R/C Tech Forums - View Single Post - Ernest Provetti Open letter to RC Industry
Old 01-15-2010, 10:36 AM
  #96  
vafactor
Tech Master
iTrader: (6)
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: New Bern, N.C.
Posts: 1,696
Trader Rating: 6 (100%+)
Default

the problem seems to be simple and I see it as twofold:

1) the current crop of 17.5 cars (both sedan and 1/12th) have gotten so fast with the new speedo technology that the existing package is not very appropriate for somebody new who's trying to learn how to race. a new guy with a good 17.5 car is likely to bounce off of everything and everybody, to break a bunch of parts, and to get discouraged. Not good.

2) even for the experienced racer who does have good skills and some level of mastery, in these early stages of rapid speedo technology development, one can never seem to know lately if one's equipment is going to be made obsolete overnight by whatever is the newest development in speedos. We've seen this happen first with the SPX's, then with the Black Diamonds, and now with the Tekins.

the solution to these problems does seem simple enough........just mandate the use of a basic non-adjustable speedo with no boost and no timing adjust capabilities for the entry level classes (whatever motors are chosen for the basic classes) and disallow any speedo trickery that adds boost or timing or other electronic wizardry for those classes. In combination, mandate basic motors with no adjustable timing. Then, for the mid level and above classes (whatever motors are chosen for those too),.....anything goes so long as the motor fits within the rules. In this way each racer can choose to run in the basic classes where the speeds should be under control and the equipment will remain stable and relatively affordable.....or he can choose to jump into the deep end where it's necessary to keep up with the latest and the greatest. Unfortunatly, the situation that we have now is that any racer who doesn't want to get his butt kicked because of equipment disparities is forced to keep him self equipped with the latest speedo technology. As all have seen recently, this can get quite expensive. And for those who will now be tempted to chime in and to shout that their Tekins solve that problem because of the downloads that are continually being put out for free..........let's not forget that the Tekin crowd was among the loudest of protesters when the Black Diamond came out and there was no Tekin firmware available that would overcome the BD's advantage. The temporary solution to the superiority of the Advanced Electronics speedo was the outlandish ban on the Black Diamond. Redicuous. Updatable speedos are not the answer for containing cost unless we are going to be willing to ban anything else new if it happens to be faster than the fastest free update that's out at any given time. Obviously that's would be as rediculous as it was arbitrary last time it happened. Mandating the use of simple, basic, (and likely very affordable) non-adjustable speedos with no programming trickery for the "stock" classes would seem the only viable solution to this problem of escalating technology, speeds and costs. I offer that we should do this at least for the classes where controlling the speeds, the costs, and the access for new participants matters.

Having said all that, please know that I choose to take my black diamond equipped 1/12th scale wherever the best available competition is to be found. And on the occasions when some of the guys kick my butt, then they will have done so because they are just better at it than me. That's OK, and it gives me motivation to try and improve my own game.
vafactor is offline