Apparently two wrongs DO make a right.
However, that's only one right. One right fixes one wrong. What about the other wrong? What fixes that? Of course I'm talking about RC cars. They were both broken. Now one is fixed
But not the one I wanted to fix. I fixed my main car, but of course you know what happened because of my last post. But then, I decided to take apart the car and look for any more half-inch pieces of plastic that might have decided or will decide to break before I place an order so i can order them all at once. Turns out, the chassis itself is snapped in places, so I don't really want to spend $18 right now plus tax to get a new deck, reassemble the car, and have something else break.
SOOOOOOOOO... I took everything apart and put the screws in a container and the big parts in a box, like I was organized, and decided to disassemble the radio and electronics, too and then I said, "hey, why not take the servos, receiver, and switches out of here and put them in the other car, which only needs electronics to work?" So I did, making three trips through the house, each time aggravating the cleaning lady who happened to be cleaning my room.
All in all, the electronics worked and I got the RS4 working, end of story, right?
WRONG. I was pulling the starter and the head somehow popped off the primer, and that of course makes it pretty darn hard to prime the engine, so I had to do it manually, which involved getting a cut on my finger and getting fuel in it. YAY! but really. The car ran beautifully and all was well until I turned it off and tried to start it again, but it's grumpy like that so I decided not to push it and gave up.
But pretty much two broken cars led to one working one. Sadly, the one non-working one was my favorite, but all good things must end.
Now I guess I have another summer project to do.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Failed FICS
Good old Tamiya. Wonderful, wonderful Tamiya. They make RC cars and models. One of their cars happens to be mine, one that has given me no end of trouble.
From the beginning: The pull starter broke three or four times. Then a shock piston bent. and the rear wing ripped. Then the gas tank broke. Then, the day after I fixed that, the "state of the art" FICS (Frontal Impact Control System) failed to "control the frontal impact." It work's like this. the left and right sides of the front shock towers are on hinges, so when it hits something head-on, they will spread apart, protecting the shocks and absorbing the impact. But naturally, things can't ever be as good as they seem. Normally, a head on crash will simply dislocate a driveshaft- a 1-minute repair. However, today's impact (with the wheel of a parked car) resulted in a different injury. the whole shock tower cracked. Keep in mind that this isn't thin plastic. it's over half an inch thick in parts. Thick polycarbonate plastic that can probably withstand more force than your skull or most of your bones.
But still it broke. So again, thank you Tamiya for instilling false hope in me once again, tricking me into thinking that my investment could stand up to the abuse you claim. I've always told myself that next time something breaks I'll retire the car, but I can never seem to follow through with that threat, Tamiya. I suppose you're lucky, or perhaps you don't care. As long as the poor consumers who buy your products and then, when they inevitably break, keep buying replacement parts until there is nothing left of the original kit and the poor consumer throws their car down on the ground in frustration.
Next time, I buy HPI
From the beginning: The pull starter broke three or four times. Then a shock piston bent. and the rear wing ripped. Then the gas tank broke. Then, the day after I fixed that, the "state of the art" FICS (Frontal Impact Control System) failed to "control the frontal impact." It work's like this. the left and right sides of the front shock towers are on hinges, so when it hits something head-on, they will spread apart, protecting the shocks and absorbing the impact. But naturally, things can't ever be as good as they seem. Normally, a head on crash will simply dislocate a driveshaft- a 1-minute repair. However, today's impact (with the wheel of a parked car) resulted in a different injury. the whole shock tower cracked. Keep in mind that this isn't thin plastic. it's over half an inch thick in parts. Thick polycarbonate plastic that can probably withstand more force than your skull or most of your bones.
But still it broke. So again, thank you Tamiya for instilling false hope in me once again, tricking me into thinking that my investment could stand up to the abuse you claim. I've always told myself that next time something breaks I'll retire the car, but I can never seem to follow through with that threat, Tamiya. I suppose you're lucky, or perhaps you don't care. As long as the poor consumers who buy your products and then, when they inevitably break, keep buying replacement parts until there is nothing left of the original kit and the poor consumer throws their car down on the ground in frustration.
Next time, I buy HPI
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
End of Hope
Today the hope ended.
Today the fight ended.
Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit are finally home along with parts of other soldiers killed in the 2006 Lebanon War. It's been more than two years since they have been on Israeli soil.
Israel traded 200 Lebanese bodies and five live prisoners to Hezbollah so the remains of these Israeli fighters could be buried with dignity.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, there is jubilation. A national holiday has been declared to celebrate the return of these "resistance fighters" and the promise that Israel will not hold any more Hezbollah fighters.
I'm not here to tell you what was right, but i can tell you what I think. I think that Israel should not have given living prisoners for dead bodies. I think they should have given dead bodies for dead bodies. I think the return of live fighters sends the message to Hezbollah that we are pliable and they can kidnap more soldiers and get their own back. In short, it's bad diplomacy. I think Israel should have refused to negotiate until they knew the status of the soldiers. I feel terrible for the families, but I feel worse for our leaders. They are in a catch-22. On one hand, the only way to get prisoners back is to return live terrorists, which no one wants. On the other hand, they have been under tremendous pressure to cut a deal to have Regev and Shalit returned.
I appreciate the effort that the government has put into getting them back, I would appreciate it more if they didn't reward Hezbollah with live terrorists and murderers.
But the hope is gone. The hope we have all held for two long years that they would be alive is gone. While the bodies have returned there is no change in Israel's prisoner negotiations, and Hezbollah will now continue on their merry way, with five more men to kidnap and kill more of our soldiers.
Today the fight ended.
Eldad Regev and Gilad Shalit are finally home along with parts of other soldiers killed in the 2006 Lebanon War. It's been more than two years since they have been on Israeli soil.
Israel traded 200 Lebanese bodies and five live prisoners to Hezbollah so the remains of these Israeli fighters could be buried with dignity.
Meanwhile, in Lebanon, there is jubilation. A national holiday has been declared to celebrate the return of these "resistance fighters" and the promise that Israel will not hold any more Hezbollah fighters.
I'm not here to tell you what was right, but i can tell you what I think. I think that Israel should not have given living prisoners for dead bodies. I think they should have given dead bodies for dead bodies. I think the return of live fighters sends the message to Hezbollah that we are pliable and they can kidnap more soldiers and get their own back. In short, it's bad diplomacy. I think Israel should have refused to negotiate until they knew the status of the soldiers. I feel terrible for the families, but I feel worse for our leaders. They are in a catch-22. On one hand, the only way to get prisoners back is to return live terrorists, which no one wants. On the other hand, they have been under tremendous pressure to cut a deal to have Regev and Shalit returned.
I appreciate the effort that the government has put into getting them back, I would appreciate it more if they didn't reward Hezbollah with live terrorists and murderers.
But the hope is gone. The hope we have all held for two long years that they would be alive is gone. While the bodies have returned there is no change in Israel's prisoner negotiations, and Hezbollah will now continue on their merry way, with five more men to kidnap and kill more of our soldiers.
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