Customer Reviews

Spy Gear Spy Video Car VX-6

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

If you are wanting to compare the original Spy Trakr and its features to the VX-6 to make a decision between the two, that is what my review mostly covers.

The advertising I read about the VX-6 between several different websites said this product had "all of the best features of the Trakr" and that is actually what sold me. With no reviews, and little information about this model or its features vs. the original Spy Trakr, I went ahead and took the plunge to get the product with hopes that; for the price I bought it for (which was around 99 bux after tax and shipping from elsewhere), it might end up being an updated model to the Trakr itself. However, when I received the item it was none of that!

What the VX-6 is in reality is a very bare-bones and durable version of an RC vehicle with live camera features. This model in comparison to the Spy Trakr has very few features.
-The camera is stationary. The info says the camera can be adjusted and it cannot. There is just no option to move it or tilt it.

-On the hand-held remote, there is an option for night vision and regular day vision. Night vision looks pretty cool. For regular daytime, the color is like on those old monochrome televisions. Not great for really seeing much. It's almost just like the night vision! Geez!

-There is no option to connect this to a computer for any reason such as syncing apps, programming it to do certain things etc. the way the Spy Trakr does.

Having expected to receive something similar to the Trakr and it not meeting my expectations for that based on the ads I read, I have rated it 3 stars.

Now, on its own and not comparing it to any particular product, I thought it ran pretty clean and appeared to be quite durable. It is not terribly fast, but moves along at a comfortable speed. It will go over carpet and has great traction on the stone tiled floor. It is not horribly loud either. The belts or the driver that keep this going are not silent, yet they are not blazing and screaming high pitched over the sound coming out of a TV for example.

The car took six batteries and the hand-held remote took four. All of them AA size. I think the battery life held up pretty well for the time it was tested out at our house. Still a good idea to get rechargeables, though. You have to have a screwdriver to unscrew four screws from a plate to insert batteries into the car, and then two for the remote. I was not terribly happy about that. More of a pain in the butt for kids when they need to change them out, but I suppose if you were driving it over very shallow water it helps to protect the batteries from moisture? In that case I can see that would work; again though, only if the water was shallow. We only tested this indoors here.

If I were going to purchase this toy or receive it not knowing the Trakr existed, I think I would have been satisfied enough to give it four stars for design, quiet, speed, durability and battery longevity just for the very short time I played around with it. Knowing however that the Trakr is still available and has so many more cool features at a much better price, I am unsure how I could even recommend this! The features of the Trakr are way too awesome to pass up, and therefore I had to return this product in exchange for one.

Please read my additional comment below.

The first thing you will notice if you buy this product is the packaging. The manufacturers have made sure that both the car and the controller is in no way going to move in the packaging. Unfortunately this leads to a little bit of time on unpacking it. The car is actually screwed into the cardboard backing and the controller has 4 lock nuts locking it into the cardboard backing. Both of these are then covered with tape so it's quite frustrating to actually get the car and the controller free of the packaging.
Once free however it's very easy to setup, simply unscrew the battery compartments on both the car and the controller, insert your batteries (this takes 10x AA batteries, 6 for the car and 4 for the controller) and flick the switch to turn both the car and controller on and away you go.
The bad parts about this toy are :-
1. The batteries don't actually last very long so over time this is going to be an expensive toy (cheaper to use rechargeables).
2. The screen size on the controller is tiny (only about 1 inch).
3. The resolution isn't high at all (I was playing with this in my living room and had a hard time actually determining where the car actually was and what the camera was looking at. It was as if I didn't know my own living room).
4. The camera in the car is fixed, you can't move it (angle it), zoom it in or out etc.

Both the car and the controller are well built, will survive a few knocks and should last quite a while.
If you can live with the above points (they are actually fairly minor (this is a toy after all and not really a piece of spy equipment) except for the battery issue) then this is actually quite a fun little toy. Recommended.

The short version of this review: This toy is really neat. My kids think its "awesome". Its amazing that a $60 toy can do this. If your kids are into spy stuff they will think you rock. It DOES have some limitations, but my kids haven't noticed them... even if I have.

