gee-dub

iTrader: (1)

semi-local news (abc7, out of los angeles) just had a segment on hydrogen fuel cells; in this case teaching high school students their use in rc cars. any exposure is good exposure (or something like that). the segment was complete with students competing on a track, electronic scoring and all! since this thread already existed in the on-road forum (instead of radio+electronics), thought i would resurrect and post a screen cap (below).

not sure what chassis that is, obviously pretty basic (not a bad thing). electronics wise, sensorless BL, futaba radio, standalone servo (assumedly futaba as well). is the round silver tube, just in front of the esc, the battery/fuel cell? also, anyone know what the 2x blue led fans are cooling (the converter for the hydrogen? i'm assuming there is some level of heat/loss in this conversion)? so, in the past ~13.5 years since the last post in this thread, anyone know if hydrogen cells have become more viable?

also, had to chuckle... as anyone familiar with pinewood derby competitions, the thought of what certain family member/rc addicts might have done to 'help' with car prep (read: graphite, titanium, tire truing, sauce, tweak stations, lul). i could just picture someone showing-up with their x12'24.

belewis01

iTrader: (5)

I will be in Pomona in about 3 weeks with our 2 teams from NorCal for the state finals of the Horizon Fuel Cell Grand Prix. The chassis is RJ Speed, the silver cylinder is compressed hydrogen and the blue lights are the fans blowing air over the fuel cell membrane. Student teams attempt to qualify by driving on a black carpet track for 2 hours with only a hydrogen fuel cell and one 2700 mah battery. The top teams are doing 300+ laps, the top tier team doing 400 laps. Once we make the state finals, we then attempt to do 4 hours on hydrogen and one 3600 mah battery. The cars are very closely regulated and inspected, and yes, teams with RC experience do better but there are many more technical aspects involved as well.

The competition is international, and come September, the top teams will meet up at the Worlds, where they will attempt to race for 6 hours.

2024 car at the NorCal qualifier - 302 laps in 2 hours

2024 NorCal qual track

We use 200mm nitro bodies

Our teams - 2 teams of 5 students - that's me 2nd from the left.

jasburrito

iTrader: (3)

Do not get too smart. Water car. https://youtu.be/yc_tMGJh43w?si=_Hn59eBiQyXzHVOE. Tom ogle. https://youtu.be/NCT7P1LHKYQ?si=DSBOhKgINz318A6D

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

Free energy rc car anybody ???

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

Race outdoors with solar panels on the roof, sure

Dan the Man

iTrader: (41)

Ditch the pint-size drivers, and go with a FPS rig and a stick radio....sorted.

https://worldsolarchallenge.org/

DesertRat

iTrader: (2)

The hardest part about building a car powered by water is figuring out where you hide the gas tank.