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museguy

Science, Math and English Teachers Wanted

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Hi All,

I am new to Remote Control Cars and have learned a tremendous amount in a short amount of time, thank you Tamiya Club !

I thought I could put together 1-2 page guide for eight to twelve year olds to become interested in remote control cars.  I am thinking a sort of STEM / STEAM Guide to RC Cars.  

Would like to create a small group of reviewers of science, math and assistance editing the guide.  If you are a teacher or a former teacher please respond to the thread.

I welcome any suggestions or feedback.

Thank you !   

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Advice for First Time RC Car thread

Description:

Thank you, the Tamiya Club community has been great ! A very nice group of people.

Last night I was thinking maybe I could write a short couple of paragraphs about what I have learned.  I have never built an RC kit before and there is a steep learning curve,

  • understanding scale 1/10, 1/12, etc.,
  • understanding differences in chassis M-03, M-05, TT-02, TT-02D, etc.,
  • understanding the parts of the car, ESC,
  • Types of Batteries, Li-Po, NiMH,
  • Types of RC cars, Bugges, Touring, Stadium Trucks, etc.,
  • understanding types of racing Top Speed, Dirt, Carpet, Pavement,
  • understanding differences in RC grades Toy, Hobby, Race,
  • understanding the different manufactures Tamiya, Arrma, Traxxas, Castle, Surpass, Associated Electronics (four days ago I had never heard of any of these companies!),  
  • understanding the sanctioning body, IFMAR,  
  • understanding reasons to buy Tamiya and not "tribal paint scheme" Amazon RCs,
  • understanding brushed and brushless motors, 

all of this is second nature to people within Tamiyaclub.com but to Newbies like me it is all new and overwhelming.

It might be helpful to attract new people, to have a Noob's Guide (?) Or maybe such a guide already exists I could not find one. 

The Tamiya Club has been great, many nice people.  I was also thinking a Noob's Guide might attract young people who too often buy;
"a RTR vehicle with lots of horsepower, big socks/wheels and a tribal paint scheme"

Love the description ! Yes it is too easy to just click the brightest colored RTR on Amazon.

Cheers

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I think it will have to be far more than 2 pages. This guide I found on Google is 100+ pages long. 

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Getting Started in Remote Control Cars

Updated September 7, 2021

 

  1. Introduction

    1. About Me

    2. Kids, STEM, STEAM

  2. Hobby Shops

  3. Clubs

  4. Forums

  5. Social Media 

    1. A warning

  6. Toy Grade, Hobby Grade Race Grade

  7. Scale

  8. RTR vs Kits

    1. JDM

  9. Drive Wheels

  10. Brands

  11. Motor

  12. ESC

  13. Batteries

  14. Chargers

  15. Servos

  16. Controller and Receiver

  17. Wheels and Tires

  18. Vendors

  19. Shipping

  20. Building the Kit

    1. Tools

    2. Paint

  21. Racing

  22. Conclusion

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2 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

I think it will have to be far more than 2 pages. This guide I found on Google is 100+ pages long. 

This guide would be to attract young people to the field

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I am a Tech Ed and Social Studies teacher, let me know if you need input.

 

My r/c experience goes back to the late 1970s, buggys, boats and planes; Estes rockets too. I got back into r/c late last year and have built a bunch of buggys too. R/c plane kit on order for winter project.

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2 hours ago, museguy said:

This guide would be to attract young people to the field

In that case, I suggest you watch this video. It is not for RC but you can adopt it accordingly. There might be better ones out there but this is one that I saw just 2 days ago and I thought it is quite good introduction to a hobby (that is close to RC in many aspects) . 

 

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19 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

In that case, I suggest you watch this video. It is not for RC but you can adopt it accordingly. There might be better ones out there but this is one that I saw just 2 days ago and I thought it is quite good introduction to a hobby (that is close to RC in many aspects) . 

 

Dear @alvinlwh

Great video !

I could see eight (8) to twelve (12) year olds loving this type of competition. Do you know of any off the shelf Tamiya RC kits in the same cost range of about $100 ?

Also the science content of the video is exactly what I had in mind. Thank you !

It would be great to find ways to include eight (8) to twelve (12) year old girls in the hobby.  I did not see any young ladies in the video.

