PandaBear

[PandaBear]

Quote:

well my philosophy is that computers are a “tool”

Yep. Like I said earlier… :smiley2:

My Mac envy grows from the time noone else but MacOS users knew
what “PhotoShop” was, nor what it could do. And I also did a bit
of desktop publishing and 15 yrs ago nothing could touch a Mac.
Even a tiny little SE/30 with a 9″ B&W screen…! :smiley16:

Quote:

would you rather have a $3 dollar screwdriver or a $30 screwdriver that has a neat looking handle?

These days I’m happy to pay $30 (and more) for good tools always, they are a worthwhile investment – learnt that the HARD way. 👿
Cheap tools never last long, most won’t even build 1 RC car.
Worst of all they damage your screw heads and when Ti hardware
can cost $2 a piece, a $30 tool is a no-brainer.

Naturally one *never* lends good tools out! :p

Quote:

if i want art it will hang on my wall, or race on my floor 🙂

Or in my case, Both!

[PandaBear]

Somehow I don’t think you get the concept of a “classic” design. 🙁

But definitely adding blue LEDs to anything don’t make it instantly classy.

5 yrs down the track you’ll realise just how sad it really is… whilst the Titanium Powerbook and the LCD screen iMac will still be key design breakthroughs.

Unfortunately there’s quite a few industries being overrun by the “blue LED brigade”, not least of which being BMW… Wonder if they realise how ugly their latest cars really are.

[PandaBear]

Trouble with PCs are… they’re so boring. 🙁
Just another beige/black/silver box, there isn’t
much excitement living/working with one. Everytime
I’ve gone out to buy a new one is when the old one
has finally died… :blush:

But everytime I walk past the Apple shop, I always
peek in thru the windows. (hahaha, irony! :p )

Gee Mr Wah, you’ve got a fair few platinum boxes
there… just accumulating or collecting?? 🙂

But the only memorable one you’ve got is the IIfx,
that thing is a BEAST of its time yeah!! 1987!

For a serious vintage Mac collector, I’d choose:
-the original Mac 128k from 1984
-the Mac Portable 1987
-SE/30
-IIfx
-Mac LC
-Colour Classic
-PowerMac 900
-G3 Cube
-Blue G3

If I only had the space, I’d go hunt down:
][+
][e
][c definitely!!
//gs

Ahh, the great old days of computing! 😀

[PandaBear]

Quote:

…seriously tho they do make quality hardware that is overpriced. and the lack of software is kind of pointless.

so unless you are a whiney black turtleneck wearing art f4g, id go with a pc which will give you close to the same performance for 1/3 the price.

hmm… sounds like its coming from someone who has little idea
what a Mac does, let alone how much one costs… :smiley2:

Not gunna be a “Mac-evangelist” like Guy Kawasaki, but relaly
unless you need a Mac you’re probably better off with a PC. :smiley16:

Macs are a premium product, they’re not necessarily targetted at
the “average” user let alone the home/personal user on a budget.

Paying for the “Mac Advantage”.. well, imho its probably about
20-30% above a *comparable* PC from a big-name vendor.
Don’t compare to your sunday market beige boxes… :dead:
Do remember the top-of-range G5 has dual processors, how often
do you see twin-P4xeons etc except built to special order? 👿

But one thing you can’t take away from Apple… their DESIGN is
simply FANTASTIC, no doubts about that. Even from early days,
everything from the Mac Plus, SE, SE/30, II, IIx to the iMac
there’s always something “wow” about them.

Apple’s main advantage is that they control the OS as well as h/w,
its not 2 separate companies not knowing what the other is doing.
The Mac OS is highly polished and very reliable… and if you’re
doing something that’s mission critical, its worth paying extra for.

Apple is a niche player in that respect, and all better for it.
They have ~10% of the computer market and really don’t care what
the other 90% think of them. That is a GOOD thing! 😀
(when a PC company tries to be everything to everyone, it’ll start
going downhill and fast. Remember “International Business Machines”?)

As for *my* #1 reason NOT to buy a new Mac today??
… 20% of Apple is OWNED BY MICROSOFT!!! :dead::shock::dead:

[PandaBear]

I should mount one inside the 1/10 shell peering
through the windscreen, but (mental note to self)
I gotta stop tinting the window to do that.

Might even try extending the TX aerial… bit of
Cat5 wire like a BCG, you think? 🙂

[PandaBear]

G5 is an impressive piece of kit… eg NINE fans!
All computer (?) controlled, all rotating lazily
unless the CPUs are asked to do some serious
computation, then they might speed up as more
heat is generated under load.

Case is designed for ultimate air throughflow,
open at the front (its one big grille) and open
at the back… with a perspex panel (can’t see it)
that shapes the airflow through the G5 heatsinks.

No back pressure + ballbearing fans = no noise!

Nearly as cute as G3 Cube. :blush:

What?? You want to switch it on & use it?? :clown:

But these days, a PC can do everything a Mac can.
Sorry… Mac fan since 1984 and Apple freak since
1979 but one’s gotta face the true facts.
Any computer is just another biz tool.

[PandaBear]

Receiver aerial should always be same angle as the Transmitter’s aerial, no exceptions.

