact, we probably
have enough footage to do a "Making Of" video. It was
lots of fun, but we are glad its over. Now where did I
put those
Artusian crystals?
Large Vader Video:
http://video.atomicmods.com/Vader_LG.wmv
Small Vader Video:
http://video.atomicmods.com/Vader_SM.wmv
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Building a
Race Worthy RC18T |
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We have lots of new
upgrades for the RC18T, so we decided to give Rob's beat up
RC18T a new lease on life. As a die hard R/C hobbyist, I’ve
played with all sorts of different R/C cars, but have never
tried to set-up an 18th scale off-road
vehicle, so I knew this was going to be a fun and exciting
learning experience. To start off, I went through our bins and
shelves of our new, 18th scale stockroom in search
for the perfect parts for this build. After a couple of hours
of torture... No really, its very difficult to make decisions,
when you can have anything you want.
Suspension and Chassis
To start it all off I needed a good
backbone, and in this case I decided to go with GPM’s 2mm Carbon
Fiber lower main
chassis. I was very impressed with the quality
of the chassis and it made the truck look extra cool. I didn’t
really know about a performance increase, but it did seem to be
a little more rigid than stock, which is always good.
Read More...
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Team
AtomicMods February News |
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John
and Cristian will be heading off to R/C Madness in Enfield
Connecticut for the
Fourth Annual
1/18 Indoor Off-Road Carpet Nationals race on April 13, 14 &
15 2007. This is an annual event (you can tell because it says
"Annual" in the title). The race this year should be the best yet as
they have some huge sponsors. Team
Associated & Castle Creations have already signed on as the
headlining sponsors and Greg Vogel, Executive Editor of R/C
Driver, has already agreed to cover this event and give us a
minimum of three pages of coverage. Also, Duratrax, Team Scream,
Quark Brushless, Apogee Tekin, & Xtreme R/C Cars have already
agreed to be sponsors too. Last year there were 200 entries and
with the ever growing popularity of 1/18 as well as the new
vehicles hitting the market, including the RC18R, the turnout is
sure to be considerable larger.
AtomicMods Also a Sponsor
AtomicMods has also signed on to sponsor the race. We will help
out with the marketing as well as providing gift certificates to
be handed out as door prizes. Additionally, we are sponsoring the first
ever "AtomicMods.com Messy Pit Award" which should be a lot of
fun.
Read More...
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John's Rectangle |
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Cristian
didn't talk so much smack this month now that I have my
geometrically superior rectangle. As for product, there is a ton
of goods in the pipeline soon to be on the site. Now that we
have our new stockroom completed, Rob has been busy filling it
up with new stuff and we are especially bringing in a lot of
18th scale items. Its been quite hectic for me, in fact I've
been busier than a set of jumper cables at Cristian's family
reunion.
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X-Ray is Here! |
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We just got our
first shipment of X-Ray and I'll be posting them soon.
Expect hop-ups and RTR kits on the site within the next week or
so. We will also be carrying the HPI Micro RS4.
We’re especially excited about the “DRIFT” version that has just
been released. |
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Atomic Micro-T Upgrade Parts are now in Stock! |
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The most
anticipated new arrival is our first batch of
Atomic Micro-T
hop-ups. We have the new motors as well as several key
suspension components. I just got a few of them on the site and will get the rest
posted soon. How soon depends on how many of you we can get to
stop emailing and calling to ask for them! Seriously, back away
from the computer and take a few deep breaths and repeat after
me; "John is diligent, John is good, John will get more Micro-T
hop-ups posted soon."
We are always
adding more products and have created a category that shows the
latest editions to the web site.
You will find New Stuff here.
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New Tutorial -
Sealing Carbon Fiber Chassis |
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Don't you dare run that beautiful new chassis without
sealing it. |
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GPM XMOD Evo Car
SuperDuty Ball Differential Assembly Half Price! |
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Use the following code to get a 50% discount off
the
GPM XMOD Evo Car SuperDuty Ball Differential Assembly.
Enter the code
"GPM307"
in the box labeled "Add a
Promotional Code" upon checkout and the discount will be
applied automatically. This may not be combined with other
discounts. Valid till April 31st |
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Ceramic Update |
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We have added several new sets of Ceramic bearings.
AtomicMods Ceramic 3/32 Diff Balls
Mini-T, Mini-LST Ceramic Bearings
XMOD Evo Ceramic Bearings
XMOD Gen1 Ceramic Bearings
Mini-Z AWD Ceramic Bearings
Mini-Z Car Ceramic Bearings
Micro-T Ceramic Bearings
Ceramic Video
Not convinced ceramics are worth the investment? Take a look at this
amazing video.
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