The Blog

WHAT'S HAPPENING AT RCMODELREVIEWS.COM

5 August 2010: Did you hear?

For those who haven't already realized that I have the perfect face for radio and the ideal voice for print -- you can hear more of me on recent podcast over at All Things That Fly.

And yes, those Chinese-made FASST-compatible receivers will be turning up on my desk sometime next week, if the courier-Gods allow.

I've also been told that I've scored an almost-free box of goodies from HobbyKing so when that turns up, I'll probably give much of it away to RCModelReviews readers.

Tomorrow looks as if it'll be light enough to do some filming and take some pictures so keep an eye on the website and YouTube channel for brand-new content!

30 July 2010: Chinese whispers

My goodness, it's been way too long since I updated this blog -- time just disappears so quickly when you're busy.

I do have some interesting news however...

Yes, there is a FASST-compatible receiver due to come out of China quite soon now and you'll see it reviewed first here at RCModelReviews.com

Also heard on another grapevine is the rumor that the FlySky 9X may not be the only kid on the block when it comes to affordable Chinese-designed and built transmitters. Let's hope that this time the bugs are few, the features are many and the quality control really exists.

As you'll see elsewhere on the website, I'm putting HobbyKing's customer support to the test -- out of necessity rather than choice I might add. We've all heard horror stories about HK's lack of support, well now it's time to find out just how hard it is to get things "put right" when they go wrong.

And, sitting here on the desk beside me, is the Hitec Aurora 9 radio. I can't wait to get stuck in and put this thing through its paces so I can give you the honest facts and not just a regurgitation of the features from the brochure. Will it live up to the promises made for it -- wait and see!

Of course the A9 isn't the only game in town. In fact it's got some very stiff competition from the other "brand name" manufacturers such as Futaba, JR, Spektrum and Airtronics. I've long ago lost count of the number of emails I've had asking me to review these radios -- but to do so would represent an investment of several thousand dollars (more than just coffee money you have to admit).

I've emailed all these suppliers and asked if they'd be prepared to provide product for review (as Hitec have done). I'm looking for a Futaba 8FG, Spektrum DX8, Airtronics 10SG and JR11X. Hitec are clearly confident enough to submit their radio for close, objective scrutiny here at RCModelReviews, will other manufacturers be equally as confident?

So far, no response from Hobbico, Horizon and Airtronics. Let's hope they're just sleeping on it and aren't actually afraid to submit a radio to the only place on the Net that really does tell it like it is and where advertising dollars buy no favors.

I'll keep you all informed.

Oh yes, the tiny little pressure sensors for the vario component of the RCModelReviews telemetry system turned up today so I'll try to get that finished this weekend.

So much to do, so little time!

4 June 2010: Where did the month go?

RCModelReviews seems to be taking up an increasing amount of my time (just ask my wife, she barely recognizes me any more) and every morning my email intray is filled with questions, comments, suggestions and other messages from readers.

The forums are also ticking over quite nicely although in nearly a month we've gained only 200 members or so -- not nearly as many as I'd hoped for.

To help spread the word about RCModelReviews I've decided to make articles and reviews from the website available to clubs and other not-for-profit publications without any fee.

So, if you're the editor of the club's website or newsletter and you find yourself with nothing to publish, feel free to contact me and get a no-fee republication license for content from RCModelReviews.

The regular weekly video on the RCModelReviews Youtube channel has turned out to be not-so-regular of late. The arrival of winter here means poor light and bitter cold in the workshop so I'm moving things back to my office at home for the next few months. I also need a new video camera as the old one is starting to play up a little.

Now, it's back to the testbench...

8 May 2010: Dim bulbs rattle at RCU/RCG

As readers will no doubt have noticed, the 2.4GHz shootout summary article was published this week and I'd like to thank all those who've emailed me with positive feedback.

It seems however, that some of the dim-bulbs that inhabit those other RC sites really do seem to have a bit of trouble coping with this kind of open frank and objective information.

Alongside the many positive comments, there are still a few who appear to have done no more than read the summary and not actually look at the individual product reviews that were done prior to that article.

