RC India

Hi Friends,
Last night while going through www.wattflyer.com website I came across a banner ad offering Li-Po 20C batterypacks at amazing prices.The name of the website is www.HOBBYKING.com. I clicked on the hot link provided and a website opened but it is named www.HOBBYCITY.com. A lot of products were listed and the range of choice available is astounding. Some brand names are well known and respected while many are not so well known. They are offering literally everything one would need from electric trainers to gaint scale planes and Helis as ARFs/RTFs but not what I really want .BALSA KITS. Well everything else one would need are available and their stocks are impressive covering both well known and not so well known brands. Prices too are reasonable to incredible at least for me. So I placed a sample order for one RHINO brand 1050mAh ,20C,3S 11.1 volt Li-Po battery for approx US$12-00 and including AirMail shipping it cost me about US $18-00.
What I am really apprehensive about is beside being a Hongkong based company, the banner ad was named HOBBYKING.com while in the opened website it was named HOBBYCITY.com. Also they are offering falsification of invoices in a scale of 10% - 100% which in my opinion no self respecting company would do. All this is confusing me. :-\ Have any of you flyers ever did business with this company and what is your experiences when buying from companies like these. Your advise would be greatly appreciated. Because this shop has many items I wish to purchase and are priced decently.
thanking you and with regards
---Rao

HobbyCity and HobbyKing are basically the same company and are world famous for their agressive pricing!!  They offer stuff at prices that are unmatched anywhere else.  Imagine getting a giant scale plane servo for just $33 compared to $114 elsewhere (PowerHD 9150MG vs Hitec 7955)!!  And their range of motors are also great.  But be prepared for a bit of sub standard quality.  Sometimes you might not get exactly what you order (like colour schemes on a model)!! But overall they are very good value for money. 

And also check out http://www.aircraft-world.com if you like branded stuff at pretty reasonable prices.  They have the 3rd generation Hyperion CX lipos which can be charged at 5C and they give you 4 times more cycles than the traditional Lipos.  Discharge rate is continous 25C and 35C bursts.  The prices are also very inexpensive.  Best part is shipping is $2.40.  I have ordered about 4 times from them.  All have reached me in 4 to 5 days flat safely.  These people are based in Japan and are authorized Hyperion dealers.

Now a 1000 mAh Lipo can be charged at 5A rates hence minimizing the charging times 5 fold!! So instead of a 40 min charging period, you can charge your pack in 8 mins flat!! Amazing!

- Chan

Thank you very much for your advise Chan.
BTW what do you do friend. I myself always visiting RC forums and surfing them from 8-00PM to 5-00Am.almost everyday. And you are the only one who is also online in these websites almost all day everyday. ;D
--GNV

I am working with Satyam Computers.  So mostly online during office hours.  And I leave my system online at night.  So I would appear to be online.  I also check from home in the night!!

- Chan

oh how are things in Satyam after the Tech Mahindra Take over. BTW I see that you have an ElectroStreak in your Hangar. I also have an Electrostreak which I am Currently flying with Kyosho magnetic mayhem motor. I like this one very much for its sleek looks and don't want to spoil its looks by using an outrunner motor fitted to the firewall outside. Can you suggest a good inrunner brushless motor and a folding prop for 11.1 Volt 3S1P Li-Po set up.

-GNV

Even I thought of looking for a good inrunner.  Now I have it retired without a motor.  The reason why I did not mind the looks was becuase it came totally crushed in shipping.  Repaired the whole thing and this was my first aileron plane!!

Regarding the inrunner, I think Mr. Sai should be able to suggest a setup as I have absolutely no experience with Inrunners.

Satyam's doing fine now.  And as long as i get my salary, I dont have any problems.

- Chan

I have ordered a few times from HobbyCity/HobbyKing recently.  They take a little while to ship, and long while if the item is on backorder (they do make it clear that it takes 30 days to do backorders).  The actual shipping time is quite good, it is the actual time it takes for them to process the item for shipment that takes longer.

Otherwise they are fine (so far).

Thanks for your feedback Anwar.I had placed a sample order and since Hong Kong is not too far away and the in stock order is a pretty small one (3S Li-Po batterypack) and since it is being sent by Air Mail I am expecting to get it in a week or so.

are they selling for real at hobbycity.com ??? i can never imagine getting into this hobby at this cheap price. a 2.4ghz 4ch tx & rx at just 30$... please let us know if u receive those batteries in good condition as soon as u get them...

tried one of the cheap 2.4 radios did not work well  the settings are on the laptop and software problems did not allow proper settings at all , the other issue is you have to use only special receivers of the manufacture . for cheap radios best is old type

Dear Akash,
If I were you I wouldn't even think of buying a 2.4 GHz 4 Ch Tx and Rx for $30-00.There would be a catch somewhere about the deal and you would realize that only after you received it and tried to operate it for the 1st time. Certain deals how much great they might look are impossible to realize in reality.

