Admin

[Admin]

I have just had a whacky idea (I’m sorry, it happens, just look at my joystick port project :smiley2:)

Tagging the cars with radio transmitters is out of the question, too big, too expensive, so how about infra-red transmitters?

My thought goes along this line: mod mad has created a Knight Rider light using a programmable chip, what if you were to program that chip to control a single, infra-red LED andhave it flash in a set sequence (so it acts just like a tv remote control).

With several of these mini infra-red remote controls each programmed to output a unique sequence on a non-stop loop, you would then be able to identify each individual car by having the LED pointing upwards, out of a hole inthe roof or a window (you might be able to get away with using 3mm LEDs as you only need to transmit a signal about a foot or so).

On the lap counter side you’d need an infra-red receiver connected to your PC (I got one cheap off eBay, a Packard Bell thing that, with free software, allows me to almost totaly control the PC with almost any remote) mounted about a foot above the start line and pointing down.

Is the idea nuts or viable? Me, I can see someone like Tomy producing the infra-red tags en masse…

[Admin]

Derek, thanks, I only did the OEM joystick project page, the taking your Bit apart wasn’t me (Exial on the martiniracing forum did that and is hosting my project). I don’t have a Bit Char-G website setup and don’t intend to set one up, so when I did the joystick project I put it on some temporary space with a zip file of the whole page (html & pics) for anyone to put on their site,and someone did.

The same goes for if I do any other projects, I’ll hand out the page for anyone to host on their Bit site. If you’d like to host a copy of the page toothen get this zip: http://62.188.32.182:1453/~rid/OEMjoystick.zip

Driving my OEM Bullet with a Megadrive joypad is great, I did the mod to a friend’s OEM controller so he can let kids play with it by using a big old Amiga joystick (similar to the onein the mod pics)- easier for them to deal with and the controllerantenna is less likely to be trodden on.

I still don’t have a proper Bit Char-G yet :smiley9:but when I get one I will definitely see if the joystick port project will also work on it (I get the feeling it will).

Oh and those pics were taken with my Olympus C-1000L which only takes 1024×768 res images max, but the optics make up for that and I used a tripod with the bouncing the flash to the ceiling technique (if you bounce the flashlight to the ceiling like that you don’t always need a tripod).

[Admin]

also, this is the first company that was thinking when they made the car. they melted the plastic above the steering spring, so that the spring wouldn’t fall off anymore and get lost. i guess you can put that mod into the database. thanks to atomic toys z-car. lates b

[Admin]

huh, weird. mine runs smooth, and the body looks solid, as good as a bit char, but more defined. oh yeah. i also just noticed it is a NIMH battery.and it says to charge it 3 times before first driving it. damn, i should’ve brough the instructions to the race. laters b

[Admin]

I just bought one of these also, the range is pretty good on it, he chassis is the exact same thing as the bit, the only things i don’t like are the bodies look weak, the gears grind really bad, and that stupid motor noise. other than that the car runs pretty good.

[Admin]

I tried the foaming oven cleaner over the weekend on one of my Skylines. The results were astounding!

I just sat the car in the kitchen sank, gave it a hit of “Mr Muscle” (an Aussie foaming oven cleaner) and repeated the application of foam about an hour later.

Most of thepaint became “gooey” and was removed after a quick wipe with a kitchen scourer. The little left-over bits were eliminated with a quick rub with some 1200-grade wet’n’dry paper.

Derek

[Admin]

Tiburon

Have you tried re-seating and re-centering the magnet?

“Centre” is not necessarily the middle of the steering box, either. :smiley5: The left and right EM coils are rarely of the same strength. On one of my cars, for example, the magnet is sticking a full 1.2mm off-centre from armature and now holds a perfect straight line.

Derek

[Admin]

Borjaq

Is the car that’s not responding a 2-speed or a standard single-speed?

Very interesting….

Derek

[Admin]

Alex

The best method is, without doubt, a Hot Wire Foam Cutter. Check out this forum search for more information.

Passable results can also be achieved with a very fine-toothed (32tpi+) hacksaw blade.

Let us all know how you go. Looking forward to seeing another track completed!

Cheers

Derek

[Admin]

thanks for the comments!:smiley15:

putting harder tires on the front wheelssounds like it would make sense.

ylexot: i have been practicing the “tap steering” technique. it seems to help some as well.

ciao for now.

[Admin]

Does the underside of the clear chassis of the ODM mouse/ Smart Car Bitcharg read NiMH on the bottom? I couldnt read it clearly in the photo gallery, but it looks like it reads NiMH and not NiCd like the regular bitChargs. Is that correct?

deejay40

[Admin]

I I used babelfish to translate the website and I found the ordering form, but its too complicated! and I couldnt find out how much the shipping cost to U.S.

