Bay Area Transit News
Your source for the Bay Area's latest transportation news.
Wednesday, March 11, 2015
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Every Single Hexbug to Date
I don't know a lot of people who like Hexbugs more than me. I have a gigantic set of Hexbug Nano track. But there are many different types of Hexbugs, so I'll go over all of them so you get the basic idea of how they work.
The first and most common Hexbug is the Nano. The Nano is the smallest Hexbug, only a little more than an inch long, but it sure can move! The Nano has six legs on each side. It vibrates hundreds of times per second, not only making it fast and nimble, but also making it so the Nano is capable of bouncing off edges. The Nano is the only Hexbug that will go on the accessories and track that are available. All the other Hexbugs are too big.
The Crab is the second oldest Hexbug, and while it is the slowest, it's one of the coolest! Not only does it change direction after several seconds, it will stop and "hide" in shaded areas, just like a real crab! It also reacts to sound, so whenever you clap your hands, the Crab will change direction.
The Aquabot is my personal favorite Hexbug. It is the second smallest Hexbug. It's the only Hexbug that can swim, and is waterproof, which is awesome. But the best part of the Aquabot is that it will dive under the water and come back up to the surface! It can go down a good few feet.
The Larva is, without a doubt, the creepiest Hexbug, but the way it works is amazing. The whole body wiggles back and forth on just two tiny wheels. The tail moves from side-to-side, which looks really cool. The best part about the Larva is that it has a sensor in the front that senses walls and objects. The Larva will turn to avoid that obstacle a few inches away! It also turns different amounts every time it senses objects.
The Scarab is also very creepy because it looks like a spider, but it's very interesting. Its legs move 1,200 times per minute (it's really true), and instead of using complex sensors, the Scarab uses its physical abilities as a decoy. Whenever its legs touch a wall, they're moving so fast that it just bounces off of it. The Scarab can also flip itself over when it's upside down!
The Original Hexbug has antennas on the front so that whenever it touches a wall, it will spin around halfway and keep going. Its legs move awkwardly, but it's sort of fascinating. It also will spin around half way if you clap your hands!
The Ant is the fastest Hexbug, racing at about two times the speed of the Scarab. It has antenna sensors in the front, but it also has sensors in the rear for when the Ant is going backwards! (It goes backwards whenever it senses something in the front, and vise-versa.) The wheels are just a huge blur when the crazy thing is on.
The Spider is remote-controlled. It can pull off 360-degree spins!
The Inchworm is also radio-controlled. It can also pull off 360-degree spins!
The Hexbug Warriors are awesome battling Hexbugs that slam into each other, trying to knock out one another. There are four different colors available, each with all very different designs. They're the weirdest looking Hexbugs of all!
The most interesting Hexbug to date is The Nano V2! Okay, maybe it has a weird name, but it makes that up in its performance! Not only does it do everything the original Nano does, it defies gravity. Literally. The Nano V2 will climb up and down tubes! Somehow it looks onto tubes and sticks to them while it climbs up and down. There's even a Black Hole set where the V2's free-fall into a black hole! It's one of the coolest Hexbugs to date, and obviously the most fascinating as well!
And that is every single Hexbug to date.
The first and most common Hexbug is the Nano. The Nano is the smallest Hexbug, only a little more than an inch long, but it sure can move! The Nano has six legs on each side. It vibrates hundreds of times per second, not only making it fast and nimble, but also making it so the Nano is capable of bouncing off edges. The Nano is the only Hexbug that will go on the accessories and track that are available. All the other Hexbugs are too big.
 |
| Hexbug Nanos |
The Crab is the second oldest Hexbug, and while it is the slowest, it's one of the coolest! Not only does it change direction after several seconds, it will stop and "hide" in shaded areas, just like a real crab! It also reacts to sound, so whenever you clap your hands, the Crab will change direction.
 |
| Hexbug Crabs |
The Aquabot is my personal favorite Hexbug. It is the second smallest Hexbug. It's the only Hexbug that can swim, and is waterproof, which is awesome. But the best part of the Aquabot is that it will dive under the water and come back up to the surface! It can go down a good few feet.
 |
| Hexbug Aquabots |
The Larva is, without a doubt, the creepiest Hexbug, but the way it works is amazing. The whole body wiggles back and forth on just two tiny wheels. The tail moves from side-to-side, which looks really cool. The best part about the Larva is that it has a sensor in the front that senses walls and objects. The Larva will turn to avoid that obstacle a few inches away! It also turns different amounts every time it senses objects.
