Is It Radio Controlled

Or Is It Remote Controlled?

An article I read told me that a radio control toy is one with no physical connection to its controller, and a remote control toy has a physical wire connection to the controller.

I wondered about that. It didn't fit my understanding of the definitions of radio and remote controlled vehicles. I went on a research trip into my dictionaries (both new and old).

Here's what I found...

Wireless remote control devices often use a radio signal to "instruct" the controlled device what to do.

I searched online for remote control. The first page of results listed websites with remote controls for televisions and computers as their themes.

Then I searched for radio control. That gave me a list of sites with radio control cars, trucks, and aircraft. It also gave me this Wikipedia definition: "Radio control (sometimes abbreviated R/C) is the use of radio signals to remotely control a device."

So on a normal day we tend to associate remote control with televisions or computers, and radio control with hobbies and toys.

WordWeb tells me that a remote control is: "A device that can be used to control a machine or apparatus from a distance."

I found that early military uses included remote controlled missiles that had wires attached from the controller to the missile. Had to be long wires, huh? I'd call that "at a distance."

Today the military uses remote control devices with computers that interpret the signal it gets from the controller. It's not a true radio control signal in that the onboard computer gets a radio signal telling it to "fly to this GPS co-ordinate," and the computer then calculates how, and tells the device what to do. The computer is really in control of the device.

From all this research, I conclude that all radio control toys are also remote control toys, and wired toys use elcectric signals. So let's call them wired radio control toys and wireless remote control toys. Either way R/C works well if you prefer that term.

"At a distance" refers to how far away, or the range, your controller is effective. Remote control toys have a short range (some wired remote control toys have short wires), or a very long range (the longest range I've found is used to control the Mars Exploration Rover Vehicles).

Based on this, I really don't care if you call it a radio control toy, a remote control toy, aor an R/C toy. I present this site to give you a way to relax, wind down, and find distraction.

Some serious R/C hobbyists might argue that I'm simplifying these terms too much. And if I were into R/C as deeply as many of them are, I'd probably agree.

But I'm not here to get super serious about R/C. To me these are radio control toys -- and I just want to play...

What about you?

Check out the RC models that suit your pleasure inside these pages.

If you want to design and build a remote control town then you'll want some RC cars and trucks to drive around the roads, to and from the grocery, shopping mall, and work.

If yours is a city large enough to boast an airport you'll need airplanes, and helicopters, to make that airport functional.

Take it a step further by building your city on a body of water, and make it a bustling port with racing boats, cargo ships, naval vessels, tug boats, cabin cruisers, and sailing yachts.

And don't forget to build a military base in the near distance for hummers and tanks.

Of course to clear the land, set the foundations, and erect the buildings RC construction equipment is a must.

Think of the fun you'll have just during the design and construction project -- and the hours of radio control joy once you bring your community to life.