HAVOC STINGER

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Somebody set up us the bomb.

Havoc Stinger (R/C helicopter), retail $29.97 (www.wallmart.com...)
Manufactured by Spinmaster (www.spinmaster.com)
Last updated 04-30-11






This isn't a flashlight, household lamp, Christmas light set, or other thing that glows, but it *DOES* have pulsating red LED "eyes", so what the hey. I have only evaluated remote controlled (RC) toys several times before, so please bear with me here.

I love things that fly; that's why I took the bate (I've seen it advertised on United States TV over at least the last several weeks as of early-September 2008) and also why I added a seperate section titled "PRODUCTS DESIGNED TO FLY" on my website.

This is a very small, lightweight, easy-to-fly remote controlled helicoper - designed to look somewhat like a large insect (or "bug" as some people call them). It fits in the palm of your hand, and is designed exclusively to be flown indoors; its construction is such that you won't gouge holes in walls or couches or break lamps when you crash (please note that I said "WHEN", not "IF", because you WILL crash it at least a few times while learning to fly it!!!).


SIZE



This toy is remarkably easy to use for a helicopter...here's how to get it off the ground:

As with any rechargeable product, charge it first (see directly below), and THEN you can go hack the H-E-Double-Bendy-Straws up out of that pesky reclining chair with a very large hatchet*...er...uh...GO FLY THIS BIG BUG!!!

* I guess I've been listening to the Worm Quartet song "Let's Break some Furniture" too much lately.

"...Throw the loveseat down the stairs, take an axe to all the chairs, soon we won't have nowhere to sit..."
"...We'll make that Lazy Boy go down with just a couple of whacks"..."let's see if that Scotchguard can protect it from an axe..."
"...They're threatening to go on Sally Jesse Raphael+, so she'll send me to boot camp where they'll beat me till I'm well..."
"...My parents have so much to learn about young growing boys, if you don't want your stuff trashed then buy me cooler toys..."
"...Now we've shredded every ottoman the counter's cut in three, the dining table's burning and the chairs are soaked with pee..."
"...My sister's futon stares at me I swear I heard it laugh, let's see if it still chuckles when it's {toliet word censored} cut in half..."
"...There's mommy's little table lined with rings perfume and pearls, let's cut it into little bits & force-feed it to squirrels..."
"...There's nothing left to break here so cummon let's go to Sears (and break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."
"...Your little coffee table's now a little pile of sticks (let's break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."
"...We're not making a statement no we're just a bunch of pricks (let's break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."
"...That recliner may be on wheels but it can't get away (let's break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."
"...I don't know what a credenza is let's break one anyway (let's break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."
"...That ottoman, it looks so smug that I just gotta pound it (let's break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."
"...Tell the security guy that it was like that when we found it (let's break some furniture, let's break some furniture)..."

Neither Worm Quartet nor myself advocate destroying furniture; that {vulgar term for feces} is expensive.


This is Worm Quartet...one guy (Reverend Shoebox) and three worms.

+If you didn't know, Sally Jesse Raphael had a TV talk show in the late 20th century; one of her recurring themes was "Sally's Boot Camp" where parents who were guests on the program could send their unruly teenaged children in order to get them to "straighten up & fly right". Sally was most recognisable by her red-framed eyeglasses.


This is what Sally Jesse Raphael looks like.

Now I'm going off on a tangent here - let's see if I can put this choo-choo train back on the tracks...


1: On the underside of the Havoc Stinger's body, there's a tiny on/off switch.
Use a fingernail to slide this switch toward the front of the unit to the "on" position.
Both of the product's "eyes" should now pulsate red. A movie clip farther down this web pages shows this.

2: On the remote control, turn the "on/off" switch to the "on" position.

3: Place the Havoc Stinger on a flat surface; the floor is a good place. Orient it so the tail faces toward you.

4: Aim the red part of the remote at the Havoc Stinger. Gently push the left-hand stick on the remote control forward.

5: The Havoc Stinger should now lift off the ground. Congratulations, you're now a pilot!!!
Reading this web page will give you a good idea of the process of flying it.

If the Havoc Stinger does not respond (ie. the blades don't turn), set the "A B C" switch on the remote control to another position. Do it again if necessary.
For additional instructions & tips on how to fly, please read the instructional material that comes with the product.

Turn the Havoc Stinger and remote control off when finished using them.
Same switches as before, but slide them in the opposite direction this time.



