Remote Control Toys for Kids

It's been 15 long years, but when I close my eyes, I instantly see a sea of images flashing in front of me as I go back in time. I can still feel the scent of its new rubber tires oh-so clearly. It was a white speed demon, albeit a miniature one. My folks had gifted me an absolutely stunning remote control car and I was, needless to say, over the moon. It was simply awesome and I remember how restless I used to be, longing to get back from school just so that I could race my 'Speedo' (as I affectionately called it) in my room, my backyard and all over the street.

Since then, I have always shared a special bond with remote control toys which remains as strong as ever even today. I simply love the feeling of unadulterated joy that one gets when playing with an RC toy, the amount of realism involved, the thrill and the undying enthusiasm which makes you want to play with them for hours on end. For those of you who aren't all that familiar with remote control toys, read on to know more about them.

Types of Remote Control Toys

Remote control toys or RC toys, as they are commonly referred to, are available in many variants such as:

• remote control vehicles
• remote control boats
• remote control helicopters
• remote control water cannons
• remote control aircraft
• remote control robots.

Remote Control Vehicles: Remote control cars, trucks, battle-tanks, sports cars, etc., are the toys that come under the category of remote control vehicles. They are probably the most popular of RC toys and are available in a lot of varieties. Though purchasing is always an option, it is actually quite easy to build some of these RC vehicles on your own. In fact, building a remote control car has become a very popular science fair project of late.

Remote Control Boats: Remote control boats, speedboats, hovercrafts, etc., are realistic miniature working models and they can be quite entertaining for those who are fascinated by water vessels.

Remote Control Helicopters: RC helicopters are the current rage as far as remote control toys are concerned. Children have always been obsessed with flying objects and having your very own flying helicopter is a super-exciting thought indeed.

Remote Control Aircraft: These come in many varieties, ranging from basic RC toy planes to complex RC model aircraft. Flying an RC airplane can be very addictive and can soon turn into a hobby for airplane enthusiasts.

How Do They Work?

There has always been a bit of confusion over what are 'remote control' and 'radio control' toys. Well, let me clear the air on this one. Remote control toys are of two types:

• wireless remote control toys
• wired remote control toys.

Wireless remote control toys are also known as radio controlled (R/C) toys; i.e., radio control toys are nothing but a sub-type of remote control toys. Wired remote control toys on the other hand, are not all that popular and are rarely seen. Therefore, the terms 'radio control' and 'remote control' are used interchangeably quite often. RC toys work on the principle of radio frequency. The handheld controller contains a radio transmitter whereas the toy has an inbuilt receiver inside its body. When we press a button on the handheld controller, the transmitter transmits a signal to the receiver which subsequently triggers the inbuilt motor mechanism and this makes the toy move. In most cases, the power source for both the transmitter as well as the receiver is nothing but a set of batteries.

Personally, I would always recommend toys that have a remote control, not only because they are great to play with, but also because they serve the purpose of being educational toys. They be a good way of educating a child about technology and its applications. Quite a clever way of combining work and play, don't you think?