Radio controlled cars or RC cars are self-powered model cars or trucks that can be controlled from a distance using a specialized transmitter. The history of remote control cars/trucks starts back in 1970s when RC cars were starting to replicate real cars. Cars in the 70's were designed to run on-road, such as smooth parking lots. Tamiya followed up the Porsche 934 Turbo with others such as the Lamborghini Countach, Toyota Celica, and scale Formula 1 cars such as the Ferrari 312T3 and the Tyrrell P34 Six Wheeler. The release of the Tamika Rough Rider in 1979 brought a new dimension to the hobby. The car was capable of running in off-road conditions such as dirt, rocky terrain, and water. It had a die-cast suspension system and large rubber tires. Immediately following the Rough Rider was the Tamiya Sand Scorcher. Both cars are now collectibles, sometimes fetching over a thousand dollars in eBay. These off-road cars could be run anywhere. In backyards, rough parking lots, or baseball fields. Little did anyone know that this would start the R/C craze in the 80's.
In the 80’s The 80's saw an explosion in the popularity of the hobby, most notably in the 1/10th scale off-road category. This was an era when you could expect to see 400 competitors in a major race. In 1985 the first issue of “RC Car Action” was released. It quickly became the worlds best selling RC magazine. In 1986 Tamiya released the original Blackfoot monster truck, which launches a long run of monster trucks that became the most popular in the RC world. 1988is when Losi came out with the JRX2, this two-wheel drive buggy competes with the Team Associated SC10 and kicks off the greatest rivalry in RC history.
Still in 1988, the movie The Dead Pool, starring Clint Eastwood, provides major exposure for RC. The antagonist in the film uses an RC car armed with a bomb as a weapon. Jay Halsey drives the car and starts a career working RC for Hollywood productions. Team associated started making the RC12LS RC10LS and the RC10LSO all with highly adjustable strut front suspension. Later on this became standard frontend on most pan cars.
Traxxes releases its first 2wd monster truck; the Stampede and the 2wd stadium truck the rustler.
"RTR" (ready to race) models have become available from every major manufacturer of radio-controlled cars, attracting many hobbyists who would otherwise have purchased a pre-assembled car. Vehicles of this type need little or no final assembly and in most cases, the bodies are shipped painted and trimmed, requiring little or no work from the owner before they can be used. High-spec racing vehicles are generally still available or sold only as kits, and companies like Thunder Tiger, Losi, HPI and Tamiya sell kit and RTR versions with the benefits of a kit version being in upgraded parts or lower costs, respectively.
1/10th scale Traxxes slash 4x4 remote control cars are one of the most common. To build one of these machines you need a Traxxes tool kit. This includes 5 different sizes of Allen wrenches, a ratcheting driver and 5 different sizes of sockets. A slash 4x4 kit comes with chassis, tires, shock towers and transmitter and receiver. This kit has all the parts you need to build this trophy truck. Valineon motor and electronic speed control not included.
First we assemble the front axles to the differential. Front and rear axels come with differentials built into them. All that’s needed for the differentials is grease to lube the gears to eliminate friction. The steering rods need to be put in place and steering servo need to be installed. Before you attach the front end to the chasse you will need to bolt the shock tower to your differential housing, attach your shocks to the tower and to your A arm then screw down your bumper and then bolt your completed front end to your chasse.
“The way solar cars gather and store power is also a big issue. Solar power makes sense for buildings, the space station and even satellites because those structures are regularly exposed to the sun. These applications also have the ability to use batteries to store the energy the sun generates. A large battery pack -- with enough storage to power the car from sunset to sunrise -- would make an electric car far too heavy, so a solar-powered car must be in the sun at nearly all times to be effective. That means solar-powered cars aren't very practical if you're in a tunnel, a covered parking garage or even if it's cloudy. Building rooftops, the space station and satellites also have the space for much bigger, more powerful solar arrays that allow them to gather more energy. For a car to harness the equivalent amount of energy, the vehicle proportions would have to be huge.”
Luckily a RC car can be fully operational with a solar panel with dimensions of 40cm by 65cm. the car itself doesn’t have to be as big as the solar panel, the front wheel base need to be widened so your car wont flip over on turns. The solar panel will be connected to the ESC and a LIFE battery that will act as a compositor so if the car goes under some shade it wont completely shut down.
In the last stages of building our solar RC car, we glued the solar array to a piece of blue board and then mounted it to the car, after that we soldered the Deans connector on and we are ready for test 1. Some how the connectors got soldered backwards and we toasted the ESC. But it ok because it a masterpiece of castle creations, so that makes it tough. The whole team got to test-drive our car. In full sunlight we believe the car can reach up to 20 mph.
Teaching the basics of a 1/10th RC car
I showed our team my RC and the basics of its anatomy from the 2.4 GHz radio systems to the gears and differentials. I assigned homework for the team, they have to come back knowing the difference between the three types of batteries LIPO, NIMH and NiCad. For our next project were going to buy x-terra kit and build it from ground up and put our own electronics in it such as motor, esc, receiver, transmitter and steering servo. Our project is currently on hold do to Michael Lowe being sick. We didn’t get to build the x-terra but the class brought a RC car in and I showed them how to replace the gears and how to take the motor off and put it all back together. I also showed them how tight the screws and bolts should be.
