TREXLER BALLOON WHEELS
New Products That Are Worth a Closer Look
STAN ALEXANDER shared his review of the Trexler Balloon Wheels. Here is what Stan had to say:
The Trexler Rubber Company exports products throughout the world, including to branches of the military, medical and veterinary products, and to other device manufacturers and government agencies, such as NASA. They continue to invest in new technologies and research and development to offer state-of-the-art production, rapid turnaround, and unique capabilities.
The first product that the company started with in 1936 was the Trexler Balloon Wheels for model airplanes. In the early days of model aviation, the Trexler Rubber Company produced sets of pure latex rubber balloon wheels for models. These wheels could be blown up to a firmness that provided some give when you touched down for softer landings.
They featured rubber tires, wooden hubs, and stems to fill or deflate the tires. They are still available today for models in various sizes for some scale applications, such as the Aeronca C-3 and other early scale subjects.
These would be perfect for many Old-Timer Gas models of various sizes. The tires can be dismounted from the wooden hubs, which can be painted. The stem found on all Trexler tires allows a modeler the ability to fill the tire, seal it off, and then deflate the wheels for storage or modify the springy action of the wheels. Tire pumps are also available.
There are 11 wheel sizes available, from the #1 size (1-1/4 inches) up to the #12 size (6 inches). The photos are of the 3-inch and 4.5-inch sizes. Trexler has two hobby distributors in the US, and you can also order directly from Trexler Rubber Company.
New Products From the Modeler’s Mall
ILS-03 Lighting Controller @ $129-$137.95 + S&H from Advanced Radio/Booma RC
Email: sales@boomarc.com; website: www.boomarc.com
Advanced Radio’s ILS-03 Lighting Controller takes all of the features from the original ILS-01 controller and adds several new features!
Power output FETs drive any lights, incorrect polarity is managed on battery input, and short-circuit protection on each lighting output catches those “oops” moments. But here’s the real benefit: The ILS-03 can be powered using any 2S or 3S battery for unbelievably bright lights because it takes the input voltage and steps it up to 13.4 volts! The ILS-03 also gives you the ability to power the model’s lights from your electric retract battery, ECU battery, ignition battery, or even the receiver battery by simply taking a servo output to the ILS-03 input. It works perfectly with the AR Q-Switch multi-battery switching system.
SMC HCL-HP LiPo Flight Packs @ $9.95-$64.95 + S&H from SMC Racing
Email: orders@smc-racing.com; website: www.smc-racing.com
Meet SMC Racing’s range of HCL-HP LiPo Flight Packs! Based on SMC’s popular HCL-HV batteries, these standard LiPos offer a spectacular power-to-weight ratio at a great savings to hobbyists, as well as simplicity to those who don’t want to use HV packs.
HCL-HP batteries use 100% LCO for the cathodes for long life and even power delivery under load. SMC has carefully laid out sizes and capacities to suit a wide range of flight needs, while offering power at prices not seen before.
At a standard 4.20 volts per cell, the HCL-HP packs feature G10 top and bottom protection plates, are compatible with all chargers, and are available with popular connectors.
Other features include two rotary dials to easily choose from more than 2,500 different pattern combinations, LEDs that are built into the main unit so that you can try thousands of combinations to simulate a desired lighting effect before plugging into the main lights, a built-in two-channel afterburner system to use with an optional afterburner ring, and an advanced switching option for turning the module off and on. Six fully controlled lighting channels are available. An XT30 input connector is supplied, but other input connector adapters are available at an additional cost.
RDX2 200 AC/DC Multifunction Smart Charger @ $129.99 from Hitec RCD
Tel.: (858) 748-6948; website: www.hitecrcd.com
Hitec’s RDX line of premium battery chargers continues with the introduction of the RDX2 200 AC/DC Multifunction Smart Charger. Capable of charging two batteries simultaneously, regardless of chemistry or capacity, the RDX2 200 allows you to connect different battery chemistries (NiMH/NiCd/LiPo/LiFe/LiIo/LiHV/Pb) to any of the two charging ports (100 watts per port; 200 watts total power) and features integrated balancing for six-cell LiPo batteries.
Designed with a user-friendly interface, an easy-to-read LCD screen, and a sleek, metal scroll wheel for simple setting selection, this twin-channel charger is also compatible with Hitec’s Charge Manager PC and Mac software that allows charger operation and firmware updates from a personal computer.
Whether you run sport-level 1/10- and 1/8-scale electric vehicles, 600-plus-size helicopters, or sport and Giant Scale airplanes using up to 6S batteries, the RDX2 200 is the compact, affordable charging option for your hobby.
