An Old Favorite

Yuuuuuuuuuuupp That's right! I got a Bandit again!

This isn't recent though. A while back, I had an itch. This was an itch like no other. Scratching did nothing. Talcum power was nowhere to be found and I didn't want to go to the store.

The itch was R/C.

At the time I got my second Bandit, I hadn't run any of my R/Cs in over a year and where I live, there aren't many places to run a drift car so I needed something else. I just had to go back to my roots. I got a Bandit and I've been happy since then.

The Bandit was my first hobby grade R/C and I regret selling my original one everyday. It was one of the XL-5 models with the new grey plastic. Yeah, they do still sell those today but it was older then this one obviously. My original Bandit had many miles on it when I sold it and I plan to put just as many on this one.

I actually took this with me to Nor Cal hobbies when I visited San Jose not long ago and used it on their new indoor off road track. I was a little worried that a stock Bandit couldn't make it around the track. Well I was wrong. I managed to turn a few heads and get some very curious people ask me if it was really a Bandit.

It sure was a blast to drive it on a track. I was clearing jumps with no too much trouble and keeping up with guys who were driving Associated chassis. I did forget to bring the stock tires and had grip trouble but that was about it. The whole day I raced on the track without a single problem. Even the shock caps didn't blast off. The other guys broke their cars several time and my Bandit just got a few scratches. If I was closer to a track I would competitively race the Bandit. I know what it need and how to do it but lack the track to use it on.

An old friend and a new(ish) camera

Yes, I'm back with pictures. I finally found a camera that takes OK pictures. Good enough to post on here at least. It's a Sanyo ZIO cell phone camera but since that phone has no service on it, it's now a camera.

I just wanted to post up a picture of my DP. Just the way I left it when I left San Jose from my vacation 2 weeks ago. Plus it was actually sunny today so I could snap some pictures.

New Car: The Drift Devil

Many people have seen the site R2hobbies.com and saw how many clone cars they have. I've know about them for quite some time but this time I actually wanted to buy one. I ended up getting the Drift Devil. After Google searching the car, it's actually a copy of a Eagle Racing front motor conversion kit. And being from R2hobbies, it was dirt cheap.

But that low cost didn't come without it's price. For one thing, R2hobbies said nothing the entire time the car was in shipping. No confirmation emails, no messages that indicated the car was shipped...nothing. It was from Hong Kong so I'm not counting the long shipping time.

Once I got it I opened up the box and then I found (more like I didn't find) something horrifying. The kit had NO instruction manual on how to build it. I was stumped on how to build it but wasn't entirly surprised. It IS
 a knock off car. None the less I did complete it but it took longer then I would have liked. And more rebuilds then I want to mention.

I might do a review on this kit since there were many surprises (good and bad) and just to let everyone know if it's worth buying one of these. My opinion though, buying clone cars based off a well known brand's design isn't a good thing to do. Yes, I am guilty of that now but I just fell in love with the front motor chassis and had to have it.

Driving Skill cannot be Bought

What I like most about drifting is you can't win by out buying your competition. In on road racing you have to have THE BEST chassis, batteries, charger, radio, etc etc etc. If you don't have any of those forget about being competitive. Luckily that's not the case with all on road racing.

I recently went back to San Jose for a week and caught up with my old drift buddies and we hit the track. I haven't drifted in over a year since I last visited so I was expecting to be pretty rusty. You know, crashing everywhere, spinning out, going way off line. Surprisingly I did pretty good after such a long hiatus. Some guy at the track who drift almost every weekend were having trouble getting around the track. Granted, they were CS cars but what I'm trying to say is these guys had some fancy looking chassis with them. I glanced some looks around the pits to see what everyone is running these days and most of them are running these front motor mounted chassis that they use in Japan. Chassis' that are not very affordable. So these guys bought these expensive drift kits and they have trouble getting around the track still? Yes, that's right. They are neglecting something very important that I held so dear to myself when I first started drifting. 

Learn as much as you can about driving.

Driving on a track is VERY different then being in an open parking lot.

I still remember my first time on a track. Before I even went I was in parking lots "freestyling" or just drifting with no set course. I thought I was so good and better then some of those guys I saw on videos. Well, let's just say I had a very rude awakening. My first time on a track with my Traxxas 4 Tec I crashed on every single turn, didn't hit a single clipping point and probably pissed off a few guys by ramming their cars. But I still had a blast. After that I made myself clear: I was going to learn how to drive. I drifted for 2 years straight before I "retired" and I have to say, I'm still learning. Every day I went to the track to a session, competition or demo I learned something new. A new setup for my car, a new technique to get that right line, it was always something.

