Choosing the best micro or mini remote control car...

Here's a great article I found on choosing the best micr rccar and mini remote. Click on the Blog title to go to the full article or the link is at the bottom

When people ask me which car is best, there really isn't a good answer because each micro remote controlled car has its own strengths and weaknesses.

With that said, I'm going to describe the cars in my radio control car collection and point out the stengths and weaknesses so you can decide which one is best for you.

Hobbico MicroSizers (1:64 Scale - Approx 2" in Length)
Also known as Tomy Bit Char-G in Japan.
Strengths: Inexpensive, Durable, Lots of Mods, Small Size
Weaknesses: Limited Range, Short Driving Time, No Proporational Steering or Speed, Only 4 Available Frequencies

I think I'll always have a soft spot for the Tomy Bit Char-G remote control car. There's something about the MicroSizers cars that are just fun. The compact size (about 2") allows you to set up races in a very small area such as your kitchen floor. Its simplicity is also part of its charm. The car and controller can fit in the palm of your hand and with just a couple AA batteries and a smooth surface, you're ready to go.

Although the Tomy Bit CharG cars don't have proportional steering or speed, I've always been happy with how the Bit Char-G cars handle. I wish the Bit Char-G cars would drive for longer than 4 minutes, but that's still enough time for a good race. The standard controllers aren't as sophisticated as the ones for the DigiQ or Epoch Indoor Racer, but they're adequete. The special "booster" controllers that can be purchased separtely aren't that much more sophisticated and the range is even worse than the regular controller. However, they do have a "booster" button that allows you to drive at a faster speed along with a switch that allows you to drive any of the four available frequencies from the same controller. Anyone that has fun with a Hobbico MicroSizer, will want to look into the faster motors that can be purchased (available motors: 1.0, 2.0, 2.2, 2.6, 3.0 and 3.8).

Radio Shack also sells a version of this car called a ZipZap. You can read more about Zip Zaps at the forum.

http://www.microrccars.com/

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RC Racing USA - Painting Your Lexan RC Car Body With A Rattle Paint Can

Whether a pro or just starting off this article on painting with spray cans will be helpful.

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RC Racing USA - Painting Your Lexan RC Car Body With A Rattle Paint Can: "How To Paint Your RC Car Body Using Only Spray Cans And No Airbrush

The tool that you will need for this How To:
1. Liquid soap
2. Water
3. A pencil
4. A clean towel
5. Masking tape � Use fresh tape
6. Xacto knife
7. Lexan paint
8. Permanent marker
9. Denatured alcohol � (You can get this at any hardware store, usually in the paint section).
10. Steel wool, wet sanding paper, or a scotch brite pad
11. Unpainted Lexan body
When you have all these tools you are ready to begin.
Prepare the body for paint
Wash the inside of the body with liquid soap and water. Then rinse off all the soap, and dry completely with a clean towel. Find the window masks that came with your shell and stick them on the inside of the body using the window lines as reference points. Firmly press down on the edges of the window masks with your finger nails to ensure no bleeding of the paint. Once the windows are masked off take the steel wool, fine wet sandpaper or scotch brite padand scuff the inside of the body until it becomes cloudy. This step will help ensure that the paint adheres to the body and won�t be noticed after the body is painted. (If you are using chrome paint do not include this step, this will cause the chrome to have a brushed finish). "