Most likely its that your plugpack is not properly
voltage regulated, its sending a choppy rectified
voltage and not true DC. (Its very common with the
voltage-selectable wall-leeches.)

You might be able to get by with adding a few
capacitors to the power line, say several 3000uA
electrolytics. These will filter & buffer the V.

In a real bad case, might have to think about
installing a TO220 v-regulator like a LM78xx.
And the bank of caps.

(ps I’m just an untrained power hacker; if only I had stayed awake in Eng class blackeye: )

[PandaBear]

The camera sucks about 100-150mA @ 8V.

It kills 9V batteries quite quickly, about 1/2 hr.
Methinking a 7-cell pack of 1/3 AAAs might be nice,
or a twinpack of Nokia phone LiIon batteries.

The base unit needs 8-9V, approx 200-250mA.
But I think it can run off 12V too from the
looks of the circuit inside, might try that.

[PandaBear]

lipo? (1st thought was “liposuction”… then thought Li-Poly batteries, ah so desu.

yeah its starting not to look so cheap after all… 🙁

Not as if I got any spare cash right now, but if I did I’m now leaning towards just sticking it into the TLT-1/2 fund. :smiley16:

[PandaBear]

Mini MadForce is really just an Overlander
with crazy big wheels; they’re both 2WD.

Xmod is cheap enough to hack, the Kyoshos aren’t
cheap enough for that. 🙁 And the Xmod comes
in an Acura RSX which would be cool.

For Kyosho type of $$ I’d go Mini-T instead. :p

[PandaBear]

Quote:

i dont like any of them really. not a fan of ferraris… im more of a classic with a huge motor fan..

They ARE classics with a big motor!! 👿

V12s, V8s with twin turbos and they’re not huge cars either.
F40 is built like a giant gokart, engine behind your elbow.

[PandaBear]

Quote:

…it’s just a cheapy so i knew it would be poorer quality than a more reputable brand.

Surprisingly no… any “dearer” ones are more expensive just
because of markup, I think they all come from the same one
China factory… :p

I’m still twiddling as to whether one could boost the transmission
power… hmm, someone who’s tech-aware should have a shot at it.

(if you open the camera, the imaging part is on 1 PCB and the
transmitter is on another PCB stuck to the back of the case)

[PandaBear]

I was thinking of ripping all the electronics out
and retrofitting real RC gear into it… 🙂

[PandaBear]

Haha, nice!

I went thru too many 9V batteries, before I tried
a 6xAA cell holder (like the one at TFTR).

Those smaller cameras are a bit fragile too, bit
around where the wire comes out. Mine started
getting a bit dodgy after Velodrome and needed
a bit of glue to reinforce.

Then I moved to their ‘new’ style with the larger
body and the power plug inbuilt (used @ TFTR).
They seem to be a lot more robust.

[PandaBear]

oh ok.

The stock motor wire is stiffer?
Bend it too much too often & it breaks… 🙁

[PandaBear]

Check the wire for the motor, it might be tweaking it. Its got quite a bit of leverage
and the wire isn’t all that flexy.

[PandaBear]

Unfortunately offroad is pretty orphaned these days, especially the racing side. For backyard bashing most ppl go for the 4WD monster trucks instead of a 2WD Racing Truck.

As for chargers… don’t know what’s the specs
of the Mtroniks units. It might be a fair price
if it does what you want.

As a rough guide chargers are usually starting at
$70-100 upwards in the shops. But I can get great
‘Arlec’ 12V DC autopeak 5A units (pocketsize) for
$35 and that’s what I use on nicads.

[PandaBear]

I’m here! :smiley16:

Just wanted to check the TFTR schedule… which is here:
TFTR 2004 calandar (Word .doc format)

Looks like 9th is a race Sunday, so there might
be many ppl testing their cars on the 8th.

Would it be better for the next week, Sat 15th?

Just a suggestion…

[PandaBear]

So these are to be sold by itself, not in a trio-shell pack?? 🙂

[PandaBear]

Nah, save $ for tyres or an RX pack or something.

[PandaBear]

Smoother drive & no risk of losing dogbones; but
that both usually only happens at tight angles
(eg front steering on 4WD).

Not as much benefit at rear.

You got bearings yet?? :p

[PandaBear]

nah, easy to kill leeches… take your pick: Shellite or Salt (one’s more spectacular).

When bushwalking, always carry a ciggy lighter – especially if one don’t smoke.

Leeches have their use in medicine but. Think they’ve got some interesting anti-coagulant enzymes.

[PandaBear]

nah, easy to kill leeches… take your pick: Shellite or Salt.

Leeches have their use in medicine but. Think they’ve got some interesting anti-coagulant enzymes.

[PandaBear]

Sigh… a “racing monster truck”.

Just what the marketeers prescribed; they’re all having wet dreams by now.

[PandaBear]

Quote:

I thought he was a lawyer…..lawyers are meant to be smart lol :8ball:

Says who?

Lawyers are like cockroaches… no one’s quite sure what good they do (if any), but there’s a good chance they’ll still be around even after a nuclear holocaust. 👿

[Author]

Posts