why do you guys keep doing range mods that dont work?

hogjowlz · #1 02-21-2003, 10:30 AM

why do you guys think that adding a different color antenna makes your car "custom"

cat-5, copper wire crip caps all of that does nothing or very little to increase your range.

if you want to double or triple your range do these two things:
ad a third battery to the controller. this is the most effective mod but it requires a little soldering and circuit knowledge.

the other and most easiest one to do is ad a bigger antenna to the controller. this also requires soldering but it is a lot easier to do than any of the other mods.

all cat-5 wire does is let you choose your color. it does not increase range unless you want an antenna sticking 3foot out of the car.

removing circuitry from a little circuit board is a dumb idea. how many of you wrecked a board from doing that???

if range is a concern start with the simplest and least intrusive fix first. you can buy telescopic antennas from radioshack for 3-5bucks or take it off of an old cordless phone base.

kwikbb · #2 02-21-2003, 10:57 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by hogjowlz
cat-5, copper wire crip caps all of that does nothing or very little to increase your range.

Sorry hog, I'm definetly gonna have to disagree with you on this one. When I recieved my 35mhz Supra, the range was absolutely horrible... something like 3-5 ft. at the most. I opened that controller up and removed that nasty old crip-crap and immediatly upped the range to 15-17 ft.(indoors). I decided not to do the tele-mod on this one cause the range was fine for me.

*These are my personal results. Individual results may vary.

Quote:

Originally posted by hogjowlz
if range is a concern start with the simplest and least intrusive fix first. you can buy telescopic antennas from radioshack for 3-5bucks or take it off of an old cordless phone base.

I agree that this is definetly the least intrusive of the mods, though be careful when disassembling the controller... you can easily pull it to far apart therefore breaking solder points (ususally from the battery box to the PCB... there too damn short lol).

hue35 · #3 02-21-2003, 10:57 AM

hogjowlz,

Can you talk a bit more about the third cell in the controller. I was thinking about trying a 9-volt in the controller for transmitting only, and using a different one to charge the car. I thought about the 9-volt mostly because it would fit in the existing battery box... any thoughts on 9 volts? What am I gonna toast?

When I added the telescopic antenna, I Immediately realized that the transmitter is the ticket to range, so I am interested in more information about boosting transmitter power.

Thanks,

hue35

PWalk · #4 02-21-2003, 11:00 AM

Personally I don't understand range increasing mods.

Most tracks I run on are no longer than 8-10 feet.
If you have a Bit that can run upto 25 feet away thats great but how in the world can you see it from that distance?

It makes little sense to me to do this type of mod.

kwikbb · #5 02-21-2003, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by PWalk
Personally I don't understand range increasing mods.

Most tracks I run on are no longer than 8-10 feet.
If you have a Bit that can run upto 25 feet away thats great but how in the world can you see it from that distance?

It makes little sense to me to do this type of mod.

You've got a valid point PWalk, but in some cases like my Supra... it's neccesary if you want to have fun!

For me, I think that act of hardware hacking is more interesting and fulfilling than the end result. So in most cases I don't do it because I need to, but because I can.

hue35 · #6 02-21-2003, 11:40 AM

PWalk,

I see your point, but I get frustrated that at 10 feet, I am at the end of the range and the car starts to become unpredictable and unresponsive. It's not that I want to drive it 25 feet away, I just want 12 feet to be bullet-proof.

- hue35

PWalk · #7 02-21-2003, 11:44 AM

Kwik,

I agree with ya on the hacking simply because you can aspect.
I fiddle with these things as much as I can trying to improve the performance. I personnally have never run into a range problem forcing me to have to fix it.

Maybe if I had a Bit or a clone with reception problems I would have to rethink my previous post. But when we run the cars here in Philly we have never had a reception problem.

Besides these things were meant to be run in closed quarters, 8-10 feet of reception should be plenty I would think.

hogjowlz · #8 02-21-2003, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kwikbb
Sorry hog, I'm definetly gonna have to disagree with you on this one. When I recieved my 35mhz Supra, the range was absolutely horrible... something like 3-5 ft. at the most. I opened that controller up and removed that nasty old crip-crap and immediatly upped the range to 15-17 ft.(indoors). I decided not to do the tele-mod on this one cause the range was fine for me.

from what ive read. none of the microsizers or newer bits have a cripple cap in the transmitter. correct me if im wrong on that. a cap that size would be fairly easy to remove. but since most people have newer models that wont do any good.

now the cap in the car is a lot different since it is about 2mm long

kwikbb · #9 02-21-2003, 12:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hogjowlz
from what ive read. none of the microsizers or newer bits have a cripple cap in the transmitter. correct me if im wrong on that. a cap that size would be fairly easy to remove. but since most people have newer models that wont do any good.

The Supra was the last New car that I had gotten and it had it, that was a few months back when it was first released, and have yet to get an actual MS... so it could very well be possible that the newer MS don't have them.

Quote:

Originally posted by hogjowlz
now the cap in the car is a lot different since it is about 2mm long

Agreed that particular mod is really reserved for 'Soldering Vets', no one should just jump into that one! The consequence's of a an error could be devistating.

PWalk · #10 02-21-2003, 12:48 PM

You know now that I think about it Hog's right, I haven't seen a cap on the newer ones.

#11 02-21-2003, 01:29 PM

New Microsizers have none. Just got a new chassis yesterday & it went across the house with NO problems (easily 15-20 feet). It also had a pretty short looking antenna on the car

nrmcj · #12 02-21-2003, 02:09 PM

hmm, well my range blew ass... like 5 feet when i first got it... (new gen celica)... no crip cap in the controller, and i wasnt about to mess with the PCB...

i pulled the knot and all that crap out of the antenna and it stood double the height, and that makes it run pretty damn far..20 feet at least... unless the tv's on... ><" lol

i wanna do the telescopic controller antenna mod, but i dont really see it as critical... so it can wait

hogjowlz · #13 02-21-2003, 02:15 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by ~SnakeBitRacer~
New Microsizers have none. Just got a new chassis yesterday & it went across the house with NO problems (easily 15-20 feet). It also had a pretty short looking antenna on the car

my guess is that yours is a 49mhz

im also gona bet that 85% of you with range issues are probably running a 27 or 35mhz.

#14 02-21-2003, 02:43 PM

Yip 49 MHZ.

hogjowlz · #15 02-21-2003, 02:48 PM

what i figured. if you are buying a car with lower frequencies you are gona either have to mod your controller some or deal with running on your desk only.