Trying to FIX a Faulty 1979 & 2010 Big Trak purchased on eBay

[@deepend69]

Got a Big Trak in 1980 from my grandmother and only played with it for one day because my brother broke it. The toy has been bouncing around our attic and belongings for 39 years. With help from this video I fixed it and now it works perfectly. Thank you very much Vince for posting this video, it really helped identify the problem with my unit.

[@keithwhisman]

I used to program mine to go around obstacles that would get ever more complicated. Used to use pencil and paper to map out long treks around numerous obstacles. This thing was a lot of fun.

[@wellhiddenmatt]

I can hear 30 years of built up excitement in your voice. Made me smile the whole video.

[@frankweber6902]

Thank you for your patience in repairing this beautiful old toy. I got it in 1980 and loved it very much.

[@garageghost6038]

I like how these old toys are so user fixable. Even if one of those resistors would break on the circuit board, it would be very easy to replace, compared to the Microtechnology we have today.

[@FurrychalkbagOutdoors]

Your bit to camera at the end of the video where you express your opinion about the relevance of this toy in today’s computerised world is absolutely spot on. Completely agree with you. It’s a shame we don’t build more toys like this anymore. Great channel and great content.!! All the best Mike

[@SuperSport1966]

For future projects, when cleaning contacts like the ribbon cable, you can use a pencil eraser, then finish with rubbing alcohol.

[@robhassell8447]

I remember first having a go on one of these back in 1986. It must have been an initiative as most primary schools had one in south Derbyshire around that time to teach kids how to program instructions...loved it, what a nostalgia trip!!! Cheers

[@jamespalmer5960]

I know this vid is 5 years ago from my comment but I was also a proud owner of a Big Track. hours of fun getting the distance right to navigate from one room to another without crashing in to things, or even guideing it through a track lol. nostalger overload :)

[@GimmeDopamine]

Haven't watched the entire video yet but I'm having a moment of appreciation for this channel. I'm British but your accent is posher and softer than mine. I like how you film in natural light. You are enthusiastic in how you fix things and know about the background of most items. You usually speak as if you know nothing yet you've managed to fix almost everything. I've watched multiple 1 hour+ long fix it videos. Great content. Keep it up.

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks so much. Very nice feedback to hear :-) I have got a couple of other videos waiting to be uploaded where the outcome wasn't so good (unfortunately).

[@GimmeDopamine]

That's okay. It's always nice when you end up fixing something. However, it's still interesting to see you take things apart and apply trial and error. Well Done for fixing these. Just finished watching. So it took a good clean, removal of a magnet, and reading the instructions? The classical music was a nice touch :)

[@Mymatevince]

Thanks, the magnet actually went back in but that bit wasn't clear from the video. I think the gearbox just needed a bit of realigning which may have been caused by my dismantling. Perhaps if I just cleaned the battery contacts at the beginning then it would have worked straight away!!! It is much cleaner now and I enjoyed the dismantling so I have no regrets :-)

[@38911bytefree]

For 1979 this most havve been mind blowing. A toy with a little "computer" you could actually "program". Alos, the desing is really nice. This toy most have been in the wish list of many kids

[@Retro_andy_1977]

I had one in the early 80s My dad had a great job back then and he came in from work with it for me one day.I remember the original box was massive! Favourite toy for years !

[@ralfjung4156]

So much memories with this great vehicle. As a child 1978 i had the attachment and i had so much fun. Now i think to buy the 2010 verion. Thx for this video!

[@123bugness]

Yes, the magnet is the clutch. It helps in repeatability on turns and driving distances, by keeping the motors in sync.

[@MotoGoato]

I had one of those in the early 80's when I was about 6 or 7 years old ... pestered my parents for it for over a year and they finally caved in ;) I absolutely loved it until it broke after a few months :( Cracking toy back in the day though!!

