The Cub Report: Week 2!

Week two in 08′ has flown by.

Product wise, MaxAmps, trying to make good on their vow to dominate in 08′,
introduced another product- some hard case saddle pack li-po’s. The jury is still
out on encasing li-po’s in a hard pack. On one hand, protecting them is very
important. On the other, li-po’s don’t like being contained in essentially, a
warming blanket. Before it’s all said and done, a compromise of the two- a hard case
with either a cooling system or vent holes, is bound to become the standard.

Speaking of compromises, Schumacher USA issued their press release on the Speed
Passion brushless controller this week. What really catches the eye is their use of
hybrid technology. It uses sensors like a Novak or LRP for the first few feet off
the line, then switches to non-sensored mode so motor timing is adjustable. This
seems to use the best of both worlds. Several of these systems were used at S&N’s
Trackside’s US Touring Car Championships last weekend with great results. Expect an
interview with the suits at Schumacher right here at BigSquidRC in the near future.

In the sport of rc racing, if you talk about the single best American racer, the talk always begins and ends with Brian Kinwald. Arguably, he’s the best American of all time.

This week, the press release went out that BK had signed with X-Ray. Nothing wrong with that of course, Brian is top of the heap, just like X-Ray is. But, it brings up a problem that is particularly bad in the rc world. Brian drives for X-Factory in electrics, and now, X-Ray for nitro and touring. This is sort of like Dale Jr. driving a Chevy in the car series, and a Ford in the truck series. Only one chassis can be the best, so it sends a mixed message to consumers.

Every time a factory shoe signs a contract, they always say “I truly believe they have a superior product”. But if they are driving for two chassis manufactures (or three!), how can this possibly be an honest statement?

So what’s the cure? A couple. Factory shoes should limit themselves to only driving for one similar sponsor at a time. Just because you can get free gear from everybody on the planet doesn’t mean that you should. It devalues both the driver and the manufacture when they send out conflicting signals to consumers.

Manufactures should demand exclusivity from their drivers. When someone asks “what chassis does National Champion guy drive?” there shouldn’t be a half dozen answers. Manufactures are only sponsoring “National Champion Guy” to increase their own exposure, not other companies as well.

On the racing front this weekend, the biggest race in the country is the annual Midwest Electric/Nitro Off Road Champs in Columbus Ohio. This weekend, they are racing electrics, next weekend, nitro’s. The host club is CRCRC, say that 10 times fast!

Some pro’s love this event, as it gets them away from the office for 2 full weeks. Others loathe it because of having to spend 2 full weeks in a cold, humid, shed in the middle of nowhere. (most SoCal guys consider anyplace other than California as being the middle of nowhere!)

That’s the highlights from this week in rc. Support your local hobby shop, get off the computer and go racing!!! Oh and remember, Red lost the war at CES, buy Blu Ray!

Straight from a cold bunker in the middle of the desert,
Cub-a-dub Reporter