The long version:
Overview: Owning the Spy Gear Spy Video Car is a bit like playing a video game. You can drive the car into other rooms and see where you are going. My kids love the idea of sitting in one room of the house while driving all over the house. In fact this is what they do. They haven't started using it for spying. Although, as you will read, its ability to actually spy is very limited. The kids LOVE IT despite its shortcomings. I don't think they are even aware it has shortcomings.

The good:
1) Night vision feature works very well. In fact, we often used it during the day if we drove into a darker corner.
2) Battery life was very good. We got several HOURS of play out of our 10 duracell batteries. Personally, I'm shocked. But we only play with it for about 30 minutes at a time, I don't know how long the batteries last under continuous use.
3) Camera clarity is better than I expected. We can recognize people's faces and read license plates on cars.
4) Signal strength: has been excellent in all our tests. The video signal easily goes through walls and has a very long range outside (NOTE: instructions say INSIDE USE ONLY).

Neither good nor bad:
Speed: This thing pokes slowly along, like a turtle with some hustle. I would say it plods along at 3 to 4 miles an hour. This is not a "CON". Its logical that a spy device move slowly. Also its very good for the "little brother" who couldn't drive a fast RC car, he ignores the video screen and drives it around very happily.

The not-so-good:
1) Eats 10 AA batteries. Rechargeables not included, unlike many other remote control cars.
2) Camera angle lets you spy on peoples feet with ease (see uploaded picture).
3) Has trouble with bumps larger than a typical door threshold (see uploaded photo)

As far as actual spying goes, its really not possible. My kids are OBLIVIOUS but here is my take:
1) There is no microphone. The manufacturer could have included an audio feed and plug a headset into the remote. But I don't really want my kids recording my conversations. Or other adults.
2) Its a bit noisy. It grinds along happily making about as much noise as a toy train. Want to sneak up on someone? Well, maybe if the TV is on.
3) The camera angle sucks. It should have an additional 15 or 20 degree upward angle so you can see more faces. For you to see a tall person's face when they are standing, the car has to be pretty far away (15 feet?) and then the objects on the screen are very small.
4) Nice red glowing light on car makes it easy to see in the dark. I mean, also for people you might be spying on.
But for me, I don't really want a great spy device in my house. SO I don't care about any of that. But a larger "kid" might see these as serious flaws.

Improvements I would recommend for the manufacturer (or for you):
1) Allow the video feed to be turned off. Sometimes its just not needed and its draining batteries.
2) Add Headlights. We taped on a flashlight with a CREE LED that really adds a lot of light. Something like this would be fine: Fenix E01 Compact LED Flashlight. I have a Maratac 1-AA and it increased the camera clarity in some situations. More light = better image.
3) Add Rechargeable batteries. Get some eneloop rechargeables. This is the kind you should buy: Sanyo NEW 1500 eneloop 4 Pack AA Ni-MH Pre-Charged Rechargeable Batteries with Charger They come pre-charged. The car takes 8, so you would want to buy at least 8. The remote takes 2. This drives up the price of the toy (thats called a pun, son). Anyway I love my eneloops, and using copper tops could get really pricey.
4) Get rid of the need for a screwdriver. Yeah, you have to have a screwdriver just to get the darn thing out of the box, its screwed onto a plastic backer. Then you need a screwdriver to open the remote to change the batteries. Its not a show stopper, but have your tool kit ready on Xmas day.

There is a more expensive car that on amazon that has more features... Spy Gear Spy Video TRAKR. I would suggest that the fact that this car does not have those features may be a benefit for you (particularly because its cheaper). This version is great for younger kids, and my older kids do not need a new reason to spend time in front of the computer. If I had $100 and could buy either the TRAKR or the VX-6, I would take the VX-6.

BOTTOM LINE: I think this is a cool, fun toy at a fair price. It only does what it claims to do, so keep your expectations low. When the kids are done with it I'm going to hack it apart and use it as a "camera on a snake" to look in difficult places. Or I will use it to check out dilapidated buildings in ghost towns. Or I will use it to explore mayan temples which may have deadly traps. Oh, the fun I will have!

We haven't had an RC car in a long time, so this Spy Gear Spy Video car is a fun edition to our toy collection. It looks a bit like Batman's Tumbler car: sleek, black and angled with large wheels. It is able to travel from the kitchen, through the living room, our bedroom and into the bathroom while the remote remains stationary. The small black and white video screen on the remote helps the driver know where to turn or reverse.

