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Vintage Trans-Am powerplant history

December 19, 2016 by justin 2 Comments

Here is a summary of my findings regarding the powerplant history for the US Vintage Trans-Am racing series, as well as our Minnesota variant. Some of the comments are moot-point as the previous series manufacturer, Novak, is no longer in business. But it may provide useful insight for the newcomers out there.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cars, Electric On-Road Tagged With: brushless, budget racing, training, USVTA

DIY lithium powered lawn mower

August 29, 2016 by justin 3 Comments

While this isn’t about anything R/C, it’s somewhat related… I recently converted a lead-acid battery powered mower to lithium-ion batteries. Anyone that is in R/C and has a lawn to mow should follow this course.

For the record, I hate mowing the lawn. It’s a useless pursuit. We’ve all got better things to do with both our time and our resources like water and land. This Washington Post article “Lawns are a soul-crushing timesuck and most of us would be better off without them” pretty much sums up my opinion.

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The purpose of upgrading to an electric mower is to get the job done faster, and without smelling like a snowblower repairman when I’m done.
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Filed Under: Cars, Electric Off-Road, Electric On-Road, Fixed Wing, Flight, Rotor Tagged With: battery

Sponsor Yourself

May 23, 2016 by justin 2 Comments

I’m not sponsored by HobbyKing or any of their brands (Turnigy, TrackStar, Quanum, etc.), but I’ve found that they’ve been a boon for someone getting back into any radio control hobby on a budget.

Truth-be-told, I feel like more of a product tester than anything. That is sort of what sponsored drivers/pilots do anyway: they get access to the newest stuff for testing and feedback.

I just do testing and feedback on the stuff I buy, and since it’s so darn cheap I don’t really mind.

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Filed Under: Cars, Electric On-Road, Fixed Wing, Flight, Rotor Tagged With: 9x, budget racing

Hobby Stores getting left behind

May 9, 2016 by justin 1 Comment

Dear hobby shop owners and employees,

This is a plea, asking you to get to know your competition. If you don’t know what a Turnigy 9x or an XT60 is, you’ve become a slave to your distributors, and your customers are likely going to leave you behind. There is an enterprising young man named Anthony Hand who moved to China and started a company called HobbyKing. You should pay attention to what they (and others) are doing as they’re rewriting the rules of radio control hobbies.

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Filed Under: Cars, Electric Off-Road, Electric On-Road, Fixed Wing, Flight, Rotor Tagged With: 9x, budget racing

Mini Cooper German Police Car – Polizei

February 1, 2016 by justin Leave a Comment

After buying a secondhand TC5 chassis for VTA racing, I had a leftover HPI RS4. Rather than letting it collect dust, I asked Jules if he’d like to invite his cousin Reese to go racing with us, of course the answer was yes. We had an extra unpainted Mini Cooper body and I was able to load up the unused chassis with super-cheap electronics like a silver-can motor for $4 and brushed ESC for $10.

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Filed Under: Cars, Electric On-Road Tagged With: brushed, budget racing, Duratrax paint, ESC, HPI, kids, Mini, rally, RS4, training

Why is R/C fun?

January 4, 2016 by justin Leave a Comment

There are many things that I like about R/C, especially now that I have kids. At the heart of the matter is that having kids means having less cash. Fact. Also, R/C models are something my kids and I can enjoy together.

There is 99% less chance that I’ll get killed doing model racing or flying vs. “real” racing or flying. I have no desire to be the next John Travolta or even worse, John Denver.

I didn’t say the danger is 100% less, as proven by this video that made it’s way to Tosh.0:
(probably not safe for kids – but it is pretty funny)

[Read more…]

Filed Under: Cars, Electric On-Road, Fixed Wing, Flight Tagged With: HPI, rally

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Meatball Racing

Cars, kids, and crashing since 2006. Let's talk about having fun, and being inclusive not exclusive. They're just toy cars after all. More about Meatball Racing.

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