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Pocket-Sized RC Cars Hit U.S. Soil
airrage writes "RC cars are nothing new. But apparently, ZipZaps, now being sold at RadioShack, are pocket-sized, modifiable, and can be tricked out with body kits and other accessories. Even more impressive, "A 16,000-RPM performance motor is included with all starter kits". The story at extremetech here is." Kinda like the Thinkgeek cars. Yes, TG is part of OSDN - obligatory disclosure.
i have seen these exact toys in airports for well over a year in the states. hope you spend the kickback money wisely taco...
MARIJUANA, SHROOMS, X: ONLINE?! - E
here
Live web cams
These little cars are all the rage in Asia as Bit Char-G (bit charge) and Europe as Compact Char-G. Check out http://www.blackadderhall.com/bitchar-g/index.html for the scoop.
Cheers,
_GP_
You mean Radio Shack has been out of stock for months on their cars, too?
Neat!
blog
My friend got one of these in an airport a while back and it freaking rocks. He can do all sorts of things with it, and it is totally customizable...you can even get different gears for it to do tricks and whatnot. This is awesome..I just got paid today (tech support *is* worth 8 bucks an hour I guess)...so I'm gonna try and pick one of these up on the way home! Woohoo!
The anti-salmon
Yeah! Now I can gat into a pocket-sized Road Rage!
I hope that they offer really small Type-R stickers...
Connon O'brian showed this on his show last night. It was kind of funny watching him pimp this stupid product ...
man
No manual entry for
I saw these while on a business trip to Irvine for sale in the Spectrum.
This is not big, new or interesting news. Blah!
You will have to find it somewhere else. Their inventory seems to be slashdotted.
I saw someone playing with one of these type of RC cars in our cafeteria. They were driving it around annoying people. Unfortunately, it was so small that someone accidently stepped on it. Didn't work after that.
You can find the Zip Zaps website here, at least until it gets /.'ed.
So where can I get the hydro/bass kit?
I can just see my co-worker driving around the office thumping his kit car through my cube.
Or how about the "hummer" kit so I can drive my car through the bath tub or a parking lot puddle?
And we definitely need a neon underglow kit for those late night office parties.
ZipZap tools allow users to play with three different gear ratios to adjust the "horsepower"
To be pedantic, a different gear will give you different axel torque. Higher torque usually gives you quicker acceleration, at a possible (not always) lowering of top speed - you essentially run out of RPM before the motor is maxed out. Since this has no transmission so no way of playing with different RPM bands, I bet it does lower top speed a bit.
Horsepower is work per unit of time. A different gear ratio changes the work (effort) and the time in equal opposite amounts, horsepower remains constant.
These have been in Japan for a while, namely the brand "DigiQ" pocket RC cars.
/ www.takaratoys.co.jp/digiq/a .com/
Some links:
http://www2s.biglobe.ne.jp/~muro/
http:/
http://digiq.s12.xre
They're about 600-900 yen each, or about $5-$8 US for the basic cars.
Human nature is the same everywhere; the modes only are different. -- Earl of Chesterfield
Why are they using a radio frequency with a wavelength the size of a real car? Why not use a more efficient frequency in the microwave band?
Only Much Much cheaper.
Fastest combination I got from the website was 411 Feet Per Minute. 411 * 60 = 24660 Feet Per Hour or 4.67 Miles Per Hour -- not much faster than walking speed (how fast do they really need to go anyway). Who cares though... I still think they're nifty!
Still, in my mind, a car just isn't cool as a pocket tank. Oh yeah, time to mod one of these puppies for Warhammer 40K...
"I'm not really a sysadmin, I just play one at work..."
There's no wrong way, to eat a Rhesus...
High revving and no torque...sounds like your average ricer. :-)
20 January 2017: the End of an Error.
While on a recent trip to Radio Shack, longtime automotive hobbiest Grant Holman found a solution to a longtime problem.
