Radio control cars are a great deal of fun. It is rather like reliving your childhood. The only difference this time is you can spend a little more on your toys. I always wanted a remote controlled car when I was a child but never got around to getting one.

At the tender age of 33, I have finally bought one. If you pick the correct radio, controlled the car can be relatively easy, even if you have limited arm and hand movement. There are a huge variety of radio control cars on the market. There are your run-of-the-mill children' car that cost anything up to £80. The sorts of car I will be talking about are not meant for young children. They can be quite expensive and reach very high-speeds.

There are numerous types of radio controlled car available; the most popular are probably the saloon cars. There are organized meetings where people race them. Some people take this hobby very seriously and will take a lot of care and time to make sure their car is in full race order. These cars are almost the real thing, but in miniature. They have shock absorbers, specially designed wheels that need to be changed because they wear out after a while. There are two types of engine you can have, the electric, or a fuel powered engine. If you're going to use your car in the street, or in your garden, a fuel powered engine is not going to be conducive to having a good relationship with your neighbours. An electrically powered car is probably more suitable as a battery powers it which makes it somewhat quieter. There are fuel powered cars available, these tend to be used more on purpose built tracks.

Now comes the sort of car that really is a lot of fun. I am talking about off road buggies. The problem that you have with saloon cars is that you're limited to where you can use them. They are really only suitable for flat surfaces. Trying to use them on uneven ground will only hinder their performance. The good thing about off road cars is that you can use them virtually anywhere. Depending on how high your grass is, they are quite at home in your garden. I find them a lot of fun when used in a wide-open space where there aren't any walls or curbs that you might crash into. I would say that the ultimate surface for these cars to be used on is gravel or dry dirt. If you have access to a purpose built track with jumps and obstacles on it, you can really test your skill. One word of advice, make sure you have more than one battery available, because once you start, you won't want to stop.

The most commonly available radio transmitter is the two-stick type. There is also the pistol grip type that's pictured above .Now I can't speak for you, but these types of radio are difficult for me to use. I favour the single stick transmitter, which were originally designed for use with model airplanes. These types of radio are easily adapted for use with cars. You may have problems with cars that have a separate gear for reverse. When you buy a car, they normally come supplied with a battery and charger. The battery that comes with the car will normally only last for about five minutes. I decided to opt for a more powerful battery that would last a lot longer (about 20 minutes) Unfortunately, these types of batteries are very expensive and you normally have to purchase a separate charger with them. This will obviously bump the price up quite a bit, but believe you me it is worth it when you realise how much fun one of these cars can be. Be very careful when you use your car for first-time. Like I set earlier, these cars are unbelievably quick and using them in a confined space is not advisable.

Finally, I suppose we better talk about the cost of these cars They are not cheap. Obviously, if you only want to pay 50 or £60 for a car, you going to get what you pay for, that is a children's toy. For an electrically powered stadium racing truck like the one that is pictured at the top of this page, you'll be looking at around £175. Once you have included the price for a good set of high voltage batteries, plus a charger, I'm afraid the price is going to be in excess of £250. But hey, if you can afford it, go for it, you won't be disappointed.

I've had a lot of fun out of my car, I'm sure you will too.