I hit the pinnacle of my driving skill when the SJ drifting king said I was one of the top guys for drifting in San Jose. That sure was a confidence boost.

I've come a long way to my first session at Hobbytown back in September 2008 and I still feel there is more to learn. You can't know everything about anything and driving is no exception. Not having fun at the track because you crash all the time and can't make a clean lap? Practice driving your car. It's not handling right? Ask someone! Another thing I like about drifting is the guys that drift along side you are very helpful and willing to aid someone who is new.

Another thing I do but not everyone notices is I watch other guys drift. A lot of my time spent at the track is just watching guys go around the track and just watching how they do it. Find someone who gets around the track cleanly and has a style that you like. When you get a chance, talk to them for a bit and they can help you out if you need it.

Prototype 2 thoughts

So Prototype 2... yeah..

I played it. I tried playing through it again..but ...yeah..

Ok so the game it self wasn't bad but it was way too easy. I played on Normal difficulty on the first play through (not Easy) and I only died once or twice. Sure I got mission failures, but only died once. I'm guessing Radical wanted the game to be a power tripping fantasy and made it easy to do the missions to get that power feeling. It was nice the first play through but after that I didn't feel like picking it up again.

The story had it's interesting moments. Discovering Alex's plans was a cool shocker and I kind of expected it but didn't think it would happen. What really disappointed me about the game was some questions didn't get answered. Piarah for one. I was REALLY hoping for Piarah to be a boss or have some appearance...oh well maybe the next one.

The graphics in the game are amazing. They are a HUGE improvement from the first. The zones are very detailed with pedestrians huddling around fires, having conversations, protesting Blackwatch...the zones feel very alive. The weather effects are very cool but what I didn't like was how you cant start a mission while it's sunny and once the mission starts, it's cloudy and raining.

Combat is improved ten fold. Maybe more. Instead of getting stun locked by a Hunter in P1 and losing half your health, you can actually dodge attacks much better. Using two buttons to switch between powers was very handy in many situations. I think the tendrils power could have had better range though. Then again I didn't fully level up Heller.

What was the deal with no armor in the game? Sure the shields are cool and very useful, but why no armor? I heard it was included as DLC... Really??? You have got to be kidding me. I just paid $60 for this game and I have to pay more for armor? Anyways..

Yeah, Heller levels up now. EP is used like experience points to level up Heller and get improved weapons and abilities. The way to get new powers is better then the first game where you just buy them. Now, you have to find them and consume the thing that has that power. But you start with some basic things that you had to buy before such as glide and air dash.

By the way, they switched the button for air dash. It's now the A/X button. Plus jump is different. You can't hold it down and charge up a jump. Now you press it, James jumps and depending how long you hold it will determine the height/distance. It definitely takes some getting used to.

So there are collectables that you can find and they can be used to upgrade your powers. Finding hives (which by the way are not as prominent and they were in P1) is more of a task but the reward is worth it. Hacking into Blacknet to do side missions, that I found to be enjoyable, can give you chances to level up. Once you find once of the Blacknet terminals, if you have the password you can start the mission. If you don't, you have to find it. But that's where the infected sonar power comes in the play. You can hunt targets now and are much less of a hassle to find.

James Heller is a interesting character I guess I'll call him. It's a nice change that he doesn't take orders from his sister but instead a priest. Uh yeah ok. I don't want to spoil anything but yeah..

Heller is more embraced with his powers and doesn't really care about his actions. He will attack a Blackwatch base head on just because he can. I think James is a good character. It was nice having a character that didn't feel like he had limits. I felt like I could do what I wanted when I wanted. I'm sure Radical wanted it that way.

Ok, this is a large wall of text and no one will read it but I just wanted to post my thoughts on this game I have been following for a long time now.

Yeah, I'm still alive

It's been a while I know. But a lot has happened since I last posted.

 For one thing, I moved away from California up to Oregon almost a year now. I still have all my R/C stuff (with a new addition) and I finally got to play Prototype 2.

 I'm not sure if anyone even reads this blog anymore but I figured I'd post anyways.

