Remote Control Toys - What to Ask Your Hobby Dealer

Especially if you are new to remote control hobbies, you may be overwhelmed by the dazzling array of RC vehicles on the market today. These include helicopters, trucks, planes, tanks, boats, motorcycles, and more. Some fine RC toys can be had for under $100, perhaps even under $50, and fast hobby grade vehicles can sell for over $1000. Some are electric, while others run on nitro fuel or gas.

Electric toys need to have their batteries recharged, which takes time. How long will it run before it needs to be recharged? How long does the recharge take? You can simply pour more fuel into gas powered RC trucks when they run empty, but what are the maintenance and fuel costs?

Most planes, even those sold as "ready to fly", require minor assembly before flying. How much is "minor assembly"? What if your plane crashes - can it be fixed or will you have to get a whole new plane? How hard is it to learn to fly one? Can you find spare parts for the remote control helicopter you've been eyeing? If so, how expensive are the spare parts? Can you get these parts locally or will you have to get them mailed to you? What if you fly your RC helicopter and then decide you don't want it. Can you return it?

Due to the nature of the hobby, dealers generally will not accept returns of used vehicles. They certainly will not take returns of any crashed RC helicopters or trucks, which is why you should be sure to do some product research before reaching into your wallet. In general, most RC toys are covered under warranty from the manufacturer in case you do find a problem after playing with it. Electronic components such as the radio are often covered for 30 days and most other parts are typically covered for 90 days.

You want to be happy with your purchase and your hobby dealer wants you to be happy, too. Discuss your needs with your dealer before you buy anything. If you've never had a remote control toy before and you think LiPo is a type of cosmetic surgery, speak up! (LiPo is short for lithium polymer, a type of rechargeable electric battery.) If you have kids and want one toy for each one, ask your hobby dealer to make sure you get toys that work on non-interfering frequencies. A good dealer should always take care of this without your asking, but you should remind him anyway. Also, if you already have a toy that runs on a fixed frequency, you need to tell your hobby dealer so he can get you a new one that won't interfere with it. For example, many surface vehicles like RC trucks and boats will operate near 27 MHz. There is a set of different frequency bands near 27 MHz that these toys are able to use under FCC regulations. Suppose you have one truck that is on 27 MHz channel 4, which is 27.145 MHz. You could get another one that is 27 MHz channel 6, which is 27.255 MHz, and use these remote control trucks simultaneously. If you instead get another toy that also runs at 27.145 MHz, each toy won't know which radio transmitter signal to follow. You and your kids will only get frustrated trying to play with them.

Now that you know some essential things to check before buying, it is time to go visit your hobby dealer!