RC Model Reviews: My Blog

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All of the products reviewed here have been bought with my own money and nobody pays me for the time I spend writing these articles.

If you find any of this stuff useful and/or would like to see RCModelReviews continue to publish material like this then please consider making a small donation towards the operation of the site.

My Credentials
So who's doing this reviewing then?

Well I've been building and flying or driving radio controlled models for over 40 years and during that time I like to think I've built up a reasonable amount of knowledge.

I'm also a qualified electronics engineer who has worked in radio frequency, analog, digital systems and software for more than three decades. In fact I designed and built my first RC set back in 1969.

For the past nine years I've also been involved in the design and manufacture of some rather sophisticated engine technology and UAV flight control systems.

So, chances are I've been there, done that and have a huge pile of tee shirts to prove it.

Right now I'm heavily into 3D flying and enjoy all aspects of the RC hobby. I may be old but I don't feel it.

In the Pipeline

Here's just a little bit of what's to come on this site...

RC explained: Demystifying terms such as PCM, PPM dual conversion, single conversion, full-range etc., this feature will explain it all.

Cheap Chinese Engines: Just how good are those cheap Chinese glow and gas engines that sell for half the price of their "brand-name" equivalent? I put several to the test.

Build your own radio gear?: Back in the old days, building your own RC gear was not uncommon and now the arrival of 2.4GHz has made it practical again.

The Blog

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT RCMODELREVIEWS.COM

18 Dec 2011: Still waiting for summer!

Sorry it's been so long since my last update but as I sit here typing this on a Sunday morning, it's just 9 degrees C and the wind-chill has dropped that to an effective temperature of 5 degrees C (or just over 40 deg F).

And... it's only two days until the summer solstice!

The rain is pelting down outside, as it has been for the past week and there has been major flooding and land-slips across the country as sodden ground becomes unable to absorb any more water.

By now, we ought to be enjoying the warm temperatures and gentle breezes of summer but they are nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, the weather forecasters predict that the weather will clear for Christmas day but even then, the temperatures are supposed to be much lower than we'd normally expect for this time of year.

So, many of the great reviews I've been sitting on here are still waiting for a chance to get some final shots (in sunlight) and some flight-time. The bareback FPV project is sitting here, waiting for a day when the sun is actually shining and the wind is less than 30kph so that I can test everything out and get some decent video.

In the meantime, thanks for waiting. I think I might go put a jacket on and have another hot cup of coffee!

Wecome to the blog

I've started this blog page to keep regular visitors informed as to what I've been doing and what's coming up on the site.

But first I thought I should provide a little more of an introduction to myself.

I am an inveterate modeller, tinkerer and techno-glutton. If it involves technology and science, I want to know about it and I want to know how (well) it works. So producing this website was a natural opportunity for me.

But if you want to get to know me better, take a look at the Jet Dragster episodes of ScrapHeap Challenge that someone has put up on You Tube.

I am Bruce Simpson, "expert" for The Destroyers. It was me who designed and helped build the pulsejet engine we used on this episode and the one who was ultimately stupid enough to drive it.

Scrapheap Challenge: Jet Racers

And here's a YouTube video of one of my other creations, a huge twin-jet powered dragster driven (this time) by Temuera Morrison (you may have seen him in Star Wars and a few other movies. I'm the one in the blue overalls starting the beast up.