 So now I have a job that keeps me busy and I have an apartment to pay for my responsibilities went way up and cant do all the fun things I once did. R/C drifting for one thing. Just today I visited the Hyper Drift and DRCentral forum to see whats happening. Hyper is going strong and DRC is dead. Maybe it's a sign that 50/50 drifting is finally done?

Wait what are you talking about???

I've always saw the two forums as representations of drift styles. Hyper is all counter steer and anything new in the industry. Soon they will be doing RWD R/C drift. And DRC is what we have been doing since R/C drift first showed up. 50/50 is what always worked and is what we have always done and didn't bother with CS. With recent events at FPR with the (what now I know was temporary) shutdown of the drift track and certain TDC members getting banned from FPR, I think this symbolizes the death of 50/50 drifting in San Jose.

Yeah, there are still people who do 50/50 drifting but I'm talking about competition and sessions. Seems like all competitions are all CS and no one does 50/50. That's fine. I'm not arguing that its a bad thing.

I've been out of the R/C scene ever since I moved away. I drifted only once on a track in Oregon and it was lame to be honest. The only track is a carpet track that is mostly used for Slash racing. That was the one time until I got to go back to San Jose for a visit and drift and FPR one last time. It was good to see everyone again. I was actually very depressed about leaving. I really really miss the R/C that San Jose has. Even though drifting is dying from what I can tell, it's still loads better then what we have in Oregon.

Summer Drift Shootout at FPR

It's comp time! FPR is hosting its first comp at the new location. We will be drifting on the inside track with the scale gas station right in the middle of the track. So good photo opportunities will be there when everyone is crashing into each other to "fuel up" their drift car.

We won't be using Raiku tires like it was orginally planned since there wasn't enough to fill the order. But! We will get a chance to buy discounted T Drifts! $12 for 4 tires? I can dig it.

Also, this is a point series. We will drift inside on the current track, then outside on the grip racing track then head back inside for the final round. There is a nice trophy waiting for the winner of the series.

New(ish) R/C: Tamyia M04

Newish is right. I've had this kit forever now. So why did I never mention it? Well, there wasn't a use for it. Until now that is. With the new larger location for FPR, there is a dedicated track to run M chassis cars. Yeah, I mean the drift track. It's going to be multi purpose. FRP will have drifting and M chassis racing on the same track. The surface isn't the best for drifting at the moment but perfect for grip racing. The floor is covered with a type of paint that is used on handicap ramps so there is A LOT of grip. Plus its very rough so drift tires get eaten up very fast.



Anyways, back to the new car. So this was the first kit I ever built. It was cheap, easy, and cheap so I got one. It was originally my sister's car but she never used it so it became mine. I planned to race it in the mini class that was supposedly at Nor Cal. But steering problems and terrible commute forced me to put it on the shelf for about a year.

So in all, this chassis had about 5 runs total on it's life up to this point. With the announcement of M chassic racing at FPR, I dusted it off, rebuilt the steering and put my TA05's TRF Dampers on it. After adding some ABC Tires and Wheels, this thing is a beast. It is FAST compared to the ABC Genetics that everyone else is running. To be honest I though I wouldn't stand a chance against the 4WD chassis. But now it looks like they are getting nervous.

The body is Peter's old Cup Racer body he destroyed and then started using it. I have a Cup Racer BMW body planned for the future of this chassis. If this race class works out, that won't be the only thing planned for this chassis.

My R/C Update

After being unemployed for I think it's a year now, not much is happening in R/C on my end. The only thing worth mentioning is the new bodies for my Mini Z. Eric donated some old Porsche LM bodies for me to use.



I have mixed emotions about these. They are some really cool racing style body that I love to use. But I think these are those THE BEST style bodies that everyone would use. Then again, no one else besides Eric and myself use these. I guess it's alright.

They handle like a charm. Once they get going, they are stuck to the track. The down force on these is incredible. The first race I entered with one of these I got second or third I don't remember. But they drive nicely thanks to the extended wheelbase.

Another part I got for the Mini Z was my own motor mount. I was borrowing Eric's old motor pod forever now and he needed it back and FPR had a good motor pod in stock so... I got it. Luckily I have enough $$$ with me a the time so I was able to get it.



As for my drifter... nothing changed really. I still need to get the aluminum steering set to get rid of the play. I got one of those old school car bodies from one of those Japanese companies. Surging made a very nice old school Soarer that I got for the new team body. It looks orange but it's really supposed to be fluorescent red.

