Myers at the WRAMS Show
Reporters
George M. Myers, reporter Timothy J. Myers, photographer
It is impossible to report on every item at a display such as the WRAMS Show. The items that caught the attention of the Myers journalistic team should quench your curiosity. If you want to see more, you'll have to go yourself next time!
Show overview
The WRAMS SHOW is a mid‑winter rite of looking, talking, selling and buying in the hobby of modeling. While we tend to think in terms of RC aircraft, boats, cars, motorcycles, helicopters and even submarines controlled by RC were represented. Scale models were king of the hill at this meeting, and the emphasis was on large models.
We were invited to attend to discover today's trends in RC equipment. The dominant trend is: big. Every manufacturer has something for the "quarter‑scale" modeler.
Trends and notable equipment
- Battery packs (1200 mAh, with protective foam in the box) were offered by Ace R/C, World Engines, EMS, and Novak.
- Several manufacturers featured variations of the Dunham D‑8 mechanics: Cannon, Ace R/C, Novak, Litco, and EMS.
- World Engines offered their own S‑16 servo: 190 inch‑oz. output and 1/2 second for 100 degrees. Big servos draw more current than smaller ones, which explains the large battery packs.
- Running against the trend was Bill Cannon with a micro system: four servos and a receiver weighing 2½ ounces. I showed the prototype in last year's WRAMS column; it is now in production. Cannon has also added a line of engines to his catalog, ranging from a smooth‑running, throttled and muffled single‑cylinder .03 to a five‑cylinder radial .30 (made from five .06 engines cleverly geared together).
- MRC is targeting the mass market with the 805 and Guidance radios, offering many optional variations—2 to 5 channels—along with a range of servos and dry or rechargeable battery options.
- Sid Gates of Royal Electronics has production lines operating for the Royal Classic (discussed in 1978) and the Omega. New for this year is his RS‑21 servo. Royal has offered the Chevron servo for large models for two years; a servo tray for it is due soon.
- Kraft is into FM (for hams on 53 MHz) and offers transmitter modules for the top‑of‑the‑line Signature and -7C transmitters, and non‑module FM transmitters and receivers in the Sport Series. Kraft's list of options requires a thick catalog to describe them all. You'll find their large S‑20 servo mentioned there as well.
Flying demonstrations and special displays
- Flying demonstrations were organized by the young builders of Delta Darts under Tom Tartaglia. They are a bit underpowered for Cannon's micro radios, but that may change.
- Marty Barry and Tony Bonenti impressed the crowd with demonstrations of the Eleck‑Rider RC motorcycles that Kraft is importing.
- I noticed fewer electronic gadgets than usual this year. General Varionics, Inc. filled some of the gap with a new tool, the coulomb meter — a report on this system will follow next month.
- DaCa Model Products showed a sophisticated Power Panel and a neat field case; I predict a successful market reaction when it reaches dealers.
New products and manufacturers to watch
- Gerry Jarvis of MEN has a clever pulse‑type battery charger in production that he claims will make battery packs last longer by burning out internal shorts during charging.
- EMS added heavy‑duty servos to their line, and they also offer a servo reverser and a 1200 mAh battery pack. Their 6‑month warranty is unusually good.
- Ace R/C has put the Silver Series system into production and will offer a special "do it your way" series. The case will be blank with templates provided so users can place and file controls as they wish. Any mix of dual‑rate, exponential and/or mixing options will be possible. I plan to build one for my helicopter and will report details in my regular column.
- Eastcraft Specialty Products, Inc. is offering two complete power packages. Each contains an engine mount, an onboard starter, a battery to operate the starter and light the glow plug, and a charger. Each package is assembled and tested. System 100 contains the K&B .40 engine; System 200 contains the K&B .61.
- Bob Kiess has been developing a practical ducted fan. His designs, sold by Midwest Products, do work and the models fly. They are more complicated to operate than an Ugly Stik and less complicated than a helicopter. The sound is different; ducted fans may represent the next wave in RC models once (or if) quarter‑scale mania runs its course.
Conclusion
This report is a sketchy attempt to give the flavor of the show. Hundreds of kits, accessories and materials were offered. The AMA was present with movies and a District II meeting. Trophies were awarded in 19 competition categories. The Swap Shop was jammed with bargain hunters; in fact, every place you looked was packed. You left the show tired, but it's a good kind of tired. Nobody saw everything, but everybody saw something to add to their "wish list." The only downside was missing a small part of the Olympics to attend—a small price to pay.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