One such reader stated "OK, I hate to mention it or say it, but this review by RC Model review is so full of holes; for example, at least in the one test, they stated they did not have an Optima 9 available, but said it should be better than the ones reviewed.... oh come on, that is subjective and crap... please redo the review!

"Each section was missing specifics about Hitec, JR, Aitronics, etc... so not really valid...". To which I say: read or watch the individual reviews for the detail you're seeking!

Read more: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_8515737/mpage_86/tm.htm#ixzz0nKQ7GBEO

4 May 2010: Look... we've got forums!

At long last I've got some forums running on the RCModelReview.com website.

If you (like me) have had a guts-full of moderators on a power-trip and you just want a friendly place to discuss all things RC with like-minded souls then sign and join in The RCModelReviews Forums

Right now it's a pretty generic copy of phpBB but over coming weeks, as time allows, I'll be customizing it and adding new functionality so as to make it even more useful.

In the meantime, if you have any problems (undoubtedly there will be some) then just drop me an email and I'll sort them.

Remember, spread the word -- let's get a buzz going here.

26 Apr 2010: New stuff!

By now, subscribers to the RCModelReviews.com YouTube Channel will have seen that I've started a (hopefully) weekly vlog that will keep everyone up to date with what's happening around here.

I've just uploaded a review of the latest Fly-Dream 2.4GHz module/receiver system and am currently testing/reviewing a whole bunch of servos.

In light of my article on the future of Chinese RC systems, I'd like to review the current crop of 2.4GHz DIY modules in the coming month but we'll see how keen manufacturers are to cooperate with that before I make any promises to readers.

The telemetry system (based on the FrSky 2-way system) has fallen further behind schedule (the pressures of life I'm afraid) but I'm hoping to tidy up the last of the software this week and get some flights in shortly. I've opted to make the circuitry very simple and use "through hole" construction so that anyone with modest soldering skills can build their own telemetry dashboard.

I have received another FHSS 2-way system and will also write a version of the software that will enable the same DIY circuitry to work with this, as well as the FrSky system.

It's also nice to see that Spektrum are trying to play catch-up to the realtime telemetry movement first started by Jeti and Hitec.

23 Mar 2010: Telemetry-time

While tidying up the last bits of the final shootout article I've also been doing more work on the FrSky telemetry dashboard and flight-system.

This is a fun project and will provide a great way not only to see how high, fast, far your model is flying but it will also provide a kind of "black box" capability so that in the event of a crash, you can more readily determine the probable cause.

Data from the model will be logged to memory on the transmitter dashboard and can be recalled later for analysis.

Glider pilots will like the rather simple variometer and those who just like to fly fast or high will be able to see what their maximum speed/altitude was during any flight.

There's lots more to come on this project!

I'm also formatting-up the "give away" page where the list of prizes that'll be going to some lucky readers and subscribers will be listed.

And let me know what you think of the product showcase page... is it something you'd visit regularly if I keep it updated with the latest, greatest and coolest products in the RC market?

Finally -- don't forget to tell everyone you know about RCModelReviews and to mention it on forums and to vendors. The more popular and well-supported the site becomes the more time I can spend writing articles, testing stuff and helping my fellow modelers.

1 Mar 2010: Beware the misinformed

Someone sent me a heads-up on a thread that's running on Flying Giants right now in respect to my tests on the Spektrum/JR system.

It's comments like those on the last page or two that remind me why I no longer bother with Flying Giants. Not only was I sanctioned for "daring" to criticize the product of a major advertiser/sponsor there -- despite stating nothing but unchallenged fact, it seems it's a place which is spoiled by the ill-informed comments of a handful of people.

Since I'm not going to bother returning to FG any time soon, I figured I'd address some of the nonsense being spouted in that thread...

Let's take this post for example.

"If the "author" had anything close to half an analytical brain...he would do this test outside.".

Guess what -- I *did* repeat the tests outside and they produced the same results. but, since being *inside* my workshop should make no difference it wasn't mentioned, for the sake of conciseness.

