5mm bullet adapter?

[Brendan2904]

Kind of new electronics. Does anyone make the 5mm bullets with wires already soldered into the bullet plug an bare wires to splice on the other end?

[jwscab]

Not that I've seen. It's super easy to solder 5mm bullets to wires with the right soldering iron.

[Dangeruss]

5mm charge adapter, cut the unneeded plug off and you've got solder free bullet leads. $5 to $10 depending on where you buy them.

[Brendan2904]

Not that I've seen. It's super easy to solder 5mm bullets to wires with the right soldering iron.

I can’t solder to save my life. I can splice just fine but I can’t solder at all.

[Coelacanth]

If you're getting into RC, you are going to need a soldering iron. Splicing won't cut it with all the wiring needs these cars require, nor would it stand up to actual driving & use. It's not a hard skill to do basic things, it's not like you're soldering circuit boards.

[Brendan2904]

If you're getting into RC, you are going to need a soldering iron. Splicing won't cut it with all the wiring needs these cars require, nor would it stand up to actual driving & use. It's not a hard skill to do basic things, it's not like you're soldering circuit boards.

I’m not new to the hobby. I have several irons. I don’t splice things I usually pay the hobby store to solder stuff. Unfortunately at 50 years old and probably 38 years in the hobby soldering isn’t something that I can do. I have tried practicing, watching videos, reading stuff etc. No luck.

[Coelacanth]

I'm 56 and certainly no soldering expert, but I can say most of my early frustrations were with using the wrong kind of soldering iron and the wrong solder. The iron wouldn't heat up fast enough or hot enough and the wrong solder would just make a big blob of a joint. I got much better at it with a decent solder station and the correct solder for electronics/RC cars.

I bought this station and it really made a night-and-day difference. This unit heats up in a minute or two and the tips get very hot, hot enough to melt a joint without melting adjacent wiring:

https://www.amazon.ca/FASTTOBUY-Soldering-Station-194%C2%B0F-896%C2%B0F-Temperature/dp/B082HP4513

For solder, you want 60:40 or 63:37 lead to tin ratio. The wrong kind of solder needs more heat to melt.

Here's an excellent topic on the subject, if you're interested:

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?t=45700

Of course, you can continue paying others to do the work, but you're hardly old and it's never bad to learn new skills.

[Brendan2904]

I'm 56 and certainly no soldering expert, but I can say most of my early frustrations were with using the wrong kind of soldering iron and the wrong solder. The iron wouldn't heat up fast enough or hot enough and the wrong solder would just make a big blob of a joint. I got much better at it with a decent solder station and the correct solder for electronics/RC cars.

I bought this station and it really made a night-and-day difference. This unit heats up in a minute or two and the tips get very hot, hot enough to melt a joint without melting adjacent wiring:

https://www.amazon.ca/FASTTOBUY-Soldering-Station-194%C2%B0F-896%C2%B0F-Temperature/dp/B082HP4513

For solder, you want 60:40 or 63:37 lead to tin ratio. The wrong kind of solder needs more heat to melt.

Here's an excellent topic on the subject, if you're interested:

https://www.rc10talk.com/viewtopic.php?t=45700

Of course, you can continue paying others to do the work, but you're hardly old and it's never bad to learn new skills.

I’ll check it out. Thanks.

[juicedcoupe]

Things that made a difference for me:

Correct solder. I like Kester 60/40.

Learning how to use flux.

Finding a tip that works best for me. For most rc stuff, I like chisel tips.

Understanding tinning (including the tips!) probably made a bigger difference than anything else.

[RC10th]

Splicing is bad in an RC application.

For larger jobs like 12awg wire buy a cheapish 80watt chisel tip iron, a good quality 60/40 rosin core solder and you'll be surprised just how easy it is. The key is having enough wattage and a broad tip to quickly transfer heat into the items to be joined. Trying to solder heavy wire with a low wattage pencil tip is like trying to boil a cup of water with a tea light candle.

The main problems are....

Iron is too cold -solder spreads around like butter and doesn't fully melt
Iron is too hot - sizzles and burns off the rosin (flux) so the solder doesn't flow well
Not tinning both items to be joined

3 - 5 seconds is about how long it should take. Give it another try, you might surprise yourself

[Dangeruss]

Splicing is bad in an RC application.

If it's on a shelf and the splice can be done attractively, that's not bad.
If it's out in the yard having fun instead of on the bench in frustration, that's not bad.
If it's in a race between rounds and a splice keeps it on the track, that's not bad.

Molex plugs were nothing but crimp connectors in a pretty housing. I kept butt connectors and a crimper in my pit box just in case, until I could get home and solder a new wire on. And I don't know how many cars I've seen with crimp connectors for quick motor swaps, all of 'em racing around just fine.

Once saw 110 wire nuts for connectors, twisted and taped connections... soldering is great, has it place, and advice is awesome... but bad is a relative term.

[juicedcoupe]

Make no mistake, a proper crimp (correct terminal, tool, and technique) is superior to a solder joint. Key words, proper and correct.

[RC10th]

Bad is a subjective term yes a proper crimp will hold up and do the job, yes Tamiya plugs were crimped and they also used to melt fairly easily. In fairness one could argue the crimp itself wasn't the point of failure but the connection between prongs. Even birdcage bullet connectors are prone to getting hot and unsoldering or melting things like battery cases.

[juicedcoupe]

Tamiya plugs were crimped and they also used to melt fairly easily.

The problem isn't with the crimp, it is improper terminal selection. Tamiya/Kyosho plugs are standard Molex connectors, rated for 11 amps. Low quality ones are probably worse.

That was probably fine in the early days of rc, particularly with on-road cars. Unfortunately, they are entrenched as the "standard" connector.

And I'm guilty as well. Most of my cars are wired with them. However, my runners are setup for Dean's or EC3 plugs.