Admin

[Admin]

Hmmmm…. Now it’s coming up as http://web1000.globalreachinc.com/404/mainstream/abcsearch.html

This leads me to suspect that site got torn down….

[Admin]

tsk, tsk….

[Admin]

I’ve got 3 of my friends hooked.

Now they wanna know when I am getting my next shipment in. One wants the Lucifer 3.0 extreme Hop-up. Another wants to “Try out” the new suspension sets…

Addicts!

-Floyd

[Admin]

Some Q&As that I’ve participated in at the M3 Forum

How fast do these things go?
WAY too small for a radar gun to pick up! Using a GT-R Skyline with a 2.6 motor in it to give you an estimate:

Test distance :1.0m
Time to complete distance : 1.46sec

Therefore, 1km in 1460sec or 24.33mins (0.41 hours)- a non-scaled speed of 2.466km/h (~1.53mph)

Now – while these ARE NOT scale models, they represent an *approximate* scale size of 1:70. Therefore, the scale speed over a scale kilometre from a standing start is approx 172.62km/h (~107.2mph)

Of course, once you’ve tried raced one of these at full speed on a smooth desktop with tight corners, you’ll come to the conclusing that they seem like they have a NON-scaled speed of 100km/h! 🙂

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Do i have to do any kind of discharge to the battery??? HOW???
Do nothing – and it will nicely discharge itself at the perfect rate. Remember – the car itself does not have an on-off switch. The receiver is always “ON” and will drain the battery, from full to empty, in about an 60-70mins.

Assuming you don’t run your car 24/7, you shouldn’t need to worry about memory effect, because as soon as you stop racing for the day and go to bed it will start discharging the battery, ready for the next day of action.

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When putting on the 3.0 motor i have heard not to use the pinion gear??? What is this??? The smaller one or large one comes with the motor set?

The 3.0 motor is now supplied with both a Bit Racer pinion gear (WHITE) and a Bit Char-G pinion gear (BLACK). You must use the smaller (black) gear.

If anyone receives an older 3.0 motor pack (made pre Dec 2001 from memory) it will come with a Bit Racer pinion gear ONLY. You will need to pull one of the black pinion gears off one of your other motors and use it.

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Has anybody tried replacing the pathetic antenna on the Bit Char-G cars with a thicker gauge, copper or gold wire for better reception? Would it be worthwhile?

We’ve had EXCELLENT results (improved reception) by carefully changing the car antenna.

Our best result was achieved using a length (cut to same length as original on the car) of *single-core* cable from “construction” type CAT-5 cable. It’s cheap and dead easy to work with!

Ordinary CAT-5 cable contains mutli-core copper cables which is no better than what’s currently on your car.

You DON’T want to start increasing the impedenance of the antenna, or you might as well replace it with a piece of twine. Refer to the ausmicro tech section for modification details and performance data.

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[Admin]

A starting point – the FAQ prepared by Brent of The Admiral’s Lair
What Are Bit Char-G?
Bit Char-G (pronounced “Bit Charge”) are the second smallest remote controlled cars in the world. Marketed and sold in Japan by Tomy, or “Tomica“, they are pocket-sized and perfect for tabletop racing. The cars are just over two inches in length. There are a lot of models available, with more on the way.

How Do They Work?
Like a lot of R/C cars, they use a radio transmitter controller. Each model operates on a specific frequency, with a total of four different frequencies. Therefore, you can have up to four cars, operating off different frequencies, running in the same place at the same time.

How Fast Do They Go?
They utilize the vibrate-ringers from cellular telephones as their motors. There are currently four motors available: 1.0 (10,000 rpm), 2.2 (22,000 rpm), 2.6 (26,000 rpm), and 3.0 (30,000 rpm). Most models either ship with the 1.0 or 2.2 motors. Check the specifications before ordering. To put it in perspective, I can’t keep a racer with a 2.2 motor on the table, but a 1.0 motor is much better suited towards racing on tables and desks.