Cheers 

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20 hours ago, mike in pa said:

I am a Tech Ed and Social Studies teacher, let me know if you need input.

My r/c experience goes back to the late 1970s, buggys, boats and planes; Estes rockets too. I got back into r/c late last year and have built a bunch of buggys too. R/c plane kit on order for winter project.

Dear @mike in pa

Thank you for the message !

Your background is perfect. 

I am thinking that RC hobby is a great way to get get kids involved in STEM / STEAM. If you have time take a look at the video sent by @alvinlwh. I could see 8-12 years olds being attracted to the video content, and the type of competition. Similar to Robot Wars, but as a kid I would have had little interest in Robot Wars, but RC cars would have been my thing.

Do you know of any off the shelf Tamiya RC kits in the same cost range of about $100 ?

It would be great to find ways to include eight (8) to twelve (12) year old girls in the hobby.  I did not see any young ladies in the video.

I welcome any suggestions.

Cheers 

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What an young person would gain from being involved in Noob's RC (working title)

  1. Critical thinking
  2. Problem solving
  3. Basic electronics
  4. Soldering
  5. Sourcing equipment
  6. Equipment assembling
  7. Basic machines 
  8. Physics

To be aligned with school curriculum

I am not sure of the school science standards in Europe, and Asia

 

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3 hours ago, museguy said:

Dear @mike in pa

Thank you for the message !

Your background is perfect. 

I am thinking that RC hobby is a great way to get get kids involved in STEM / STEAM. If you have time take a look at the video sent by @alvinlwh. I could see 8-12 years olds being attracted to the video content, and the type of competition. Similar to Robot Wars, but as a kid I would have had little interest in Robot Wars, but RC cars would have been my thing.

Do you know of any off the shelf Tamiya RC kits in the same cost range of about $100 ?

It would be great to find ways to include eight (8) to twelve (12) year old girls in the hobby.  I did not see any young ladies in the video.

I welcome any suggestions.

Cheers 

Tower still has the grass hopper II for $100.10     I bought one for that price earlier in the year for a buggy cam project.

 

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I used to run an after school hobby club in the school I teach at. Theoretical lessons always tend to dissuade the members but the application and hands on part draws a lot of attention. Members of our club were 6th-8th graders. We built about 7 TT01e cars and raced around our schools black top. Unfortunately, when it was too cold outside during winter time, we dont have an indoor space to run the cars so we ended up not meeting… We tried to substitute it with HO train layout building but patience was always lacking…  I had 2-3 kids who were really willing to learn about the hobby and they were the ones whom i can say benefitted from the club… the rest were just purely for fun…

theres a lot to factor in when using a Tamiya kit. For one, the cost of the kit itself. Next will be the cost for servos, batteries and radio gear. A $100 kit can go up to 150-175 after getting the electronics and radio gear. An idea could be let them design their own car, 3d print most of the parts… start small… until the kids can display ample knowledge of the hobby, then design a bigger scale… until eventually build an actual kit. the cost of an FDM printer is now cheap… 

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10 minutes ago, burakol said:

theres a lot to factor in when using a Tamiya kit. For one, the cost of the kit itself. Next will be the cost for servos, batteries and radio gear. A $100 kit can go up to 150-175 after getting the electronics and radio gear. 

Absolutely right! And that is before any hop ups (although may not be necessary for a school/classroom setting). 

I can't say much about the US, but the cheapest kit in the UK is the Rising Fighter, £60. Add in the ESC, £20, radio gear £30, servo, £10 and battery + charger, £20. Total £130, more than double the cost of the base kit. Bundle deals could be had for £109, but still nearly double the ticket price of the base kit. 

While this is a Tamiya forum, there are in fact better all in one kits for a classroom setting than a Tamiya. And this is from a Tamiya fan boy. 