RC News: Local Update

OK, enough gaming news.. Whats going on in R/C?

In no particular order, first up, Fast Pace Racing is at a new location! They have moved from a block away from Sheldons to the other side of San Jose on Tully near the fairgrounds. The new facility is much larger then the last store. Now, there is a store front, and a warehouse where the track is located. So when you walk in the front door, you see all the things for sale and walk past it and you'll find the pit tables and the tracks. I don't have any pictures at the moment.

There have been so uncertainty around the FPR drift track. For a while now, we believed that it was going to be a realistic city drift track but Peter, the shop owner, planned to put in dirt to make a a mini Losi SCT track. A 1/16 truck track to be exact. I'm not sure what will go there but seeing how there is only drifting and Mini-Z in San Jose, I'm guessing we will get a drift track there. Tengu Drift Club will be building the city around the track. The size is about about the same as the indoor track at the old shop. I don't have any exact measurements but eyeballing it, it seems the same size.

Also, FPR will be more then a Mini Z shop and track. Soon, we will have Fast Pace Racing Hobby store. That's probably not going to be the name but the point is clear. FPR is going to become a hobby store. So let's show our support by buying there instead of online. We can race and drift at FPR not on eBay.

OK, enough of my FPR plug.

D&J Hobby now has a track of their own! It is a carpet surface track that, from pictures, looks wider then Sheldons. The opening day comp was on the 23rd and I wasn't able to go but it looks like everyone had a good time. I'll try to stop by there when I get some time to look over the track and maybe even get pictures.

Edit on 4/30/11 I got a picture of the track. Also a test of the new camera.



So from reading the Hyper Drift threads, looks like we have some things to look forward to that are coming up. The next point series is coming and we will drift up in Sacramento as well as San Jose and even San Fransisco if I recall correctly. There isn't many details on the next point series as of this point.

Team Battle Comp? It could happen... if there are enough teams. That thread caught my eye and it sounds like a good comp. I just hope we can have it on something other then carpet. I personally don't like carpet I find it too grippy but the comp idea is nice.

Gaming News: Prototype 2 Update

Well its been a while since the last post and I've found quite a bit on Prototype 2.

Some things that will be in the game:

New York is part of the place we will be playing.

This one is kind of hard to understand but in the developer interviews, they said that they couldn't say anything about it but I did find that it will be spread up in 3 areas. The Green, Yellow and Red zones. So the green will be the clean area. The virus hasn't reached them yet and it's supposed to be a safe zone.


Taken from the Heller Throws Down trailer you can see what is probably the green zone. No chaos in the streets with many people walking around and cars driving normally. Also in the trailer you can see a guy wearing medical face mask. I thought this is a nice realistic touch to the game.

Yellow is the area that people are evactuating to from the red zone. It's supposed to be a slum district with huddled masses of people trying to escape the infection and shantytowns of homeless people.

And finally, the red zone. This is going to be the bad area where the infection is at its worst. Think of the first trailer where you see destroyed buildings and that red and black crap growing everywhere.





You can see, the red zone is a mess. I have a theory that the city will be broken up in levels. For the start, you end up in the green to learn the game and whatnot. Then you eventually move over to the red zone as you progress through the game.

In this picture, you can see behind the guy is a map of the city. The zones are all on three different islands. It will probably be like in GTA series how you unlock the islands before you get to the next area. If this is true, the city will be much bigger then it was in the first game.



So the story was cleared up. James Heller returned from the war overseas to find his family killed by the virus. He loses all hope and takes a mission that was supposed to kill him since he didn't have anything to live for. His squad battles into the red zone and everyone but him was killed. In the ruckus he spots Alex and goes after him. He catches up to Alex and Alex sees he is a worthy subject for a new strain of the virus (I'm guessing new strain) and infects James to make him the new prototype.



Seems pretty good story in my opinion. Here is James pissed off that his family is dead from the virus and he gets infected instead of killed by the guy who is responsible for his family's death. Insult to injury. The Mercer vs. Heller boss fight is going to be f#$%#ing sweet.

I thought this was worth mentioning:



Yes, that's rain. Weather could be a part of the new game. Also a nice view of the Heller powers. According to developers, all the old powers (that we loved) will be coming back. So far, Blade, and Fists..



Also a note to add, in this clip, James rips that missile launcher off the tank and uses it to blow up the tank. In another video, James uses the new and improved tendrils to grab a helicopter, whip around it with the tendrils and kick and slice right through the chopper. "Wow" was the only word I could stutter after seeing that.