The battery in the Havoc Stinger itself is rechargeable and is not designed to be changed; however the batteries in the remote will need to be changed from time to time.

To do this, unscrew & remove the phillips screw from the battery door on the underside of the unit, using a phillips screwdriver that you furnish yourself. Set the screw aside.

Remove the battery door, very gently place it on the floor by the door, use your foot to gently push it outside, and viciously kick it into the garden so the hungry, hungry praying mantids will think it's something yummy to eat and strike at it...O WAIT!!! YOU'LL NEED THAT!!! If you kick the door away, you'll need to tape the batteries in, and you really, really, REALLY don't want to have to do that. So just set it aside instead.

Remove the six used AA cells from the compartment, and dispose of or recycle them as you see fit.

Insert six new AA cells into the compartment, orienting each cell so its flat-end (-) negative faces a spring for it in each chamber.

Finally, place the battery door back on, and screw the screw back in.
Aren't you glad you didn't kick that battery door into the garden with all those hungry, hungry praying mantids now?


Here is what a praying mantis looks like.
I found this guy on the morning of 09-08-06 clinging to the basket of my scooter.



To charge the battery in the Havoc Stinger, slide the door on the lower portion of the top of the remote control so it's open.
In the compartment you just exposed to atmosphere , you'll see a thin cord with a small plug on the end.

With the Stinger turned off*, plug this into the small receptacle for it on the underside of the Stinger's body.
This connector is keyed to fit the receptacle on the Stinger only one way; please do not force it or you may irreversibly damage the Stinger and it might not fly for you again.

Turn the switch on the remote control to the "on" position. A green LED on the remote should now come on.

After a maximum of 20 minutes (this is my educated guess; it is not stated in the instructional materials), the green light will turn off. If the red light on the remote goes out at any time during the charge cycle, turn the remote off & back on again. When the green light turns off, turn the remote control off, gently unplug the cord from the Stinger, stow the cord in the remote control's compartment, and slide the door back closed.

Fully charging the Stinger's battery should give you ~5 to 6 minutes of flying time.

According to the instructional materials furnished with the product, you should wait 10 to 15 minutes before recharging the Stinger's battery after you've run it down in order to allow it to cool.

*The instructional material indicates that the Stinger should be turned ON at this point; this is incorrect however - the Stinger should be turned ***OFF*** at this time.
According to somebody at Spinmaster I contacted about this on 09-05-08, this misprint is known to them, and steps *ARE* being taken to rectify this.




This RC helicopter is meant to be used as a toy in a dry area indoors, not as a flashlight designed to be thrashed, trashed, and abused. So I won't throw it against the wall, stomp on it, try to drown it in the toylet bowl or the cistern, run over it, swing it against the concrete floor of a patio, use a medium claw hammer in order to bash it open to check it for candiosity, fire it from the cannoņata, drop it down the top of Mt. Erupto (I guess I've been watching the TV program "Viva Piņata" too much again - candiosity is usually checked with a laser-type device on a platform with a large readout (located at Piņata Central), with a handheld wand that Langston Lickatoad uses, or with a pack-of-cards-sized device that Fergy Fudgehog uses; the cannoņata (also located at Piņata Central) is only used to shoot piņatas to piņata parties away from picturesque Piņata Island, and Mt. Erupto is an active volcano on Piņata Island {In the episode "Les Saves the Day...Again", Paulie Preztail says "Hey, ever wonder why this park's called 'Mount Erupto' anyway?", then Franklin Fizzlybear says "I think its an old native term. Means 'very safe.'"}), send it to the Daystrom Institute for additional analysis, or inflict upon it punishments that flashlights may have inflicted upon them.

I believe that the maximum range is 100 feet (30 meters); though this is not stated in the instructional materials.
The remote control uses IR (infrared) LEDs instead of radio waves; there are three channels (channels A, B & C) that will allow up to three models to be flown at the same time.
The approximate wavelength of the LEDs in the remote is 920nm.

The Havoc Stinger has what's called an "auto stable" system, in which two smaller blades positioned above the main rotor have small weights on their ends. This helps keep the helicopter more stable during flight, and helps ensure that even beginner pilots can fly the toy.

