Takara Tomy’s Q-steer, PART 2 – Specs and why this mini IR Car is a big leap from Bit Char-G

 Big Leap Forward

Q-steer was one of the advanced in mini R/C. It really overruns Bit char-G in many aspects. Both Bit Char-G and Q-steer were designed for table-top or indoor use. First of all, the device used for communicating the car from the transmitter. Bit Char-G used radio frequency like all other conventional radio-controlled cars and it really carried a lot of defects since these cars were expected to run more that 2 cars at the same time, for Bit Char-G, it really is a nightmare of bringing different frequencies. My experience was when I got my first Bit Char-G which was the 2-speed Nissan Fairlady Z, the car carried a 57-MHz microchip. And it was embarrassing because I cannot play in the living room since it distorts some of the stations of the tv. Bit Char-G dropped in a very interruptive frequency that prevents you from playing around. On the other hand, Q-steer understood what it is for and instead of carrying an R/C unit, it carried an IR system or Infrared for command transmission. This was amazing because I can now play anywhere without interrupting anyone or anything. Although one thing worries me, it is the range of the car from the remote. The manual says it can go as far as 1.5 meters from the remote or 5 feet with the car staying within the remote’s range of 30 degrees below horizontal axis. I tested that claim and it seems it can go as far as you want as long as the 30-degree range covers the car. Another reason why Q-steer is a big leap is that it catches more attention than Bit Char-G. It catches more attention since Q-steer is smaller than Bit Char-G.

Q-steer also had a very good background in the toy industry. Q-steer was an adaption from the pullback cars, Choro-Q. Choro-Q was so famous that kids love buying each and everyone of them, just like Tomica’s. Choro-Q resized almost all japanses cars, from old times to present, into small cute little pullback cars. The Bit Char-G on the other hand had one similar thing to the Q-steer, which was the Bit racer. It’s the same with CDS or Choro-Q deck system which was mini-4wd cars that run along a track. It wasn’t  famous at that time until Bit Char-G came along.

Specifications

Q-steer was smaller than Bit Char-G. As a result, more and more details of the real car vanished. Although it’s not a problem for enthusiasts and hobbyists because they’ll understand why.

 Q-steer has the 40-mm S-tech IR chassis developed by Takara-Tomy. It runs with a smaller Bit Char-G motor “Micro-B”, according to some Q-steer hobbyists. The chassis is 4-cm long andabout 1.5 to 2-cm wide. The body of the car is not like the Bit Char-G that can be removed easily and replace another body that can be purchased separately. Q-steer’s body is similar to Choro-Q except that the front end of the body is glued onto the chassis. It can be replaced with Choro-Q bodies but requires hobby skills to do it. You need to remove some excess areas in the Choro-Q body to make sure that the body fits. Sometimes, you’ll have to be picky with the bodies because it’ll become difficult for the infrared to penetrate throught the very dark transparent windows. Choro-Q bodies sometimes carry opaque windows that are colored black. The S-tech chassis features a front suspension. Judging the car from underneath, the suspension is different from the Bit Char-G.

 The car’s S-tech chassis features two-band system in every car. The remote can control up to four bansd, A,B,C and D. Each car comes in two bands, A-B or C-D. The car can switch from each of its bands to another band. For example, the Sprinter Trueno (AE86) Q-steer above runs on C-D band. If another player wants to play, carrying one of the bands, say band D, I can switch the car’s band below the chassis to band C. The ON/OFF switch has been lifted from the remote and dropped to the car. This prevents the car’s battery terminals from corroding. The batteries have been replaced with dry button cells so that it will be cheaper and more efficient to operate the car and lessen the casualties. The car features a standard “BOOST” feature which is an optional to Bit Char-G. This brings another button onto the remote that makes the car run faster than normal speed  while being pressed with the Forward or Backward run button.

 The Boost button is located at the upper right of the remote. Since the car runs on 4 bands, up to 4 cars can play at the same time and place. The wheels can be removed for cleaning purposes and the motor can also be replaced with a new motor that comes with the car, depending on the package you will buy. Some even come in two cars, with pylons or cones for additional game thrill.

Techincal Specs:

Chassis: 40-mm S-tech Infrared Control Chassis

Band: Twin-band per car, up to four bands for remote

Dimensions: 4cm x 2cm X 1.5 cm (approx.)

Motor: depending on package, most carried Normal speed type

Steering: Magnet steering system (Rack and Pinion is impossible for a car this small. :D)

Takara Tomy’s Q-steer, PART 1 – First Impressions

The Q-steer was the revolutionized version of the ever popular CHORO-Q in Japan. It was probably the second attempt of Tomy in creating a Mini R/C. The first one was the Bit Char-G which was a very awful unit. It came with a very heavy remote that carries the car’s charger. The car needs to be charged via the remote for 45 seconds at can run at most 2 minutes without the temptation of overcharging the car and ruining it. What’s more irritating with Bit Chat-G is that the first generation remote came with a flexible but still weak antenna that can break if pulled and retracted many times. The car’s rechargeable battery inside leaks since there’s no switch in the car’s chassis, making the car “on” all the time. That makes the battery leak and corrode the terminals, and disables your car forever. (unless you know how to overcome it, that’s not a problem) And then when it comes to fixing the battery, the battery’s placed beneath the dreaded microchip full of wires that can be removed easily by blowing hardly on it. Not the most typical micro R/C car then but Tomy still insisted to create a new one that overcomes all of the problems without removing the sensation of driving a very little stress-removing car.

