Lithion-Ion Batteries

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

You are comparing US made versus Chinese made, you are also comparing an esc optimally sized for operation versus one far oversized for operation.

I love RC cars, and spend way too much money on hobbyking and can say with certainty I have used more motors and ESCs from them than anyone on chief. I love them for personal use, and a lot have surprised me with their performance and durability, but I would not put them on an FRC robot.

Can you expound on this Adam? I don't know much of anything about their ground vehicle stuff, but I have spent in the 4 digit range on HorizonHobby (USA) and Hobbyking (Chinese) products. For starters, I think it's pretty unfair to say US made vs. Chinese made, as to my knowledge essentially all of their airplane products are manufactured in Asia. Are cars different?

Multiple times I have received defective components from Horizon, but I have yet to receive a defective product from HK. In my experience there is something like a 20% derate from advertised Chinese specs, but I've never had so much as a servo fail without reason. (And these are servos that you can buy for $4, so they cost significantly less to make) I realize I have a small sample size, but the fact that I've had 3 Horizon orders where components have failed within an hour of first flight just doesn't sit well with me.