So What Do They Use For A Power Supply?
The controllers utilize two “AA” batteries. The cars have a build in Nickel Cadmium (more commonly known as “NiCad”) battery. Plugging the car into the side of the controller for 45 seconds should allow for no less than two minutes of constant running time. Real-world experience puts the running time between four and five minutes.

What Do You Get When You Buy One?
Most of the “standard” kits come with the controller, the chassis, the motor, and the body. Some assembly is required. The directions are in Japanese, but the diagrams are very straightforward.

What Else Can You Get?
Tomy is continually releasing upgrade parts. This includes tire sets, motors, stabilizer bars, bodies, and more. Some special kits (like the Trueno kit) include a number of customization parts already. I’ve got a bunch of parts on order, and once they’re in, I’ll try to provide a more thorough explanation. A new series of “booster” sets include the chassis, a clear body, but no controller. These new sets are also supposed to be dual-speed, when used with a new four-channel controller.

But What Can You Do With Them?
Quite a bit. The cars have six directions of control, but it’s not analog. This means that there’s no scaling of the speed or direction–either it’s going forward full-on, or it’s not moving at all. There is no in-between. This still allows an impressive amount of control while running.
And you can do quite a bit with them. From the straightforward racing of two (or more) cars, to playing games with them. Apparently playing soccer with bottlecaps is catching on. Anywhere you have a flat surface is a place you can run them.
The fun part is that they’re ideal for customizing. Tomy has a page up dedicated to fan submissions of dressed-up cars. Anything you do with it, from writing your name on it with a marker, to changing the paint scheme makes yours unique from everyone else.

Are There Any Shortcomings Or Limitations?
Like anything else in life, there are a few drawbacks. Number one is probably availability. Unless you live in Japan, they can be a little hard to track down. They really need a flat surface to run well, so don’t expect them to do well on carpet (regardless of the pile).

But What’s This “Digi-Q”?
Digi-Q is a similar, but fundamentally different animal of R/C car. First off, the wheels don’t turn–they make use of separate motors for each rear wheel. Second, they use infrared for control, as opposed to the 27 MHz to 57 MHz radio frequency range. I’ve got nothing against them, but they’re a little more expensive, and–as near as I can see–they’re not quite as customizable.

[Admin]

Hey thanx shaetano,

about to order 5 of them

As for the uk scene ? well there isn’t not that i know of really. I got the link to one of the autions from a friend of mine saying he was considering buying one. So i went ahead and ordered one, i got my other half to pay with her paypal account, and when she done that she thought they looked really cool so bought one for herself 🙂 – My mate has also ordered one and possibly one for his other half. So thats 4 in the country at least 🙂

I have also got plans for circuit building. At work i have some rather large plywood boards lying around doing nothing. I’m thinking about cutting them in half putting hinges and handleson them so i can have mobile tracks 🙂

Got a few designs in mind. when i get more practice at the building im thinking of banked corners and bridges 🙂

the two cars that are comming my way are a Mazda RX-7 Red + 3.0 motor + tyres, and a Nissan Skyline Blue + motor + tyres.

Ill get pix up when i have them of the custom paint work im planning 🙂

See ya

Freeman

[Admin]

It’s working OK from here…. probably Telstra’s crappy DNS as you said

[Admin]

Why does that end up going to http://www.doorwaytraffic.com/reltsuh/cams.htm ?

Or is BPA’s DNS hosed, again…

[Admin]

Coolismo.

Will contact him and see what deals he can rustle up for 50+ buys.

[Admin]

I’m in brisbane – there is actually an australian in japan that is sending them back at the moment.

http://dozer.web1000.com/bitcharg.htm

Thats what he says he can get, the 4 band controllers are $40. He is sending them priority tracked mail, as a gift. So tax and import issues aren’t a problem…

As for the nick.. its been around since i was 14.. so a nick that last 6 years is a bit hard to get rid of 🙂

[Admin]

Any chance of anyone splitting up a turbo controler + a turbo car chipset (no wheels required).