The body of the Havoc Stinger is made of a very lightweight foam (known by most people as StyrofoamŪ), so it can withstand crashes and it won't gouge holes in walls, break lamps, or damage couches & chairs if it's crashed into those articles. As a matter of fact, it was designed *EXCLUSIVELY* to be flown indoors. The only real hazard is to the eyes of its operator or other people & pets in the room; so you'll want to be careful about that.

This product is recommended for children of 3 years of age or older (according to a rather emphatic warning in the instructional materials furnished with the product); younger children can injure themselves on moving parts or by swallowing something they should not (like an AA cell or one of the spare tail rotors).

Does this look a lot like the web page I made for this helicopter?
Thought you'd say so.
These helicopters are similar enough to one another (and made by the same manufacturer too) that I could use its web page as a template for this one.

Instead of having skids for landing gear, the Stinger has six legs, just like a real insect. And instead of a cockpit, it appears to have compound eyes - again, just like a real insect.
Here, let's show you with a photograph...Snap! Click! And it's off to the Fotomat we go.


Note the compound "eyes" - just like a real insect (or "bug" if you prefer) has.



Photograph of its remote control.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the LED "eyes" of the Stinger.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the yellow-green "charging" LED in its remote control.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the red "power" LED in its remote control.


Spectrographic analysis
Spectrographic analysis of the NIR (near-infrared) LEDs in the remote.


Spectrographic plot
Spectrographic analysis of fluorescence of the orange rotor blades of this product when irradiated with the Wicked Lasers Spyder 3 Arctic 445nm 1W Blue Diode Laser.

USB2000 spectrometer used for the visible LED and fluorescence anlyses graciously donated by P.L.
PC200-ISA spectrometer used for the NIR LED analysis graciously donated by Ocean Optics.


WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the product's "eyes" pulsating.
This clip is approximately 2.88 megabytes (2,915,342 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than eleven minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.

That sound you might hear is an episode of SpongeBob SquarePants playing on the boob tube.
This product is not sound-sensitive; the sound may be ignored or muted if desired.


WMP movie (.avi extension) showing the product flying & landing.
This clip is approximately 2.71 megabytes (2,746,234 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than ten minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.

In this clip, you can see it take off, fly out of the frame, then fly back into the frame, bounce on the floor, and then land on its legs.

The only sound you might hear is that of the Stinger's motor.



This is video on YourTube showing the product flying & landing.
One of the kitty cats spends most of her time in this video watching the "big bug".

This clip is approximately 4.2108796734 megabytes (4,345,122 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty one minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




This is another video on YourTube showing the product flying.

In this video, you can hear me say "Entering sector zero point six" in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Star Trek'' {it's supposed to be Mr. Spock saying this}, then say "I mean...flight number six", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', followed by the product taking off, buzzing around the room for a bit, landing hard, taking off again, and landing on the floor at the foot of the bed where it tipped over out of the camera's frame.

This clip is approximately 4.88743656561 megabytes (4,964,310 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty four minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




This is another video on YourTube showing the Stinger buzzing noisily around my room.

In this video, you can hear me say "Entering sector four point seven" in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Star Trek'' {it's supposed to be Mr. Spock saying this}, then say "I mean...flight number forty seven", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', followed by the product taking off, buzzing around my room several times, and crashing. :-/

This clip is approximately 4.00567835891 megabytes (4,260,904 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




This is another video on YourTube showing a flight of this helicopter; you can see it buzzing around in my room -- this time, I held the camera *AND* attempted to fly -- never a good idea.

In this video, you can hear me say "Entering sector four point eight" in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Star Trek'' {it's supposed to be Mr. Spock saying this}, then say "I mean...flight number forty eight", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', followed by the product taking off, buzzing around my room several times, and crashing. :-/

This clip is approximately 2.77754345926 megabytes (2,943,098 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fourteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




This video on YouTube shows the pulsating "eyes" of this big bug...er...uh...HELICOPTER.

This clip is approximately 6.47345123390 megabytes (6,623,076 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty two to load at 48.0Kbps.




This is another video showing another flight of this helicopter; you can see it buzzing around in my room.
The Billy Squier song "Mind Machine" may be audible; the Stinger is not sound-sensitive, so the audio may be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.

This clip is approximately 2.77754345926 megabytes (2,943,098 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than fourteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




This video on YouTube is a concatenation (or "compilation" if you prefer) of two videos of this large "bug" buzzing around in my room.

The song "Fantasy" by Aldo Nova may be audible; this product is not sound-sensitive, so the audio may be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.