Dear Rao,
           Thank u very much for the advice. :)

to chan

QuoteAnd also check out http://www.aircraft-world.com if you like branded stuff at pretty reasonable prices.  They have the 3rd generation Hyperion CX lipos which can be charged at 5C and they give you 4 times more cycles than the traditional Lipos.  Discharge rate is continous 25C and 35C bursts.  The prices are also very inexpensive.  Best part is shipping is $2.40.  I have ordered about 4 times from them.  All have reached me in 4 to 5 days flat safely.  These people are based in Japan and are authorized Hyperion dealers.

what was your average invoice value ? was it less then 30 us$ or ?

thanks

sahil

to chan

i was thinking of ordering couple of lipo's,GWS motors n adapters ? all under 50us$ ?

what was your average time between your orders ?

thanks

sahil

Hey Sahil,

My invoice value was always under $30.. And they dont stock GWS stuff.. They have mostly Hyperion and Scorpion..

- Chan

thanks ,no they do sell GWS stuff

see this link (there is a  :-X going on now)

http://www.aircraft-world.com/shopdisplayproducts.asp?search=yes

oops.. sorry my mistake.. didnt know that they stock GWS (your link didnt work though  ;))!! Go ahead and place your order.. A friend of mine got Lipos.. They were also shipped through parcel post and reached in 5 days... I dont think you would have any problems... and one more mistake on my part.. I had placed a $30 + order... My Hyperion VPP setup worked out more than $70 and it reached safely.. The other packs were mostly props..

- Chan

Hello People,
I just went through the www.aircraft-world.com and I like few of the stuff at very reasonable price and that too with shipping charges of ~$3...as previous post r saying that the goods will arrive within 4-5 days, could somebody pls tell me that upto what amount i can order through parcel post and still wont be charged for custom duty?

Hi,
Upto $50 and that too it should be for personnel use and a gift declaration will be better.

Regards...............Alex

hi guys

i have placed an order for 47.9 usd, let's see how long it will take, since the store will be closed from 3-6th this month, i'm expecting my order to be dispatched on 7 may 2009 + 6 day = 13 or 14 maxi.

to rao

has your package arrived?

sahil

Hi Sahilkit,
My package has not yet arrived.
--Rao

HobbyCity packages take longer to reach.  It even takes 3 to 4 weeks sometimes.

- Chan

oh okay, i hope my stuff arrives  :-X

update, just got mail that my package has been dispatched today

yeah i received my package yesterday @ 3.10 PM, stuff arrived on time as predicted  ;D some pictures

some more

more..........

 :'(  :o more.............

Feel relieved to see that the National Bird survived the 5 day ordeal of shipping  8-)

QuoteFeel relieved to see that the National Bird survived the 5 day ordeal of shipping  8-)

oops  8-) by the way that picture was taken just in front of our house ;D

How did u manage to get brushed geared motors from hobbycity?? they are not listed on their site.

hey buzz_rc

Quoteoh okay, i hope my stuff arrives :-X

don't get confused, i have ordered my stuff from aircraft-world.com not from hobbycity.com ! and Mr.Rao has ordered from hobbycity.com !

to rao

has your stuff arrived ?

regards

sahil

hello sai

there is a sale going on at aircraft-world on GWS products and hyperion products, so i ordered some motors and lipo's!

these are the stuff i ordered

Items                                   QTY               price in US$ -----  total

GWS EPS-350C-DS                   3                     4.5                 13.50

hyperion litestrom VX

7.4V 2S 400mAh 20C                4                      6.33               25.32

other GWS misc. stuff

like pros savers,adapters          

total about 56 parts                 8                      ------              6.8
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                       45.62
------------------------------------------------------------------------
shipping & handling                                                                 2.28
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total                                                                                  47.9


sahil

okay here is my question to Mr.sai

how can you compete with stores like aircraft-world and how best can you match with them in terms of product quality n pricing? etc (i'm not saying one should !) and......what about having sales like aircraft-world?

i personally think there is still lot to be done by our sellers.

