Highland R/C Racers in Asheville Race on June 18

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

The new R/C racing club in Asheville, NC, Highland R/C Racers is announcing the first Parking Lot race on June 18, 2005. Track set up at 8am, sign-up at 9, and racing starts at 10. Any electric on road cars, and gearbox or off road cars welcome. Kids 14 and under race FREE!!!!

Contact Bob for more info and track location.
828.296.9041 or OldSkoolRCRacer@aol.com

[craigp]

Date changed to June 11th, right?

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

Date changed to June 11th, right?

Craig....
Yep, Highland R/C Racers Parking Lot race now June 11.
I missed this thread to post the changed date....
Thanks for your support!!!
Bob

[tallyrc]

edit the original post so there is no confusion

[craigp]

Where is this going to happen? Got an address?

[JoshsTL01]

i'll be in asheville, NC from june 20-june 27 or so. wheres this at? any local hobby shops to check out? id like to see the track.

[tallyrc]

i'll be in asheville, NC from june 20-june 27 or so. wheres this at? any local hobby shops to check out? id like to see the track.

this is going to be parkinglot racing in the county park containing the Western North Carolina Nature Ctr and community pool. so if there is an address for mapquest's sake try this (75 Gashes Creek Rd.
Asheville, NC 28805)
the track will be set up on the day of the race only and we will probably be practicing one night a month possibly, but the date of the race is the 11th of june. i think i got it all correct. we are having a meeting tuesday night the 7th at that location to dry run the new track. hope that helps.

[npresme]

Do you guys have a lap counting system?

[JoshsTL01]

thanks for the info. any good r/c shops in the asheville/leciester area? id like to check some out.

[tallyrc]

there are a couple shops about. ashevillehobbies.com is actually located in horse shoe, nc about 20 minutes south. it is the best around these parts but they concentrate mostly on offroad.

we will be running this race with a manual lap counting system run on a computer, but no transponders. the system is about $5000 and a little out of our range for now. but we are confident that this will produce good results for the time being and is as accurate as "bob's finger" :) we would love you to come on out and support since if enough support is shown we can look into more sophisticated lap counting systems. this is being funded out of our pockets and is a grass roots type startup. the objective here is just to guage the interest here in asheville and have a little fun. so if you have a car whatever kind of car, come on out..

[npresme]

I would love to come out, But I will be in New Jersey racing.

Maybe your next race.

As for the lap counter, That is a double edged sword. Some guys want come becuase you don't have one and its an expensive investment upfront.


You can get the new AMB system for around $2500, Or keep check on some of the forums and E-bay They are always for sale.

[npresme]

Heres one:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=34063&item=5980266051&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

[tallyrc]

we have looked into new amb systems and the prices have gone up a bit. i have started a club before in florida and the system we purchased there (after running races manually to save up money) was about $3200 4 years ago. a new system is closer to $5k these days. that system 20 on ebay is not compatible with personal transponders so that may be a problem for some.

it certainly is a double edged sword. we are just hoping enough folks are able to look past that for now in order to get this club started and build from there.

[jtn]

I am not sure where you have looked for prices but I think that 3200 is a little high even now.....

[tallyrc]

i'd seriously like to know where. amb-it.com has the decoder for $2155, the loop is $133, the charging rack is $444, 10 transponders is $1150. that's $3782 without software tax and shipping.

[npresme]

If you are going to get the new system then I would not worry with the 10 transponders and charging rack. Just make it know that the racer has to have a PT.

Plus I wouldn't get there software.

There are LOTS that are better for around a few hundred bucks. You can have everything you need for for about $2500. Trust me I am looking into them to start a carpet track this winter.

[tallyrc]

unfortunately, even at 2500 it's out of our range. this is litteraly comming out of our pockets. we are not affiliated with a hobbyshop or anything. how are you going to handle novices and kids with no handout transponders? $79 for a personal is a lot for folks just starting out to shell out when getting started. just curious. many places charge a slightly higher rate if you use a handout to offset the costs. if this takes off, i'd buy the system out of my own money and get reimbursed. hopefully if we get enough interest that will be an option.

[craigp]

PT's are $94 now. Not something a new racer is going to invest in right away. You've got to have at least 10 handouts. Tallyrc is right, new system complete and ready to go with PC is going to set you back about $5K. Beware of these on EBAY. Many are the old system 20's which won't let you use PT's and repair and replacement of those old transponders has gone sky high, on purpose. Also AMB no longer supports them for repair.

Jason, good luck tomorrow! I was going to try and come up, have to see how the schedule works out since we're not racing tomorrow, got a "to-do" list about 5 years old to catch up on. (yeah right!) Take care.

[tallyrc]

PT's are $94 now. Not something a new racer is going to invest in right away. You've got to have at least 10 handouts. Tallyrc is right, new system complete and ready to go with PC is going to set you back about $5K. Beware of these on EBAY. Many are the old system 20's which won't let you use PT's and repair and replacement of those old transponders has gone sky high, on purpose. Also AMB no longer supports them for repair.

