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RC Surfer

Old 03-03-2007, 12:13 PM
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metaldog
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Default RC Surfer

Well for a few years now I have been looking for the Kyosho RC surfer and it is next to impossible to find. From time to time I see them on eBay but for way more than I want to spend. I kept hoping that Kyosho would re-release it or maybe some other company would get the designs and manufacture it again. Well I came across this and it looks very similar to Kyosho's version but I don't know whats inside the thing.

Here is the description :

A great gift for ages 8 Years - Adult Rip it up in a pool, lake, or pond! From up to 200 feet, you can control the direction and speed of this R/C surfer. He's unsinkable, self-correcting, self propelled and features special "automatic return" technology.

Surfboard includes a high-power motor with propeller. Radio controller has three channels per frequency. Comes ready to run right out of the box. Set includes two additional propellers, rechargeable batteries and charger, 9V battery and controller. 27 MHz. Measures 25" x 13". Colors may vary.

So as you can see from that description that it has a lot of the same features as the Kyosho surfer. If anyone has one ... what are your thoughts on it? Did or can you upgrade the motor and prop ?

If anyone is curious I'm really considering getting one and cracking it open and test driving it. At least I can return it if I'm not happy.

Here is a link:
http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/produ...cemldffidfjm.0
Old 03-03-2007, 01:31 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Looks like the surfer dude has articulated legs. Perhaps he moves his body in relation to the rudder servo. Or if no rudder, the surfer dude shifts body weight to steer. That would be very authentic!
Old 03-03-2007, 02:45 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Yeah I did notice that when I saw it at Walmart. It does have a rudder. I'm guessing that Kyosho sold the design and rights to it and this company added some to it. It also says it features "auto return" or something like that. Well my curiosity is getting the best of me so I think I'm gonna go buy one. If anyone is curious I'll post pics and videos.
Old 03-03-2007, 06:47 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Auto return? hmmmmmm would be nice if all the stuff I had stolen from me in the past had that feature

I noticed those articulated ankles as well, looks like he has the servo shoved up his butt LOL
Old 03-03-2007, 09:07 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

LOL !!! Yeah ... would be nice to have auto return with movie rentals too !! Well I bought one. Only had 3 to choose from .... 1 had his head broken off ... I almost bought it and put a pumpkin on it for a head . The other had some weird looking spot on his neck ..... looked like he had a hickey or cigar burn LOL .... So instead of blue I bought the only other color ... red. Right now its still boxed up. Good thing we got a full moon .... cause Im driving this tonight come hell or high water. Of course I can't find the digital camera right now [:@] .... so hang tight anyone who is curious. I wanna get pics of it in the box so this is really killing me. Well off to the camera hunt. BBL !!
Old 03-03-2007, 11:23 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Yes, pics and video! Even if you video it in your living room.
Old 03-04-2007, 03:20 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

ORIGINAL: Kmot

Yes, pics and video! Even if you video it in your living room.
LOL ok here are some pics .... after looking at some pics of the kyosho RC surfer ... I am almost 100% positive this is the same thing only slightly different. I am rather impressed with the quality. It is water cooled ... .ooks like a 540 but I put it in the bath tub and held the front ... MAN this thing is gonna run pretty quick !!! It actually was pushing hard against my hand and the wake behind the surfer splashed up against the tub and water went up about 5 or 6 inches .... the surfer was in the middle of the tub. The prop only spins when in the water (safety feature). At first I didn't like the way the guy leaned but after taking it out of the box it really adds more realism to the surfer. Comes with a 8.4v 2000mAh Ni-Cd ([:'(] Ni-Cd) As far as the electronics go they are a little better than what you would find in most Walmart or Radio shack type of RC products ... but again the power is there so I can get used to the cheaper radio and ESC. It would be easy to remove everything and use your own radio but you would loose the auto return feature and would have to rig a way to make the surfer lean or not have him lean at all. The rudder can be adjusted at the push rod and rudder junction. It seems to be sealed very good too. The motor is water cooled. I'm not going to drive it tonight cause I don't really feel like fight off the neighbor's dog with my airsoft pistol LOL !!! I forgot he runs loose at night .. I live outside the city limits so people get irresponsible with animals and guns around here LOL !!! It came with some spare parts as well. I thought about buying one more for parts if needed. I got mine from Walmart and used a friend's discount card so it was around $77 after the discount. If anyone has questions or wants pics of specific areas of the surfer ... feel free to ask and I'll try to get them posted ASAP. I'll try to video it tomorrow. Then figure out a way to post video ... never posted a video before.

