The RC of yesterday is certainly not the RC of today. Twenty-five years ago, kids would marvel at the sight of a large box under the Christmas tree in hopes that it contained some type of RC vehicle. In those days, it was rather easy to take the car out of the box, add a few \"AA\" batteries into the remote and a few \"D\"s into the car, and you were off and running. A top-end speed of 10 MPH was considered fast back then, and you wouldn\'t dare run it outside as it couldn\'t navigate through grass. Further, getting stuck on uneven pavement or speed bumps was a real pain. Yesterday\'s RC cars were made for indoors and were the type that you and dad would run into mom\'s ankles for fun.


Fast-forward to today. RC collecting and racing is almost becoming a sport, and there are many options available to RC enthusiasts. First is power source. Do you want battery-powered or gas (nitro) powered? The battery-powered variety is more popular these days as battery technology has become highly sophisticated, and amperage out-put is off the scale. Again, there are levels of battery types and cost. There are two basic battery types that today\'s RC cars run on: NiCad or NiMH. NiCad\'s, known as nickel-cadium, are the most used in RC vehicles today. NiCad\'s are relatively inexpensive and are also used to power other equipment like power tools. They also have a long life span and can undergo hundreds of recharging cycles. NiMH batteries, on the other hand, are as much as 50% stronger than NiCad batteries. They can\'t take as many recharging cycles as NiCad\'s and are more expensive; however, they\'ll provide enough power to nearly rival gas powered vehicles with speeds up to 60 MPH. You\'ll find that the higher performance RC vehicles rely on NiMH power versus the simpler vehicles which rely on NiCad. You can spend as little as $50 for a NiCad car or as much as $1000 for a top-of-the-line NiMH powered truck with a brush-less motor. Also, you can purchase RC vehicles kits, or buy them assembled (referred to as RTR: ready to race). It\'s my opinion that you should go the RTR route. Kits can be complicated.

The other form of powered engine is a gas or nitro powered vehicle. NItro powered vehicles FLY!…almost. Nitro\'s are incredibly fast; however, they\'re more complex and can be fickle. They are quite loud, sometimes messy, and require more on-going maintenance than do battery powered vehicles, however, with speeds in excess of 80 or 90 mph, you can\'t beat their performance. Nitro powered cars and trucks take more effort and patience to run. You\'ll need a charger to heat the engine\'s glow plug and an electric starter to rev and prime the engine. Both these items are typically included in a nitro vehicle package, but just make sure before you buy.

The RC fun doesn\'t end with vehicles. There are also RC tanks (more expensive), boats, planes, and helicopters. If you\'re just exploring or entering the hobby, start off with cars or trucks to pick-up the basic techniques of handling an RC vehicle. Once you\'ve mastered RC vehicles, move on to planes and helicopters. Planes and helicopters require more practice and a lot more open acreage to operate properly; however, they\'re a lot of fun…especially RC helicopters.

So enjoy the hobby. It\'s well-evolved and is terrifically fun and action-packed

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