"I just never felt it was big enough," explained Grant. "I've tried everything possible to compensate - tried extreme hobbies, got on steroids and worked out, and drove only the biggest, fastest cars. But it seemed that the bigger the compensation I tried, the smaller my pecker felt."
But after seeing the new ZipZap pocket sized RC cars, Grant's problems were solved. "I realized that I'd been looking at this all wrong. Bigger wasn't the answer. These cars are so small and so fun, I feel a lot better about my pecker's potential."
Eunice Abrahms, Grant's girlfriend, concured. "Ever since he bought his first ZipZap my sexual satisfaction has increased immensely," she added while trying out various models at the store. "Grant even lets me help pick which one we get next," she said. "You can hold the really powerful ones in your hand and run the motor and they really shake! Those are my favorite."
paintball
I guess the obligatory disclosure worked: ThinkGeek is already sold out!
Amazing magic tricks
A 16,000 RPM motor just isn't that much. I remember many 540 type motors pulling more RPM's about 15 years ago. I'm sure they're over 30k these days. In addition, there are plenty of gas powered engines that go well over 16k.
Jesus was all right but his disciples were thick and ordinary. -John Lennon
...but where's the option to install a bunch of subwoofers that rattle the trunk lid, making the stereo sound like crap? And how about coffee can sized exhaust tips that make the engine sound like a bicycle with playing cards in the spokes?
Stickers are essential, too. How else can you show off your Ford Escort Evolution IV or your Chevy Beretta Type R?
SIGFEH
This isn't as much "normalization" as it is "don't take so many drugs when you're designing tables."
While I don't necessarily disagree with your evaluation of their collective intelligence, you haven't quite justified your use of profanity.
I can see the fnords!
In a press conference Wednesday, Radio Shack introduced the ZipZap line of miniature RC cars. Each is based upon real-life roadster, and can be tricked out with body kits and other accessories. Customers also have the option of upgrading and tweaking the gear ratios to give their car an extra boost.
:)
So you can fit out your Porsche 911 RC with a spoiler, super charger, nitros, chrome alloy mag wheels, cool purple fog downlights, tinted windows, a "SPEEED DEEEMON" windscreen decal, and tiny little "extra large" beverage holders and it will still be defeated by a carpet with only a moderate shag-pile rating.
Pffft!
Now about 17,000 RPM???
http://www.hondaf1.com/english/info/engine.htm
There is even a link to find out what it sounds like on a dyno.
From the linked article:
The Starter Kit for each ZipZaps model comes complete with a stock chassis, "performance" motor, 12:1 gearing, factory tires, factory wheels, custom rims, realistic body shell, owner's manual, a collectable trading card, and a six-way controller/charger with removable wrist strap.
Okay, I see forward/reverse and left/right. What're the other two ways or is it talking about something else?
3. Advertise on Slashdot
Skiers and Riders -- http://www.snowjournal.com
Jeez, these things were on sale for $10 in Thailand the last time I visited. What a markup!
I saw a story on CNN about it as well! This is not news, this is advertising.
Religion is a gateway psychosis. -- Dave Foley
Can't wait. Windows 2000 Pro CDs as obstacles.
Luck favors the prepared, darling.
Yes! Those were awesome!
Thaks for reminding me of the name. I dug one up in the yard about a year or so ago, well the chassis anyways. I had lost it in my childhood.....my bet is that it had been buried for about 16 years or so. It was in suprisingly good shape. I wanted to 'restore' it but I can't remember where I put it. When I was a kid I remember not caring about the shells for them. The important part was the chassis and the motor. I used to make roads over hills of dirt for them to climb.
**sniff** oh the memories...
I'm out of my mind right now, but feel free to leave a message.....
Sure the Tommy Bit Char-G chars are cuter, but I prefer a car that is faster and looks nicer, say, like my Dodge Viper ...
http://www.kyosho.com/cars/kyod01x3.html
"Under the hood":
http://www.kyosho.com/cars/kyod01x1.html
--
"The issue today is the same as it has been throughout all history, whether man shall be allowed to govern himself or be ruled by a small elite."