And last thing I'll say since this is getting very long, is one picture of a monster:



First, James is ripping off the monster's arm which is a new combat feature most likely. In the backround is probably what the yellow zone will look like and lastly, look at that monster. What is it? I dont know but I like it. This might mean there will be more infected to fight other then hunters and boss hunters. First game was all: military, hunter, military, hunter, military, hunter, military, hunter, military, hunter, military, hunter, boss, military, hunter, military, hunter, military, hunter, last boss. So now, it could possibly have some variety to the combat.

Gaming News: Prototype 2!!!!

"Holy s***!!" were my exact words as saw the trailer for Prototype 2 on the VGAs. I didn't think it would happen but it looks like we will get Prototype 2 in 2012!

After reviewing the trailer a few times, I've spotted some interesting stuff. For one, this new guy , James Hellan (sp?), looks like he is pretty pissed at Alex Mercer and from the trailer, he looks even stronger. The game still takes place in NYC and it looks even more destroyed from the first game. Rubble is piling up in the streets, some weird black and red stuff is growing everywhere... and people are having trouble picking up what the story is about.

From my understanding.. The new guy James, comes to NYC after a war to help fight the infection but gets killed in the process. So then SOMEONE uses his dead body to do the same thing that happened to Alex at the start of the first game. The Blacklight virus enters his bloodstream and creates a new prototype that is possibly more stronger then the first version. Perhaps this someone who made James the new prototype convinced him to go after Alex? This is all speculation but it's my guess to what this game will be about. No news about Pariah, Alex's sister or Ragland yet. We'll have to wait and see.

Since James is a Sergent, maybe we will fight on the military's side this time? I'd rather fight the infected then a million strike teams. No more strike teams... PLEASE.

All in all, I can't wait for 2012.

Take a look at this:



Yeah, that's him picking up a tank and throwing it on the ground. Alex couldn't pick up tanks. Also, it looks like the whip power could be making a comeback and you can pick up more then just people.



This could possibly be one of the new devastators. Some kind of flying tendril grapple move? After he strikes the target, the tendrils move out and grab cars, people, and objects and crush whatever is in the center.



Another possible new devastator. I'm guessing that he plunges both claws under ground and explodes more ground spikes then the first game. The trailer cuts off this move so there is no way of knowing what this is.

We have armor!



And finally, the trailer ended with this huge...thing that lets out a roar and smashes the ground. It looks like its standing on two legs so maybe its a severely mutated boss hunter?



I've read the comments that people have been making about the graphics. Yeah, the first Prototype could have been done on a PS2 because the graphics were lame but this new game DOES have new visuals just take a look at the pictures and compare them to the first game. Yeah, there is a difference. I can't say they are the best in the world, but they are updated.

Mini Z: A New look

It's been a while since an update...mostly because nothing really has happened. But here is something worth mentioning: a new Mini Z body!

If remember my first Mini Z post, I had a picture of a Woodone Supra body that came with my MR02. Luckily there were enough people at Fast Pace Racing that wanted it and I ended up trading it for this once use McLaren body. The gold wheels are borrowed from fellow Mini Zer JP.

Another note to add, I won my first C Main race on the 10th. We had triple mains and I came in first, second and then last. I was borrowing Scotty's batteries for the mains and after the first race, there wasn't much time to discharge and charge them up again so they were peaked and on the last race, they dumped in the middle of the race. Oh well, can't win 'em all.

Tribute to my TA05

Its been 2 years and after 8 competitions, a few demos and a hell of a lot of sessions, it's time to retire my TA05. I really hate to do this to a car that has treated me well for so long. Never had any serious problems with it...never broke a part...went from box stock to full option. Heh, I've even done countersteer on it. Its the car that got me out of the low end chassis game. I used a TT01 and a Traxxas 4 Tec before the 05 and there is a reason I kept it for so long. Sometimes I feel like this car was made exactly for me.


Since there are too many sessions to count and I don't remember all the demos, here is a list of the comps that my 05 was entered in.

Team Tengu Hobby Town comp (won novice class)
Great Mall Drift
D1GP Anahiem
DriftCon1
Alpha 1 Point Series 4 rounds (best result ever in round 2)


Here's a look through pictures of my 05:

Here is a picture of the chassis when it was fresh built. I'm actually surprised I had a picture of this stage!



