I’m pleased to announce that Omaha Maker Group will be hosting another contest: Radio-Controlled Car Sumo Wrestling! Knock your opponent’s car to the ground and be the last driver standing!
Rules are as follows:
- You may enter any toy-grade radio-controlled car with a fair market value of $20 or less. Be prepared to show receipts if there’s doubt.
- We strongly encourage the selection of cars with 2.4 GHz radios, but if you happen to show up with a fixed-frequency crystal radio, we’ll try very hard to pair you with someone on a different channel for your first round. If you win that round and wind up competing against someone on the same channel, that’s your problem. The spectators will find the interference hilarious.
Car may not be modified in advance – contestants will be given 30 minutes to complete upgrades prior to the event. You may have your upgrades planned out ahead of time, and may open and reverse-engineer the car at your leisure, but it should be completely stock at the start of the event.- Modifications to the car which bring the total cost to no more than $25, including any lithium, lithium-ion, or NiMH batteries installed in the car (spares don’t count against you). Alkaline or NiCd batteries are budget exempt. Running solely on Carbon-Zinc batteries adds $5 to your budget. Lead-based batteries are banned; we’re dropping these things on the floor and don’t want to clean up sulfuric acid.
Modifications may be planned and prepared ahead of time, but the car itself must be completely stock prior to the 30-minute prep time. You can use the 30 minutes to install a complex assembly you built in advance.- You’ll be asked to detail what modifications you’ve made.
- This follows PRS rules: be prepared to support your budget with receipts or active online shop listings for similar components if challenged. Even if you had the parts on the shelf, I should be able to duplicate it for $25. Shipping costs do not count against your budget.
- Each car will be listed in a standard scoring bracket, and will face off one-on-one (probably). Drivers who have entered two cars and wind up competing against themselves will be required to operate both cars simultaneously. Points will be awarded for pushing the opponent’s car out of the ring, with the first driver to 5 points (subject to change depending on the number of contestants) moving to the next round. You’ll have a short time to enact repairs between rounds, but no time will be given during each challenge.
This event is scheduled for February 25, 2020, during our normal 7:00 PM open shop night. Non-members are also welcome to participate.