Jason lives in Jason's World. His blog is but a small glimpse into this world.
Under water! Aug 11, 2010 - 01:57 PM
A few months back, we were challenged by Dave and Mollie from Ultra Stuff to produce a video. But it was not going to be just any ordinary video. The idea was that it had to be an underwater themed video involving RC cars. Ok. Naturally, we scoffed at the so called, “challenge,” and put together what may very well be the next Avatar. Check out the show on Ultra Stuff’s site and vote for your favorite on the bottom right. Pssh, like we need to tell you who the winner’s going to be…
How to how-to. Jun 08, 2010 - 05:21 PM
Just today, we were discussing how-to article ideas. And without fail, we come across the same rut - what should we do this month? Uuuh, how about a tire gluing story? What about a body mounting story? After spouting out a few ideas, we move on to joking about random monotonous things like coffee making or antelope mud wrestling. It’s our version of writer’s block. We’ve done lots of how-to’s in the past, some more than others (and I know John LOVES gear mesh stories), but we forget what it’s like to not know how to do something we normally do. It’s become so second nature to us that maybe we take it for granted. And until someone points it out, it doesn’t even come across as an idea for a story. So… if there’s anything you’d like to learn how to do, or a technique you’re unsure of, feel free to shoot us an email with your questions and suggestions. (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Losi on Apple! May 03, 2010 - 05:46 PM
I was doing some reading on Apple’s iPad, trying to talk myself out of buying one when I saw this on Apple’s site.
Has anyone ever noticed just how many different battery plugs there are in our hobby? I understand the theory and business logic behind proprietary plugs, but I gotta tell ya, I don’t like it. I know there’s much more to it (cough*politicaljargonandtouchystuffs), but for the sake of simplicity, I’m just going to touch on the obvious.
Essentially, what manufacturers are doing is armlocking and pushing consumers’ faces into their own products: buy our car, use our battery! Ok, so maybe not that aggressively or near that extent, but you get the point. Again, from a business standpoint, this practice is understandable. It’s going to help the manufacturer generate revenue, and for the most part, the probability of consumer loyalty, purchasing a battery by the same manufacturer to get the “right” battery (which is more like forced suggestion), is pretty high. Ok, fair enough. But this is only the small picture. And I’ll explain why later.
There is a way of getting out of this armlock though, and that is to cut off your arm. Figuratively speaking, of course. In other words, snip the plug, solder on a new one, and purchase whatever battery you please. This is what this hobby was maybe 10 years ago. Everyone would cut off their Tamiya plugs, and solder on a brand spanking new high-flow, never-melt-down-to-a-blobulous-thingy plug. Unfortunately, the likeliness of the average consumer doing that now is not very high, which is probably why this proprietary plug business plan thingamabober works. It’s an order of convenience. However, this shuts third party battery manufacturers (and in a way, the car manufacturer themselves) out of the loop. Unless these companies conform and produce a battery pack with the right plug, the third party battery companies are destined to fail.
The worst part is, it doesn’t just stop at battery plugs. Not only are we looking for the right male end to simply charge a battery, but if you run LiPo packs, you also have to find the right plug just to balance the cells! Yeah, there’s got to be half a dozen different balancing leads that exist now, and it’s incredibly frustrating. And don’t think you can get away from this plug-matching game by going nitro, oh no, no, no. Because receiver packs and switch harnesses also have proprietary plugs. The skinny red ones don’t work with the fat black ones. You know, this one’s actually fairly easy to resolve, and I don’t understand why receiver pack plugs aren’t standardized. There’s only 2 different ones! If the industry were to eliminate just one of them by setting them all aflame, it would be done! Or even if the male end were redesigned so that it would accept both JR and Futaba style plugs. It would relieve so much unnecessary frustration.
So here’s what I propose: standardize all plugs, within their specific categories, of course. Standardize a LiPo balancing plug; standardize a receiver pack plug; I don’t care which one, just pick one. And most importantly, standardize battery plugs. Here’s why, and this, in my opinion, is the big picture. Manufacturers making proprietary plugs are only limiting themselves to their own customers, ultimately missing out on various sales opportunities. For example, with proprietary plugs, Traxxas will only be able to cater to Traxxas consumers running Traxxas cars with Traxxas plugs, and Losi will only be able to cater to Losi consumers running Losi cars with Losi plugs. What about all the other potential consumers that are out there? People that run Associated or HPI or Tamiya or whatever that don’t have Traxxas or Losi plugs? That’s an entire group of consumers that aren’t going to buy your product. Missed opportunity? Absolutely. Standardize a plug, then appeal and cross sell to the “competitor’s” customers as well as your own. Don’t think this can work? Look at radio manufacturers. Virtually every single receiver and servo plug has been standardized. Because of that, Futaba radio users can not only run Futaba servos, but also KO servos, Airtronics servos, JR servos, Spektrum servos, Hitec servos, etc, etc, etc. And the same goes with any of those radio manufacturers with each other’s servos. Why not do that with batteries? Run Losi batteries in Traxxas cars and vice versa and versa visa and so on and so forth and such.
From a consumer’s standpoint, we’re being limited to whatever the manufacturers (and whatever third party manufacturer) provide us. At least until, as I’ve mentioned earlier, we amputate the plug, which is the only way to make every brand battery work with your stuff. Proprietary plugs are also inconvenient. It’s likely that if you’re die hard into this hobby, and to a level anywhere like us, you’re going to have more than just one car. And if they’ve both got proprietary plugs, guess how much more specific stuff you’d have to buy. Another charger, another battery, blah, blah, blah, blah. Or if you’re out running with some friends, and if your charger fails and none of your buddies have the same plug, you’re dead in the water. A standardized plug would save a lot of headache. Right? (Actually, we just make adapters for our chargers and Racers Edge has a “Squid” plug adapter you should check out. But I digress.)
For the longest time, the Tamiya plug was the standard. But people began seeing the plug’s shortcomings, so they upgraded to their favorite hight-current plug. To date, I can think of eight different types of plugs. Eight! There may still be more, but I mean come on, do we really need eight different plugs for the same type of product?
Since every manufacturer has a high current connector now, I’d happily see any one of them be “the one.” Honestly, I don’t care which plug becomes the standard, I just want one. It would make RC life so much more pleasant. I’m just saying. But then again, what do I know? I’m just the photographer.
Disagree? Tell me. (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
JASON
