Re-Lern Me: Vintage RC Cars

Over the weekend, I was poking around the garage and noticed a box I haven't opened in a long time. Inside were a bunch of my old toys from when I was a kid. Score! Among them was this:

It's a Radio Shack "Wild Ranger", aka the raddest 4x4 big rig RC truck ever. It has two speed settings, and if I remember correctly, the low speed locks it into 4WD for some sweet low-range crawling action. While it's no Tyco Heads-Up Hopper or even a Fast Traxx, I loved this thing as a kid. I'd really love to bomb around my own yard now with the thing!

The problem? The RC radio controller is long gone. 

From what I can find, these were 27Mhz trucks, so in theory, can I just get any 27Mhz remote and use it with this truck?  Or is it relegated to shelf art without the original remote?

Generally speaking, they really only used two spectrums then, and manufacturers split the sub spectrums. So, if it's a 27mhz and you get another radio shack one, it should work. Tyco, nikko,  etc *might * work if they're close enough, but that's not a guarantee. The OTHER option would be to dig in a little and see if you can find out exactly what 27mhz it is, and buy an old FM radio setup from an rc car guy that went to 2.4. Swap Crystal's and go!

I had one of these.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/113716658657

I remember it ate rechargeable batteries like it was going out of style.  Run for 10-15 min charge for 4 hours.. 

Check Goodwill online: https://www.shopgoodwill.com/

You might find a similar truck  that is thrashed, but has a controller. The remote should work from another similar Radio Shack truck. Those 2-speed 4x4 trucks were made for a loooong time. I still have one and it is a beast offroad for what it is. I swapped mine to 7.2v NiMH hobby grade packs and it runs FOREVER, with much better torque than the stock NiCad batteries. I tossed the body years ago though, so I just run it ugly for fun.

If you want to upgrade it a little, you can swap in hobby grade electronics. You'd need to hack in a proper steering servo, but it isn't brain surgery. Amazon is full of cheap import R/C stuff. A full electronics package might set you back $60.

Most of the lower end 27mhz remotes used 1 of 6 different channels. But that's often only if they made multiple versions of the same vehicle, i.e. red, black, and blue, etc... Odds are, if you find a remote from the same company, of roughly the same vintage, it should work.