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5 hours ago, burakol said:

I used to run an after school hobby club in the school I teach at. Theoretical lessons always tend to dissuade the members but the application and hands on part draws a lot of attention. Members of our club were 6th-8th graders. We built about 7 TT01e cars and raced around our schools black top. Unfortunately, when it was too cold outside during winter time, we dont have an indoor space to run the cars so we ended up not meeting… We tried to substitute it with HO train layout building but patience was always lacking…  I had 2-3 kids who were really willing to learn about the hobby and they were the ones whom i can say benefitted from the club… the rest were just purely for fun…

theres a lot to factor in when using a Tamiya kit. For one, the cost of the kit itself. Next will be the cost for servos, batteries and radio gear. A $100 kit can go up to 150-175 after getting the electronics and radio gear. An idea could be let them design their own car, 3d print most of the parts… start small… until the kids can display ample knowledge of the hobby, then design a bigger scale… until eventually build an actual kit. the cost of an FDM printer is now cheap… 

Dear @burakol

Thank you for the message and the additional information !

Your experience with 6th to 8th graders (11 to 13 year olds) is perfect and I love your idea about 3D printing, a great way to include additional skills.

A few questions;

  • Did your hobby club have girl members ? Was their content and activities that held their attention ?
  • Did you use a resource guide or other materials or was it more "on the fly" ?
  • Do you know of 3D printing guides for RC cars that aligns with STEM / STEAM ?

Thank you !

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5 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Absolutely right! And that is before any hop ups (although may not be necessary for a school/classroom setting). 

I can't say much about the US, but the cheapest kit in the UK is the Rising Fighter, £60. Add in the ESC, £20, radio gear £30, servo, £10 and battery + charger, £20. Total £130, more than double the cost of the base kit. Bundle deals could be had for £109, but still nearly double the ticket price of the base kit. 

While this is a Tamiya forum, there are in fact better all in one kits for a classroom setting than a Tamiya. And this is from a Tamiya fan boy. 

Dear @alvinlwh

Just a thought, if we create a 3D printing RC guide for eight to twelve year olds within the Tamiya Club, that could be a win - win, get young people interested in RC cars (while involved with STEM  / STEAM) and build a younger generation of Tamiya enthusiasts.  

Cheers

"NooBs Guide to RC Cars, from 3D printed remote control cars to racing" (working title) 

  1. Learn about RC Cars (and the STEM / STEAM)
  2. Learn about printing a simple 3D printed car, using Tamiya parts  
  3. Group activity of building a Tamiya Car
  4. Racing Tamiya Cars

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1 hour ago, museguy said:

Dear @alvinlwh

Just a thought, if we create a 3D printing RC guide for eight to twelve year olds within the Tamiya Club, that could be a win - win, get young people interested in RC cars (while involved with STEM  / STEAM) and build a younger generation of Tamiya enthusiasts.  

Cheers

"NooBs Guide to RC Cars, from 3D printed remote control cars to racing" (working title) 

  1. Learn about RC Cars (and the STEM / STEAM)
  2. Learn about printing a simple 3D printed car, using Tamiya parts  
  3. Group activity of building a Tamiya Car
  4. Racing Tamiya Cars

Don't know, I don't and cannot 3D print so cannot comment on that. 

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13 hours ago, museguy said:

Dear @burakol

Thank you for the message and the additional information !

Your experience with 6th to 8th graders (11 to 13 year olds) is perfect and I love your idea about 3D printing, a great way to include additional skills.

A few questions;

  • Did your hobby club have girl members ? Was their content and activities that held their attention ?
  • Did you use a resource guide or other materials or was it more "on the fly" ?
  • Do you know of 3D printing guides for RC cars that aligns with STEM / STEAM ?

Thank you !

For basic 3d design, tinkercad is my go to. It is a web based platform that has a simple tutorial that kids can follow along. 

For 3d designs, I usually find inspiration from Thingiverse. When i find a design, i usually remix it to suit our needs. There are some 3d printed rc cars already that are free to download and print. Theres really no particular guide pertaining to RC that I know of. Some designs on thingiverse will have some steps or guide from the creator. 

Our club was open to all, but I think ive only had 2 girls sign up if i recall it right. 

As for kits, you may want to consider a 1/16 rc rtr... then deconstruct and study each part... 

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Tamiya produced this in 2006 I think - v good + nothing that would trouble a beginner has changed  

Harder to find these days but they do crop up 👍

7B04D20F-FB47-488C-8210-8525CD33FEE0.jpeg

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Find a community partner who can give you some financial sponsorship... I also applied to some grants to fund some of the expenses... and scoured Craigslist looking for donors of old parts...

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I'm a STEM teacher at Imperial College, running their community programme.

