Buildup -- Step 9: The radio box

Installation of the radio box, itself, is nothing worthy of special note. However, there was one surprise for me and my never-built-a-nitro-vehicle-before self. You need to buy an on-off switch harness to plug your receiver pack into (see fig. 42). I just happened to have one in one of my many "Hmm, might find a use for these some day" parts bins, a Futaba product. Note that you'll need a receiver pack at this point, too (rechargable is preferred, but I'm just using what I have for now, a 4-cell AA holder packed with Duracells -- Energizers won't cut it). Your receiver is required at this point, as well.

Fig 42	Fig 43	Fig 44

Once you get all of the wires routed through, you'll find yourself with a bit of a mess (fig. 43). This is a good time to turn on your radio, flip that switch you just installed, and make sure the servos are working as expected. Instead of stuffing everything into the radio box, I first inserted a strip of foam packing material from a computer motherboard box, trimming it to produce a snug, cushioned fit for the precious contents without bulging the top of the radio box (fig. 44). I'm no fan of the "antenna tube" that comes with the MF kit, so I'll add my own later.

I suppose I should also note that the fuel tank gets installed at some point in this process. In the manual, it's step 18, on page 16.