[@raymondrogers5922]

I Vince I bought one of these for my son in 1979 after seeing it on swapshop on TV, I've still got it great vid

[@dizzyikea]

"Bought for my son" "I've still got it" haha

[@MrAsBBB]

Only just come across this video even though I’ve been a fan of yours for three years now. I had this toy as a kid and loved it. I handed it down to my family as it was so good. I love what you do and also the nostalgia is fantastic. I remember we bought Incas batteries and a charges so I could keep it going as it ate batteries. All the best Alex

[@frac]

I imagine the magnets are a differential and protection device. It lets the two wheels turn at different speeds, plus if a wheel gets stuck, the motor won't strip the gears, it'll just spin the magnet.

[@stephencunliffe3062]

Brilliant. A guy I worked with back in the 1980s had one in perfect working order. Great video thanks for reminding me of a bygone era.

[@markamd1]

Great work mate! There was a Soviet made clone of the Big Trak called the "Moon Rover" or LUNOKHOD in Russian, Released in 1981, and it was made by a company called ELECTRONICA IM-11 which was based in Minsk, Belarus, this model "Clone" in my opinion is the best version created. Instead of stickers, it had actual plastic covers for the head lights, and side panels, plus rear tale lights as well, no cheap stickers. The Power button was locked at the rear and the Touch Pad was a Multi Color pad, made out of a much higher quality material. And finally, the best part, it had a Helipad, located where the 9volt battery would be located under the round grey cover which the Milton Bradley version had, a Flying Disk would shoot out of this Helipad, Super cool!

[@chronicgaming3280]

Judging by the listing for the faulty 2010 model the seller failed to realise it needed batteries underneath. Great video.

[@theaylesburycyclist8756]

Excellent video 👍 I had a Bigtrak plus the accessory trailer (that never worked very well) back in 1980. Happy memories 🙂

[@savneetsinghrairai6823]

Wow bright stuff for 1979 ahead of it's time thanks for showing

[@-abacchus]

Brilliant!! I had one of these for Christmas around 1981.The trailer that connects via the 3.5 jack and was powered by the jack socket. The Big Trak would tell the trailer to tip its load once it got to that part of it's programmed sequence.

[@davewelchywelch8892]

The trailer plugged into the 3.5mm jack so that Bigtrak could "talk" to it, and then when you programmed the out button. It would dump the trailer load out.

[@bikeuser1736]

Yup, had the trailer with mine when I was a kid

[@michaelheinrich44]

bike User man you were king back then.

[@HobbyistJay]

Wow, those bring back memories. I had a gray/black one, probably an original. It's long gone, rummage sale I believe. They were pretty neat back in the day, good way for a kid to learn some basic programming. Yes, the connection on the top was suppose to be for the trailer, I didn't have it, and I never saw one beyond advertising.

[@kcinplatinumgaming2598]

The receiver and transmitters are photo cells... or IRDA (Infra Red) cells , CM (Clear Memory), I had a few of them they started me on the path to programming it contained an early version of LOGO by Digital Research, I had the trailer too I actually had too and both the legs broke over the wheels they notorious on that problem .... I did buy an updated one but as you will see they are not designed the same in many ways!! good video mate I still have my version new in box (2010 version) not MB in a bag at home in UK (y) excellent bargain ---- lol typical you looked at the instructions in the end ... these helped me become a programmer :D --- oh and they ate batteries like no bodies business poundland batteries last seconds lol

[@Polecat54941]

Weirdly I totally got this and spent over an hour of my life watching it! good job

[@ultramag6059]

There was at least one accessory. I know, had it as a kid. It was a transport unit (a powered dumper). You plunged it in and it got power from the Trak and it would dump whatever it was carrying out. Major childhood flashback with this vid. :)

[@countzero1136]

A lot of intermittent problems with the Big Trak can be traced to the infrared led / photodiode assembly that senses the wheel rotation. (that and corroded battery contacts). One problem it had was the way the motors were driven meant that one pair of batteries ran down much faster than the other (because you tend to drive forward more often than reverse - this is a fundamental design error, as wiring the motor drivers differently would have alleviated this annoying issue and resulted in more even battery wear). Also, the middle (driven) pair of wheels should have a rubber o-ring around the middle of the tyre for added traction. Other common problems are caused by the membrane keypad wearing out. Other than these, it was a pretty reliable toy for the most part.

[@CharleyMcGee]

The magnets are likely there to keep the motors synced up when it's going straight. The motors are probably really cheap, will wear differently, etc. which would likely result in the Trak not running straight even when new and getting worse with age. Having those magnets would produce a locking effect. You may just have tired motors.