I particularly like the piece where the poster says "RF power goes down with the square of the distance....so with a plane in the air....as planes usually are....the video-Tx would not overwhelm the Rx" -- as if I hadn't thought of this and the possibility that the loss of control I observed was perhaps due to receiver overloading. If that poster had taken a moment to view my test video for the Spektrum/JR system, he'd have seen that this *wasn't* a case of "overloading" the receiver -- or there's no way it would have continued to operate when I used exactly the same video sender to block one channel of the DSM-2 system while the radio continued to operate unaffected by way of the second (clear of interference) channel.

I don't mind people critiquing my work but I do wish they would take a moment to get all the facts before doing so.

The same poster then makes this (again) mis-formed post.

He alleges that I have "tampered" with the video transmitter -- which is utterly false. This is an "off the shelf" video transmitter, unaltered in any way. If anyone's spreading FUD it's this guy who makes all sorts of accusations and criticisms without a shred of evidence or research.

Then, in this post, another contributor suggests "the real test would have been to have the receiver and trans linked up and working servos while his test was going and see if the receiver really could control during the 2.4 GHZ video transmit situation- WHICH HE DID NOT DO!"

In fact, in my article I state "I found that the receiver only needed to be equidistant from both the DSX9 and the video transmitter's antenna for loss of control to be experienced". How does the poster think I determined when control was lost? Guess what -- it involved checking to see if the servos still responded to the transmitter. Nowhere did I say that I used any other method or simply made a guess so to claim that "HE DID NOT DO" is conjecture and completely wrong -- in fact I have the video here if he wants it posted.

Finally, the guy from Arizona pipes in again with this post and reiterates his previously made (and quite invalid) points and adds "I am going one step further...and calling this a 100% ridiculous "test" plus, "think the author of this so called "review" was hoping nobody with any technical background would stumble across his *rap and call him out on his nonsense".

Strangely enough -- no such person has come forward to "call me out" -- because everything I published was based on sound testing, fact and first-hand observation.

It's this kind of senseless, mis-informed "how dare you criticize brand xxx" behavior that has seen me withdraw from so many commercially-based forums on the web.

Far too many people are mislead by those who don't bother to research their posting or just take umbrage at anyone who says anything bad (even when supported by evidence) about their favorite product or that of a key sponsor.

I've given up trying to go head-to-head with people like these who make such wild assumptions and place such little weight on evidence/facts. That's why you won't find me on RCU, RCG or FG (which, coincidentally is run by the RCG crowd).

23 Feb 2010: Last minute surprises

As I've mentioned on the home-page of this website, I was getting ready to upload my review of the JR/Spektrum DSX9 system and its DSM2 2.4GHz technology when I spied something very disappointing.

I'm busy re-writing that review now to reflect my findings.

I don't know where the past month has gone but I'm (obviously) running behind on getting these reviews to the website.

Hopefully there'll be more YouTube content going up soon too -- but those videos do take a while to film, edit, refilm, polish, render and upload (maybe that's where February has gone?)

Many of those who are regular viewers of my other YouTube channel (XJet) have asked me to share some of the secrets for taking good videos of models. Once the other reviews and the final shootout is online, I'm thinking of doing a "how to" article for all those budding videographers who want to produce RC videos that are a little more impressive than most you see on YouTube.

Here is one of my recent videos so you can see for yourself what I'm talking about:

If you'd like to see such an article and video showing the basics, let me know.

The telemetry hub and "dashboard" I'm designing and building for the FrSky 2.4GHz system I'm presently evaluating will be done in a couple of weeks and I'll share it all with those who are interested.

It should be simple enough for the average enthusiast to build but packed with enough features to make it worth the effort.

And for all those who have requested a review of the Hitec Aurora transmitter I'm afraid to say that at US$400+, it's a bit beyond the review budget right now -- as soon as fortune/finances allow I'll be taking a good look.

29 Jan 2010: Petulant Children

Yesterday I returned to RCGroups simply to clarify a some issues regarding the Hitec AFHSS system review posted to the RCModelReviews YouTube Channel.

