Northern Mike

As some may have noticed in the video or two I've posted, my middle boy is always with me when out running my RCs. He's all about the RC cars, running them and fixing them (he's mildly autistic btw).
Anyway, I managed to break a sweet deal on a rolling rustler chassis, so I think him and I will start a build for him. He'll be 3yrs old this spring and is pretty good with the remote already.
I'm going to set him up with my older 15t brushed race motor (may throw a pot in series with the motor to slow it down at first), but will need to find him a radio.

Any suggestions on a smaller pistle grip radio that won't be too big in his hands?

SyCo_VeNoM

umm a pot in line with the motor would more then likely melt the pot as those are not made for high current that motors pull

More effective way would be to adjust the throttle trim knob, put a piece of fuel line behind the trigger to limit how far it could be pulled, or get something like a traxxas ESC that has a training mode.

Hobbyking GT2, or Specktrum DX2L would probably be good as they are kinda smaller, and lighter. My nephew when he was 5 used to use my HPI TF-40 with no issues, but that one is a bit larger, and the throttle trigger is like a half an inch farther from the grip.

phmaximus

Here is my boy, he is only 2yo. In the early days we just dialed the throttle EPA down but now he has great self controll and throttle control.

http://youtu.be/qedJ2LObI4s dont stress about controllers... The kids just seem to find a way to make it work.
out of 5 kids we have never had any problems with the controllers. (Mind u 2 can't drive. One is a baby and one is Autistic)
for example the kids are no better on the FS GT3c with the small rubber grip vs the large one

I've done a lot of work with disabled kids and kids on the ASD spectrum, how on earth did u get a Autism diagnosis at such a young age? I know over here they like to put off the tests because of the whole terrible two's thing

Northern Mike

My oldest (4yrs old) was diagnosed with aspergers and during his monitoring, they picked up on my middle boy. He's going on 3yrs old in a couple months. His diagnosis is not official on paper yet, but they are already working on helping us with him.
Oddly enough, my oldest is the brilliant one, and is into music and arts. My middle boy is the one into RCs and electronics. Both like to help wrench on my wife's van and my 1:1 car however.

As for the controller, my 2yrs old is decent with the pistol grip, but not so good with the other formats. He's trashed a few toy grade rcs trying to play outside with them. I'm hoping to complete the deal on the roller rustler so it can be upgraded as he gets better. The thought of him controlling a 4lb car that can do crazy speeds is kind of scary to be honest. The rustler would be large enough to let him drive it in the grass and driveway without issues.

h22a4

My Feedback: (50)

I gave my 4yo son a spektrum dx2l there is a switch on top for throttle limit. he loves it. Both my 4yo's are rocking rustlers the boys is vxl the girls is brushed seem to be the perfect cars for kids in my opinion.

phmaximus

ah yep. its really not fair, I know here is a very long process to get a diagnosis, and can be hard to get early intervention. My heart goes out to u and ur family..... Ive got a lot of respect for parents of special needs children.

I know what u mean about toy grade cars. My boys are hopeless with stick controllers and they just don't last.

Its funny the Rustler seems to be a very popular starting point.....

One tip... if u have a digital controller assign a few different profiles with ranging throttle end points
U could have say 3 different ones.
full throttle (for dad)
1/2 throttle for grass
1/3 throttle for hard packed surfaces

Come to think of it I would recommend a FS GT3c, With the small grip its one of the smallest controllers ive seen