The RC Car saga continues…
Thursday afternoon, I received the steering posts I ordered, two days early! Woot! So, I found a little time to get the front end of my buggy back together. After installing the servo arm upside down (d’oh!) I got it sorted out, I got out yesterday afternoon for some driving on the street near my house.
(more…)I have mused lately that it is time to move away from my G-Suite account(s). I have several of them, most are the old, no longer offered “basic” accounts (for a period of time, Google offered 8Gig accounts with 2 users, and totally free. These are no longer offered, but I had three grandfathered), and the real account that houses my personal email (my wife and I are the two users).
(more…)Well, I think I figured out why I stripped that fucking button head screw.
To facilitate the repair, I removed the steering post. It appears that instead of using thread locker (aka Locktite), the builder used cyanoacrylate adhesive. For the uninitiated that is super glue.
(more…)… and expensive.
I knew what I was getting in to, and I don’t regret it. Alas, it is going to add up both short term and long term.
After my first weekend of running my new Losi 8ight 4wd 1/8th scale buggy, I wanted to clean the grass clippings I got into the components. I also wanted to partially disassemble the front end, so that:
(more…)Recently, I spent a week in Barcelona at a trade show, where I worked the booth all day, pretty much every day. I must have had detailed discussions with literally hundreds of people.
No surprise that as I was leaving, I began to suffer from the initial effects of an impending cold.
By Monday I was sick. Sore throat, congestion, coughing.
Not long after I got the galloping cruds, my wife also came down with the sickness.
But this isn’t a post about the cold process, but instead the cost of the OTC remedies.
My early cold consumed most of what we had on hand, so I needed to go and restock.
On the shopping list:
Total cost: $71.00
Hoooooollllleeeeeee sheeeeeeeeeiiiiiiiitttttt
That is a lotta bread for OTC remedies.
One of the attributes of a good hobby is that it costs money. Sure, you are going to spend money to get started. That is easy to see and to account for. And to do your hobby, there will be some ongoing costs. Whether it is greens fees if you are a golfer, or gasoline if you are a motorcyclist, or tires and gear if you bicycle.
(more…)If you have been following along with the saga, you are aware that I had a splurge purchase, a Losi 8ight E RTR remote controlled car. Technically, it is a buggy, 4 wheel drive, 1/8th scale.
Alas, it arrived the day that I headed to Barcelona on a business trip, and when I returned, it became apparent that I also needed a IC3 to IC5 converter cable. I took that opportunity to also get some better tools (using Allen wrenches was not an option…)
This weekend, I got it charged up, and ran a couple of charges through the car in the street near my house.
Wow. It is fast. I learnt quickly to not grab a fistful of throttle. It gets up and GOES. I did take it easy at first, and played with settings. The steering trim is very touchy. Possibly this is due to the bargain transmitter.
I got pretty good at going, and using the brake. Apparently, if you “push” the trigger once, that applies the brake. Push it a second time, and it goes in reverse. I got pretty good at doing the “Rockford”. That is going in reverse, slamming on the brake, and pivoting. Known as the “J” Turn.
I only flipped it over 2 times, in nearly 2 hours of running. Not too bad.
There are some scuff marks, the beginning of a patina of speed. No broken parts, but, I do need to buy some tire glue, as the high G turns, and some high acceleration runs did peel off the glue on the inside lip of the front tires.
It is fun. Lots of fun. I have a lot to learn, and a lot of skills to build, but so far, it brings a pretty monstrous smile to the face.
I do think I will need a second car, a true basher. Looking hard at the Arrma Outcast.
The Yamaha TZ750, the 2-stroke monster, a beast of a bike, fast, fickle, and more than a little insane.
This is a hot lap from the Isle of Man TT in 2017.
The tale of this domain (actually, the sister domain, tralfaz.org) has been told, a few times in these pages.
However, one tale I haven’t told is how when Google Apps became available, I moved from the creaky old email platform (hosted on a local Bay Area ISP, BEST Communications (an ISP that is so dead, I couldn’t even find an archival reference) probably in the 2005 or 2006 time frame.
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