I have now been banned by RCG moderators.

Why?

Perhaps it was because I included a link to the YouTube channel, perhaps it was because I included a linked to this site, perhaps it was because I stated that I was no longer using RCG.

Whatever the reason, the post (complete with important and useful information) was deleted and I am now unable to make further postings.

Do RCG's admins feel that RCModelReviews poses a threat to their revenue streams by providing the kind of honest and objective expert reviews that they can't (at least not without compromising their ad-revenues)?

Whatever the reason, the action of RCG further validates my decision to abandon it as a platform for free and open discussion of RC products.

What a shame that such a potentially useful resource should be run by a group of petulant children.

28 Jan 2010: The reviews start coming and Google Groups

I've started posting the reviews that represent the start of the great shootout feature and this includes videos on The RCModelReviews YouTube channel.

To answer questions or discuss points raised by these reviews, please feel free to use The RCModelReviews Discussion Group over at Google.

And don't forget to check out my XJet YouTube Channel.

20 Jan 2010: Here come the shootout reviews!

You'll notice that I've started uploading the individual reviews that make up the first part of the 2.4GHz module/receiver shootout feature.

Over the coming days (as time allows) I'll upload the rest of the individual reviews and then the summary/comparison. I've also got some video that will be going up on the RCModelReviews YouTube channel.

4 January 2010 -- Welcome to a new decade!

Hi to all the regular vistors to RCModelReviews and to any newcomers.

The module-shootout is done -- I hope to have it uploaded in full within the next week or so (depending on a few other commitments).

One thing's for sure, there are some great RC systems out there and they're selling for unbelievably low prices. There's never been a better time to consider the jump from FM/PCM to 2.4GHz than now.

I've just had to deal (again) with the idiots over at RCG who seem to be acting like a bunch of power-crazed children of late. As many will know, I bailed out of RC Universe when their mods did the same thing and I'm now considering leaving RC Groups for the same reason.

While I do my best to share my knowledge and experience with others, I take offense when a moderator blatantly lies -- such as accusing me of swearing in a post when I clearly did not. I was also rebuked for posting a very polite reply to someone who actually swore (to the extent that RCG's software censored their profanity).

Now I really enjoy helping others who might be new to the hobby or who might benefit from what I've picked up during the past 40+ years but I'm not going to be messed around by a group of moderators who clearly have nothing better to do with their time than exercise their power simply because they can.

When I left RCU I suggested that I might set up some forums here at RCModelReviews -- well today's idiocy at RCG has cemented my intention to do just that.

The RCG situation comes as no real surprise to me. I used to be a regular poster on Flying Giants (also run by RCG) until I, and others, were censured for legitimately critiquing one of their major advertiser's products. It seems that Flying Giants place revenue ahead of keeping users informed -- that's no the kind of place for me. There are some really nice people who use FG but I'm afraid it's still a place where commercial expediency has been seen to usurp the dissemination of good honest information that many people would find important.

As soon as the 2.4 shootout is up, I'll be opening up some forums here where folks will be able to ask questions, discuss issues/topics and share their opinions and knowledge - without being messed around by a bunch of children with idle hands and an inability to sit on their thumbs.

These will be forums where we remember that most of us live in free countries and have a right to freedom of speech, even if it's not what moderators or advertisers want to hear. I'm trusting that those who post here will find the environment to be one that encourages a frank, honest and open exchange of information but which remains alien to those who would attempt to get into personal attacks or insults.

It's been my experience that such an environment can be created and grown without the need to recruit a bunch of tiny-tots to rule the playground with an iron fist.

Oh, and don't forget to subscribe to the RCModelReviews YouTube channel if you haven't already done so. The first give-away will be later this month and if you're not in, you can't win!

Now I'll get back to work.

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

• Jet Racers Part 1
• Jet Racers Part 2
• Jet Racers Part 3
• Jet Racers Part 4

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.

Check this blog regularly for more updates and insights into the activities here at RCModelReviews.

Want to comment on this blog? Use the feedback page

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