1. like supporting Indian based manf. by stocking there products n trying to push there stuff (good or popular items at better price)
2. by selling popular products, lower pricing.
3. by stocking lower cost-good products like brushed motors from GWS etc. (please it is not mediator that an electric plane be flown only on or can only be flown by brushless motors  >:() Rcgroups members propaganda  :(

4. help encourage new comers to build models from kits and provide all the items needed with a combination of indian make and outside stuff.

that it for now  8-)

sahil

While brushed motors are perfectly fine, everyone knows that brushless ones are more efficient, allowing you to do more.  So I am NOT sure it is ALL propaganda; they may be being glorified more than they are deserve !

I do know that I could not hover for more than a few seconds with the brushed motor that came in my Expo 3D kit, but a smaller and lighter brushless motor allows me to "prop-hang" it continuously until the driving lipo was depleted.

dear anwar

i completely agree with you but i was thinking more about slow fliers n beginner models when i was writhing those points

some thing like brushed motor with lipo ?

sahil

Hi Sahil ,
Thanks for the positive inputs  we will take the suggestions seriously .

In fact we do have products of Indian origin where ever possible like CF rods , Fiber tape , Landing gear for slow stick etc.

We started of with GWS EPS 350 C and EPS 400 c in fact we still have a whole lot of gear boxes of these motors lying around.
The reason to go brushless was simple and have a look below :

GWS EPS 350 C : Rs 500
ESC GWS 300J/400 J or 300/480 Li or any for that matter : Rs 800 average
GWS Prop : Rs 90
Rs 1390
RCFORALL B/L 2212 COMBO with 20 amp ESC + GWS Prop : Rs 1300/-

The profit margin on the brushed set up is lower due to the High GWS Prices
Which would you buy ?   ;)

Sai

if i were a beginner and had no idea about electronics i will go for this ;)

but i being sahil and knowing some electronics would go for

gws eps 350c + gws Prop + sahil's speed controller for about 165rs + 5% discount from sai  ;) =  ;D

again this purely my comparison (right copy protected)  :)

Quotein fact we do have products of Indian origin where ever possible like CF rods , Fiber tape , Landing gear for slow stick etc.

that's great  {:)} 

i feel like I'm high jacking this thread , Mr.rao might be angry

sahil

Sahil ,
May be we should start marketing your Rs 165/- speed controller what say  ;)
Then we can have real low priced set ups for Mr MOSS ;D
I am serious willing to support local ventures
sai

Hi Sahil,
don't worry about my getting angry at you for jacking my thread. ;D.

BTW I  my order for a 11.1V 1050 mAh ,20C RHINO brand Li-Po battery pack from Hobby City, Hongkong , arrived safely at my door today. I ordered a 20C battery but received a 30C series battery. The 30C may be the max and not continuous current. The battery looked OK but have not yet tested it. I'll let you know the results after testing it.

While the product arrived safely I am not satisfied with the way they packed it more so because the item is a Li-Po battery. They wrapped the battery in several layers of air bubble packaging sheet they placed it in an ordinary paper envelope which could very easily be torn while shipping. While a cardboard box would have been best the least they could have done is using a cloth backed or air blister lined strong tear proof envelope. The battery came with pre connected balance connector and 12 AWG silicone wires soldered to a female Deans connector.

The Battery was US$ 11.79 and Air Mail Cost was US $5.95 and Total = US$.17.74. I had ordered and paid using PAYPAL on 29-APRIL-2009 and received the goods on 14-MAY-2009.

Regards

RAO

that's great new's, i think your the only one who got this package under 2 weeks  {:)}  ;)

please post some pictures , we all would like to see ! btw the shipping price is high 5.95us$  :o for a single lipo pack

the aircraft fellow charged only 2.28us$ for a 1.752 pound package and got it in 5 days sharp  8) (see the pictures in page 2)

regards

sahil

Hi Sahil,
could you please tell me how to attach photos to the posts.The shipping charge is indeed high, but they are charging flat rate shipping charges on basis of weight of the package.For packages weighing between 100-250 gms they are charging US $ 5.95. But the actual Postal Charge was Hongkong $ 13.10.

1.press reply
---------------------------------------
you are now in the normal post reply screen !
---------------------------------------
2.now you should be able to see a option in between the white message body box and post / preview button an

Additional options... this is how it looks press on that
---------------------------------------
now you should be able to see an Attach: option, the type of file and file size limit is mentioned in small
font suggest under the Attach: option

in our case we can only upload a gif, jpg, pdf, png file with an maximum size of 128KB and can only post 4 files per post!
---------------------------------------
3.click browse option and attach the file
---------------------------------------
after your done attaching press post or preview see on it looks
---------------------------------------

that's it i hope you can follow the steps  :-\

sahil

Sahil,
Here are a couple of photos of the battery and parcel.And thank you for your advice.
RAO

Hi SAI,
In a previous post you asked why we are purchasing from on line shops located abroad like hobbycity.com instead of Indian on line stores. One of the answers is COST.