Solar powered cars
The first solar cars made their appearance in the late 1970′s. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, Greg Johanson and Joel Davidson developed the first completely powered solar car in 1984.
Solar cars use photovoltaic cells (PVCs) to convert the sun’s rays into electricity. In newer designs, the electricity is used in two ways. First, it powers the motor so that the car will move. Second, some of the electricity is stored in a battery so that the car will be able to function on cloudy days, at night, and in dark spaces like parking garages.
Photovoltaic cells cost anywhere from $10 to $400 per cell. The more expensive the cells, the more efficient they are at gathering and converting the sun’s energy. This means that constructing a solar powered car may be way beyond your budget.
And even if you do come up with the money, you won’t get a luxury transport. Solar powered cars are made with very lightweight frames and can generally only accommodate one person, the driver. If you are in an accident, the frame will serve as poor protection. Additionally, solar powered cars can get very warm on the inside and can be uncomfortable to operate.
Facts about solar powered cars
The concept of solar cars first appeared in the 1970s. The first completely powered solar car was developed in 1984. Toyota Prius is one of the most appreciated solar powered car models at the moment. This vehicle features a solar roof that powers the car’s heating and cooling system. Solar powered cars are believed to be the cars of the future, as they use solar energy, which is a renewable, free of costs source of energy that anyone can access and use. Solar powered cars are great vehicles that anyone should consider. Even though nowadays there are still few models you will be able to choose from, in time this field will surely know an amazing development. As technology advances, more manufacturers will release solar powered cars, which will become more easily accessible to all of
This information was found @ (solarpoweredcars.net)
Solar Roller competition
Day of competition 5/18/13 we were hoping for a sunny day but what we got was clouds all day with a few minutes of sun throughout the day. We started setting up the track at approximately 8:30-9:00 o’clock. I got my hands on backpack blower and blew all the gravel off the parking lot where our track will be set up. Travis, our lead track designer was designing our track as we were waiting for the other teams to arrive. When the other teams showed up we got pictures taken at 10:00 and started setting up to race. We took a few purely solar powered laps then lined up for the first ever in the U.S. solar powered RC car race.
The race begins!! In the first few laps I take first place and hold the lead for 45 laps. I am 9 laps in the lead when all of a sudden the front left tire breaks loose causing me to skid to a stop. Aspen science center took the chance that was given to them by the unfortunate break down. When we get the tire fixed we are 10 laps down and then the batteries start to get low on power and shuts the receiver down on lap 152,causing our number 2 car to veer off course into the crowd. As I yell “no stop little car..Someone stop that car!”
At the end of the race john took over racing the last few laps. We took second place behind Aspen and ahead of CRMS. We received a small solar panel for second place and pictures.
Lessons learned
The biggest thing that our tem learned is not to use stock steering parts. The spindle carrier broke causing our tire to fall off in the middle of the race; we decided that in the future races of solar rollers we are going to have custom steering system that will be more than strong enough to handle whatever track we may be on.
Final for Maze Runner
In The Maze Runner, Thomas is a newcomer to a place called “the glade” where a group of boys are forced to live and survive on their own. Thomas is a very hardworking and determined. He’s good but everyone thinks that he is bad. The day after he showed up a girl named Teresa showed up with a note saying everything is going to change. She could miraculously speak inside his head. Even though he was scared out of his mind, his bravery and courage got him and everyone else out of the glade and the maze.
The second day that Thomas was in the glade, Alby was showing him the different jobs around the glade and only one job grabbed his attention. He was determined to become a runner, the people who go out into the maze and explore for a way out. He saw Minho, the leader of the runners the day after. He was so determined to become a runner that he ran into the maze knowing he shouldn’t just to save Alby and Minho. He spent the night at in the maze fighting off the grievers until sunrise. After that he was awarded the job of being a runner.
When Teresa arrived in the box, the Gladers were surprised. The Med Jacks took her to the house and she only said one thing “everything is going to change” and then went into a coma, she could talk to Thomas through telekinesis. Thomas had no idea what was going on, he only knew that it had to be the girl in a coma. He couldn’t talk back to her through his mind. Throughout his time in the maze, they became able to talk to each other in their heads and used that for communication in the maze.
Thomas and Minho are the ones who found the “griever hole”, a way out of the maze. Right when they were going to tell the others, they found themselves stuck between a cliff of emptiness and four grievers, all with saws spinning and lights glowing. They decided to use the duck and dive maneuver, and soon as they did the grievers fell over the cliffs with scraping noises and lights flashing. They ran back to the glade to tell the others and get everyone out the next day.
Through out the book, The Maze Runner has shown that he is hardworking, determined and brave. He convinced the gladers that he was realy a good guy. The day after he showed up a girl named Teresa showed up with a note saying everything is going to change and everything did change. She could miraculously speak inside his head. Even though he was scared out of his mind, his bravery and courage got him and everyone else out of the glade and the maze.