Another Crawler

A new crawler has joined my collection of R/C vehicles. This is the recently released Team Losi 1/24 Micro Rock Crawler. Yes, another micro for indoor fun. And it sure is fun. I haven't had much drive time on it, with Christmas and an upcoming big event.

Like their other micro kits, this is an RTR with everything (batteries ARE included). One of the top features (other than being small, a rock crawler, having everything in one box, and loads of fun) is that it comes with a Specktrum radio. Instead of using the typical radio frequencies in AM and FM (of typical 27mHz and 75mHz), this uses a spread spectrum 2.4gHz. What this does is the Transmitter and Receiver go through a bind process so that there is no interference from other racers. Lost? (Let's hope not. I still haven't figured out that smoke monster.) Familiar with cell phones and Bluetooth headsets? (Let's just say yes to keep things moving.) Binding on a spread spectrum 2.4gHz is sort of like pairing your Bluetooth headset to your cell phone. You go through a special process to connect the 2, and when done your headset (in this case the receiver) will only work with your cellphone (or transmitter). This allows many more racers and hobbyists to race and have fun together, along with allowing a better signal for reduced radio interference.

Another great feature is that the axles use a worm drive setup. For the best information, I recommend using your favorite internet search site to look up worm drive (as bad of a rep as it has, here is the Wikipedia link for worm drive). The advantage of using worm drive is that there is no free wheeling, which is great for being on inclines as you can release the throttle and not worry about the truck rolling away (rollin' rollin' rollin').

Enough with the technical details, here are some photos.

Close up on some "rocks".

Rolling around a little "rock" pit.

Compared to the Creeper, this is tiny.
Tiny like a Smart Car sitting next to a Ford F350.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Happy Christmas!

...to all and to all a Merry New Year!

Yes, I know it's been months since I last wrote on this here internet thing.

I recently attempted to get one of my R/C cars into the Christmas spirit. I had picked up some parts that I ordered for my Team Losi Micro-T. For those not in the know, this is a 1/36 scale hobby grade radio control truck. Fun little buggers and great for indoor racing/bashing during the cold winter months. The new body I picked up I attempted to give it a Christmas feel with red and a little white, and adding some glittery tint to it. It didn't turn out to well. More than a little was used on the glittery-ness (it's a word now). The picture below makes it look better than it actually is.

Original Micro-T out of the box.

A little size comparison with Piper "Furball" Benson. Yes, same truck with optional parts.

The Micro-T Christmas Special! (optional lights sold separately)

Visit Team Losi from some really great R/C kits and RTR's (that means Ready To Run)

This is truly a great little truck. It comes already built with everything you need in one box ready to roll. Spare parts, and even the optional parts, are cheap. (Funny note: as I was typing this I accidentally started to respond back to my wife with "i love you cheap". Please note that trying to multitask while blogging is very bad. Tracey did have a good laugh and I did respond properly.)

When I do run my little truck, Piper has fun chasing it. That's all she does. I drive one way and she runs after it. I driver another way, and she runs after it. Fun for all, pets included. Well maybe not fish. Water and electronics are very bad too.

And back to Christmas. Here are a few Holiday tips from one of our favorite comedians, Jeff Dunham (a.k.a. puppet boy):
(Disclaimer: this is all in fun, and is humerous. please do not try these at home as injury can occur. anything attempted from these tips are at your own risk!)

• To remove tree sap from your hands, use butter or cooking oil. To remove butter or cooking oil from your hands, use tree sap.
• To remove dust from Christmas ornaments, use a blow dryer on the lowest setting. If you don't have a blow dryer, use dynamite. On the low setting of course.
• If your family celebrates Christmas and Hanukkah, put up a Christmas tree and a Hanukkah bush. And keep in mind that no matter what you do, you'll never be fully accepted by either group.
• Remember, never use electric lights on a metallic Christmas tree. Or the tree could explode!
• If you're going to deep fry your turkey this year here is an important safety tip: Remember kids, do it only when your parents are gone! And in the living room next to the drapes.
• For great holiday memories make a scrap book filled with photos and cards. Oh look, there's creepy uncle Frank touching little Johnny.
• To ensure that the turkey and stuffing have reached a safe temperature, always use a thermometer. Make sure it's a meat thermometer and not the one you just had in your butt.
  

Remember all, have a happy Christmas and a merry New Year! (And be safe throughout all your holiday celebrations!)

Hello world.

Just a quick post up. Along with R/C I also enjoy computers and techie things. I stumbled across a little internet show titled Systm. They show all kinds of things from computer stuff to robots to building your own light sabre. They even have taken time out to do some cooking. Cooking you ask? That's right, techies cooking doing it techie style. They make ice cream using liquid nitrogen. Sounds dangerous. Well watch the episode by clicking on ice cream above (or for those that want to cut and paste: http://www.revision3.com/systm/icecream). The great thing about this show is they go over safety, safety, safety. Pay attention to the entire episode if you wish to try this little adventure yourself. If you are under age or have a tenancy to be "unstable" as it were (i.e. knocking things down, shakey or nervous around dangerous stuff, or have some really wacky ideas that your conscience just won't override), please use common sense and have a trusted adult with you. Safety first!