 |
| Hexbug Larvaes |
The Scarab is also very creepy because it looks like a spider, but it's very interesting. Its legs move 1,200 times per minute (it's really true), and instead of using complex sensors, the Scarab uses its physical abilities as a decoy. Whenever its legs touch a wall, they're moving so fast that it just bounces off of it. The Scarab can also flip itself over when it's upside down!
 | ||
| Hexbug Scarabs |
The Original Hexbug has antennas on the front so that whenever it touches a wall, it will spin around halfway and keep going. Its legs move awkwardly, but it's sort of fascinating. It also will spin around half way if you clap your hands!
 |
| Original Hexbugs |
The Ant is the fastest Hexbug, racing at about two times the speed of the Scarab. It has antenna sensors in the front, but it also has sensors in the rear for when the Ant is going backwards! (It goes backwards whenever it senses something in the front, and vise-versa.) The wheels are just a huge blur when the crazy thing is on.
 | ||
| Hexbug Ants |
The Spider is remote-controlled. It can pull off 360-degree spins!
 | |
| Hexbug RC Spiders |
The Inchworm is also radio-controlled. It can also pull off 360-degree spins!
 |
| Hexbug RC Inchworm |
The Hexbug Warriors are awesome battling Hexbugs that slam into each other, trying to knock out one another. There are four different colors available, each with all very different designs. They're the weirdest looking Hexbugs of all!
 |
| Hexbug Warriors |
The most interesting Hexbug to date is The Nano V2! Okay, maybe it has a weird name, but it makes that up in its performance! Not only does it do everything the original Nano does, it defies gravity. Literally. The Nano V2 will climb up and down tubes! Somehow it looks onto tubes and sticks to them while it climbs up and down. There's even a Black Hole set where the V2's free-fall into a black hole! It's one of the coolest Hexbugs to date, and obviously the most fascinating as well!
 |
| Hexbug Nano V2s |
And that is every single Hexbug to date.
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Fast Lane RC X-Craft Hovercraft Hands-On Review
IMPRESSIONS
To put it in simple terms, this hovercraft is big. It is, in fact, 18 1/2" long. It's made by Fast Lane and you can only find it in Toys R Us stores. It's got one of the most advanced styles of any toy grade RC hovercraft ever made.
This is what it looks like when the skirt is deflated:
And this is what it looks like when it's inflated:
The skirt on the X-Craft is very soft and lightweight, which should allow it to go over some bumps in the terrain. The X-Craft has a vertical fan that sucks air downward, pushing the vehicle up so that it's floating above the surface. Because the X-Craft has no wheels, there are also two large fans in the rear that push air away from the vehicle, propelling it foreword.
The controller for the X-Craft is skid-steering, which means that it drives like a tank, in which you push both joysticks to go forward, both backward to brake (the X-Craft can't go backwards), push one joystick to make it turn and vise versa. You can also spin 360 degrees by pushing one joystick forwards and the other joystick backwards.
There's also a little button at the top of the controller that makes the skirt deflate so the X-Craft will come sliding to a halt.
The X-Craft also comes with a 12-volt NiMH battery and battery charger. You simply plug in the wall charger into an electrical outlet with the battery attached. It takes a normal four hours.
TESTING
When you put the X-Craft on the ground for the first time you will find it to be FAAAAAAST. Really fast. Super duper fast! One video on YouTube remarked on how it's top speed is THIRTY Km per hour!!! And they even proved it by showing the X-Craft chase after a car that was going thirty Km per hour! In other words, that's faster than the Titanic could go at top speed. You can barely keep up with this thing, and whenever we hold races against people, it usually wins. Get the idea? Good. Even though you can try it on "other" terrain, it's still a great amount of fun on pavement.
When I meant "other" terrain, I meant water. Yes, the X-Craft does glide on the top of the water. It's even more thrilling than on land when you watch the huge wake of water flow in a skinny line behind the X-Craft. Even though it kind of drags on the water a little bit, it's still flying on it's own cushion of air. Whenever I open the battery door after a water run, the battery is completely dry, something you might not expect. Do be careful, though. If you run out of battery on the water, the X-Craft will gradually sink. If you can't get to it in time, you have just witnessed Titanic #2.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
The X-Craft is not meant for little kids. Because there is hardly any friction with the ground, it pretty much drifts everywhere and doesn't want to stay in a straight line. Little kids, particularly, will find this very frustrating and might as well result in some exercise, as they constantly have to run over to the X-Craft, pick it up, and set it back to a spot where it won't crash for another ten seconds. Also, the battery only lasts about fifteen minutes every time you use the X-Craft, although this is pretty standard for toy-grade RCs today.