I have thought about running an activity about making or running RC cars as a way to teach engineering and mechanics, design, circuitry and painting. It would be good to get younger people involved, and increase the diversity in the field. Esp people in urban areas, girls, BAME etc. 

£109 for a full rising fighter model with all extras seems to be about as cheap as you can get. Probably to better with sponsorship or bought as bulk. Built over 6 weeks, with topics on:

  • Ball bearings/friction and efficiency 
  • Mechanics and levels (distance and force levers)
  • Current and electronics 
  • Motors and electro magnetism
  • Air resistance, fluid dynamics 

And of course building the car and racing. I might just suggest it to my bosses.

Anyway, as for your ideas:

It's going to take more than 2 pages. I make resources for kids/families to do at home. In two pages I can just about tell kids how to make a snowflake and why they form.

As for your headers:

  • understanding scale 1/10, 1/12, etc.

This is great. Anything that gets kids realising that a 1/10 car is not 1/10 of the weight, but 1/(10^3) of the weight is great too. Be sure to explain what it means really clearly - so not just that it's 1/10 is smaller than 1/8 but what that means compared to a 1:1 car.

  • understanding differences in chassis M-03, M-05, TT-02, TT-02D, etc.

Unless you are doing this in conjunction with Tamiya, this is going to sound odd IMHO. The second you start talking about brands specifically you run the risk of writing something like The Cola Cola guide to brushing your teeth. I'd stick to general RC or approach to Tamiya to write the young person's guide to getting into Tamiya.

  • Types of Batteries, Li-Po, NiMH

Also good, it would be good to read about the science, but this is quite high level.

  • Types of RC cars, Bugges, Touring, Stadium Trucks, etc.

Brilliant, give reasons why they are better than each other for different things too. 

  • understanding types of racing Top Speed, Dirt, Carpet, Pavement,

I'd say you should look at surfaces and link to the above. What type of car to pick should be phrased as What do you want to do it with it?

  • understanding differences in RC grades Toy, Hobby, Race,

This could be good. I'd phrase why Hobby grade car is not better, but might be a better, more educational investment. And easier to fix.

  • understanding the different manufactures Tamiya, Arrma, Traxxas, Castle, Surpass, Associated Electronics (four days ago I had never heard of any of these companies!),  

Again, this is going to be very very subjective, and anything you write runs the risk of either being very general, or sounding like a soap box to bash. However a quick guide to be big ones, with costs and plusses and minuses could be good - with a little history too.

  • understanding the sanctioning body, IFMAR

Perhaps this is something beginners don't need to know yet?

  • understanding reasons to buy Tamiya and not "tribal paint scheme" Amazon RCs,

I think this should come under toy grade/hobby grade etc. There's nothing wrong with some cars if they are cheap. For some parents with limited cash a £120 Tamiya isn't an option. Also, again, unless you are working for Tamiya, this is going to sound really odd if you are pushing Tamiya. 

  • understanding brushed and brushless motors

This is good, I'd but it next to the batter section.

all of this is second nature to people within Tamiyaclub.com

I'd also include

  • Some exploded diagrams of cars. I've been in the hobby for a year and I've literally no idea what to call bits (the bit that sticks up the wheels attach too etc. the bit that attaches to the wheels that also attaches to the wires that attach to the servo....) 
  • Basics of circuits - how all the components link up and work with each other

  • Safety - how to drive and race safely and how to make stuff safely.

Hope this helps..

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On 9/9/2021 at 5:09 PM, burakol said:

Find a community partner who can give you some financial sponsorship... I also applied to some grants to fund some of the expenses... and scoured Craigslist looking for donors of old parts...

You could also check for local r/c clubs that might want to help with fundraising money for the school club.

Maybe a local hobby shop could help sponsor the school club. 

I was an advisor involved in student TSA org (Technology Students Association) and we used to do a hot dog/burger bake sale at the local Cramer's home center. They used to let us use their large grill and the kids would show up on a Saturday to work the sale. We even had parents donate stuff for the sale including baked items.  Baked items packaged for $1.00, hot dogs a buck and $2 for a burger. Depending on the weather we would pull in between $150-230. Naturally more items donated gave us more money and it teaches kids a work ethic and interpersonal skills.  

