R/C Vehicle For The Desktop

Slide100 writes "Just found the coolest desktop toy while browsing my latest R/C Aircraft magazine ( It's a 4" long tracked R/C vehicle with plenty of torque and a 200 foot range. Four frquencies are available (racing, anyone?). You can also get a single board B/W UHF transmitter for remote telepresence! Check the website for more information"

Comments

Same thing at non-slashdotted (yet) site

[jedwards]

http://www.desktoprovers.com/

Obligatory Google Cache Link

[H0NGK0NGPH00EY]

Site down. Found at the Google cache here:
http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:TWUhtrUri0E:w ww.plantraco.com/product_dtr.html+&hl=en

God bless Google

For great justice.

mirror (aka karma whoring :)

[cetan]

http://www.necrosys.net/mirrors/desktop-rover.html

It's just the page linked to from the article, nothing more.

Options you're not considering

[Bonker]

Of course the perverts have made their posts. Yes, we all know this little guy has the power to land you in sexual harassment prosecution hell.

There is a use for this guy that you may not have considered.

Cabling. This is the number 1 most dangerous job that most techies will face, what with asbestos insulation and danger of falls etc. Putting a hook and a small light on this guy for cable running purposes will completely eliminate that small bit of danger and give techies more time to have fun doing things like rock-climbing, sky-diving, and bungee-jumping.

Prefer race cars? 1/43 scale is available:

[Saurentine]

Search Ebay for "Epoch" and "1/43". (Ebay seems to be down now, otherwise I'd link to an auction of one of these.)

The Japanese maker's web site is http://www.rc-mtech.com but it's in Japanese, so I can't read it.

You'll find tiny, roughly 4" long (110mm long, 48mm wide) race cars that are the latest R/C rage in Japan. They're just a little bit larger than a "Hot Wheels" car. They're fully proportional, so they steer smoothly, and they come in many frequencies, so you can have your own little table-top NASCAR circuit going if you want. They look like Asian rally cars. (Toyota Supra, Nissan Skyline, etc.)

The winning bids for these Epoch 1/43 scale race cars on Ebay are usually about $110-$130.

Still more cool r/c desktop toys

[cloudmaster]

Manufacturer page: http://www.kyosho.com/cars/kyod37x1.html
My preferred supplier: http://www.towerhobbies.com/promos/00so/kyod49sm.h tml

Real mini R/C cars. That little tank thing looks like some low-quality stuff. These things are fairly fast and have a real suspension, but they do cost a shade more than the crap tank and are a whopping 5" (instead of the tank's 4")... They've got 7 frequencies, though.

Obvious uses

[Col. Panic]

Womens' dormitory/lockerroom "surveillance"

Password capture a'la Sneakers

Chasing pets around the house

Making the geek next door jealous

Producing amusing video's to send Bob Sagget

I prefer the kind that shoot

[Wee]

I love RC tracked vehicles. I have no idea why. Anyway, the little guys are neat and all, but if you want the kind of desktop toy you can really play with, get an RC tank that actually shoots.

The T90 is a wee bit big for most desktops, but it plays well on the kitchen counter and the like. Dogs and cats don't mind them unless you shoot them... in which case they don't like you to get the tank down off the shelf at all. The little Airsoft pellets do sting, and leave a mark: my wife ended up with a tiny welt (completely accidentally, of course).

The model itself is very well done and it's easy to put together. No painting needed, though. Contrary to what Dan says (at the link above), the tank does work in grass. It'll climb a stack of books, up to about a 60 degree incline. It'll go right over a bunch of bananas, a 2x4, Doc Martens, etc. Works great on tile, kinda good on carpet (turning isn't so great on carpet). The pellets have a decent range. You can can them bounce off your neighbors house across the street for instance. (Nothing works better for keeping the young kids off your lawn, BTW, than a couple pellets headed down their direction.)

Anyway, fun stuff. You can also get red and green 6mm paintballs for your tank as well. I haven't tried them yet. My wife is upset enough without having to see little red and green splotches all over the house. Maybe for Christmas, though...

-B

Re:I prefer the kind that shoot

[Daniel Rutter]

> get an RC tank that actually shoots

Aww. There's me thinking "I should probably pimp one of my R/C tank reviews now", and wouldn't you know it, someone goes and does it for me. Whadda guy.

What the heck; I'll pimp another one of 'em anyway:

Tamiya 1/10th scale R/C Sherman tank

Much bigger than the little Plantacro critter, much more powerful than the Marui Airsoft tank, though of course also much more expensive than both of them put together. Tamiya even have a version with turret control, flashing guns and sampled sound effects now (see it here), for people who just can't spend money fast enough.

There are also some nice Russian gentlemen who'll sell you a model tank big enough to ride around on, for $US2500 or so.

Here's a 10oz Micro Helicopter w/ 20" rotor diam.

[alienmole]

The Piccolo is an electric helicopter which can be flown indoors. Although the 20" rotor diameter and 19" fuselage length may not sound that small, those are the measurements of the bits that stick out - the rotors and the tail boom - and don't reflect the small size of the main fuselage, which can be seen sitting on someone's hand on the above site.

Compared to the "full size" Raptor helicopter I fly, with its 48" rotor diameter, the Piccolo is tiny. The smaller size and lighter weight of the Piccolo's rotors also means that they store less energy when spinning, so it's possible to crash a Piccolo without completely destroying the rotors every time (my Raptor's heavier rotors turn into toothpicks when it crashes...)

However, don't buy a model heli and expect to be able to fly it straight off, if you don't already know how - it's not as easy as it looks. One of the simulator software packages like RealFlight Deluxe will help you learn to fly and save lots of money in parts (ask me how I know).