Here are some pics of the Board Sharks Surfer:
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Old 03-04-2007, 03:32 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

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Old 03-04-2007, 03:54 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Here is Kyosho's version .... after doing some reading ... Kyosho wasn't the original manufacture .... some other place was and then Kyosho bought the design and rights and slapped their name on it. Well compare the two and you be the judge .... I'm pretty sure this is the same design .... with extras.
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Old 03-04-2007, 04:02 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Man I'm dying to run this thing !!! I'll get videos for those who want to see the speed and performance. It will be in a small pond, but I may even drive down to the coast and run it in the waves. We never get waves more than 3 to 4 feet at the shore ... unless a Katrina or Rita are coming this way !! It says not to operate it in waves higher than 5 feet. So at least expect a video in the pond ... We'll see about the beach ... maybe next weekend ... MAYBE !!! .. I'm really wanting to see it at the beach !!! LOL


I just read another forum and a guy has the Kyosho and the Board Shark .... he already modified it and says the one from Walmart is just a good as the Kyosho.
Old 03-04-2007, 12:02 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Wow! That is extremely cool! I think the leaning surfer is outstanding. Sort of like the HOR (Hang On Riders) on the Kyosho motorcycles. I gotta get one of these!
Old 03-04-2007, 09:18 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

have you seen this? one of the coolest rc videos youll ever see!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBrhf...elated&search=
Old 03-04-2007, 11:09 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Wayyyyyy too cool!
Old 03-05-2007, 06:36 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Yeah back in 2000 I was looking to buy a Kyosho RC surfer and found this place with lots of videos ... better quality too.

http://www.rcsurfrider.com/videos/

http://www.rcsurfrider.com/

Well after driving the surfer .... I think its gonna need more speed. I kinda thought it would even before driving it. Question is how much more. I talked to a guy that is running a 19T motor in his and likes it a lot.

I did take a little bit of video ... but my son kept begging to drive it ... so I gave in and let him. For the most part he drove it in circles but then I turned away and heard a thump !!! He had it stuck on this small island in the middle of the pond !!! I tried to get it unstuck by forward and reverse and rocking the rider from side to side but nothing was happening. So I tried throwing big rocks in hoping the waves would rock it loose .... yeah right !!! Then I went to the house and got a fishing rod to try and snag it ..... came really close like 3 times but for the most part just practiced casting. So I went looking for my wetsuit cause the water was too freakin cold !! No luck there either ... so I had to put on a bathing suit and take the plunge !! While swimming to the isle my neighbor comes out and say .... I'd let you borrow my 16' jon boat to get it but someone stole it (he needs auto return)... I told him with all my luck today the boat probably would have sunk anyway !! Now it really doesn't get that cold here in the winter ... if you can even say we have winters .... but it was about in the upper 50's and north wind was about 15 mph ... so needless to say I felt it when I got out .... I couldn't believe I actually got used to the water !!! So now I'm looking to beef up the motor .... so I can really get it stuck !!!

Oh BTW I have yet to figure out the auto return feature ... my on guess is that it does a 180 when it gets out of transmitter range ... or maybe big circles until it finds the signal ?? There is no mention of it really in the manual except they tell you ... do not attempt to swim after your surfer ... use auto return. Gee thanks ... HOW !! ???
Old 03-05-2007, 11:03 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

In the process of modifying this thing to rock !!!
Old 03-06-2007, 12:38 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Be careful about what motor you stuff in there. The electronics being what they are (cheap) you may smoke them. Unless you want to gut it and put in the true go fast stuff!
Old 03-06-2007, 10:35 AM
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Yeah I'm considering taking it all out ... and try to figure a way to keep the guy twisting side to side ... I really am liking that ... looks cool ... but then again it is more drain on the battery. Im gonna look at the components and see if I can find the specs of the FETs ... If they can handle the current I may add a water cooled heat sink .... It's just like over clocking a computer hehehehe and god knows I've had plenty of success in that field !!! But eventually I will hit a limit on how much it can handle. I did notice the old Kyosho's were using 7.2v instead of 8.4v like what this came with .... so I'm thinking maybe with 7.2v I could get away with a lower turn motor without changing the ESC. And the websites that talk about the surfer say that the 540 is too slow and they all put 19T inside and are happy. So My goal is to at least put a 19T ... just got to see what its gonna take to get there. I'd like to have the stock electronics working so if I ever sell it I could put them back in .... but I have found a way to let my son play with it .... I just added my Rx w/batts and taped a micro servo in and attached the push rod to it ... so I steer now and he just guns it LOL !!!

