Shitty helicopters.
Jul. 5th, 2008 09:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unbibiumSo woot.com was selling those cheesy miniature RC helicopters for $10. I bought two, thinking I'd give one away as a gift, and play with the other one until the end of time.
Having played with the other one, I'm thinking of throwing the second one away without even bothering to try to fly the other one.
It was originally flying around the room and spinning wildly. The trim and throttle did nothing. Now it can't generate enough lift to take off anymore.
Now, if the ordinary retail price for these things had been $10, I'd have known it wouldn't work. But somehow, I remembered them selling for $20 in holiday seasons past, and I figured that might have been enough. I knew how real helicopters worked, and figured if it flied at all, I'd have hours of fun. But, I forgot the primary principle of cheap-ass electronics: under-$20 gadgets are $20 because that's the amount you'll pay without bothering to seek your money back. Which explains why, at $10, I bought two.
It also explains a lot of other things I bought and threw away. I mean, how could you possibly screw up a $12 white noise generator?
My skepticism needs a serious tune-up. At least I generally remember to take the batteries out before throwing things away.
Having played with the other one, I'm thinking of throwing the second one away without even bothering to try to fly the other one.
It was originally flying around the room and spinning wildly. The trim and throttle did nothing. Now it can't generate enough lift to take off anymore.
Now, if the ordinary retail price for these things had been $10, I'd have known it wouldn't work. But somehow, I remembered them selling for $20 in holiday seasons past, and I figured that might have been enough. I knew how real helicopters worked, and figured if it flied at all, I'd have hours of fun. But, I forgot the primary principle of cheap-ass electronics: under-$20 gadgets are $20 because that's the amount you'll pay without bothering to seek your money back. Which explains why, at $10, I bought two.
It also explains a lot of other things I bought and threw away. I mean, how could you possibly screw up a $12 white noise generator?
My skepticism needs a serious tune-up. At least I generally remember to take the batteries out before throwing things away.
