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...

The Good Oil: Castor or synthetic, and which synthetic? Find out the pro's and con's of each option and which oil performs best under the RCModelReviews torture test.

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

8 September 2008

I felt it was time to take a look at just how many problems have affected the new 2.4GHz RC systems and that's the thrust of the latest article here at RCModelReviews. It seems it's very hard to make a perfect RC set.

The graphing, interpreting, summarizing and formatting of the results of the biggest ever servo-shootout article continues.

Corona have said they'll send a replacement for the dud 2.4GHz transmitter module and receiver I have here. Once it arrives I'll put it through its paces and report the results.

29 August 2008

It's been a very busy month here at RCModelReviews, not that you'd know that by looking at the website. Huge amounts of my time has been spent reviewing all those servos and I've also been looking at the new Corona-RC module-based 2.4GHz RC system.

Actually, looking at it is all I"m able to do because the unit purchased for review is faulty, straight out of the box.

This does not bode well for Corona, since they're now developing a rather unfortunate reputation for products that don't work or have major problems.

I'm engaged in an exchange of emails with Corona right now so we'll see what comes of it -- but the cost of returning the unit from whence it came is prohibitive and I'm not about to waste more of my meagre review budget on buying another system in the hope that it will actually work.

28 July 2008

Boy, I'm really busy right now and I hope to show you why in just a week or two.

Have you ever wondered which servos live up to their marketing hype and which don't?

Which is the fastest, the strongest, the most accurate?

Well for the past few weeks I've been working on what maybe the most comprehensive review and comparison of RC model servos ever conducted.

In order to provide accurate and reliable information I've even built a computer-controlled test rig that puts each of the servos through its paces and accurately graphs such key performance areas such as speed, accuracy, resolution, current-draw, etc.

When it's done (and there's an awful lot of work yet to do), you'll be able to compare the servos you're using now with others on the market and decide where best to spend your money in future.

And there are a few surprises too. For example, Hitec are now touting their latest "double resolution" digital servos that boast 2048 steps but there's a new entrant in the servo market who already offer 4096 steps of resolution.

In the meantime, you might want to pull the guts out of those lame TowerPro MG995 servos and upgrade some of your cheap standard servos to "digital" as shown in the latest article I've just added to the website.

27 June 2008

Again, it's been a little while since I posted something new, partly because the weather has been so bad here (southern hemisphere winter) recently and partly because I'm waiting for new products purchased for review to arrive.

Coming up on the review-scope is a new 2.4GHz module-based system out of China that claims to be frequency-hopping with eight channels for the astonishingly low price of $60 (module and one receiver). From what I've seen (online) so far it looks a bit rough around the edges - but that's why I'm going to test it first - so you don't risk being caught out with a lemon.

Work also continues on the 2.4GHz DIY R/C system, with lots of people saying they'd like to follow the project and even build their own. The first parts of this should be coming online next month.

And a big thanks tot he few people who have actually used the donate button to help cover costs by tossing a few dollars at this site. I don't have a whole heap of advertisers yet (as you can see) but perhaps that's because I am not prepare to trade "favorable reviews" for ad-dollars.

Stay tuned and tell your friends about this site.

5 June 2008

My apologies for the delays in getting new material to this site.

Unfortunately the RCModelReviews server was caught up in the recent explosion at a Houston data-center that put over 10,000 websites off the air for several days -- and I've been rather busy earning a crust as well.

Over this weekend I should be uploading a whole lot of new stuff to the site and hopefully I'll have earned enough money (working at my *real* job, to invest in some new products for review.

Remember, if there's anything in particular YOU would like to see reviewed, please contact me through the feedback page.

15 May 2008

I've decided to find out how many people would be interested in building their own 2.4GHz spread-spectrum RC equipment and if the numbers make it worthwhile, I'll publish all the information needed to do so in a step by step DIY project tutorial.

Find out more about this project

13 May 2008

I've been up to my elbows in oil today, doing preparation for the great oil shootout feature that will appear on these pages soon.

All of the major model engine oils are being put to the test so that you can see which one will protect your engine best and offer maximum performance.

In the meantime, I've written a "how it works" article that will fill you in on some of the basics regarding model engine oils.

12 May 2008

I'm getting ready to make another batch of 2.4GHz spectrum analyzers after the first lot were all presold. If you want one you'd better be quick to register your interest. More information can be found here.

9 May 2008

My apologies for the lack of recent updates, it's taken much longer than I'd anticipated to sort things out after my recent move and the weather has been awful.

I've also been working hard on my new book which is due for release fairly soon.

What is new however, are the links to a set of tests on four of the current 2.4GHz RC systems. These tests show how well (or poorly) these systems cope with interference, I strongly recommend you all have a look.

You'll find links to these videos on the updated 2.4GHz RC Systems Tested page.

I'm considering creating a "vendor ranking" page where people like yourself could provide feedback as to which vendors offer the best service - and which don't. I'd appreciate feedback on this idea. Worthwhile or not?

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.

Back to "real life", I've just finished moving house, which explains why there hasn't been an update to the site for the past few days. However, I'll be back at work crafting up new reviews and "how-to" features in a day or so.

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