So, somehow you managed to come across my little place in cyberspace. You may be wondering what kind of demented name is 'These Aren't Just Toys'. Well, this page is all about R/C cars and more
specifically racing them.
When most people hear the words 'radio controlled car' they think of the common, cheap stuff - Tyco, Radio Shack, Nikko, the like. However, those cars are, well, junk. You may not think so,
saying you paid $200 for your Tyco Fad-Of-The-Week 1080-degree climb-up-the-wall drive-on-the-ceiling vehicle. But they are. Why?
Well, first off, take a good long look at it. Does it look like there's any way to get it open without voiding any warranty on it? Nope. These cars were not designed to be touched with any
tools. You can't tune or fix them. Hence, they design the parts to last. You say, that's a good thing, right? Well, it's not. They make parts, especially those in the 'suspension', with softer
plastic. That way, when you go and beat around with it, they will flex instead of snap. That's good for longevity, but horrible for performance, and they still do snap.
Now, what kind of batteries does it use? 8 AA alkalines? Ouch. That's about $6 (for dirt cheap ones) per run. And with those, a run isn't very long. Maybe 6 minutes if you're lucky. So you say
you get rechargeables? Have fun waiting a day to charge them. Yes, electric R/C cars use rechargeable batteries. But we charge them at a MUCH faster rate than those 'fast 3 hour' chargers. For
us, an hour is a long charge. Half an hour is a fast one. You can use a high-end charger to charge your AA rechargeable packs, but I wouldn't recommend it...
OK, so you say you don't mind if it doesn't handle or if it breaks. And you can stand waiting hours to charge batteries or shelling out a fortune to buy more. But how do you run your car, by
yourself? No, you don't want to. You want to challenge your brother/sister/friend/enemy to a huge race. You and your brother/sister/friend/enemy go and plan this super-elaborate track that's
incredibly tough but only you two can handle it. So you both turn your cars and radios on. You hit the gas on yours. But both cars go the same distance. You turn left. Both cars react the exact
same way. Your brother/sister/friend/enemy starts driving - and your car follows it without you controlling it! The last major problem - these R/C cars only come with radios on two frequencies,
27 MHz and 49 MHz. If both of yours are the same, well, you can't race at the same time. Our R/C cars have around 100 different frequencies to choose from - and nobody's been crazy enough to have
a race with 100 cars (at least not yet), so it works out.
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