Shard

[Admin]

That’s a good buy – the mere fact that you found them IN STOCK is a miracle in itself. Just brace yourself for any import tax liability should the box get picked up on the way through. They’ve been getting pretty narky of late.

What city are you in, Bikeseat? (Errmm….cute nick BTW )

Looking forward to organising the first Australian Bit Char-G Grand Prix (BCGP) sometime in early June. Venue will depend on where the majority of interested participants reside. I’m in Sydney but more than happy to travel (hell – it’s not as if a Bit Char-G kit takes up much room in yer luggage!)

Cheers – and have a relaxing ANZAC Day. Lest we forget.

[Admin]

I’ll be able to confirm pricing better once I’m back from holidays and have a bit of time to chase our suppliers – but we’d probably find a way to provide a controller and car package for not too much more than a regular limited edition car.

Likewise I have tracked down the Mario Kart characters and the Initial-D and Trueno tuner kits – all of which are very limited editions. They’d be between $80 and $130 (no joke!) but are all pretty cool combos.

Basically at this stage all I can say is roll on May 6th when I’ll be able to chase more info!

Ohh I just got a package in containing 3.0 MOTORS a couple of Lancer Evos and a digital timer etc 😉 All the stuff is mega cool!

[Admin]

The light grey controller is the 4Band Multi-Controller. It is essential to control the 2-speed “booster” cars (it has a third channel for the ‘turbo” button)and can also be used to control any of the standard and Spec Ed cars. I’ll be doing a full write-up on the controller in a later article (just as soon as I find some spare time ) Cheers

[Admin]

My carry case solution cost $2.80 from IGA for the Deeko container, and the foam I bought as a roll for a couple of bux a couple of years ago from Clark, from their “offcut” selection…

But I might have to get me one of those boxes…

BTW, what is that other controller in those pics?…

[Admin]

Hehe 😉

Yer the thing flies on the pool table, tipped it twice cutting some sharp corners ;). They are strong enough to move the pool balls, not that it does much good, at this rate the body will probably last a couple of days eheh.

[Admin]

OMG! You have a pool table…. that would have to be the ULTIMATE in big, perfectly flat, perfect height, high grip, fully-walled and customisable racing venues! I am totally jealous!

So – when are we all invading your house for the first Grand Prix Hheehhehee

Glad you like the car!

[Admin]

Deeko make a LARGE selection of containers…

[Admin]

yeah but what about extra parts :), not a lot of room in there hehe.

With a spindle thing you can just turn it upside down when you want to open it, there’s room for quite a bit :).

Shard

[Admin]

Guy’s…. Like that add on the telly says, “think outside the square”… I realise that will have a spare empty spindle (or two…) lying around, but that really is a lot of effort…

I have discovered that the “Deeko” butter container (tupperware type stuff ) is the best sized container for transport…

I also have a roll of 4mm foam I bought from Clark Rubber a few years back, this stuff is great for making damping mats to bung under your PC, if its on the desk, to not only protect

the surface of the desk, but also to reduce/eliminate the vibrations of the PC throught the desk!!!

I measured out a small rectangle and cut out the corners, and folded the piece into the Deeko… This looked fine, untill I realised I needed to cut out a bit for the antenna stub…

So here’s my “carry case”…

Sorry these pics dont have the clarity of the others, but this is a poor old DC20!

[Admin]

TIFF or low-compression JPEGs would be just perfect!

Thanks mate

[Admin]

No probs…

BTW, what format do you want the files in?…

[Admin]

Shard – that would be too easy, so it seems

[Admin]

This works too, but does require a small out-of-pocket investment:

http://communities.msn.com/TheAdmiralsLair/bitchargstorage.msnw

[Admin]

Oh bah that sux.

Why couldn’t they just release the little turbo chip thing, and a controlled with a turbo button on it :(.

Shard

[Author]

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