The Q-steer was a senstation. The car, compared to Bit-Char-G, was small enough to impress and catch the attention of people passing by. The car also runs smoothly with no flaws. It doesn’t have the Bit Char-G’s single and interrupting radio frequency since it runs via infrared. The remote is very light because it’s powered by 2 LR44 batteries and the car as well. The Q-steer was a surprise for me when I saw it inside local toy stores. I was expecting the Q-steer to be hidden since many assumes that it’ll never be a great hit like the Bit Char-G. Yet I saw the batch of Q-steer hanging with the TOMICA cars and Choro-Q. Choro-Q was the origin of Q-steer. The body used in Choro-Q was also used in Q-steer. Q-steer and Choro_Q had the same manufacturer, Takara Tomy. The Q-steer suddenly became a bargain compared to Bit char-G and the Q-steer’s price when it arrived at one of the stores at Greenhills. The price of Q-steer unit before was a whopping Php 1,500, close to Bit Char-G when it first came in the country. But unlike the Bit Char-G, the Q-steer was such a big hit in Japan that it immediately depreciated to Php 600! Now that’s a reasonable price. The price is enough to relieve stress by making a small car do some slalom moves around your mouse and pen holders. If you want, you can buy several Q-steer, or at least two so you can let someone play with you and race. Then add few Choro-Qs to build you own cute dioramas. When you buy your Q-steer, there’s no need to scramble and try to catch watch stores and camera stores just to buy your batteries because the package comes with preloaded batteries so you can immediately play. This R/C is a great leap forward from its predecessor and it made me think, just by looking at its unopened box, that this should be a good hobby car.

Q-steer’s remote.

NEXT!

PART 2 – Specifications and why this car is a big leap from Bit Char-G

Posts delayed!

Um, sorry to tell this but the post regarding the Q-steer will be delayed because it’s my hell month this October and I probably will not have any time to take pictures of my Q-steer moving and so. The review will probably be written after my finals.

NexT!

 LONG TERM TEST: The New Mini-R/C line from Tomy, Q-STEER.

I actually wanted to get another unit for the test and a Choro-Q(a pullback version, Q-steer’s origin) unit as well.

IMPRESSION: Initial D Arcade Stage 4

 Expensive card, but it offers a lot to pay you back.

“scary”

Today, I visited a friend of mine at UP and it’s quiet there today. Celebrities are nowhere to be found, except when my classmates from fourth year high school came out of Palma Hall. I stayed in front of Palma hall, at the bench near the stairs by seven o ‘clock. Soon, another classmate of mine showed up and went to me. Joined by VastHorizon, we had a pleasant small talk about the things that are happening now in their campus. After the talk, VastHorizon invited me to eat at Casaa and by 8:30, he started walking to his next class. I walked back to the bench where I sat and waited until 9. While sitting though, I heard a sound, something like a car bumped on a thing, bag or a person. It was a taxi accidentally bumped a student’s bag. The student was crossing the road, probably he suddenly stopped and the taxi hit his bag accidentally while moving. The student was big in terms of figure, not a veeery fat one but someone I can consider as a person who has enough body built to create a dent on a car. This student though got mad and opened the taxi’s door and talked to the driver. This immediately caused a temporary traffic. The student was so angry that you can hear him shout at the driver 10 meters away. he’s really scary, saying things like the taxi’s old, rusty and other adjectives you can put on a 1993 Toyota Corolla XL. I can’t really hear the exact words the students says but he definitely speaks with pride. Some of you might say that I’m observing too much and might be coming up that I’m saying he’s speaking with pride of staying in UP. For me, it’s not that way. One thing is that even though he’s a student there, he should be crossing at the correct area. Although from a Filipino’s viewpoint hitting a person while driving, even if it doesn’t even cause much trouble, it will be the driver’s fault. For me, after seeing how this student argues with the driver, I thought what he’s doing is useless at some point. After discriminating the taxi, and as the taxi tries to drive to eliminate the traffic, the student even slammed the door and slammed his fist, i think, at the back of the car. That should have created a dent.

If you’re a UP student, just think what would be the impression of that driver and the other people who saw that event… I mean it can destroy reputation. It will eventually spread around, especially after that issue regarding the death of a UP student due to fraternity hazing. I’m not criticizing UP, I love UP so much. It’s just that I’m worried on how the best university in our country falls down just because of their students’ behavior.

Seeing that event just started making me hesitant in stepping onto UP’s grounds.

This is an open post. I’m accepting comments about the post.