Michael's Radio Controlled Vehicles Blog

At the track it's OK to chew with your mouth open and staring is not impolite at all -- as long as you're oogling the cars and not the drivers. But you do need to mind your manners in other ways. First, if you're just there to watch that's perfectly alright. But unless you're invited into the pit area, stay in the stands or designated viewing areas. And don't touch the vehicles unless you have permission (or if you're pitching in as corner marshal).

If you plan to drive your RC at the track, I'd encourage you to go out to your local track a time or two first -- both when there are races going on and when it's just a free-for-all day -- just to get a feel for the layout of the place and familiarize yourself with any posted rules. If you're there to practice or to race, make sure you know the rules of that particular track facility and any specific rules for the organized races.

Here are some general RC track guidelines posted around the Web. Your own local track may have its own rules but a lot of these are common to any RC track or race situation. Most are aimed at the drivers.

• RC Driver's Etiquette (includes tips on marshaling)
• Racing Tips and Etiquette (aimed primarily at race newbies)
• Racing Rules ("general car racing rules for qualifying car racing matches at a typical organized race")

What tips would you give to first-timers (spectators or drivers) at an RC race track?

My eldest step-daughter wants a car. She mentioned it to a friend on her 17th birthday and they came through -- with a cute little KG Racer.

Maybe not what she had in mind.

Made by Kid Galaxy (see what other RC toys Kid Galaxy offers), the same folks that make the My First R/C line for toddlers, the KG Racer is for ages 5 and up. That "and up" must include 30-somethings like me because I had fun racing it around the floor, spinning, and making it pop mini-size wheelies. I don't know if you can tell by the photo, but the sticks on the controller are shaped like little treaded half-tires. My wife calls it "cute."

When you're looking for a fun, inexpensive gift don't dismiss those little toddler and preschooler RC toys. Use 'em as gag gifts or offer them up as mid-day diversions for office workers. The tiny Wrist Racers and KG Racers as well as other micro toys like RadioShack ZipZaps fit nicely in desk drawers or on top of monitors ready to entertain any time of day. My wife takes mine away from me though because I seem to spend more time being entertained than getting work done some days.

Ran across an ad on an RC site for helicopter ringtones. I didn't click through because I generally make my own ringtones but it gives me an idea. I could record sounds from some of my own RCs -- electric and nitro -- for a really personalized sound on my phone. If you want to try to find ready-made ringtones that mimic RC helicopters (or real ones) or other vehicles, you could start with this list of free and cheap ringtone Web sites compiled by our About.com Cell Phones Guide. If you find anything good, let me know. If you want to take my idea and record your own RC ringtones, here are some tutorials:

• Make a ringtone from any MP3
• How to Make Ringtones
• 10 Tools for Creating Your Own Ringtones

It's frustrating to purchase a couple of RC toys for your kids only to discover that they can't play together because they both use the same frequency. I spotted helpful labeling on some Jada Toys Chub City RC cars earlier this week that addresses that problem.

A few of the toys had prominent stickers that read "This vehicle operates on 49 MHz. Can only race against 27 MHz vehicles." And the opposite labeling on some of the 27 MHz cars.

This is great for those unfamiliar with the operating frequencies of RC vehicles. Kudos to Jada Toys. More manufacturers should do it. It's a lot more helpful than all the marketing hype about the realistic detailing or the super speeds.

Not into boats or subs? This fellow built a pair of radio controlled ducks using duck decoys and RC submarines. He's got an Instructables tutorial showing you how to do it yourself and a Flickr video of one of the ducks in action.

Can't get enough RC duck action? There are a few videos out there:

• RC Rubber Ducky makes bath time so much fun...
• RC Decoy Duck in Thailand is another homemade RC.
• And in some random silliness, how about an interview with a rubber ducky who flies RC airplanes and another where he's inside the airplane doing preflight checks? (Hey, I warned you, it's silly.)

I've jokingly mentioned before that I could see myself with a radio controlled lawnmower but now I have even more incentive. I ran across the instructions for building it. The DIY Radio Controlled Lawnmower are the instructions for the same RC lawnmower seen in the video I spotted earlier this year.

I often jokingly beg my wife to let me have a big rig as a personal vehicle -- like a normal person has a car or pickup truck. Of course the reply is always "Heck No!" and "Besides, it won't fit under the car port" So my wish-list alternative right now is an RC big rig. The King Hauler would be my personal first choice in radio controlled big rigs from the Tamiya RC Tractor Truck series.

Read more...

Found this story about a guy making art using RC vehicles as his paint brushes via several blogs including AutoBlog and BoingBoing. The guy put paint on the wheels of RC cars then ran them across canvas until he'd painted a large picture of a Chevy Camaro.

Now that takes talent! Not only does he need to be an artist, he has to be a pretty good RC driver. Check out the pictures and the video. I'm a bit of an artist myself -- amateur with pencil not paint. Wonder if I could strap a pencil to an RC and drive it around to make a big drawing? Hmmmm... sounds just crazy enough to try.

With a hat tip to Team Teabag, here's a nifty item from Hobby Lobby International (not to be confused with the arts & craft stores). The "Pilot View FPV 2400" First Person Video Camera is a little camera that goes inside your RC airplane (or just about any other kind of RC vehicle that will hold it). But the really cool part is that the camera transmits to a set of goggles. Wearing them you supposedly get the feel of actually being inside your RC while it flies (or drives or even speeds across the water). For about the same cost of a new hobby RC ($ 549.00) I could breathe new life into some of my older but still "good for another lap or two" vehicles. They're taking preorders right now.

So much of the buzz centers on nitro, nitro, nitro. And planes seem to get a more attention than cars and trucks. I like nitro RCs and I'd like to become a better RC helicopter pilot. But it's nice to be reminded of the simple fun of electric cars. One writer says electric cars are more fun than video games. He makes some good points. I'm not going to give up my PlayStation or Wii, but I gotta agree:

"They are real, they are loads of fun, and they don't cost a lot. They don't keep you glued to a TV set or in the house. There are no levels to master, there is no boring repetition, and the game is never over or done."

In a comment to an older post on going nitro, a reader makes the point "With a nitro you require a lot of open space. Electric you can run just about everywhere." That's another voice in favor of the electric RC. How about you? Are there other reasons you choose electric over nitro -- or choose RCs of any kind over video games or other activities?