Also wanted to add that this thing is pretty water tight ... I had submerged it in the water a few times ... not for very long because it floats very well and wont be under water that long anyway .... I also reversed it a few times and water of course went over the top of the board ... and when I opened it up .. I didn't see one drop of water inside. Even so, I'm dropping a small desi-pak inside to absorb any water of moister .... I use the same ones my scuba diving camera gear uses.
Old 03-06-2007, 11:39 AM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

I wonder if a high speed servo on the rudder would make it tip over if you turn too quickly? I sure would like to make the surfing aspect look and feel real when I take it to the beach. I'd to make fast cuts but physics may not let me LOL.
Old 03-06-2007, 05:35 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Ok after looking at the guts ..... man what a mess they made inside !!!! They had boards covered in wax and seal inside a case with epoxy ... needless to say ... there goes my warranty !!! LOL !! The so called Speed Controller has 2 speeds ... ON and OFF. I didn't even catch that when I drove it the first time. And the steering is the same .... full left or full right. Cheap is too good a word to even call the electronics inside !!! I may go ahead to the beach with it stock before modding it. Just to see what it can do out of the box.
Old 03-06-2007, 08:58 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Just placed the order !!!

I'm going as cheap as I can
So I'm gonna use my Duratrax IntelliSpeed Auto-Sport Forward ESC and one of my 27Mhz Tx/Rx.

I'm adding a water cooler to the esc:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGBH5&P=0

And going with is motor because the ESC can only do 20T and up (I could probably get away with a 19T ... but one step at a time):
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXAMC2&P=ML

And some extra tubing.

For now I'm not gonna worry about the dude's movement for now.

Used a code (010f3) for $10 off $24.99 or more order.
Old 03-06-2007, 10:36 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

Yeah, all of these r/c's from China come with "Full Featured Radio Control" meaning on/off type. I once converted a King Hauler knockoff to full propo gear. Even the servo was not a real servo in that thing!

Will be fun to see what it can do with the hop ups. So, is the surfer dude not connected by linkage to the rudder?
Old 03-06-2007, 10:46 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

ORIGINAL: metaldog

I wonder if a high speed servo on the rudder would make it tip over if you turn too quickly? I sure would like to make the surfing aspect look and feel real when I take it to the beach. I'd to make fast cuts but physics may not let me LOL.
Yeah you have to watch this, it wont tip over but it is really twitchy and spins out easily, run the push rod as close to the servo gear on the horn as posible that way you have more progressive steering and more control
Benos
Old 03-07-2007, 04:43 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

sorry i didnt see this thread sooner. you should have bought the 22turn 600 electrifly motor. would increase speed and torque.
ORIGINAL: metaldog

Just placed the order !!!

I'm going as cheap as I can
So I'm gonna use my Duratrax IntelliSpeed Auto-Sport Forward ESC and one of my 27Mhz Tx/Rx.

I'm adding a water cooler to the esc:
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXGBH5&P=0

And going with is motor because the ESC can only do 20T and up (I could probably get away with a 19T ... but one step at a time):
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXAMC2&P=ML

And some extra tubing.

For now I'm not gonna worry about the dude's movement for now.

Used a code (010f3) for $10 off $24.99 or more order.
Old 03-09-2007, 09:36 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer


ORIGINAL: alloutcustom

sorry i didnt see this thread sooner. you should have bought the 22turn 600 electrifly motor. would increase speed and torque.
I might give it a try ... I have an on-road car that I'm wanting to stick the 20T in anyway.
Old 03-11-2007, 01:14 PM
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Default RE: RC Surfer

I am thinking of getting one of these things now they look pretty fun.

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