.....aaaaaaaand I knew I shouldn't have looked at this thread.

Have always wanted some sort of R/C off-road thingy.

An RCXD would be, the awesome!

I was a rc-10 kid too

^^^ Aw yeah. That was my first real one. Started off with the Taymia kit like most.

-scduc you're right. I used to have a subscription to RC car action for several years - time to go back to my 'roots'. 20 something years of changes to come to grips with.

Just browsing on tower hobbies website, and it looks like team associated has a lot of both kits and ready to run cars and trucks, while Losi only sells a few RTR cars and trucks now.

Surprisingly, they don't look a whole lot different than in 1990.

I'm not shocked that a lot of the basics haven't changed. Noted that more composites are in use, shocks are bigger and better. Biggest differences for electrics seem to be the rise of new battery chemistry and brushless motor configs

I have a box of vintage RCs from the 1980s/90s that the kids didn't quite destroy before they outgrew them

stuffed somewhere in the crawl space....yokomo YZ10, RC10's, Team Assoc carpet racers, reedy motors  all tricked out

maybe I will dig them out when it gets warmer and see if I can charge them up....or sell them

Looks like form factors haven't really changed so one could fit new motors and such into the older frames - so that RC-10 and others might still be viable or at least worth selling

Here is a quick catch up for you guys,

1) radio tech is up, instead of FM/AM crystals. They now have 2.4 and up Gigahertz radios with encrypted channels. SO no longer do you have any "crossing over" with two radios.  You sync the receiver with the transmitter and you done.

2) car and truck chassis are now made from graphite and carbon fiber.  

3) gas/nitro really hasn't changed much.

4) electric motors now come brushless, 17.5 turns is now the standard and considered stock.  The electronic speed controls are all digital and you can adjust a ton of stuff thru your computer.  Acceleration curves, breaking curves, turbo timing (to simulate a turbo lag).  And all sorts of crazy stuff.

5) the batteries have come a long way.  Now you have Lithium Polymer batteries (Li-Po).  They no longer have the weakness of recharge memory and if you leave it charged at 30% and put it away, the battery will never go bad (100 years or so).  The chargers are all digital and do some amazing things besides charge your batter.  They can cycle charge and discharge.  And charge what ever other batteries you may have lying around.


I used to race a few years ago and just tried to get back in.  I have a lot to buy before i can jump back in to the local racing club here.

That's the cheaters notes I was hoping to get.

Nice that they are using some of the radio smartness. No more collection of crystals and check-in radios.

Looks like chargers are a lot smaller now- no big shocker there. Ones of my era were about toaster sized.

Dug out my rc10 last night.  It is in rough shape - I really used most of the life out of it when I was younger.  Raced it locally for several years, as well as shenanigans in the yard and on the street.

Handling the car and parts brought back memories and feelings that were long forgotten - kind of cool when something was that important in your life.  Makes me want to go out and buy a kit for my kids, but they are too young now.


I am also finishing a RC plane kit that has been sitting 70% done in my basement for 5 years.  It will look like this when finished:



It will likely hang from the ceiling in the kids' bedroom.

mitt

How old Mitt? I was building my own by 11 and doing the solder work as well after some lessons from pop

Quote from: Slide Panda on January 25, 2013, 07:47:58 AM
How old Mitt? I was building my own by 11 and doing the solder work as well after some lessons from pop

My girl is 6, and son is 4.  They are getting into toys r us type RC stuff now. 

I was also probably about 10 when I got my RC10. I remember building it for days with my dad, the excitement killing me.  Each shock alone took a while if my memory is right, with all the seals, orings, e-clips, etc.

mitt

This is the mini wolf RC car my son just got for his bday.  It is actually pretty fun even for me to drive for a basic fixed front steering RC car.


RC Wolf MINI Countryman

That's a fun way to steer

Yeah probably a bit young still.  Around 6 I was doing model planes with dad. Was fun and got some good skills - also let him keep an eye on what was being done.

Oh yeah each shock was a bunch of parts. E-clip 1 on the shaft. Then a piston, then the next e-clip. Now o-rings and c-clips in the body....