imjonah

I have been intrested in RC for about a year now. One thing that as surprised me is the primative overpriced nature of the electronics.

I believe the basic technology of these 'new' channel 'free' transmitter recever modules is 5+ year old minimum. The AMB system is a dinosaur. Look at RFID technology, for example. A $1 dollar, oversize postage stamp you stick in your car. The detector module and antenna for less than $500. If you look at the sophistication and low cost of other electronics in our daily life it is really ridiculous that we need to spend $60 -100 for a receiver, $150-200 for an ESC, $100 for a servo, $75 for a transponder and $300 for a transmitter.

There are VCRs selling for $49 built using 10 year old technology that contain more sophisticated electronics, servos solenoids etc; than this $700 worth of electronics people buy for competitve RC.

I just think, a guy talking on his $49 cellphone with the camera and the color screen, waiting in line to ask what frequency crystal he should use and picking up a transponder, is weird.

It seems like the people who have been into racing for awhile just have learned to accept the primitive overpriced nature of the electronics.

Entropy

Lets not forget today's latest RC tech is often adopted from yesterday's technology.

Where are our helical gear drivetrains!?

ottoman

iTrader: (13)

Thats all true but.... how many cell phones and VCR's are sold each year? How many RC receivers and speed controls? Volume is what brings the prices down

Jack Smash

iTrader: (35)

Cell phones are a bad example. Companies lose money on selling you the phone so they can make money by having you sign a 2 year agreement to pay for their services.

dakrat

i agree with u sir. the price for rc stuffs is outrageous. i been suckin it up. look at the kyosho kanai edition buddy that sells for almost 800 dollars. thats just a rolling chassis. buy everything and it will add up to ridiculous price tag. look at the turbo 35 chargers that sells for about 600 dollars. it cost more than a computer which has more features, more sophisticated, etc. i think RC companies way overpriced their products. and it sells because people keep buying them. they dont care about the price. people like you and i are affected. look at AMB transponders just raised their price. and i bet people will still buy them because they are monopoly. RC is a great hobby, but to remain competitive, u gotta pay the price.

ottoman

iTrader: (13)

Well you can get a GFX for under $400... but compare the number of computers sold verses the number of GFX's. Buying parts in small quantities and assembling them here in the USA drives up the prices... plus all the design and engineering costs etc. has to be spread out over a very small number of units. If they sold 500,000 chargers a year I bet they would cost about $100...

Grizzbob

iTrader: (2)

Absolutely right, & those "$50" phones are also usually pieces of crap that I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy(not to mention that their actual price for someone who has an existing account is a LOT more than that, maybe 3 times that amount). And it's absolutely true that they do that because they make MUCH more money from the monthly bills you pay(especially when they get so many to agree to those 1 or 2 year contracts, that's guaranteed income for them). I'll take R/C stuff any day, reliable(if you buy the right stuff) & most of all, FUN.....

JKA

iTrader: (4)

I would also guess that much of the high price tag for ESCs has to do with the amps they can handle. Though I'm no electrician, I wouldn't imagine that any of our daily electronic devices can handle those sort of loads.

beanster

iTrader: (8)

You think electronics are expensive? Look what we are getting ripped off on foam tires that may last two weekends? & What about parts for cars. A pack of screws $6. What's up with that but what else can you race for what this hobby costs?? Nothing! except maybe a bicycle

rollover

You think foams are expensive..... try formula ford tires @ $500 a weekend! After that, racing RC cars is like gaining a savings account!

lazyboy

Ottoman, VCR's are opsolete..its called a DVD player

cooliomojo-CEBU

hey,

i tend to agree with all your points but here is ....

1. yep, it is true that the electronics we use are not cutting edge--for other applications.....we cannot compare our electronics to those of the cellphone because we run our cars not beyond our sight.....cellphones get signals from satellites and mega high tech transmitters miles away or even from outer space.

2. Yes, dont be deceived by cheap cellphone prices......the two year contract on your phone, if you add it all up is HUGE!

3.if only we can get more people to join RC, prices will defnitely go down. there is such a thing as economies of scale and companies will save a lot on production costs if they mass produce items. when this happens, all the RC products will be made in CHINA. hehehehehehe

4.its all about racing. and racing = money. if your contented running your RC's at home to chase cats, you wouldnt spend money on high end elctronics and stuff. just think of it as being a race team........you are michael schumacher, you are the pit crew, you are Jean todt and you are the guy who pays for everything!

imjonah

You crack open a AMB transponder and what do you see that costs more than $2 to manufacture. They make enough of these that they have economy of scale and they certainly not funding a lot of cutting edge research.

When I go to Tower or Horizons web page and look at the prices, I really think this Industry sees us as a bunch of chumps.

Foam tires was another good example. $13 dollars a pair, No profit there?

What exactly is the motivation for these companies to make there cars durable. Why make the front suspension durable when you can sell the parts at 8 times cost when they break.
I seriously think a durable electric TC car would bankrupt 3/4 of the hobby shops and car makers.

Hyper1

I agree most of the stuff we buy is way overpriced but like was said earlier it comes down to the quanity,we just don't have the quanity needed to buy at the low prices,think about it,it's how Wal-Mart got so big, buying in quanity.They have so much buying power now that they set the price they want.

jiml

iTrader: (3)

Sorry, imjonah, but you don't have a freakin clue.

The current AMBrc system is a direct descendant of the system currently used by Formula One and every other major motorsport in the world.

And RFID? That oversized postage stamp transponder you put in your car costs $25. The antenna and module are $10,000. How do I knw this? I work for the company that makes them.