Everyone has something that fights them in their lives — something that relentlessly antagonizes them.  For me, one of those things are network routers.  That may sound silly, but since the majority of my work is conducted over the internet, a router is a very important part of my daily work.  So why are they such a problem?  To put it bluntly, they are all junk.

I remember purchasing my very first router, the original Linksys 4-port wired-only router that became the start of what would be a router revolution of sorts.  When these things first started appearing in homes, broadband providers hated them.  The thought of their customers sharing a single broadband connection rather than shelling out extra cash for an additional line irked them, yet the conscious of the customers remained crystal clear.  When home network routers became mainstream, ISPs accepted that everyone was going to own one, and so they became the norm.  But there’s one problem - so few of them seem to be 100% reliable.

My data connection at home here is very fast.  I have Business Class cable, and it screams.  I use my computer for everything possible, from large file transfers to gaming, and all of this depends on my router maintaining a rock-solid throughput of data. My first Linksys router was great - I never had any issues with it.  Then I replaced it for a wired unit and the troubles began.  Reboots, lockups requiring power cycles, and eventually, death.  The Linksys unit I replaced it with did the same, so I was finished with Linksys.

So I gave D-Link a try, first using the DGL-4300 Gamer Lounge unit.  It was perfect - a 100% reliable router than ran fast and never scoffed during heavy network traffic.  The unit ran hot though, and died after about a year of use.  I replaced it with a D-Link DGL-4500 - another gaming router.  Again, a stellar performer that lived for about a year, then it refused to connect to the internet.  And so it went into the garbage.

When the DGL-4500 died, I needed a replacement immediately, and the only unit I could locate locally was the D-Link DIR-655, which is essentially the same router as the DGL-4500, but it’s white and does not have the fancy OLED display on top.

:: My D-Link DIR-655 gigabit wireless-N router - click image to enlarge ::

It’s been a few weeks now and so far the DIR-655 has been fantastic.  What are my expectations?  I think it will continue to work great for about a year, then die — which is why I am prepared, having ordered a new DGL-4500 that is kept in reserve.

Can anybody design a reliable home router that does what it’s supposed to and lasts longer than a year?

When I was younger I had a lot of fun with radio controlled vehicles - what kid didn’t?  Up until recently, I haven’t paid much attention to them.  It’s not that I had no real interest, it’s more because my life was filled with so many other activities that I was well occupied.  As it seems, I’m revisiting my old hobby, but only on a limited basis.  Sort of.

Smokey, the plump Siberian Husky that shares the house with me is a good dog, but anyone looking at him could tell that he could use a bit more exercise.  I know, he’s cute and puffy the way he is, but he also needed a bit more excitement in his life rather than sleeping all day and night.  So I remembered how years ago, he would go crazy over radio controlled cars, running after them in the back yard to the point of exhaustion.

Smokey is much older now, but I thought I would buy an RC car just for both of us to have a little fun.  It all started with the Caster Racing Fusion F-18 Fusion, and he just lit up at the sight of it.  Now, months later, Smokey can’t wait to go outside, and admittedly, I’m having just as much fun as he is.   I decided to step up to a Traxxas Rustler VXL, and that was a really cool truck.  It’s super smooth and fast, and very easy to operate, requiring almost no maintenance.   But, I wanted something more - I wanted the realism that goes with a combustion engine instead of an electric motor and the sounds and smells that go with it.  That’s all great, but I really didn’t want to mess with nitro motors - they are messy and require constant tuning.  No thanks - at least for now.

I started researching larger scale vehicles and instantly found the relatively new and extremely popular Baja 5B and 5T 1:5 scale buggy and buggy and truck.  To put this into perspective, the vehicles that Traxxas sells are 1:10 scale, and are large to begin with.  A 1:5 scale vehicle is huge, and that’s an understatement.

The Baja 5B(buggy) and 5T(truck) are essentially the same vehicle, using the same chassis and basic components with the main difference being the body and in some cases the engine size.  Most Baja parts are interchangeable, such as suspension parts, drivetrain, engines, etc.  I thought about getting the 5B, but after some thought I just couldn’t resist the looks and size of the 5T.

The HPI Baja 5T is powered by a Chung Yang 26cc two-stroke “Fulie” engine that runs on high octane fuel at a 25:1 fuel/oil mixture.  The CY engines are a direct clone of Zenoah engines, and most of the parts are even interchangeable and as such, a Zenoah engine will drop right into the Baja with no modification.  CY engines are known to be just about as reliable as Zenoah these days, and with proper care and maintenance they can run a long time between rebuilds.

The Baja’s drivetrain consists of a two-wheel-drive single-speed transmission utilizing all-metal gears and an alloy differential case.  The chassis is 4mm thick stamped aluminum alloy, and most suspension parts are made of high strength nylon.  It weighs close to 40 pounds and has a top speed of about 45mph, according to HPI.  Aftermarket parts support for the Baja series vehicles is huge, and there’s even a kit offered in form of the Baja 5B SS, which features the larger 26cc engine and most of the HPI upgraded parts.

I ordered my Baja from Dave’s Discount Motors and that included their Dominator tuned pipe, which is supposed to increase the power of the vehicle substantially.  The truck arrived here a few days later, and nothing could prepare me for the size of it.  The photos of tne Baja 5T simply cannot depict its size, so when you see one of these in person, it’s quite an experience.  Yeah I know, I’m talking about an RC vehicle here.  But really, it’s cool.

I’m very impressed with the quality of the vehicle, and I decided to shoot some photos of it before it gets dirty.  I have not started it yet - that will come soon, as well as a follow up article on its performance.  I’m just wondering what kind of a reaction this monster will draw at the local parts here.  Stay tuned for updates with action shots.

Related Links:

• HPI Racing
• Dave’s Discount Motors - the best place to buy your HPI Baja

I’ll keep this post pretty short, but I was compelled to make a record of my first impressions of the new two-stroke Yamaha 15-horsepower outboard engine.  It’s just a small outboard, right?  Yeah, it is - but I’ve always liked very small boats and motors since they can literally go anywhere and that’s what makes boating fun to me.

This is the first Yamaha outboard I’ve owned.  I would have preferred to own a two-stroke Mercury or Evinrude, but none were to be found.  That’s right, they’re all gone forever.  I have a new Johnson 9.9 sitting in my closet, but I needed more power than that.  Since Yamaha is still producing two-stroke engines, I ordered a 15HP engine through a friend on Scream And Fly’s message board.

:: The 15HP Yamaha had much more power than I expected ::

When the time came to order my new Carolina Skiff, I hesitated to order the new JV13, even though it was a much better boat in every aspect over the J-series boats.  While the JV has better hull, and quite frankly looks much nicer with its Boston Whaler-like looks, the JV13 is about 100 pounds heavier than the J12.  That’s a lot of extra weight.  I went back and forth, thinking that the little 15HP outboard may not be enough to power the heavier JV13, but in the end I decided to take the chance that it would be - and it is.

A few days ago when I launched the new boat I could immediately feel that the Yamaha had much more power than my previously-owned 9.9 Mercury two-stroke engine. This surprised me since the Mercury had a displacement advantage over the Yamaha.  By the time the break-in schedule permitted me to plane the boat, I was surprised how effortlessly the boat planed, and a small burst of full throttle left me in amazement.  Yeah, we’re talking about a small outboard here.  If someone told me this was a 20HP engine, I would have believed them.  Even more interesting, this Yamaha sounds exactly like the 1986 Evinrude 4HP I had when I was younger. Freaky, but in a good way.

So there it is, I’m impressed and very pleased with the performance of this engine.