 

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I second what Nikko85 said, too much focus on Tamiya will make it look like a sales catalog for Tamiya. 

Also, guides for Tamiya are a penny a dozen on Amazon (well not quite but..). Perhaps you may want to pick some up to see how they are written and they may cover most or all of what you are intending to do. 

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Also, take a look at this thread. 

 

On 9/7/2021 at 11:42 PM, museguy said:

I thought I could put together 1-2 page guide for eight to twelve year olds to become interested in remote control cars.  I am thinking a sort of STEM / STEAM Guide to RC Cars. 

You said your guide is for 8 - 12yo, there are good reasons that Tamiya is a bad idea for that age group, at least the lower part of that age group. On my M-05Ra box (what I got to hand) says "Not for below 10 years of age" and even on my Mini 4WD box, it says "For above 10 years old" in Japanese. And on my spray cans, "FOR ADULT MODELLERS ONLY". So you may run into liability issues. 

So a "tribal design RTR" might be a better option but even then, I recall some boxes (don't own any, what I seen in the shops) stating 14+ on them. 

Finally, don't think, even with a guide, I will trust a 8 - 12 yo with lipos (you mentioned lipo and nimh somewhere?). 

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Hi All,

I found this organization, United We Lead Foundation (501(C)(3) non-profit organization) and sent them an email.  Their program is very close to what I had in mind with the possible addition of 3D printing (thank you @burakol ) and more RC Car Oriented items such as (thank you @Nikko85 for the suggestions and feedback !) ;  

  • Ball bearings/friction and efficiency 
  • Mechanics and levels (distance and force levers)
  • Air resistance, fluid dynamics 
  • And of course building the car and racing. 

understanding scale 1/10, 1/12, etc.

  • This is great. Anything that gets kids realising that a 1/10 car is not 1/10 of the weight, but 1/(10^3) of the weight is great too. Be sure to explain what it means really clearly - so not just that it's 1/10 is smaller than 1/8 but what that means compared to a 1:1 car.

Types of Batteries, Li-Po, NiMH

  • Also good, it would be good to read about the science, but this is quite high level.

Types of RC cars, Bugges, Touring, Stadium Trucks, etc.

  • Brilliant, give reasons why they are better than each other for different things too. 

Add:

  • Some exploded diagrams of cars. I've been in the hobby for a year and I've literally no idea what to call bits (the bit that sticks up the wheels attach too etc. the bit that attaches to the wheels that also attaches to the wires that attach to the servo....) 
  • Basics of circuits - how all the components link up and work with each other
  • Safety - how to drive and race safely and how to make stuff safely.

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Radio controlled car – 5th - 12th Grade ($69 per student with bulk discounts)

During our Radio controlled car workshop, students will learn about radio waves, the electromagnetic spectrum, electricity, circuits, and the engineering design process.  This experience is designed to help students problem-solving skills, hands on learning, wiring, building and the engineering practices.   

Course Contents - Link to course contents

Section 01

  • Electricity!
  • In this section you will understand what electricity is physically
  • Pre-Assessment
  • Intro to Electricity Video
  • The Science of Electricity
  • What is Electricity?
  • Lesson: Electricity
  • 15 Facts about Electricity
  • Ohm's law
  • Quiz 5 questions

Section 02

  • Circuits
  • Intro to Circuits
  • What is a simple circuit
  • Circuits Video
  • What is a Circuit
  • Lesson: Circuit
  • Intro to parallel and series circuits
  • Spotlight Instructions
  • Fan instructions

Section 03

  • Soldering
  • Intro to Soldering
  • Soldering Video
  • Safety Soldering Iron Practices
  • How to Tin a soldering Iron tip
  • How to use a PCB board

Section 04

  • Introduction to Computer-Aided Design (CAD)
  • Intro to CAD
  • What is CAD?
  • A Walk Through the History of CAD
  • Intro to Onshape
  • Die Drawing
  • Onshape log-in instructions
  • Dice Template

Section 05

  • RC car
  • What is the Electromagnetic Spectrum
  • Tour of the Electromagnetic Spectrum
  • What is a Radio Wave?
  • RC Car instructions
  • What's inside RC cars?
  • Final Quiz 8 questions

Section 06

  • Post-Assessment

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