TOPIC:

They might be cheaper from China, but watch the import duty thing. Sometimes you get lucky & don't get charged, other times you could end up paying over the odds for something cheap.
Have you bought anything from China (Or Germany) in the past couple of years using Paypal? - I only ask as I'm sure they said they weren't allowing transactions to/from those countries? Let us know, ta.

As for the ESC, I'll be ordering 1 or 2 as spares when I get some cash together.
They seem to be more tolerant to higher loading than the Tamiya.
The only "iffy" thing I've seen with them is the auto setup doesn't always work with lesser known manufacturer's transmitters, & you end up having to dial the Tx into the ESC with the trim tabs etc

I've bought stuff very recently from Germany (Siedel) with Paypal, ditto HK, and even from China with no issues.

The only time I've got hit with import duties in recent years was on small parcel sent by UPS from the USA ... unfortuntately the sender didn't put a customs declaration on it so the total charges were twice what I could have got the bit for here

It's not the import duty that's the killer (normally only a few %), but VAT @ 20%.
This might be worth noting (from HMRC website):

2.3 What are the limits for customs duty and import VAT?

Commercial consignments i.e goods you have purchased, of

In germany it is approx. 22

Usually when it's over 22 euro and it gets "caught", not only VAT is calculated here.
Extra administrative costs may add up to 10-20 euro, bringing an unpleasant suprise.
I usually stay below the amount of any applicable duties though...

i,ve bought several things from china hong kong japan and have to say jaz hobby were the quickest to arrive ...i'm still waiting for my esc from china like the one thats been mentioned it cost

Quite incredible how they can make something like this (and ship it!) for

my HK order arrived today.

look slightly different then in the add.


the condensator is now inside the esc

but they appear to work, forward, brake and reverse like a TEU.
BEC has about 5.3 / 5.4 volt.

will give it a try tomorrow in my RC Boys 4wd racer with an old sports tuned

Kcey1 - if your ESC got wet & stopped working, take the case off (Or just open it a bit) & thoroughly dry it out (A day or 2 in the airing cupboard etc) & you should find it'll be ok. same goes for receivers etc, most electronics recover once they're dry.

To stop the problem in future, I usually use party balloons or doofers to waterproof sensitive bits - cut a tiny slot to let the heatsink pass through but still seal.
Another trick is to goob the open holes with silicone sealant, but this makes it a nuisance to dry out if moisture does manage to find its way in

eddrick wrote:

Kcey1 - if your ESC got wet & stopped working, take the case off (Or just open it a bit) & thoroughly dry it out (A day or 2 in the airing cupboard etc) & you should find it'll be ok. same goes for receivers etc, most electronics recover once they're dry.

To stop the problem in future, I usually use party balloons or doofers to waterproof sensitive bits - cut a tiny slot to let the heatsink pass through but still seal.
Another trick is to goob the open holes with silicone sealant, but this makes it a nuisance to dry out if moisture does manage to find its way in

it didn't stop working was just erratic managed to hit several things at once , thought it best to have a spare handy as i like to "play " in all weathers which of course means it does get wet often the bravo is a really good esc but for pure grunt and speed i like these cheap ones plus if it breaks no big cash amount lost replacing it ... i am going brushless next pay day but seeing as have just built my son a almost full chassis out of my "old" bits from mine these will do nicely for him