Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 12

Thread: RC Car Racing at SELEM 2022!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    2,147,489,446

    Lightbulb RC Car Racing at SELEM 2022!

    Chris and I are planning something new for SELEM this year: RC Car Racing!

    The new venue is great, but there isn't a good place to fly quad-copters, so Chris came up with the idea of racing RC cars instead. The plan is to set up a small road course in the parking lot using a bunch of mini 4" tall traffic cones, and then race around the course just for fun. We will probably be racing using our FPV goggles, but we welcome anyone to race with us even if you prefer to use line-of-sight for control. And when I say "race", I'm using the term very loosely. We're not really trying to compete - it's just for fun!

    I know that the last thing most of us need right now is ANOTHER hobby to spend money on, but we've found a very affordable RC car that still packs a lot of punch. That car is the Vortex A959B, from WL Toys. It's a tiny 1/18th scale, 4 wheel drive car, and the box includes EVERYTHING you need, including a nice 2.4 GHz trigger-grip style radio, a battery, and a charger. Total cost for the whole thing is just $89 on Amazon, with free shipping. The car comes fully assembled - just charge the battery and you're ready to go.

    What's really cool is that even though the car is quite small (just 9 inches long), it is powered by a 540 brushed motor. This size motor is normally used on 1/10th scale cars that weigh 3-4 times as much. Thus, in such a small, lightweight car, this motor absolutely SCREAMS. Depending on the size pinion gear you use, the car is capable of speeds in excess of 40 mph even with the stock 2S battery. Some people have hit 65 mph with a 3S battery, although to be fair even at 40 mph the car is difficult to control due to the short wheelbase.

    It is a ton of fun to drive, and it's also one of the cheapest RC cars I've ever owned. You can buy all sorts of upgrade parts for the A959B, but honestly you don't need them. About the only upgrade part that is worth considering is the metal tie-rods and control arms set for $13. The stock plastic arms do not have any adjustment built-in, so you can't adjust the toe or camber angle of the tires. (This is probably only an issue for people that have raced RC cars before and are used to having this adjustment ability; it's not required.)

    Even if you are an experienced RC car enthusiast, I wouldn't buy anything until you run the car in the stock configuration first. Chris and I ended up buying a TON of upgrade parts for our cars, and in the end I think we would have been better off leaving them mostly stock. All the extra metal parts just add weight, meaning that when we crash there is more momentum and thus a better chance of bending or breaking something. The stock plastic chassis is remarkably tough, and in the stock configuration the car is so lightweight that even high-speed crashes aren't a problem. (Seriously - watch some of the Youtube videos where people are just bashing the hell out of these things, and they keep coming back for more!)

    You can also find this car at other hobby dealers, but Amazon seems to be the best place to get it quickly. Some of the Chinese vendors have this car for sale for as little as $69, but you'll probably be waiting a month or more to get it from China. Also, no matter where you order it from, you want to be sure that you're ordering the A959B. The "B" model is the upgraded version of the standard A959, so it has the larger motor and a few other extras (like metal gears in the differentials) that were not included in the original.

    If you look around on YouTube, you'll find lots of reviews of the car, and the overwhelming consensus is that it's a very fast and fun little car that offers tremendous value for the money. That's why we decided to go with the A959B. We're just going to take it one step further by adding a cheap $20 FPV camera and video transmitter so we can drive the car using our goggles. But if you don't have FPV goggles, you can still run the car line-of-sight like normal.

    So if you'd like to join us for a little RC fun, pick up one of these babies! Alternately, if you already have other RC cars in your collection, please feel free to bring them and run those on the course! Like I said, the "race" isn't really a competition - we just want to have fun tearing around the parking lot for a bit.

    Adam

    PS: I'm not kidding when I suggest that you hold off on buying the upgrade parts: Both Chris and I ended up spending more than double the base cost of the car in upgrades, and while the cars look cool with all the metal parts, I've had a couple recent crashes that broke several things due to all the extra weight. When I was running the stock plastic kit I never broke anything no matter how hard I crashed. So save your money! At least run the stock kit a few times before you buy anything extra. Also, both Chris and I will be bringing plenty of spare parts with us to SELEM, so we should be able to perform emergency repairs if anyone has a breakdown.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2011
    Posts
    196

    Default

    Love the idea. What about multirotors?
    Building RC vehicles out of lego is a fun way to make something too. If something breaks you put it back together. Plus you can make anything you want. I can't make it this year. Gas is too high right now. I just can't afford it.

  3. #3
    Bradfo69's Avatar
    Bradfo69 is offline Pending BST Forum Purchases: $47,127,283.53
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    Wilmington, DE
    Posts
    6,202

    Default

    Tp be fair, the issue with drones is only that there isn't a field the size of the one in Newton that's as close as the one in Newton that we know is free for FPV racing. I fly camera drones around the hall all the time. There aren't flight restrictions anywhere unless "Uncle Joe" happens to be home for the weekend. The field next to the hall where the hotel is supposed to be built is easily twice the size of Newton but in theory, it's posted no trespassing, even though no construction has happened there for ages. There is also an open parking lot about a block from the hall again twice the size of the field in Newton, that people have even used for small autocrossing tracks but, asphalt is a lot less forgiving to drone crashes than grass.