This video is approximately 1.00062345376 megabytes (1,063,725 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than five minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




A video on YourTube showing the Havok Stinger flying in our upstairs storage area, then crashing directly into the camera.

This video is approximately 7.92253256322 megabytes (8,015,806 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than thirty nine minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




A video on YourTube showing the IR (infrared) radiation emenating from the remote control of a typical indoor R/C helicopter during flight.

The infrared signal shows in this video as a series of whitish-purple flashes of light coming from the R/C unit that I'm using.

This video is approximately 184.7345526903 megabytes (185,188,406 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than nine hundred twenty four (!!!) minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.
It is definitely ***NOT dial-up friendly!!!




A video on YourTube showing the Havok Stinger taking off from my bed with the Rainbow Blanket on it, and later, landing in very near the same place on the bed.

This video is approximately 9.15237763349 megabytes (9,358,314 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than forty six minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




This is what happens when you attempt to fly the Havok Stinger & the Havok Heli simultaneously from the same R/C. They use the same channel, so a bit of confusion takes place.

The music you might hear is the song "Wild West Hero" by ELO. Neither of these helicopters are sound-sensitive, so the audio may be ignored or even muted if it pisses you off.

This video is approximately 7.89954356542 megabytes (8,077,016 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than thirty eight minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.

This is another video (actually, three videos concatenated {combined} into one) on YourTube showing three flights of this helicopter; you can see it buzzing around in my room.

At the beginning of this video, you can hear me say "Entering sector four point nine" in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Star Trek'' {it's supposed to be Mr. Spock saying this}, then say "I mean...flight number forty nine", in the same manner as the speech synthesizer in the coin-op arcade video game ''Looping'', followed by the studly little helicopter taking off and buzzing around my room several times.

This clip is approximately 4.36564523773 megabytes (4,560,169 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than twenty two minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.




Video on YourTube showing *VERY BRIEF* indoor flights of five (5) R/C helis.

The copters in this video are (in order of their appearance): Metal Series 33cm R/C Coaxial Helicopter, Havok Heli, Havok Stinger (R/C helicopter), Syma S107G R/C Coaxial Helicopter, and Syma S031G R/C Coaxial Helicopter.

This video is approximately 3.29965456459 megabytes (3,465,299 bytes) in length; dial-up users please be aware.
It will take no less than sixteen minutes to load at 48.0Kbps.

I cannot provide any of these videos in other formats, so please do not ask.




TEST NOTES:
Test unit was ordered from the Wall*Mart website on 08-28-08, and was received on the afternoon of 09-02-08.

Product was made in China. A product's country of origin really does matter to some people, which is why I published it on this web page.


UPDATE: 09-15-08
I have determined that the peak wavelength of the LEDs in the remote is ~920nm; however, I was not able to successfully obtain a plot. I determined this by watching the computer screen (with OOIBase32 spectrometer software running) while irradiating the spectrometer's sensor with the remote's "business end", and saw some peaking at ~920nm in the near-infrared region of the spectrum. The spectrometer I used has an upper range of 1,000nm - this isn't the same spectrometer I use for visible and ultraviolet sources.

Actually, I was indeed able to capture a chart...see above for it.


UPDATE: 03-28-11
I noticed that one of the "legs" has become broken on my Stinger, but it does not affect airworthiness or ground stability.

To wit:















    MANUFACTURER: Spinmaster
    PRODUCT TYPE: RC helicoper
    LAMP TYPE: Red LED
    No. OF LAMPS: 1
    BEAM TYPE: N/A
    SWITCH TYPE: Slide on/off on underside of product
    CASE MATERIAL: Styrofoam & plastic
    BEZEL: N/A
    BATTERY: 6xAA cells (remote), 3.7 volt Li-Poly rechargeable (helicopter itself)
    CURRENT CONSUMPTION: Unknown/unable to measure
    WATER- AND PEE-RESISTANT: Very light splatter-resistance at maximum
    SUBMERSIBLE: NO WAY HOZAY!!!
    ACCESSORIES: 2 spare tail rotors, 3 nose weights
    WARRANTY: Unknown/not stated

    PRODUCT RATING:

    Because this product is not intended to emit light, the standard "star" rating will not be used.
    It *DOES* have pulsating red LEDs inside its "eyes", so it is at least a bit germane to this website.





Havoc Stinger * www.wallmart.com...






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