CONCLUSION
Bigger kids and grown-ups will get the most and best enjoyment out of the X-Craft. Despite being hard to control, once you get used to it, the X-Craft is a real pleasure, and one that will stick with you for quite a while. It never gets old watching it zip through the water or racing it to your heart's content. If a TOY-GRADE RC vehicle can go faster than the Titanic itself, I think we can all agree that we have a big hit.
There's no video review this time, but you can see a video of X-Craft up on my blog if you click right here (but if you are reading this on my blog right now, don't go anywhere, there's a video right under this post).
GRADE: A+
To put it in simple terms, this hovercraft is big. It is, in fact, 18 1/2" long. It's made by Fast Lane and you can only find it in Toys R Us stores. It's got one of the most advanced styles of any toy grade RC hovercraft ever made.
This is what it looks like when the skirt is deflated:
And this is what it looks like when it's inflated:
The skirt on the X-Craft is very soft and lightweight, which should allow it to go over some bumps in the terrain. The X-Craft has a vertical fan that sucks air downward, pushing the vehicle up so that it's floating above the surface. Because the X-Craft has no wheels, there are also two large fans in the rear that push air away from the vehicle, propelling it foreword.
The controller for the X-Craft is skid-steering, which means that it drives like a tank, in which you push both joysticks to go forward, both backward to brake (the X-Craft can't go backwards), push one joystick to make it turn and vise versa. You can also spin 360 degrees by pushing one joystick forwards and the other joystick backwards.
There's also a little button at the top of the controller that makes the skirt deflate so the X-Craft will come sliding to a halt.
The X-Craft also comes with a 12-volt NiMH battery and battery charger. You simply plug in the wall charger into an electrical outlet with the battery attached. It takes a normal four hours.
TESTING
When you put the X-Craft on the ground for the first time you will find it to be FAAAAAAST. Really fast. Super duper fast! One video on YouTube remarked on how it's top speed is THIRTY Km per hour!!! And they even proved it by showing the X-Craft chase after a car that was going thirty Km per hour! In other words, that's faster than the Titanic could go at top speed. You can barely keep up with this thing, and whenever we hold races against people, it usually wins. Get the idea? Good. Even though you can try it on "other" terrain, it's still a great amount of fun on pavement.
When I meant "other" terrain, I meant water. Yes, the X-Craft does glide on the top of the water. It's even more thrilling than on land when you watch the huge wake of water flow in a skinny line behind the X-Craft. Even though it kind of drags on the water a little bit, it's still flying on it's own cushion of air. Whenever I open the battery door after a water run, the battery is completely dry, something you might not expect. Do be careful, though. If you run out of battery on the water, the X-Craft will gradually sink. If you can't get to it in time, you have just witnessed Titanic #2.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
The X-Craft is not meant for little kids. Because there is hardly any friction with the ground, it pretty much drifts everywhere and doesn't want to stay in a straight line. Little kids, particularly, will find this very frustrating and might as well result in some exercise, as they constantly have to run over to the X-Craft, pick it up, and set it back to a spot where it won't crash for another ten seconds. Also, the battery only lasts about fifteen minutes every time you use the X-Craft, although this is pretty standard for toy-grade RCs today.
CONCLUSION
Bigger kids and grown-ups will get the most and best enjoyment out of the X-Craft. Despite being hard to control, once you get used to it, the X-Craft is a real pleasure, and one that will stick with you for quite a while. It never gets old watching it zip through the water or racing it to your heart's content. If a TOY-GRADE RC vehicle can go faster than the Titanic itself, I think we can all agree that we have a big hit.
There's no video review this time, but you can see a video of X-Craft up on my blog if you click right here (but if you are reading this on my blog right now, don't go anywhere, there's a video right under this post).
GRADE: A+
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Fast Lane RC X-Craft Hovercraft on Land and Water
(I apologize about not posting since a coupe months ago, but i've been busy while also being incredibly lazy.) This here is the Fast Lane RC X-Craft Hovercraft. It's got probably one of the most advanced designs of any toy grade RC to date. But what are my real thoughts about this unique vehicle? Stay tuned for the review coming in a few days.