[@nickbonthetrack3357]

It's nice to see, old technology still kicking. I loved hearing my family talk about this.

[@smerkkwads3235]

OMG! I used to have one of those. The original one back in the days. A flood of memories just spilled into my head!😂

[@Stubear22374]

Never thought the refurb of such an aged toy same age as me because I was born in 1979 could be so much fun. This was an epically amazing toy such fun seeing it be programmed and running

[@spimfurt]

I remember my Soviet copy of this. Everything was the same with 2 differencies. In front was a bumper and on colission it stops the program (maybe even it clear memory as a crash punnishment). There was no optical feedback. Russians used the reed switch and put it near sync magnets. Obviously after about a year this switch starts sticking and truck became more and more unreliable. Tip: enter a serie of long pauses, then enter 99 shoots. Start the program, stealthy put truck into parents bedroom and leave. Epic!

[@daywalkerdaveclark2694]

Got the original and trailer for Christmas in 79-80. Loved it.

[@Starlord85]

These keypad sounds . Always remember my brother messing with his . Thanks for bringing it all back !

[@mattbull8137]

Love this.. that 'bee boop baa boop beebop' took me right back to the 80's. Loving your fixit videos Vince! 👍

[@davidbrown-yx3gz]

I remember looking in awe at Big Trak in the eighties in my local Tandy shop, loved that shop

[@paulmorris563]

I had something very similar, about 1981/82 I had a programmable black jeep that was about the same size as the bigtrak. Loved it!

[@PalmettoMoon]

I had a big trak when I was a kid. Loved that thing 👍

[@chrismifsud7154]

I watch almost all your videos and have been doing so for years now. Can't believe I never watched this. Excellent video.

[@jasonbucy]

the most humble and sincere youtuber. I respect that! Subscribed!

[@ciscoponch67]

Vince...so awesome. I owned the original grey and black one, from Christmas 1979. I'm 54 years old today. And I can tell you it's a great robotic toy!!! Cheers Vince!!! You brought back a lot of great memories!!!

[@badmeatbrowniesthoughts1327]

HELL YEAH!!! Me too Brother!!! And you are correct Sir.!! Battleship Gray and Black.. we made a freakin cardboard back drop all painted up,and made an eight mm "movie "..lol.. plastic ArmyMen, model cars,and all...we we're so frikin proud...lol..I still have it somewhere i think and hope 🙏 ..lol..I can only imagine how bad it is 😂

[@Check_the_syntax]

I have no emotional connection to this toy. And yet. My inner child was so chuffed seeing you get it finally working with the right turns. Now Ill dream of finding one in a thrift store lol

[@johnproudlock2900]

have to say i am in the process of watching your videos and this has to be my favorite so far

[@alanmccrum1241]

OMG...talk about bringing my childhood back around again..... My friend had it years ago, we spent hours sending it from room to room. And he had the trailer for it as well...... I cant believe u got the old and new one for £30.... well jealous.

[@stevesloan7132]

My friend's parents took his Big Track away. He was sending it across the house to the kitchen to fire its blaster at his mother and scaring her. The one he had I seem to remember was silvery grey. BIG TRACK! Keen gear!

[@petergilbert7106]

I've always found cleaning ribbon cables and circuit board traces with an eraser on the end of a pencil is pretty effective. I love your channel by the way, keep it up.

[@raulfantauzzi7547]

Thank you i have an original big track and thanks to you i have an idea on how to maintain my big track ... Next time grease the gears for better results ... Blessings to you and your family ... Much love and respect ...

[@jasonseward4044]

Hi Vince, I've not read anyone comment on this but, when new, big trak had two thick rubber rings/bands, sort of like big o-rings that went in a grove around the center of the two driving wheels. They aided greatly when it came to traction on very smooth surfaces. If you look at the driving wheels you'll see the rebated area in which it used to sit.

[@donarnold6342]

I enjoyed every minute of this video, I had one as a kid ..that jack on top was for the bucket thing you could get for it ,it made the bucket dump.

