Newbie question: range of r/c

[jt]

I just built a boat and canabalised the r/c from a toy car I got at a yard
sale for 5$.

Works, but the pond is much bigger than the range of the r/c.

It's a 27mHz thingie.

How far can I expect a real r/c xmitter/rcvr combo to go?

Is there a difference between the various frequency units?

Thanks...

[John Mianowski]

I run mine sometimes at ranges of several hundred feet - at distances
where it's pretty hard to tell what the ship is actually doing,
sometimes. This is both 27 & 75 MHz - range has very little (if
anything) to do with the frequency.

JM

On Mon, 1 Sep 2003 18:00:19 -0300, "jt"
<jtaylor@spamkiller.hfx.andara.com> wrote:

>I just built a boat and canabalised the r/c from a toy car I got at a yard
>sale for 5$.
>
>Works, but the pond is much bigger than the range of the r/c.
>
>It's a 27mHz thingie.
>
>How far can I expect a real r/c xmitter/rcvr combo to go?
>
>Is there a difference between the various frequency units?
>
>Thanks...
>

[Tachikaze]

JT,
If you obtain a REAL transmitter set up you will notice a big range increase from the cheap car set ups. I would disagree with John on that there is not a difference between the 27mHz and the 75mHz as to range. With the math there may not be too much of a difference, but it is more of a problem with interference. Since there are more of the cheap units out there running on 27mHz you likelihood of running into interference with a 27mHz unit is greater than that with a 75mz unit. The 75Mhz units also have a tendency to be more powerful with a greater range. The more power you have the greater your range and the less interference influence there is. With the 75mHz units we use for our combat ships your are really getting out of the range of being able to see the boats before you loose control of the boat.
If you are interested in running R/C, then the most important thing you can spend money on out side of the boat is your radio system.
Phil