I really didn't have a killer present in mind for Logan this year. In past years, I'd be the one buying the one major, gonzo present, like a ride-on electric car, or a 50cc mini-bike, or a 50cc four-wheeler.
Really, I can't think of many other things for him. Really, until he gets into musical instruments, which may take a few more years (or EVER), there just isn't that much that he wants or needs that he hasn't got or is getting.
So, a few days before Xmas, I saw a TV ad for a local hobby store where they showed all their remote control stuff.
I figured I'd get him a really nice car. Remote control cars are a tricky gift because the stuff you can buy at Wal-Mart or Toys R Us is inexpensive (relatively), but the stuff breaks. So, it's a very non-durable toy. Works great until the first thing goes haywire, then you have to throw the whole shebang away.
We've seen it all, from toys where wheels feel off on Christmas day, to toys with proprietary battery packs and chargers that, once misplaced, rendered the toys useless.
So, I figured I should spring for something that may at least outlast the current year. Previous r/c purchases usually didn't meet that criteria.
I went to the store and after asking a lot of questions, got Logan a Traxxas Slash, which has a lot of advantages to it. The main one is that it is relatively waterproof. So, it can be used outdoors, year-round.
These are, apparently, meant to be raced against each other, and can attain speeds in the 20-30 mph range. With optional brushless motors, they can go as fast as 40 mph+ according to the salesman.
I figured we should get our feet wet with a relatively standard model. So, I bought the standard 2WD Slash.
It included a charger and battery. I charged the battery overnight and the next day, it was ready to roll.
Worked awesome... until the battery wore out. They only last about 20 minutes or so. Did some research, and the charger that came with it takes literally about 20 hours to charge the battery.
So, went back and bought a better charger. It cost about $44. Brought it home and at max charging speed, it can charge a battery in 45 minutes. With two batteries, that means Logan can play with this thing essentially until he loses interest if he starts with two charged batteries.
That part went really, really well. I'd recommend one of these cars for anybody interested in a remote controlled car. They're a bit pricey (over $200), but as the video on my Facebook page shows, they run really fast and unless you smash them into something, are relatively indestructible.
The next thing I got was an R/C flight simulator, bundled with an actual R/C controller. This is a Phoenix R/C simulator and a Spektrum DX5E transmitter.
Frankly, they didn't work worth a damn. For some reason, they bundled the software with a controller that requires an extra adapter. I seldom got it to work right and eventually the adapter broke. Also, the software requires a USB dongle for security purposes. As any IT person can tell you: never, if you can help it, buy a product that involves a dongle.
So, anyway, this is broken, doesn't work, and before it broke, only worked intermittently. (The reason it broke was that it only worked if you pressed the dongle and adapter really hard into the side of the transmitter... eventually one press too many at the wrong angle and it was broken.)
The distributor (who created the bundle) is closed for the weekend. So, I'll be testing their customer support on Monday. The hobby store said that if things don't work out, they'll see what they can do to get the store owner involved and see if they can get the issue resolved.
Now, the transmitter, itself, works just fine. In fact, I bought a little indoor helicopter called a Blade MCX E-flite. Looks a lot like those little Air Hogs you see for sale for $30.
If you have a controller, these cost about $90. (The store charged me $100... lucky me.)
These are a lot of fun to fly, but the batteries literally last only about 8 minutes. The included charger works off of 4 AA batteries. No, seriously, it uses batteries to charge batteries.
Went back to the store to see if they had a charger that plugs into the wall. Being the day after Christmas, their shelves were pretty much picked clean.
However, the guy did tell me how I could take an old cell-phone charger and a soldering iron and solder up the charger so it works off the cell phone charger instead of batteries. I did it, and it worked flawlessly.
Then, I got a little too cocky and tried to fly the chopper down the stairs. It crashed and a little part broke. They ordinarily stock it. It costs only $6.00. Again, being that this is the day after Xmas, they were sold out. I ordered one and it should arrive this week.
This, to me, is the real value of buying the slightly more expensive stuff. They have parts for them and they can be repaired. So, yeah, the R/C car was over $200, but a cheapo would be between $50 and 100 and I've seldom seen one last more than a month.
You can buy Air Hog helicopters that look a lot like the Blade I bought, but when those break, they're done for.
I really wasn't intending to get into a new hobby. I'm debating buying another car so I can race Logan with it (or his friends can), or an R/C airplane, which is something I've wanted since I was a little kid.
I'll try to shy away. This hobby is expensive and time-consuming. Though it is tempting to get into flying for just a few hundred bucks, versus the thousands upon thousands to actually fly a real aircraft. Though, flying a real aircraft has the advantage of actually being able to transport you somewhere.
So, overall, thumbs up on the little chopper and two thumbs up on the r/c car. Thumbs down on the crappy flight sim and controller bundle, even though the sim and the controller are fine. They just didn't bother to bundle together a bunch of stuff that works well together.
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