Jason, good luck tomorrow! I was going to try and come up, have to see how the schedule works out since we're not racing tomorrow, got a "to-do" list about 5 years old to catch up on. (yeah right!) Take care.

thanks craig. those to-do lists will get ya. mines's been growing since the twins were born. we're just hoping people understand that nobody is going to shell out a pile of cash till we know this is gonna fly. also we truely just want to have a little fun. maybe if any of the local shops see that there is definately interest in on-road (we've had plenty of calls and emails) that will help. i guess amb-it hasn't updated their prices yet becasue it is still showing $78 on their site. i wonder if everything else is up too??? yikes. either way, i'll be down to your track next weekend.

[craigp]

So how did things go today? Hey I wouldn't worry about the AMB system. If you can use the computer to punch them in and printout the results that would be good for just getting started.

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

So how did things go today? Hey I wouldn't worry about the AMB system. If you can use the computer to punch them in and printout the results that would be good for just getting started.

Craig,
It was a rain-out for June 11. But we are going to try again on June 25.
Lets hope the weather is better then!

I have test run the scoring program that we will be using and it works great!
For being a manual input system, it is very accurate, and gives us lap times, and even lap speeds if we measure the track length.
We are now using a systen called LapsFree, you can download it free at RCTiming.com
For the level of racing we are doing with a club, I believe that some are too critical about an AMB system. When we have 50 or more racers on a race day, then we will consider a full on auto count system, but for now this system will be great!
We did have a chance to set up the track the Tuesday evening before June 11, and found the traction to be very good, and the system of cutting 4" diameter PVC sewer pipe in half (2" high..... ) to be very easy and forgiving on the cars.

Remember!!!! June 25 for the next race (Craig, we realize you have races going on there at Easley)

[craigp]

Craig,
It was a rain-out for June 11. But we are going to try again on June 25.
Lets hope the weather is better then!

I have test run the scoring program that we will be using and it works great!
For being a manual input system, it is very accurate, and gives us lap times, and even lap speeds if we measure the track length.
We are now using a systen called LapsFree, you can download it free at RCTiming.com
For the level of racing we are doing with a club, I believe that some are too critical about an AMB system. When we have 50 or more racers on a race day, then we will consider a full on auto count system, but for now this system will be great!
We did have a chance to set up the track the Tuesday evening before June 11, and found the traction to be very good, and the system of cutting 4" diameter PVC sewer pipe in half (2" high..... ) to be very easy and forgiving on the cars.

Remember!!!! June 25 for the next race (Craig, we realize you have races going on there at Easley)

The 25th is our offroad weekend. Don't you kow I'd love to be able to just come and play instead of work sometimes. ;)

So what's the secret of cutting 4"?

[tallyrc]

The 25th is our offroad weekend. Don't you kow I'd love to be able to just come and play instead of work sometimes. ;)

So what's the secret of cutting 4"?

you can make a "V" block or rip a board the same width as the outside diameter of the 4" and screw it to it like this ( )[ keeping the board against the fence and run both through twice cutting only half on a table saw or if you have a bandsaw one pass.. worked like a charm.

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

The 25th is our offroad weekend. Don't you kow I'd love to be able to just come and play instead of work sometimes. ;)

So what's the secret of cutting 4"?

yeah... what he said!!! *lol*
talley (Jason) helped me rip some pieces down, and it worked great! At Home Depot, 4" PVC Sewer pipe is only $4.98 for a 10' length. This is not schedule 40, it's thinner, but will work great for our use. It has a bell end, so it slips together without couplers. Tees and elbows are only $1.98 each, and we ripped some of them in half as well. Some 1" sheetrock screws to hold everything together.....
We ripped a 1x6 to the same width as the largest diameter of the pipe (the bell end) the cuts were quite smooth. Use the finest tooth blade on your table saw that you have.

[tallyrc]

the surface at our current location is remarkably high also. when we ran a little to test the system the other night i got to put in a few laps. it's the most traction i have ever seen on an unprepped track. should be fun.

[craigp]

So are you cutting th pipe in half lengthwise?
We used some 4" full width when we first started and used the couplings, guys would catch those couplings and tear the suspension right off the car. Needless to say the 4" went bye-bye real quick.

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

So are you cutting th pipe in half lengthwise?
We used some 4" full width when we first started and used the couplings, guys would catch those couplings and tear the suspension right off the car. Needless to say the 4" went bye-bye real quick.
Craig,
we are cutting the pipe lengthwise, creating a "U" shape, 2" high. The 2 legs rest on the ground, making it more stable that a round shape. The bell ends replace the couplers, and the pipe can be laid out so that the 1/8" lip is away from the flow of traffic, but even if not, it is pretty unlikely that that small projection will cause much hinderance. By ripping the pipe in half, the cost effectively becomes about 25 cents a linear foot.

[JoshsTL01]

we use fire truck hose. its soft enough that if someone hits it, it wont damage the car...Just a thought, though it might be expensive to get.

[OldSkoolRCRacer]

we use fire truck hose. its soft enough that if someone hits it, it wont damage the car...Just a thought, though it might be expensive to get.

I have raced at tracks using firehose before, and it works ok.
I like the pipe we are using, it seems to be easy on the cars, its light, and it nests inside itself for transportation. I can haul all the pipe on the roof rack of my Bronco II, hardly any weight to it at all, and not bulky. It stays straight in 10' lengths, so it makes layout easy.
Also, the nice white pipe makes a nice looking layout on the dark asphalt!