I have come to confess...

[judebarnes]

I have come to confess that I may have some kind of zipzap sickness. I can't stop collecting these little babies.. in a way its good news that they might be ending, so I can finally stop buying them. Couple of questions:

1. Namuna posted a few stickies that were some kind of database to ALL of the car bodies ever created. I got one of the two to work but it didn't look complete. Is there a definitive list with pictures somewhere?
2. It sounds like it might be wise to buy a number of the new Bond car kits because of their superior craftmanship? Does everyone still stand by that?
3. Has anyone here had much sucess racing 6 or more cars? I've never actually done it but starting to setup my track now. With all of the testing I've done it seems like there has been occasions where one car will interfere with another somehow even if they are on different channels.
4. Also, Is it possible to race 6 SE's with one (or two) non-SE's, or does the 27MHZ model interfere?
5. Which battery and where to buy-- is the "best" replacement battery to buy?
6. Has anyone ever come up with a lap counter that works for 6 cars?
7. Are there any definitive threads on painting the bodies, should I strip off the existing paint or is it ok to just paint over it?
8. Is TINYRC the most used zipzap forum?
9. Are there any threads out here with creative racing games and/or strategies.. For example, I was wondering about setting up a "jam car" where it operates on the same freq as one of the racers (randomly) and then it serves as an obstacle as the race goes on. Or how about 3-on-3 zip zap soccer game with a mini subbuteo soccer ball and goals?! See pictures below!

[judebarnes]

Here's a picture of my collection minus the doubles

[rfnagel]

(pre) - Admitting one's addiction is the first step towards treatment (or however that phrase goes) <LOL>! - Hehe, check out my addiction here -> http://www.cmoo.com/~snor/weeds/zapstuff.htm#weeds -

1 - Best site on the Internet, our own chilli_mp138's ZipZaps page -> http://www.gcrossett.com/zipzaps/index.htm -

4 - There are usually interference problems when attempting to race an SE with a non-SE (of both frequencies)... usually the non-SE suffers from *extremely* short range when racing it with an SE.

8 - There are several others on the Internet, but I've always found TinyRC to be extremely friendly and helpful -

9 - Hehe, another good soccer "ball" is a small plastic margarine tub (lid side down) <G>.

[Namuna]

1. The site that rfnagel posted is an excellent resource for the info

2. The word is that the newest SE with part number ending in 7081 (7080 should be good as well), which is the Austin Marten, should be the best SE (in terms of least "bugginess", such as steering stutter) of all the SE generations. I myself decided to give it a shot and picked up the Austin Marten (7081) but maybe I wasn't so lucky?...Mine has a good deal of stutter, and a co-worker said he picked one up too and his had stutter as well. I don't know if we just got a couple of bad ones or what. I'll have to go through and double-check everything to make sure I didn't miss something somewhere...I really don't want to come to find out that I've got a stutterer.

3. I've had 4 going at once, the only time there was any problem was when one of the guys accidentally switched frequencies when charging...Other than that no issues. 6 Shouldn't be a problem.

4. Along with what rfnagel already said, besides 27MHz you've got: 49MHz, then if you've collected any of the Japanese version Bit Char-G cars, there's also 35MHz, 45Mhz and 57MHz...Annnnd there's the elusive 40MHz Bit Char-g what was only sold in Australia.

5. The RadioShack part number for replacement SE Battery is 12413456 (if you want to use the same battery). I myself am currently on the hunt for 1/4AAA batteries in individual size (the SE uses 2 x 1/4AAA batteries that are "stacked" and shrinktubed). Other than that, there's no definitive "best" battery to get for it.

6. The lap counter from The Shack is all but worthless, and any kind of decent on-the-market counter that could work at such a small scale would costs crazy amounts of money. A couple of years ago someone actually did a DIY Lap Counter (with full details in their website) and MAN do I wish I saved that webpage now.

7. Another site you can visit, and they're all about Mods and Paintjobs is the BitPimps (http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/index.php).

8. There's other sites out there too, check out my page (link in sig, for LincolnsWorld) and take a look at the Links page, it needs a little more updating but it's got some decents sites to check-out for info

9. Nope, why don't you go ahead and create one, with ideas and pics and I'll Stickie it.

[Namuna]

Update on answer #4.

I guess the 40MHz isn't so "elusive" after all...It did start out that only the Aussie version (called the Compact Char-G) but it seems if you do a google on "bit char-g 40mhz" there's a good amount of other options.

Hmmmm, I might have to scoop something up m'self, I already have a car in every other frequency except 40.

[Snake Mod]

This is the battery I use and these are for non-se's they use a different one. I'm not a Zip Zap fan other then their motors and gear and the detail but their performance is just for fun and stuff, my opinion. But I use the battery on my Motorworks and It works great. The info: Battery Specialists 3503 S. Main S.L.C., Ut www.batteryspecialists.com (801) 262-9255. Hope that helps

Haha... i'm just glad other people got to this thread first so I didn't feel obligated to answer.

Soccer looks like fun!

[Azimov]

Lemme throw in a comment or two.
2: I just bought another DB5 to use as a donar for a proportional MT I want to build. It has fairly prominant center stutter when the trigger is engaged in forward and reverse. So, you still can't be sure of a perfect car even in the newest versions.
I've found that all of the newer cars have even, equal steps each side, but some have slight center stutter when engaging the drive motor. I have one other DB5 that has very minor center stutter. But, all total, I've bought 6 of the new cars and two have minor center stutter when engaging the trigger. I'm curious to see if it is still there after I gut the car and reinstall the PCB and steering servo in my MT.
I must add though that the newest SEs are extremely fast right out of the box with very smooth and quiet gear boxes in the rear. I don't know if this is due to the new motor clip or the new motor connections, but I like it alot.
9: I came up with a couple of soccer micro RCs meself awhile back. They're made on tank chassis and not ZZs though. Here's a pic. The soccer rc is the red one. I have a twin blue one as well. They have little cresent shaped scoops on the front to handle the ball.

[Azimov]

Here's the two of them. One 27 and one 49Mhz. The ball is from one of those add on novelty light cord pulls you can get at Walmart.

[frizzen]

Azimov, where did you find those tanks (troop transports?)

I really like the looks of those!

[Azimov]

They were MotorWorks tanks at Walmart. They had a little cannon and machine guns on a turret that I removed and replaced with upholstery thumb tacks. That's the dome like dealeo in the Pics.

[frizzen]

Oh sweet! Do you know are they still currently being sold, or did I miss out on these a couple years ago?

[Snake Mod]

I think you missed out- of course if you can find 'em on ebay.

[Azimov]

Oh sweet! Do you know are they still currently being sold, or did I miss out on these a couple years ago?

Yeah, they came out a couple of years ago, and have been gone for some time. But as SnakeMod says, you can still find micro tanks on ebay. I think you may still find micro tanks of some kind on some of the internet import sites as well.