The good ole silvercan days...



Here was a picture I took before the comp in Anahiem. This was also the first brushless motor I used in drifting.




Here is the start of the graphite period. It looks weird with plastic bulkheads and a graphite chassis.



And finally, the final full option form.



While this car has treated me well, but it wasn't always like that. If you remember in a previous post, I mentioned the lightweight suspension screw up. Allow me to explain. The stock 05 comes with suspension from the TA04. Beefy thick arms with large uprights and steering knuckles. The lightweight suspension changes all of it to a more lighter parts that are made of graphite plastic. After I put the new suspension on, I noticed lots of play in the parts and what I didn't notice which was more dire, it competely changed the suspension on the car. (duh I know) But at the time I didn't and at the sunday session... oh.. the pain of remembering it. The easiest way to put it is: I had to completely re do my set up. It was not fun at the time.

Also the Square converion. I already mentioned it was a impulse buy and I didn't have plans for it but (when I post the pictures) you have to admit it looked damn good.

So what does the future of the 05 hold? It will most likly be a display car or back up in case my new main car breaks down (which it already has once...)

Speaking of new car...any guesses on what I'm using for the new car? Take a look at the previous posts to find out...

The chassis may be retired but there is no way I can sell this car. I'll keep it on a shelf to look over to remember the car that let me get to this point in driving skill.

New Mini Z body

Thanks to the generosity of Scotty Ducati, I have a new Lamborghini Diablo body for my Mini Z! It was unpainted when I got it and decided to make it look like one of my childhood favorite cars: the Diablo SV

While it's not done, I couldn't help but race it. I got third on the first night I used it. Not bad at all considering the competition at FPR.

Only bad thing about my paint choice, Peter at FPR says its the same color as the prepainted AutoScale body... Oh well I guess.

New Steering

My TA05 has always has limited steering. I never could do much about it except learn to drive with it. Since I've been driving the Yokomo, I forgot how to drive a car with limited steering. But thanks to Scotty Ducati, My TA05 now has the amount of steering throw it should have always had.

He came up with the idea to flip the steering parts and use a shorter arm connected to the servo. All I can say, it works very well.

New Car: Kyosho Mini Z

Here it is...my new MR-02 Mini Z!

Today I went to FPR to get a Mini Z module and ASF board and basically get set up to race at FPR and I spent most of the day driving on the track. This car is a lot of fun to drive.

It started as a NIB Woodone Supra MR-02 and the previous owner told me that the Supra body is a rare one and the guys at FPR confirmed it. It's good and bad. Good because I like to own rare things but bad because it's a real nice body that I want to run but I don't want to risk trashing it.



As you can see in this picture, it's not stock anymore. I wasn't expecting Eric to lend me some spare option parts from his car to use on mine. So now my car is set up with a 70T stock motor and has a set up to run in the stock class.

That picture was during the rebuild process. Here is a picture of the finished car.



I'm hoping to race on Friday but I have an errand to run at the time the race starts... I'll have to wait and see if I can make it on time.

On Board Video at FPR

Scotty Ducati and his vintage RC10 camera car got some nice footage. Scotty has the blue and silver ISF and that's my basher S15 with Eric behind the wheel of the camera car.

New Products from Tamiya!

http://tamiyablog.com/2010/09/future-tamiya-releases-to-be-presented-at-50th-all-japan-model-hobby-show/

Some of the highlights:

TRF 417
TRF 502X
M06 Pro

Still no TA06 though...

New Radio: KO Propo EX10 Helios

Yup, that's right. I got a new radio. My old Airtronics was working fine, but I got bitten by the Mini Z bug and I needed a radio that uses modules. KO Propo seems to be the radio to have at FPR so I went searching on eBay and found this one. It came with a Spektrum module with 2 receivers and a lipo battery. Not bad for 160.

There are some cool features on this radio. I think the best one is the fact you can program music. The menu has A-Z and each letter plays a different sound followed by how long it plays.



There has been some issues with this radio. I wasn't surprised seeing how it was bought used. The minor problem was the steering wheel foam. It was too slippery. So I tossed it and covered it in old worn out Mini Z tires. FPR has a whole box of them and they work pretty well.



The module worked well until I realized the antenna went somewhere into the radio. With some help, the antenna is out but the range went down to 5 ft. The wire on the circuit board was bent and after it's fix, the range was back to normal. I really like this radio plain and simple.