[@dewfall56]

Had one of these as a kid. It was a great toy (thanks Dad). You had to map out and plan the trips it would make. A lot of trial and error. I played with it until it finally quit working after two or three years (after which I just HAD to take it apart). I got it for a Christmas present one year, and the next year I had to have the dump trailer. The connector port on top at 6:05 is where the trailer both mounted and plugged in.

[@ShR33k]

That is a thing of beauty! I had one as a kid when I was 5 or 6 (46 now!). The numbers to me were random at the time! I knew the higher the number, the more it travelled. You say its "lengths", but I did find out by another YT video that it was suppose to be "seconds". Either way length/second might be the same thing as it'll probably take around a second to travel a length. The "transmitter"/"receiver" you found at 22:15 - they look like standard old-fashion LED bulbs. It wouldn't surprise me if one is always on, and when light passes through the holes in the black cog - the light from it "actives" the other LED (remembering LEDs are also diodes) as its so close together which then completes the circuit and sends a signal back to the main board. Similar to how an old fashioned ball-mouse worked in the olden days! A light emitting diode would have been on one side of the cog, and a "sensor" (or that other diode in our case) on the other to receive the signal and complete the circuit. Funny... but I had one as a kid as I said, but I never knew it could fire! I always remember messing with the up, down, left, right arrows only! I thought the "gun" was cosmetic!!! Seeing BigTrak in action brings back many happy memories!!!

[@Torbay-rox]

Wow I always wanted a big trak, then forgot about them until now. Great vid Vince

[@raymondsmind]

I love your channel! I only found you 2 days ago, now I am addicted xD Keep up the good job Vince!

[@corlion29]

I had one of these when i was a child. Mine was just like these but it was grey. Btw the 3.5 jack was for a dumper. I used to haul my hot wheels in it..it cld only hold maybe 15 or 20 hot wheels. And it wasnt really strong enough to lift of dump them out. I still had fun with it though. Ahh the memories!!!

[@chickenhawk926]

I had one also. It was grey. If my memory serves me, at the time (original) there was no other color but grey.

[@corlion29]

@@chickenhawk926 i thought they only came in grey also. I Never saw a white one b4 this video.

[@MrEtonmess]

I was lucky enough to have one. Looking back my parents probably couldn’t afford it. Mix or love and guilt for having such a happy childhood.

[@iamthetinkerman]

Great video, can I recommend a few things! I would recommend using contact cleaner to clean the electronic parts. Use light grease on the gears and oil the moving parts i.e axles and where the nylon parts spin in the plastic. Also either replace the motors or lightly oil the shafts. It's like those motor brushes are nackered. Thank for the video, really enjoyed it, got me thinking about starting my own channel as I love fixing electrical/mechanical things.

[@Luis45ccs]

Lubricant and grease are bad for gears that get very dirty from the dirt on the floor, that's why they simply don't have it, they are very slippery parts from the factory

[@gayleralan]

This was the best toy ever! I got it for christmas some time in the 80's

[@l34052]

I got a Bigtrak and Transport for Xmas as a kid and I thought it was the best thing in the world, specially when I could make the trailer tip something out. It brings a tear to my eye remembering☺☺ It's still up in my loft somewhere, maybe I should dig it out again....

[@simonread4263]

Great video, as a kid in the 80's my friend had a BigTrak and I remember going round his house to play with it; I seem to remember his had a trailer too... Anyway my parents wouldn't buy me one because they were too expensive, needless to say I spent a lot of time round my friend's house using up his D cell batteries. My wife bought me a 2010 model for my birthday a few years ago; it brings back many memories, and my 7 year old daughter likes to play with BigTrak today.

[@SiAnon]

This was the only toy in the 70s and early 80s that could deliver an apple with precision. I do remember playing with one when i was at a friends house once but it took about an hour of pressing buttons to make it go across the room, do a few turns and come back. It was more complicated than it needed to ever be.

[@adiposerex5150]

Very good restores. I had never seen these before your video.

[@katenunyabizness9221]

Ah the old is the UK version. I was wondering why it was white when the one I played with as a child was grey. Nice video!