[Admin]

Hey Prabbit, what website did you order your 5 NiMH batteries from?

[Admin]

hey Prabbit, can you tell me how to bend the spring so thatmybit can go straight, cuz I have the adjustment all the way to the left but my bit still drift to the right. The weird thing is it can go straight backward but not straight forward.

[Admin]

hey thanks zero2sixty, very nice and clear pics and you really got a good sense of humor….well….I couldnt find any evil capacitor on my transmitter (neither top or bottom), I guess I would have to stick with the 5 feet range that I am getting right now…..just out of curiosity, what does that little capacitor do anyways? Why did TOMY put it on the board if it actually decrease the range?

[Admin]

Hey Derek why did u decide to put fog lights instead of headlights? Also would any of u know how to paint ur taillights red but still have them able to have light pass through them like already painted bit char-g bodies. I have a clear skyline body.

[Admin]

man, when they do make one, i want it!! b

[Admin]

ok. my findings are that they are very worthy of buying. i got mine for $20 usd. the only 2 gripes i have are the bodies are generic (but are well made and very nice quality) and i broke the magnet off already. well actually, i didn’t, but my GF did. gotta glue it back with good glue. the car does light up in forward and reverse. maybe i can mod it for headlights. the engine sound comes from the controller and the controller has funky lights. the reception was pretty good. the tires are very well made and thicker than the bit char. the speed was good too, it said it had a 2.2 motor. steering was good when i drove it. pics should be up at my website in a few days when my account starts to work correct again. peace b

ps. my updated site will have pics of the first downhill BCG race. and i took a video of it.

[Admin]

I got the spring out of a kodak Star 735. There are about 4 springs that look like they would work.

[Admin]

Q : I’ve lost the steering spring that sits on the steering armature. Gotta find a replacement – HELLLP!

A : Toy East sell these as a replacement spare item. Alternatively, butcher a cheapie OEM/ODM car any take the part from it. If you feel like being resourceful, you might want to follow up on this info from ausmicro.com member, jmauld :

“I was going to order one of these from Toyeast, but since I’m so impatient after losing mine I went for a search. I took apart a cheap 35mm camera and found a LOT of springs in there. I picked one that was close to the size thickness of the original spring, straightened it and then bent it around a small screwdriver to the shape that I needed. It works perfectly!!!”

[Admin]

Oooh! Good result! If only some of the members here had read this about a month ago – then they wouldn’t be in hospital now recovering from wounds sustained from repeatedly hitting their head against a brick wall :smiley2:

Great info…. I will add to the FAQ thread pronto. Any chance of a photo or make/model of the camera used?

Cheers

Derek

[Admin]

KITT – That joystick mod is akiller WELL DONE!!! I note that you have a couple of pages on the net now, including http://www.thebeeris.mine.nu/bitcharg/OEMjoystick and http://www.thebeeris.mine.nu/bitcharg. Do you have a homepage that could be linked to from our database? Please let me know and I’ll updatethe databasepronto.

Deejay40 – agreed on the need for a “mods summary” list. Perhaps a subheading called “known mods” with a brief description and links to all of the info pages would be a very good idea. Thanks. Oh – just added your page to the links database, too.

Cheers

Derek

[Admin]

KITT

Some good info there – thanks! – especially the stuff about bouncing the flash output to diffuse it. Also, it was interesting to read your opinion on the sub-MP C1000L vs the 3MP DX3700. It’s further evidence of what I call the “megapixel myth”. Hang on…. let me get off my soapbox… I just remembered that this isn’t a photography forum :smiley3:

Adding an inline image to your posts is as simple as pressing the “POST IMAGE” button () on top of the message composition window and typing in the URL of the image (starting with http:// and ending with .jpg or .gif). Just note that some places, like Geocities and Tripod, do not allow you to link directly to media resources on their servers from pages outside their network.

Remember – if you need some space to host your images/videos etc, just email Aaron and I the stuff you need hosted. Refer this post for more information.

Cheers

Derek

[Admin]

there’s a guy named wedginator on the tinyrc.com forums and mini-zracer.com forums that seems to be really good around putting LED’s into mini-z r/c cars and bit char-g’s. his work turn out pretty nicely, so u might wanna check out his stuff. i’m not saying his is better or anything so calm down lol. :smiley2:

his site: http://www.geocities.com/mini_zracer/ click on pics and movies, then bit char-g

edit: oops didn’t know i had to press “add image button”

edit2: haha add image button doesn’t like me, here’s a link instead:

http://www.geocities.com/mini_zracer/main/bit_charg/pics/2/5.JPG

[Admin]

Thanks for the help!

[Author]

Posts