    There are a large number of very scenic interesting areas for flying camera drones not far from the hall, including Chesapeake Bay lighthouses and, I'm not opposed to shepherding a 15-20 minute morning drive for people to go fly Turkey Point Lighthouse or Elk Landing or the C&D Canal or something, for those that want to get some scenic footage opportunities in. We discussed that last SELEM but most didn't bring drones. I have 6 birds in the DJI Mavic line that I fly all around the area. If people really want to do FPV drone racing and set up a course, there IS a great spot with literally 17 miles of dedicated open space less than a 10 minute drive from the hall. The issue is hopping in cars to go there isn't as convenient as just walking across the street.
    Last edited by Bradfo69; 06-14-2022 at 11:52.
    PM Sent...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Orlando, Florida
    Posts
    1,156

    Default

    I agree with everything Adam said. I think this is going to be a lot of fun. These little buggers are quick.

    Like Adam said, make sure you get the 959B. I had the "A" version many years ago and it is fun, but the "B" is the way to go. The manufacturer learned from the first version and improved on it quite a bit.

    I will post the track layout I drew once we finalize it. Plenty of twists and turns and a short straight away too.


    As far as drones go. I wasn't planning to bring any with me. Like Brad said there isn't really anywhere appropriate to fly them at the venue.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    2,147,489,446

    Default

    I mentioned in another thread that I didn't mind adding "non-laser" things to SELEM, but what I did not mention is that regardless of what we're doing, I think it's important to keep everyone more or less together.

    One of the problems with the old venue in Newton was that things were so spread out between the Gym, the Cafeteria, the Auditorium, and the upstairs classrooms that people didn't know where to go. Consequently, they often missed things because they happened to be in the wrong building. It also tended to split the group into small clusters, meaning that you had to move around if you wanted to see everyone.

    This is no longer a problem with the new venue at the Executive Banquet and Conference Center though. Now everything is right together, and you can easily walk around and see everything that is going on in all areas in less than a minute. That's why I'm reluctant to suggest side-trips to go fly quad-copters; even if it's just 10 minutes away, it's still separating part of the crowd from the rest of the group.

    But if we decide to race RC cars instead, then it's a simple matter to just step outside to see what's going on. The track layout that Chris is working on includes the drive-up loop at the main entrance to the hall (around the fountain), so people could even watch from inside the entrance / lobby area (where the sign-in desk is located) if they wanted to.

    Adam

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Connecticut
    Posts
    884

    Default

    Can we combine the two hobbies?

    Have people race the RC cars around the track in the evening, while the "spectators" try to disable the RC cars with our lasers?

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Charleston, SC
    Posts
    2,147,489,446

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by HankLloydRight View Post
    Can we combine the two hobbies?
    Have people race the RC cars around the track in the evening, while the "spectators" try to disable the RC cars with our lasers?
    HAHA! Given all the recent advancements in high power diodes, I think the spectators would win that contest!

    In 2008 at the pre-SELEM dinner party, someone brought a tiny RC helicopter and started flying it around in the upstairs lounge area of The Artist's Cafe. Almost immediately, the poor craft was completely swamped with beams as everyone whipped out their laser pointers and aimed them at the toy helicopter. There's a famous video of the incident where you can clearly hear my voice saying "What is it with laser pointers and helicopters?" Not exactly our finest moment...

    Adam

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Orlando, Florida
    Posts
    1,156

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by buffo View Post
    HAHA! Given all the recent advancements in high power diodes, I think the spectators would win that contest!

    In 2008 at the pre-SELEM dinner party, someone brought a tiny RC helicopter and started flying it around in the upstairs lounge area of The Artist's Cafe. Almost immediately, the poor craft was completely swamped with beams as everyone whipped out their laser pointers and aimed them at the toy helicopter. There's a famous video of the incident where you can clearly hear my voice saying "What is it with laser pointers and helicopters?" Not exactly our finest moment...

    Adam
    That was my helicopter. That was the first year I brought RC to SELEM.
    I would love to see the video. I've looked around and can't find it on YouTube.

  9. #9
    swamidog's Avatar
    swamidog is online now Jr. Woodchuckington Janitor III, Esq.
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    santa fe, nm
    Posts
    1,545,752

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Lazerjock View Post
    That was my helicopter. That was the first year I brought RC to SELEM.
    I would love to see the video. I've looked around and can't find it on YouTube.


    the myth of the killer ape is true!
    suppose you're thinkin' about a plate o' shrimp. Suddenly someone'll say, like, plate, or shrimp, or plate o' shrimp out of the blue, no explanation. No point in lookin' for one, either. It's all part of a cosmic unconciousness.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Sep 2008
    Location
    Orlando, Florida
    Posts
    1,156

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by swamidog View Post


    the myth of the killer ape is true!
    Thanks Chris!!!
    I recognize the guy flying the helicopter. Lol He looks a lot younger though.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •