"Put your wallet away... la!"

[ALCYON]

at the last tamiya race in klang,i notice there is a very huge disparity between the budget racers and the pros,.here is a list of my equipments
1. car-kawada sv-10 alcyon,bought in year 2000 rm980 (rememeber bought 5 years ago never changed since)
2.batteries ,only 2 matched packs,others cap ayam only 3300
3.conroller - sanwa mx-3
4.charger  novak millenium 1998 model bought second hand for very low price.
5. tyre- sorex 40r, 1 set only use for whole race.
6.esc - novak cyclone tc - 5 years old
7.motor - yokomo s-world 9t old type.,normal endbell

so this is what the pros are using
1.yokomo BD rm1650
2.latest ko or lrp q2 escs rm650
3.v2 endbell motors ,7t with 4 magnets rm240
4.m8 controllers rm,1300
5.digital servos rm300
6.maybe more than 1 sets of tyre on that day
7. cdc charger rm800 at least
8.motor coollers (latest innovation)
9. 3800 matched batteries (latest innovation)
now i for one am very suprised these guys can just purchase 5-6 packs of high end 3800s at one go,i wanto buy 1 matched pack also think twice. they all did 20 laps.
i did 19. now my question is,is worth to spend rm2-3k more just to get that 1 extra lap to be in the a main? to me,i dont think it is worth, i mean i rwally wanto buy those great stuff,but i can't
so where is the middle ground?
cost controlled racing? nahh..hobby haven tried that before, and nobody wanted to join,it fizzled out after a while.i guess we ourselves are to blame,we dont want to race in a "lower" grade.
one of the resons that failed is because people had to fork out a somewhat large amount to buy certain batteries and motors that dont really bring much enjoymeent.
so here is my suggestion.do a controlled spec race
1. 1 set of tyres only during race day
2. only cap ayam batteries allowed,no matched packs.
3. any 11 turns max  machine wind motor only
4. car weight limit 1550g (so that hthose with old or lower spec cars got chance)
dont for once think that this will lower the standard of malaysian racing scene, because if we run these low cost races,there will still be the higher end races being done to cater for the higher level of drivers and equipment.the guys who can afford will surely join this low cost race,and they will also joinn the open anything goes races.so its a win win siotuation,budget raceres get to race competitively,and more people will stay in this hobby,especially those from the middle to lower income group.do not controlled the brand of motor or batteries as this only drive people away,instead use a general spec like any 11t motors, machine wind...also it would be impossible to control the escs and radios and chargers,so we will just leave that open.how about it?

[evollace]

we also need novice class where new comers and people with budget constraints can race competitively.....
how about no match pack, foam tires, spec motor(below RM100), low cost esc, no mega buck servos ...rule?

..... 1/12 scale, 4 cells, 23t stocker .... any one?

[alfracinguk]

totally agreed with you.

hope there will be more malaysian manufacturer interest to produce RC parts.
we have the skill, technical know how and expertise to manufacture the parts and furthermore with our local laour cost still low compare to orther development countries, we have a big advantange.

all that important now is to create the demand. Once demand is there, the manufacturers much easier to dump their money to divesified their business scoop.

so it is our duties & responsibilities  to create interest & awareness amoung new RC fans especially in Malaysia.

once demand is there, all the support and interest from the industries & manufacturer will be there immediately.

cheers...

[penangigo]

I strongly agree that the steep prices of RC equipment hinder potential RC player in Malaysia. Contoh, bila QD tgh boom, punya la ramai yang main. Then.....abih camtu je. Ngaper? Cos there is very little space utk diorang nak berkembang. QD hit mostly students, yg ada limited budget. Ada QD experts yg ambik peluang tekan harga utk modify, parts, etc. Akhirnya, both parties yg rugi. We should encourage younger generation utk involve. Dan tiba masanya utk setiap pertandingan yang Gah dgn hero2 RC Malaysia menyelitkan acara utk these young people. Yg mungkin berbekalkan kit standard dan ilmu yg sikit. Cuma, bagi yg memang expert, contribute back to the society - we need workshops, talks and seminars about RC. We all started from down there! So....jom kita semarakkan dunia RC Malaysia!

[lee82gx]

[hobbyist]

i guess in this hobby,we can't help it if the stream of development is extremely fast.

I think the what the average hobbyist wants are more
'value-for-money-fun':Myself included.

I hope there will be a day when some company(hopefully South East Asian) will finally realize this and sell:
1.RM500 pro kits-there are some already in the market,but still not as good
2.RM30 rubber tyres-I mean the whole set+rims+inserts(why do they have this in the 1st place?)
3.RM5 foam tyres-please,it's just sponge!


From an engineer's/designer's point of view,this can be done.
I know the price of most main materials and the required equipments for manufacture.
I dare say those prices suggested are already extremely profitable.

To enable that , i guess what we have to do is to promote this hobby,ride out the initial high costs,and hope that the consumer base will hit critical mass so that people like me will dare venture into the RC manufacturing world.

[SamDol®]

aku tak sure apa status badan iduk yg berdaftar kat FEMCA/IFMAR tu. Sesiapa yg ada masa, tolong brief aku.

Yang ini tak perlu dibincang secara umum. Kalau nak penjelasan lanjut lebih baik IM terus sahaja kepada Mr. BigGuy yang telah join qd-race.com dan beliau juga adalah orang yang pernah terlibat secara langsung dengan wakil FEMCA/IFMAR di Malaysia ini.