The night vision on the car does work, much to our cat's chagrin when we found her hiding in a darkend room under a bed. We tried it in a completely dark room with good vision results. It's not high def, but it does work.

The wheels are hard plastic, not rubber, so the car had some trouble crossing higher thresholds. Also, the camera does not angle upward, so your view on the video is baseboard high only. But none of that bothered the kids and they have been able to navigate without trouble.

My one complaint: it takes TEN AA batteries. Six for the car, 4 for the remote. And with the battery meter reader, you can see them being used rather rapidly. So, my advice would be rechargable batteries.

Overall, it's a fun little toy and my kids love it. The cat, however, has a different opinion altogether.

It seemed like such a neat idea, and my son was really excited about it. However, bad video quality and poor durability sent it to a box in the garage within a week. I wish I would have saved my money.

This is a slow moving remote car that you can drive (for the most part) while not looking at the car. The camera angle seems like it was designed for driving not spying. It needs a lot of space in front of it to see a person unless they are lying on the floor. The angle makes it good for going under chairs and stuff. This device has no audio. You can convince a small child it is a spying device, but not most adults. On the other hand, it is fun to drive the vehicle when not even in the same room. You can get your feet bumped and hear giggles from the other room. For this price, it's not bad. I never knew I don't tie my shoes very well.

When I was a kid, having a small camera in my RC car that transmitted to a screen in the controller would have been considered witchcraft. These days they can cram that into a smallish RC car and still sell it to you for well under a hundred bucks. Life isn't fair.

That said, while the camera is pretty neat (and the "night vision mode, while not true night vision, is a fun little feature), it needs to be noted that this car is SLOOOW. If you're looking for a little excitement from high-speed RC car driving, move on.

Maybe since it's a spy car, the speed can be forgiven, it's supposed to be sneaky. Unfortunately, even the slightest movement generates a loud whine from the electric motor, so you won't be going on any truly stealth missions. This might be a plus if you're the parent or sibling of the spy car's driver, though, the whine will warn you when it gets close so you don't get caught in any...compromising situations.

On the plus side, if you could mount a shotgun to this thing you could sell it to police departments all over the nation for use in hostage/bomb situations.

The Spy Video Car VX-6 is the latest in my children's collection of spy video products. Our last spy car was the Wild Planet Spy Gear Spy Video ATV-360. Here are some comparisons:

AUDIO/VIDEO

The ATV-360 requires the use of a headpiece for audio and video reception. The video is in black and white and is viewed through an eyepiece.

The VX-6 has *color* video mounted on the remote, but it lacks audio. It's larger, better quality picture; and there's even a night vision option that works. Granted, the night vision option works better in low light than close to no light, and it doesn't help much when the only object in the room is a wall (I just see a big sheet of green on screen).

The ATV-360 has a camera that can be manually adjusted upwards. The VX-6's camera is set straight ahead at floor level.

CONTROL

We have a 3600 sq. ft., 2 story house. Both vehicles have a pretty good range and can be operated across floors, between rooms. My son prefers the VX-6 because he says it's faster. I think operating either through the video is like driving with tunnel vision at floor level, but the tunnel vision is better on the VX-6.

CONCLUSION

My son recommends the VX-6. I'm personally sold on the color screen and the fact that the video screen is on the remote. It would be nice if the camera could be adjusted remotely. That's on my wishlist for our next spy car. Overall, it's a nice spy car.

This is definitely one of those eye catching toys that get all the kids crowding around. The fighting began almost immediately on this one!

The vehicle is controlled remotely and has a camera attached to it, so the child can move the vehicle around somewhere and see what it sees on the screen in the remote control. The concept is awesome, it even includes a night vision mode. This is definitely the kids favorite feature.

The screen however is pretty small and can be hard to see, especially with several children vying for it at a time. The camera also doesn't move around, so you can only control what you are viewing with the position of the vehicle. This means in execution you can't really see as much as you were hoping to.

The vehicle and controller are solid and well built. Definitely get some rechargeable batteries for this one, they wear out really fast!

the toy is really durable but not what was spected and it should be a faster toy because is a spy toy.