Andrew Fernie
2008-02-20, 09:21 PM
I had a few hours free in Hong Kong before a flight home on Tuesday so decided to have a look for some hobby shops - you can only look in so many electronics and camera stores. Did a quick search on the web and found a map with an area north east of Nathan Road and Waterloo Road that looked promising, so went for a walk. There were at least half a dozen stores within five minutes of each other. Most very small (like most stores in Hong Kong), but with tons of stuff crammed in. The best one in the area seemed to be "Waigo"
Not too much in the way of airplanes, but a very good selection of helicopters (kind of makes sense with the restricted open space), and particularly electric helis. These ranged from a Vibe (.90 size with a BIG electric motor) that was probably a conversion, down to tiny little ones. One thing I noticed was that there were not too many like the Blade CP with an electric motor on the tail, but they had the same size with belt drive. These were really nice pieces of equipment with metal rotor heads, carbon fibre frames, etc. (search for GAUI EP100 and EP200 if you want more info.) I would have been tempted if I had more confidence in my flying skills. Beyond that, lots of TRex models.
Prices for name brand stuff were lower than here, but not massively so. However, no taxes, so the net result is pretty good. Lots of selection of no-name servos, speed controllers, etc., at very low prices. I wanted a good servo for the tail on my heli so picked up that, a couple of other small servos and a pitch gauge. I was tempted by a GY401 gyro and 9257 servo combination for the equivalent of $150 as I am thinking about getting a gas heli (maybe...), but decided not to go for it at the end.
Anyway, interesting way to spend a few hours.
Andrew
Not too much in the way of airplanes, but a very good selection of helicopters (kind of makes sense with the restricted open space), and particularly electric helis. These ranged from a Vibe (.90 size with a BIG electric motor) that was probably a conversion, down to tiny little ones. One thing I noticed was that there were not too many like the Blade CP with an electric motor on the tail, but they had the same size with belt drive. These were really nice pieces of equipment with metal rotor heads, carbon fibre frames, etc. (search for GAUI EP100 and EP200 if you want more info.) I would have been tempted if I had more confidence in my flying skills. Beyond that, lots of TRex models.
Prices for name brand stuff were lower than here, but not massively so. However, no taxes, so the net result is pretty good. Lots of selection of no-name servos, speed controllers, etc., at very low prices. I wanted a good servo for the tail on my heli so picked up that, a couple of other small servos and a pitch gauge. I was tempted by a GY401 gyro and 9257 servo combination for the equivalent of $150 as I am thinking about getting a gas heli (maybe...), but decided not to go for it at the end.
Anyway, interesting way to spend a few hours.
Andrew