RC Racing USA - RC Car Gearing Overview

RC Racing USA - RC Car Gearing Overview: "Gearing A Basic Overview

On an electric car, there are 2 Gears on your car that you need to worry about changing: the Spur Gear and the Pinion Gear. The Pinion Gear is the one attached to the motor, the Spur Gear being the gear the pinion comes in contact with. On a Nitro vehicle, you might have 4 gears...2 for the 2-speed on the motor and 2 for the 2-speed on the 'drive train'.
Changing the Pinion or Spur Gears will result in much different results.
On the Pinion Gear, the higher the number of teeth, the faster (top end) your car will have, but you will lose acceleration. The lower the number of teeth, the faster your car will accelerate, but you will lose top end. More top end usually results in less run time, also.
On the Spur Gear, the higher the number of teeth, the more acceleration the car will have, but the less top end. The lower the number of teeth the more top end you will have, but you will lose acceleration.
Changing the Gearing
On an electric car, the Pinion is changed by loosening the screws to the motor (or, in some cases, removing it from the car) and then removing the Pinion. Slide the new Pinion on, re-install in car (if applicable), and adjust the Gear mesh.
To change the Spur requires a little more work. Depending on the vehicle you own, it could be as easy as removing 2 screws or disassembling a whole portion of the car. See your instruction manual for the procedure as it applies to your vehicle."

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Mini Rc Cars

Mini Rc CarsMini Rc Cars
By Allan Wilson


Did your heart ever palpitate for fast driving? Did you ever imagine your hands controlling an extremely speedy car? I f so, then you should definitely experience the gravity and true charm of mini RC cars.
Mini RC cars have climbed up to the top position in the chartbusters of favorite pastimes or hobbies. These extremely speedy and exciting mini RC cars offer a complete range of fun, frolic and excitement, within small and restricted arenas of racing. Since the mini RC cars are quite small in size as suggested by their title, the mini RC cars can be easily designed and masterminded in your rooms or garages. However, one should not get fooled down by seeing the outer appearance of a small sized mini RC car- rather the impact of the size has no influence over the unbelievable range of it's speed, which at times touches over 20 mph."

Just getting started with RC or want to help teach a beginner, go to RC Cars and Trucks now!

RC Car Videos - Radio Control Zone - The Ultimate Online RC Car Community

RC Car Videos - Radio Control Zone - The Ultimate Online RC Car Community: "RC CAR VIDEOS
Videos are offered in either streaming Windows Media format (which play immediately when you click them), or as downloadable zip-compressed files (which must be saved to your hard drive and 'unzipped' before you can play them). Click here for more information on viewing video files."

RC Driver Magazine - Article - All About Speed Controllers

RC Driver Magazine - Article - All About Speed Controllers: "All about speed controllers
by Gary Katzer garyk@rcdriver.com
Few things in the industry have evolved over the years as much as the speed control. What started as a large, power-robbing wiper / resistor setup is now a highly efficient fully electronic unit roughly the size of a mini post-it pad. Electronic speed controls receive signals from your radio and receiver and translate them into motion with an infinite range. It�s not too technical at all. Read on to understand the differences between mechanical speed controls and electronic units.

MECHANICAL SPEED CONTROLLERS (MSC) WHAT IS IT?
A Mechanical Speed Control (MSC) is a mechanical device that regulates vehicle speed. RC History lesson: MSCs were originally based on slot car speed controls. An MSC for an RC car is made up of several components similar to those found in a slot car control. These include a contact board with wiring and wiper arm and, to fit it to a car, a throttle servo and mounting bracket. Early MSCs often included a four-cell AA battery receiver pack, but in recent years most have included battery eliminator circuitry (BEC) that powers the receiver with current taken from the drive pack.

The MSC�s job is to deliver power from the battery to the motor in gradations so that you have the ability to reduce or increase vehicle speed. The position of the wiper arm on the contact board (a kind of resistor) increases or reduces the amount of power that gets to your motor. When the wiper arm is at a slow speed position, the MSC burns off a certain amount of energy as heat that is lost through the resistor. This process is relatively inefficient, reduces run time and doesn�t offer as smooth a throttle response as an electronic speed control (ESC).

MAINTAINING AN MSC
While most enthusiasts eve"

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Don't forget to check out my ebook. "RC Cars and TRucks for Beginners" at http://www.rccar-truck.com/ you can also begin reading parts of the book online by going to this webpage for RC Cars online.

Welcome to the new RC CAR and Truck Blog

Welcome to my new blog for rc cars and trucks. I'm just getting started and found a great book for Starting with RC cars