Sunday, March 10, 2013
Mario Kart Micro RC Racing Vehicle Hands-On Review
IMPRESSIONS
At only four inches long, this micro RC Mario Kart racing vehicle (no manufacturer given) will always be one of the smallest RC vehicles I will ever test. If you look at the box, an advertisement says "authentic detailing." That's only about half-true. Mario himself looks great; they did a good job painting him, but the car itself really skimps on colors. It has only three colors plus some ugly gray in the rear where the fake exhaust pipes are located, which are pretty much the only part of the car that look as good as Mario.
The controller is probably the simplest design ever created. You have basic forward-back and left-right steering. The only thing on the controller that's semi-original is the charging jack on the back of the remote. You plug this into the bottom of the car and it will charge it up. Takes about fifteen minutes.
TESTING
When you put the car down on the ground, you will find it to be a bit slow. The speed isn't terrible, but not too exciting either. If the vehicle is turning to the left or to the right without your asking it to, all you have to do is adjust the trim knob on the bottom of the vehicle.
For my next test of this vehicle, I put it onto some really nice low-pile carpet that almost any RC would be able to handle. It indeed got stuck a few times, and the speed dropped a little, but it did go over the carpet just fine. Sound like a good RC? Well, you haven't heard everything yet.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
Be prepared for a really long paragraph. This car has many faults if you look closer. Every time you try to turn right, the vehicle will spin out no matter what. That sounds really cool, but every time the car spins out, it just keeps spinning out even when you try to turn in the opposite direction. It wasn't terribly annoying when it first started doing this, but the longer I had to put up with these really annoying spin-outs, the more I came to hate this car.
I had problems with the steering on carpet too. Here, the car would hardly turn at all. The problem is that the front wheels aren't powerful enough to turn on even the lowest low-pile carpet you can find. If the front wheels were more powerful, this car would be able to drive and turn on carpet just fine. But as it is, this vehicle's a failure on carpet too.
CONCLUSION
This Micro RC Mario Kart Racing Vehicle will be most enjoyed by younger kids who don't care how the car performs. Any other age, however, will take notes of the car's flaws and disappointments and will outgrow it soon after receiving it. Sorry Mario, but it looks like you're not going to "win" any races any time soon.
Check out my full video review of this disastrous RC car!
GRADE: D
At only four inches long, this micro RC Mario Kart racing vehicle (no manufacturer given) will always be one of the smallest RC vehicles I will ever test. If you look at the box, an advertisement says "authentic detailing." That's only about half-true. Mario himself looks great; they did a good job painting him, but the car itself really skimps on colors. It has only three colors plus some ugly gray in the rear where the fake exhaust pipes are located, which are pretty much the only part of the car that look as good as Mario.
The controller is probably the simplest design ever created. You have basic forward-back and left-right steering. The only thing on the controller that's semi-original is the charging jack on the back of the remote. You plug this into the bottom of the car and it will charge it up. Takes about fifteen minutes.
TESTING
When you put the car down on the ground, you will find it to be a bit slow. The speed isn't terrible, but not too exciting either. If the vehicle is turning to the left or to the right without your asking it to, all you have to do is adjust the trim knob on the bottom of the vehicle.
For my next test of this vehicle, I put it onto some really nice low-pile carpet that almost any RC would be able to handle. It indeed got stuck a few times, and the speed dropped a little, but it did go over the carpet just fine. Sound like a good RC? Well, you haven't heard everything yet.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
Be prepared for a really long paragraph. This car has many faults if you look closer. Every time you try to turn right, the vehicle will spin out no matter what. That sounds really cool, but every time the car spins out, it just keeps spinning out even when you try to turn in the opposite direction. It wasn't terribly annoying when it first started doing this, but the longer I had to put up with these really annoying spin-outs, the more I came to hate this car.
I had problems with the steering on carpet too. Here, the car would hardly turn at all. The problem is that the front wheels aren't powerful enough to turn on even the lowest low-pile carpet you can find. If the front wheels were more powerful, this car would be able to drive and turn on carpet just fine. But as it is, this vehicle's a failure on carpet too.
CONCLUSION
This Micro RC Mario Kart Racing Vehicle will be most enjoyed by younger kids who don't care how the car performs. Any other age, however, will take notes of the car's flaws and disappointments and will outgrow it soon after receiving it. Sorry Mario, but it looks like you're not going to "win" any races any time soon.
Check out my full video review of this disastrous RC car!