- Thomas Jefferson
...you're the kind of guy who would get a kick out of (or is a fan of) Beaterz. : )
And I agree, the modification community is way over the top. Spend that $25K on a used viper rather than a tricked out 02 civic.
Using OmniWeb and its default User-Agent string, I get "Cannot Load Address -- This page redirects the browser back to itself". I have cookies enabled, too.
Changed the User-Agent string to that of IE 5.2 (OS X), and it works. I lay the blame on the website's idiot coders.
In Soviet Russia, Jesus asks: "What Would You Do?"
-dB
"It if was easy to do, we'd find someone cheaper than you to do it."
-dB
"It if was easy to do, we'd find someone cheaper than you to do it."
a driver's license to race these fun little cars!
Disclaimer: You will however need to present, given that this is radio shack and all
your name
your address
your blood type
your birthday
you SSN (SIN in Canada)
and the serial number from your cue cat
Go for it
I have one of these. According to my friend who knows a lot more about this shit than I do (note: that is a point of pride for me) they are identical to the Tomy at about US$10 less.
Atomic
The controller/charger is kinda cheesy but since it probably won't work but a few days anyway I doubt if it matters.
To ensure perfect aim, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target
If you want to find out more about ZipZaps, DigiQ, iRacers, Bit Char-Gs, MiniZs, and a billion other micro rc cars, drop by microrccars.com and check out the forums.
keep them stock looking and usually they won't get broken into.
(don't laugh - tandy part #RS-14314, micro-vandal, blue w/mask is in next year's catalog.)
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
I bought one of these after work today at a nearby RS. I went looking for a 5V AC/DC converter, but had no luck. As I was leaving, two of the guys working there were talking about these. I figured I'd easily get $20 worth of fun out of it.
I've run it for a couple hours already tonight, and it's been a blast. The recharge times are about a minute, and I've got a good 5-10 minutes from each charge.
There's only one thing I don't like, and that's the wide turning radius. (Which is tight when moving in reverse.) Maybe one of their suspension upgrades would fix that? ;)
I'm not sure how the batteries will hold up, I'll post again here in a few days and let you know.
Micro R/C cars have been out in japan for at least 2 years. Ebay has facilitated their entry into the U.S. as early as last winter (as far as I can tell). More proof that Japan gets cool toys way before we do.
If you want a wider range of customization, go for a Bit Char-G from Tomy, which have very recently been launched as R/C MicroSizers in the States (and also under different names in Australia and the U.K.). There are also numerous knockoffs of "bits" coming from China which are generally of lower quality. Hell, even Wal*Mart has a line on these things.
I admit, I first saw micro r/c cars on ThinkGeek (which are called Digi-Q from Takara). After I finally decided to get a micro r/c car, I did some research:
Therefore, I went with a bit. ZipZaps have a 16k rpm motor? So what: You can get 38k rpm motors for bits.
One of the things going against all these toys in the U.S. is the body styles they produce, which are all Japanese. How many people outside of Japan know what a Nissan Skyline is? Tomy may be prepared, as you can see a Mach 5 and Mini Cooper scheduled for release soon. I want a Chevy SSR and a '69 GTO Judge (gotta be orange) personally.
BUT, these things are temendous fun. There's a huge online community around the micro r/c hobby. Check out www.tinyrc.com, www.bitchar-g.co.uk and QFM Racing (click the right side of the page).
Hahaha, joke's on you, chump. I can see everything just fine with Konqueror 3.0.3. Time to upgrade, ye olde fashioned Slackware user.
Uh, who said anything about torque? He said the engine doesn't really make the car 'zoom'. He didn't even mention the turbo kit and the high performance kits.
:)
These cars are only fair if the default Mustang beats the Honda, but the Honda with the turbo kit beats the Mustang.