I recently/just purchased a Rhino 1050 mAh, 11.1 volt 20C Li-poly battery from Hobby City, Hong Kong . Battery cost is US $ 11.79 ( INR.Rs 590-00 ) and shipping cost is flat rate for 100 to 250 gms is $ 5.95. giving a total of US $17.74 which in INR is approximately Rs.890-00. But my battery weighed only 100 gms and if I purchase other items,parts which weigh under 150 gms  and devide the shipping cost among them equally the Net cost of the battery would further come down.

Now the closest product similar to the above battery I could find at RCFORALL is 11.1volt 3S, 1000 mAh, 15C, Li-Poly battery is priced at Rs.1090-00 + shipping cost at Rs.125-00. making the net cost of the battery Rs.1215-00.So you can see that the imported battery costs Rs.325-00 less than the battery purchased from RCFORALL. If we set aside the shipping costs the price of the Battery in India is almost Twice that of the imported one. I hope you see the point.

I also point out that all RC Modellers are not Multi Millionaires  or  high flying Executives drawing 5 digits  salaries per month and can afford exotic scale models and equipment. There are a lot of common middle class people like me in the hobby and enjoy the hobby just as much on shoe string budgets and less expensive equipment. We put what we save back into the hobby.In this case I would add a little more to the saved Rs.325-00 and purchase a small brushless motor or a servo or something else I need. There are also a GROUP of  modellers in the other forum who I strongly suspect that they want this hobby should belong only to the wealthy and the elite.

Another point is the available choice or rather lack of choice regarding the equipment is another reason why we import from foreign on line shops.

Also Mr SAI, is RCFORALL a full time Hobby Shop or a Home based part time business. If I may I would like to make some suggestions and my wild ideas about how to make this hobby more popular in India and take it to the level it deserves.

---RAO

Mr Rao ,

Thank you for the feed back !

I agree with you , when you buy 1 or 2 small items you are likely to get away without duty you also enjoy the advantage that  your place is so remote that  the customs might actually be finding it hard to collect customs from you so they let you off without it  ;D , but when we buy the Govt duty has to be paid.

There are many buyers like Anwar has said  earlier who understand this and support us as long as we are reasonable  in the interest of the hobby progressing  so we are comfortable with that  as they understand that the hobby can progress only  when Local hobby shops also develop , and as pointed out earlier as well obviously there are differences in our volumes and those of developed on line shops abroad which will result in price differences  . Commercially informed buyers understand these things.

We cannot loose money to  sell at prices  which compete with a small purchase like yours , so  no issues you are welcome any time you have bigger requirements and the customs factor does come into play and /Or you  feel that service is also an important factor not that outside suppliers have poor service  . but proximity and understanding local conditions  gives us an edge when it comes to service.

My aim was only to see if we are missing some products/service  as we have 99 % of the buyers who appreciate our prices and service  we do understand that a few  are going to find alternatives routes suiting their needs  so  since price is the only issue for you I am quite OK with that.

In fact  the hobby is growing quite rapidly  from the growth of our client  base and spread and  we are frequently out of stock so I can assure you that our aim of RCFORALL seems to be rapidly  on the way to reaching the position you have mentioned.

Any suggestions and feed back is always welcome please feel free to  PM me with your views anytime.

BTW the business  did start as a part time home based operation but with an inventory of over 200 products  and a customer base spanning from Kutch till Arunachal pradesh and from Tuticorin  till Bhatinda we can no longer  be a home based  set up.

I think we have done quite a bit to  bring this hobby within the reach of average middle class aero modelers especially students  which has also resulted in a huge growth for us in the business as well from the student community where it really matters , so we are also in agreement that  the hobby is not for the rich only and have  actually  lived up to the name RCFORALL to the best possible we could.

I also agree with you that the other forum is largely for those with BIG Pockets and not for general modelers , our type of Modeling needs use of Imagination and  resources to the best of our ability we dont believe in crashing and burning the plane only to move on to the next one. Thanks to Anwar we have a forum now where  we can talk openly  {:)}

Your feed back is well taken and hopefully with the support of the community we will be able to reach  the volume levels which will reduce the prices in future.

sai

Today I recieved my Mini Dvr from Dhgate.com. Its a china based site, and its much like ebay in terms of sale profile. The product was ordered on 1st of this month.

Total cost of equipments is  :Rs: 556, including shipping to india. The product is also covered under one year warranty.

Here are a few pics. Will post the video soon..