paulnewman
Active Member
- Messages
- 104
- Location
- London, United Kingdom
My dad was clearing out his attic and told me he had found an old radio-controlled car which, if I didn't want, he would throw away.
I had a quick look and under the dust & grime it looked as if it had hardly been used so I chucked it in the boot of the car and took it home.
Turns out it is a Tandy (Radio Shack in the USA) Black Phantom, 4x4 twin motor from the 1990's running on a combination of 4 x AA batteries for the steering & motherboard with a 7.2v stick for the motors.
I do not think that my dad appreciated the need to remove the AA batteries the last and probably the only time he used it as taking off the battery cover revealed 4 objects that resembled green furry sticks. Needless to say that I spent a good hour with a combination of contact cleaner, brushes & small screwdriver before the contacts & switch looked as if they would allow current to flow to the motherboard and steering servo! Installing fresh batteries and crossing fingers whilst flicking the on/off switch saw it burst into life. I gave it a quick bench-test to confirm that it would move and turn as the manufacturer expected............
![IMG_1518.JPG IMG_1518.JPG](https://www.hpisavageforum.com/data/attachments/12/12182-97cb76be19d8e69a4cfcf28d2e42a0ad.jpg)
According to the manual I need to be very careful when I use it as it is a proper beast..
"WARNING: This racer can reach much higher speeds than most radio-controlled
cars. Be careful when you use the racer. A high-impact crash could
hurt yourself or others.
NOTES: Actual speed of racer is approximately 8 to 12 miles per hour. The
estimated scale speed is 100 to 140 miles per hour."
8 - 12 mph is going to be too fast for me to handle![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
so I would need to do some drastic modifications to reduce the top speed and allow me to enjoy using it without fear![woot :woot: :woot:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
![woot :woot: :woot:](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
!
This was probably quite advanced when new so it is amazing how far electric RC's have come in a relatively short space of time. I don't think that I will use this as I expect that there aren't many about so it will be purely decorative and I quite like it's retro look (the stickers are awesome).
![IMG_1519.JPG IMG_1519.JPG](https://www.hpisavageforum.com/data/attachments/12/12183-4ee7d18d54d0b23331b9349de79bc19d.jpg)
![IMG_1517.JPG IMG_1517.JPG](https://www.hpisavageforum.com/data/attachments/12/12184-c6ec65da62a8f33859e12e538f9a8db7.jpg)
I had a quick look and under the dust & grime it looked as if it had hardly been used so I chucked it in the boot of the car and took it home.
Turns out it is a Tandy (Radio Shack in the USA) Black Phantom, 4x4 twin motor from the 1990's running on a combination of 4 x AA batteries for the steering & motherboard with a 7.2v stick for the motors.
I do not think that my dad appreciated the need to remove the AA batteries the last and probably the only time he used it as taking off the battery cover revealed 4 objects that resembled green furry sticks. Needless to say that I spent a good hour with a combination of contact cleaner, brushes & small screwdriver before the contacts & switch looked as if they would allow current to flow to the motherboard and steering servo! Installing fresh batteries and crossing fingers whilst flicking the on/off switch saw it burst into life. I gave it a quick bench-test to confirm that it would move and turn as the manufacturer expected............
![IMG_1518.JPG IMG_1518.JPG](https://www.hpisavageforum.com/data/attachments/12/12182-97cb76be19d8e69a4cfcf28d2e42a0ad.jpg)
According to the manual I need to be very careful when I use it as it is a proper beast..
"WARNING: This racer can reach much higher speeds than most radio-controlled
cars. Be careful when you use the racer. A high-impact crash could
hurt yourself or others.
NOTES: Actual speed of racer is approximately 8 to 12 miles per hour. The
estimated scale speed is 100 to 140 miles per hour."
8 - 12 mph is going to be too fast for me to handle
This was probably quite advanced when new so it is amazing how far electric RC's have come in a relatively short space of time. I don't think that I will use this as I expect that there aren't many about so it will be purely decorative and I quite like it's retro look (the stickers are awesome).
![IMG_1519.JPG IMG_1519.JPG](https://www.hpisavageforum.com/data/attachments/12/12183-4ee7d18d54d0b23331b9349de79bc19d.jpg)
![IMG_1517.JPG IMG_1517.JPG](https://www.hpisavageforum.com/data/attachments/12/12184-c6ec65da62a8f33859e12e538f9a8db7.jpg)
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