GRADE: D
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set Hands-On Review
IMPRESSIONS
What?! A zip line? For a Hexbug Nano? That's impossible! There's no way that a Hexbug Nano could go an a zip line! This is a moot point. Well, not exactly. Technically, the Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set seems impossible at first glance. But what you don't see right away is that that the Zip Line comes with four "zip clips," as they call them, which can be attached to any Hexbug Nano. These clips allow (or are supposed to allow) the Hexbug Nanos to grasp onto the Zip Line and have a nice ride down. The Zip Line has even more to it than that. One of the best parts is that you can put it at different lengths, either really short or the longest it will go, which is 18 inches. Seems really innovative, but will the "zip clips" work?
TESTING
Yes, they really do! The Hexbug Nanos will grasp onto the Zip Line just fine and they also will come off the Zip Line by themselves, which is a big plus. If the Nanos have a full battery, they have a chance of falling off the Zip Line a few times. It never gets annoying, but it's a little tiresome when you find yourself reaching out and righting any Hexbug Nanos that have fallen off the Zip Line. This doesn't happen constantly though, and the Hexbug Zip Line is fun to watch and play with. Since the set comes with four zip clips, you can have more than one Hexbug Nano going on the Zip Line. I tested two, three, and four Hexbugs on the Zip Line at the same time and came to the conclusion that two was the best number, three was a little too crazy, and four... let's just not get into that. The reason three and four were not the greatest was because the Hexbugs would always collide with one another. If I could give you any advice, stick to two Hexbugs at a time or just one.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
Even though the Hexbug Nano Zip Line is a great little toy, there are a few issues. First, since the Hexbugs are higher because of the zip clips, they sometimes struggle to get up the spiral. It's really hard to adjust the spiral just right so that the Hexbugs don't get stuck, and so that it's not so steep that the Nanos can't climb upwards. And second, because the Nanos are bulkier because of the zip clips, they can't squeeze by one another like they normally could without the clips on.
CONCLUSION
Despite those minor setbacks, the Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set remains a great little toy. Being able to watch Hexbug Nanos go down a Zip Line is innovative and outstanding. I can tell the developers of this toy worked hard and put a lot of thought into it. If you like zip lines, you'll love this toy too.
Check out my full video review of the Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set!
GRADE: A-
What?! A zip line? For a Hexbug Nano? That's impossible! There's no way that a Hexbug Nano could go an a zip line! This is a moot point. Well, not exactly. Technically, the Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set seems impossible at first glance. But what you don't see right away is that that the Zip Line comes with four "zip clips," as they call them, which can be attached to any Hexbug Nano. These clips allow (or are supposed to allow) the Hexbug Nanos to grasp onto the Zip Line and have a nice ride down. The Zip Line has even more to it than that. One of the best parts is that you can put it at different lengths, either really short or the longest it will go, which is 18 inches. Seems really innovative, but will the "zip clips" work?
TESTING
Yes, they really do! The Hexbug Nanos will grasp onto the Zip Line just fine and they also will come off the Zip Line by themselves, which is a big plus. If the Nanos have a full battery, they have a chance of falling off the Zip Line a few times. It never gets annoying, but it's a little tiresome when you find yourself reaching out and righting any Hexbug Nanos that have fallen off the Zip Line. This doesn't happen constantly though, and the Hexbug Zip Line is fun to watch and play with. Since the set comes with four zip clips, you can have more than one Hexbug Nano going on the Zip Line. I tested two, three, and four Hexbugs on the Zip Line at the same time and came to the conclusion that two was the best number, three was a little too crazy, and four... let's just not get into that. The reason three and four were not the greatest was because the Hexbugs would always collide with one another. If I could give you any advice, stick to two Hexbugs at a time or just one.
ANY DOWNSIDES?
Even though the Hexbug Nano Zip Line is a great little toy, there are a few issues. First, since the Hexbugs are higher because of the zip clips, they sometimes struggle to get up the spiral. It's really hard to adjust the spiral just right so that the Hexbugs don't get stuck, and so that it's not so steep that the Nanos can't climb upwards. And second, because the Nanos are bulkier because of the zip clips, they can't squeeze by one another like they normally could without the clips on.
CONCLUSION
Despite those minor setbacks, the Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set remains a great little toy. Being able to watch Hexbug Nanos go down a Zip Line is innovative and outstanding. I can tell the developers of this toy worked hard and put a lot of thought into it. If you like zip lines, you'll love this toy too.
Check out my full video review of the Hexbug Nano Zip Line Starter Set!
GRADE: A-
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Air Hogs Hawk Eye Blue Sky: RC Plane With a Camera!
You might be wondering how I could possibly record this footage. It's because of a plane that you can buy at just Target or Toys R Us. Phenomenal!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)