I would try this myself, but I don't want to try in an apartment, I have a curious cat running about, and I can be a little unstable (just ask the wife, or if you know my phone number call to listen to my greeting).

Anyways, if anyone out there that knows me does do this, please let me know how it goes. Or even better, send an invite to join in on the festivities!

I'll be back! (some time later on).

Howdy, howdy, howdy!

It's been a few weeks since I last went crawling. During that time I did some upgrading. Picked up a replacement steering servo, a Cirrus CS704/MG. Huh? What? Basically a hi-torque metal gear servo. It outputs 181oz/in at 4.8v and 195oz/in at 6.0v. ...zzZzZZ... That means...More Power! (insert Home Improvement Tim Taylor grunts) And while getting the servo, I also picked up a new truck body: a Pro-Line Rockstar crawler body (energy drink not included).
I also upgraded to some diff locker kits. The Venom Creeper has front and rear diffs that are unlock-able. When rock crawling, you don't want any wheels just spinning in the air. You go no-where really fast. With the diffs locked, all wheels get the same amount of power all the time. The down side is when you make a turn on a flat-ish surface, you need a lot more room (or simply just make a 100 point U-turn). With unlocking the diffs, you can make a tighter turn, but you loose rock crawling and climbing power. And getting the kits allows me to work on the truck. That's always a plus.

And now for a little show-off shot. If you look at most rock crawler pictures, they usually show off how much articulation there is. And here is mine:

After all the upgrading, I finally went crawling at the in-laws back yard again. Crawling there actually provides two sides of entertainment: 1) I have fun crawling on the rocks, and 2) my nephews are entertained and help out. They like to help it get unstuck, and this last time they even built a rock wall for it to try and knock down.

Here is the rock wall challenge:

And the crawler lost:

Don't worry, Ron, no landscape lights were harmed during this crawler session.

So after the wall, I decided on a real challenge: to attempt to climb to the top of the large rock in the back yard.

Let's try this side:

That didn't work. How about this side:

Oh no! The crawler is in turtle mode:

Well for that day's adventure, the score is crawler 0, backyard 2. Until we meet again, backyard of the in-laws. Mwahahaha!

And here are a few fun pictures. Along with all the other gear installed, I also have a light installed. In the above pictures you can't really tell. It's either turned off or the flash provides too much light. So here is a picture of it:

Another annoying advertisement plug:
the light kit used is an ElectriFly FlyLites kit by Great Planes.

As you may or may not know, I have taken all of the pictures you had seen so far. Now I'm not a camera pro, or even an amateur. I just take pictures. Sometimes I actually get a cool shot, like this one. It looks like a fake photo. Did I really drive on the rocks, or did I just paste in a shot of the truck?
In actuality, it was getting dark out and I used the flash on the camera. I might have even had it set on night mode. Either way, this is a one time cool shot that I most likely will never be able to replicate.

So until next time, have a great crawling adventure out there.

Greetings programs!

This is a little blog about Radio Controlled Rock Crawling. I am an R/C hobbyist, and have just recently broken ground into R/C Rock Crawling. What is it? Just like the name says: Radio Controlled vehicles (namely trucks) crawling over rocks. Slower than a toddler, but faster than a snail. Most R/C classes are more about speed, and getting to the finish line as fast as possible (without crashing). Rock Crawling is more about control and planning (well, that's my take on it anyways), carefully choosing your path over the next boulder so you don't get stuck. In competition, you earn points for mistakes and no-no's (like using reverse), and the winner is the one with the least amount of points.

My recent venture into the crawler world led me to the purchase of a new Rock Crawler kit: the Venom Creeper.

Some assembly required, and all electronics not included. But that is the fun part for me: building the kit and installing the running gear. The build time took me a few nights to complete, but well worth the work (and allowed me to catch up on some TiVo recordings).

Advertisement plug...
for manufacturer and kit details and information, please visit
www.venom-group.com.

Their crawler is available in 2 color trims, and I decided on green. Here it is ready to roll:

The paint job is my doing.
It is inspired from the Cactus Cooler soda cans.

For those that are interested, here is a list of the running gear I currently have installed:

• Airtronics MX-3S transmitter and receiver
• Novak/Traxxas EVX Electronic Speed Controller (modified for 1 battery pack)
• Traxxas 2055 Servo for steering
• Hi-Energy 3300mAh Ni-MH 7.2v 6-cell battery pack
• Axial Racing 55T Crawler motor

Not the best for competition, but it gets the job done: crawling over rocks. So far, I have had 2 adventures in crawling. And I like it. Guess what that means? Yup. More Rock Crawling kits to pickup. Just don't tell the wife.

Some crawling at the in-laws up in Utah:

More crawling at the in-laws, but in Las Vegas:

Well, that's all for now. It's my weekend, and I hope to find some more rocks to crawl on.