[@animered1986]

Thanks for making the Video it brought back great memories of my childhood. I had the one from 1979 The rubbers for the wheel are just large o-rings you can buy at any hardware store. Also, the original had a trailer too but I and my brother were lucky to just get the big track.

[@BC199992]

Just want to say that you have really inspired me to fix a lot of my old junk. Please keep up with the series! I love it

[@StevenIngram]

I wanted one of those so bad as a kid. And around the same time, they came out with Star Trek phaser pistols that worked kind of like laser tag that I wanted but, just like the Big Track, too expensive. LOL

[@xeroinfinity]

i had the Star Trek phasers they were awesome for the 1980s. i think they're pretty much the same as the newer lazer tag ones.

[@kruleworld]

"I wanted one of those so bad as a kid" well, now you can afford to buy one!

[@MM0SDK]

So did I. This and the very first electric vehicles that came out in 1980's. Too expensive at the time though

[@UltraEpsilon]

Steven Ingram true

[@SPAZZOID100]

Mark Bartlett not too expensive.

[@parjacpar3077]

Totaly awesome video and brings back lots of memorys as mate had one and I didn t but wanted one Thanks for sharing and have now subbed as well

[@vasily2022]

What memories. When I was a kid in the early 80s we all wanted this, scalextrics, Tomy Super Cup Football and Evel Knievel Stunt Motorcycle. No one I knew had this. I just remember just watching the commercials for this time and time again. The kids in my private school and where I lived were generally kids who's parents were well off, but for some reason none of us had one of these but we all wanted one. I wonder if the price of this then is equivalent to hundred of $/pounds today. Great memories.

[@wgm-en2gx]

Flashback to my childhood. Great video. BTW, you mentioned the trailer, it plugged into that accessory port and then the out function was used to dump the trailer. So that was the "accessory"..

[@pi6706]

Ha ha - that “beep-bop-boop-bop” sound brought back lots of fond memories!

[@haukke]

I was 12 when this was released and I remember I had some sort of dump truck that attached to it. brings back some memories.

[@emptytomb4967]

this has to be one of the coolest toys i've seen from that time ... the most i had was dark tower

[@MarxKosmos1024]

Nicely done. I was going to comment that the two magnets aren't suppose to touch, but you figured that out. The middle wheels need to move independently of each other. I have the 1979 version which I installed two new motors. It moves faster now than when it was new. Also, some of the decals on the second BT you demo'd are in the wrong places. It's like someone stuck them on randomly. I found using a blow dryer or heating gun will soften the glue enough to remove them easily, if you ever decide to correctly place them.

[@home-space]

Looks like Milton Bradley reused the Simon red plastic on and off switch. They did make both toys. I don't remember this toy at all at the time, but it looks more like a toy from the 90's, even though it came out in 79, so it was ahead of it's time.

[@nontasanastasios7612]

i love how you buy 3 things of everything for your family members. Yourself and your two kids.

[@sjgoff]

That was so cool. Brought back lots of fond childhood memories. I had the original back in the early 80's. I recon I'll pick one up if I can find one...

[@MAXLAWLESSIBIZA]

First class work Sir! Thank you for taking the time to share. :)

[@RogerSartet007]

Never got one, when I was 10 (in 1979) for the reason you state. Always loved the design: straight out of Space 1999.

[@djcarld]

Had 2 plus 1 transport trailer when I was a kid!! Favorite toy at the time!! :-)

[@NeoMorphUK]

I had a 1979 Big Trak back in the day. Also had a plastic robotic arm I got from Tandy lol. No programming, just moving two levers.

[@NeoMorphUK]

Ahhh, yeah... the Armatron. Also known as “grinder” or “completewasteofmoneytron”. 😂

[@drubradley8821]

YES!!!! I still have two of those and the trailers and the various accessories... Those are allot of fun.. I just wished they had more power, and suspension to play with it out side, as per the rough ground surfaces.... I need to pull those off the shelf and give them a run...

[@delxmax]

I remember the one I had being Silver, not White. Thanks for the memories! I remember the sounds it made and the completion sound when it got to it's destination, hopefully I'll hear it later in this video.

[@Xoferif]

The UK ones were white, the USA ones were silver.