Humm, no Mozilla, I guess the don't want to support AOL user either. Idiots
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
Hey! Boats! :D And best of all, the range of the transmitter is unfortunately not much bigger than your tub anyway, so.. ;)
Hi everyone. I'm COMPLETELY wet behind the ears with regards slashdot - hell, it took me almost 15mins to work out how to post this first ever reply - DOH! The only times I've really taken any notice of it was when my old *nix-lovin' flatmate used to try to highlight the errors in my Microsoft-lovin' ways.
:-o We moved about half of our average monthly traffic in ONE DAY. I phoned my old flatmate tonig
;-)
;-) After all, Aaron and I both have "day jobs" to bay the bills. This is just a hobby! But if want to get into the craze and need help in sourcing a car or two (particularly for Aussies), we can help. We'd just like to see more folks taking up the hobby and growing the racing scene.
I was having a pretty quiet Friday here in Sydney. I was at work, idling browsing the 'Net (I am pretty safe saying that in here as my boss even struggles to use MS Word spellcheck without online help) and I saw a post on our ausmicro.com forums mentioning micro RC cars on slashdot.
Next thing I know, our poor little web server is straining under the load and we're getting emails from all over the place. Certainly NOT how I expected another quiet Friday at work to pan out
Yes, Aaron and I (aka ausmicro.com) do import micro and mini radio control equipment into Oz. It all started when we both wanted a Bit Char-G and throught that the US-based vendors were a little on the exxy side (with the dodgy USD-AUD exchange rate et al). Aaron (who is in Canberra) and I (in Sydney) are good friends and both of us had a lot of business/market experience business in Japan and SE Asia. So the phone calls and emails started.
We got our first cars in and we were hooked. Colleagues at our workplaces wanted them and so the demand grew. We started ausmicro to see if anyone else wanted to join us for a group buy (save on freight). Suddenly it became much bigger than we'd ever hoped for.
Everyone's gotta have a vice/hobby and RC is one of ours. Running the website (which gives us great mod ideas!) is the most expensive part of the hobby. I know it sounds like tired rhetoric, but ausmicro.com is about a sense of community - not profit. We load up the landed/dutied cost of the items we import by 5%, which goes towards subsidising the site running costs (transferring ~3GB of traffic per month doesn't come cheaply) Put it this way, after 6mths we're still well and truly in the red. And we expect to stay that way for another 12-18mths. But we're still loving it!
In the last couple of months we've jumped aboard the Mini-Z craze (1:24 scale vs 1:70 scale). These are GREAT fun, too. I can highly recommend http://www.minizworld.com as a good place to start if you're interested in learning about them.
Apologies if this post sounds cheesy/spammy. I assure you - it wasn't intended to be. I'll go as far to say as we're NOT the cheapest place to buy micro RC gear from. We DO NOT have a big range. Even our customer service SUCKS
Thanks again to those who contacted us (and all of the other suppliers/fansites mentioned in this story) for your interest in the hobby. If you have any questions feel free to email us (please be patient - the mail server is currently undergoing intensive care after its heart attack), or ask the community at http://www.ausmicro.com/forum
Cheers - and have a top weekend
Derek (aka DJ!)
derek@ausmicro.com
Hey now! Don't casually lump in the car that reintroduced the roadster as a viable car again in the 90's.
Seriously, the Miata is generally considered a classic, C&D consistently puts it in their top 10, and I believe one of the car rags just put it into the top 10 cars of all time list, a weighted list that included value in its measures, putting the car right next to such lofty craft as the Ferrari Modena. And despite not having the supercar-horsepower of the other vehicles you mentioned, it is an incredibly performing roadster. For some reason, too, much of the public perceives it to be a cheap car, but mind that it tops out at ~$27k now. IMHO, it's the car that Austin Healey wishes they could've engineered (used to drive a 3000).
Of course, if you can afford German, by all means....I'd highly recommend it ;-).
DP -- former Miata driver