[alfracinguk]

oops salah orang lak aku.....
tapi itule antara pengiat2 rc masa zaman QD yg dah hilang entah mana.....

pasal heat tu, yg dimaksudkan ialah kita kurangkan dari biasa. sistem krismas tu memang bagus, tapi mula2 nak faham tu, pening jugak....
but kalau selalu dipraktikkan dalam local race, mungkin dapat dijadikan standard in every race....

aku tak sure apa status badan iduk yg berdaftar kat FEMCA/IFMAR tu. Sesiapa yg ada masa, tolong brief aku.

But yg aku pasti, badan iduk ini dapat membantu dan menetapkan guide line yg bersesuain bagi membantu mengurang kos "sara diri" dalam hobi RC ini...

so, marile kita memberi pendapat di sini dan hopefully pendapat2 ini dapat diketengahkan kepada pihak2 yg tertentu.

and yg aku respect, sanggup hantar wife balik johor (kalau tak salah aku le...) than balik KL sebab nak join race.....

Aku rasa bukan Samdol ni. Kalau tak salah, KLIATurbo kut. Dia hantar bini balik lepas bersalin... agaknya. Sekarang ni, dia pun dah hilang, bersama2 dgn QD.....


Tentang Item No. 2, iaitu kurangkan qualifying round. Pada aku, tak patut buat satu heats je. Tak aci le... hehehe. Pada pendapat aku, mungkin format Christmas Tree dpt mengurangkan masa & kos. Aku nak terangkan pun, panjang lebar pulak. Aku ada artikelnya tapi korang boleh dptkan diwebsite IFMAR.

Tentang Item No. 3, it all comes down to having a controlling/governing body for the country. Once that is in place, then everything will fall into place.

PS: Aku rasa perlu mendapat pendapat ramai DAN kalau boleh yang membina, please! Meh kita panggil pendebat2 tu semua!

Ciao
 

[alfracinguk]

hai samdol...

lama tak nampak or aku yg lama tak nampak....hehehehehe....

aku pun rasa ko contoh yg terbaik pasal tajuk ni sebab masa aku mula2 join forum qd race ni, ko le yg aku tengok antara yg paling active....

banyak contribute idea esp in bullet proof smartech....
and yg aku tak boleh lupa, ko modified chopping board wife ko buat hop up utk kereta smartech...
and yg aku respect, sanggup hantar wife balik johor (kalau tak salah aku le...) than balik KL sebab nak join race.....

tup-tup...aku tengok dah senyap...
buat project bot rc le...etc....
and now radio lak.....

so aku rasa dunia RC rugi kalau hilang orang macam ko ni....commited but not enough resourceses to maintain the hobby......

cheers...

[SamDol®]

Betul kata anda tu...

Dengan itu juga aku mengurangkan/memberhentikan aktiviti RC aku buat sementara. Hujung bulan bajet selalu lari beb...

Ni dah setengah tahun aku rehat.... hasilnya dapat sebiji Yamaha e-Go untuk mem aku pakai gi pasar... (untuk pancing mem sanction balik aktiviti RC aku le...) Sambil tu aku tumpukan balik perhatian pada hobi Komunikasi Radio / DXing. Hobi radio ni belanja agak tinggi untuk permulaan tetapi low running cost tak macam RC. Lagipun bini tak boleh bising pasal tak keluar rumah. Kalau aktiviti di luar rumah ni bini memang cukup tak gemar dan sentiasa risau sebab takut laki dia ada aktiviti lain...

Lebih-lebih lagi waktu malam... dulu rajin gi tengok orang main Drag balik sampai 2-3 pagi. Mem suspek semacam aje... lepas tu dia ada akal suruh bawak anak sekali....sebagai permit... bila anak-anak ngantuk ajak balik... maka balik le kita..

[alfracinguk]

["Put your wallet away..."]

To all RC fans....

Baru baca magazine RRC May 2004 issue. Editor, Chris Deakin mentioned "Put your wallet away..." at present RC hobby is booming, but at what price!!!

Fikir2 betul jugak dia kata. Kita spend too much money to maintain our hobby. Minat memang minat, some of us involved in this hobby for more than 20 years, but if towards end of the month, poket kering aje....susah jugak kan... ini yg menyebaban some potential racer leaved this hobby....

Bagi yg banyak duit tu mungkin this is not the issues and bagi sponsered racer pun, mungkin this is not related.

I am talking about orang kebanyakkan, beginners, yg cuma dapat sponser from FAMA (Father & mother) dan yg berkaitan sahaja....

Due to this, ramai racer (kat sini, UK) banyak join stock races aje....less maintenance and less money speed on motor & battery & etc...

Antara suggestions yg diketengahkan:

1/. Race organizer buat race with control tires & motor - this will cut cost and every racer will be in same capabilities. So from that,  driving skills will tentukan siapa menang, siapa kalah....   so takle mana racer yg banyak duit, asyik menang aje.....

2/. Kurangkan qualified round on the racing day. maybe one qualified (utk tentukan position dan final main)  than the final races. Cut cost & time...

3/. Races  to be organize based on zon/negeri...than top drivers will go for national final. So drivers tak payah travel jauh, cut cost. And in the zon/negeri level, more races can be organised and lebih banyak racer boleh join in local races.  And yg penting races tak clash...since in the same zon/negeri senang le sikit nak discuss.....

So guys, this just a suggestion yg perlu difikirkan bagi memajukan hobi kita...
please comment.... and add what ever necessary....especially from wakil2 clubs and experinced racers.....

cheers...