[@johhnnsmith4]

Love yr videos Vincent and gives me confidence to try and fix things myself. Nice 1

[@ValleyRC]

It's normal for the motor to have some resistance, the magnets inside will give it a sort of jumping quality where the core jumps from magnet to magnet. The strength of this effect can vary but it should be a smooth chugging action. They call it cogging. If it did happen to be dry on the bushings, you could add a tiny drop of 3 in 1 oil onto them, just a little drop where the shaft exits the motor casing at the front and back. And with the gears, it wasn't unusual for toys with nylon gears to have no grease. Some RC car users run their gears dry too if they are nylon.

[@keithwhisman]

There was a programmable robot that was out at around the same time. The robot was either on wheels or tracks. This big track was my Moon Base Alpha rover. Damn the 1970s and 1980s were the best.

[@TonyK161]

I told my missus about this video. "He's got an original Big Trak, I always wanted one. I'm going to have to look on e-bay and find one..." She gave the withering stare that says " You've got more than enough crap blocking up the house, and what would you do with it anyway you sad old git." My kids were extremely unimpressed by it as well, they don't appreciate the stuff there is now. Us kids of the 70s and 80s had to use our imagination more, nothing beats using a stick as a sword and beating each other black and blue with it.😂 How do you get your wife to let you buy a ton of useless old rubbish. 😜

[@hazardousshluud2000]

Just buy her jewelry.

[@TypicalGameDeveloper]

@@hazardousshluud2000 rubbish? kick her out :D

[@Valveus]

Get divorced

[@emanonevahisey5841]

just like Upstream said "The magnets are there to ensure the wheels are in sync when going straight. Even just a little speed difference in the wheels when going straight can cause major deviations from a straight path." The reason that the sensor is only on the right side gear in the gearbox is that the right/left gears are linked to each other so that it only has to see the right gear rotation with the infrared sensor and it saves the chips from having to be more complex and keep track of both sides at the same time and the magnets are there to sychronize the motors during forwards and backwards moves. The reason it has problems with right turns could be in the gear meshes ( sounds like in the right gear set with all that clacking in it) or either one of the motors.

[@TheKhanQ]

Wow, that was a way to get into programming back in the day as a kid.

[@TheKhanQ]

Haha, as I finished that scentence you tell me in the video. Nice.

[@Pedro.Chapps]

Oh man i have not seen one of these is 30 odd years brought back some fun memory's

[@sparkles122]

I remember these from school as a kid. They were so much fun especially with the trailer. When they re-released them I never got one. Wish I did

[@BadBoyV1]

Our school had one of the bigger ones back in the early 90's

[@TurboTimsWorld]

Vince there is a way of setting it up from a repeatable starting point, you can walk it through every command as you go around the house and then take it back to the start point and run the program for it to do it itself. And if anyone has seen the "Top Gear" program of "we make a cheep ambulance" James May uses the electronics out of a Big Track to deliver his stretcher to the hospital.. I have a newer Big Track stored in the garage but being in my 50's I've just opened the door and gone Vince can wait for that there is way to much junk in the way! LOL Great Videos

[@MonzaRacer]

That 4 tone is the sound it makes when it's done from your programming. See this unit you program it by bits basically like input 50, turn code 20, fire laser. Etc.

[@sparky2059]

yes I have one of these Bigtrak and also had the dump trailer. the best thing is I still have it. but it differs in color from yours versions mine is gray (body) and darker gray( trim)color Note: center wheels have a groove in them, it is fore a rubber O ring for traction. the only problem that i had was it never work on carpet well all en all great toy lot of fun!!

[@OrangeCat67193]

I really enjoyed this video. I'd agree if its two motors theres no way the magnets could touch each other. But still i'd agree that its educational because it teaches kids {you're son included} the basics of programming with the buttons on it. Even with the obstacle course you showed where you're son programmed it himself it shows that kids can learn programming with the numbers and arrows on it. Great video.

[@broglang9102]

Woww these are really really cool man! They were made just a little before i was born and i havent heard of them. But you did an incredible job. And they look awsome all driving together lol

[@jhgpsimons]

Your old video's are a bit long, but I am enjoying every minute of them

[@stevepope6095]

It really was ahead of it's time. I still have it and the trailer.