RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

Whatever happened to standards?

I have just acquired a cheap Torro Tiger1 with the IR Battle System. All l wanted it for is to use it for Target practice using my Torro 'pro spec' T34 IR. Being both Torro l foolishly assumed compatibility would exist but on opening the manual it states it will work with the T34 in the same box type. No more info!

So.. I sat the pair in front of each other and tried things out. The cheap Tiger caused the expensive T34 to react correctly to a hit but the Tiger didn't react at all to a hit from the T34.

My IS-2 uses the same Taigen IR system as the Torro T34 but the IS-2 reacted normally to a hit from the Tiger but consistently prematurely died on the second hit (should survive the first 4). Again, the IS-2 was unable to score a hit on the Tiger.

I would dearly like to know what's going on but the Torro Tiger appears to be a sealed unit - no screws anywhere - so fearing breakage I've not gained access to see what units are within.

No fear, l thought. Someone here will be able to explain the problem and offer a solution.... fingers crossed!

I think the Tiger may have been the WSN/Torro Tiger. The WSN system is, I believe, only compatible with other WSN tanks, i.e the T34. They are not actually Torro tanks.

This is exactly what I experienced when I battled my son's wsn Torro T-34 cheap tank vs. My taigen full metal Sherman tank! I honestly wasn't expecting anything to happen at all......

My son hit me repeatedly and my Sherman shuttered and shut down.

My sons t-34 didn't take a hit at all from my taigen unit!

So he won the day

I assume that you did what all fathers do in such situations and informed the child that he obviously did not yet understand the finer points of Battling and that to show him how to do it properly you would swap tanks this being for his best interests of course.

In my case my son would probably still beat me!

Though disappointed that Torro's site doesn't mention incompatibility and Amazon's description was non-existent (l was bored an was browsing their Spring Sale), I'm actually okay with the model for the price. I could fit a good smoke bomb under it and use it for scenic purposes, BUT...

If someone out there knows how to get in side it I'd be happy to refit it with something better/ more compatible.

Okay, some good news on the compatibility front. My LG tv appears to be compatible with the Torro Tiger - the channel + key always scores a direct hit! This probably means that my smart watches can take out the Tiger too since they are loaded with the LG app. Not sure how the LG ever binded though??

The saga continues....exciting, isn't it..zzzzzzzzzz

I can't help thinking that you are going to have problems fitting a set of tracks and a turret to an LG tv??

Its not that hard really, its the remote that has to have a lower hull fitted with a servo fitted to press the right buttons. A winter project maybe? (It could happen!)

In the mean time l found a cheap "WSN" T34 so I've been experimenting. This too seems to be a sealed unit but, contrary to the information in the manuals, the IR emitter is not based in the periscope housing on the turret but is in the barrel. On firing the gun the barrel emits a longish red light (prefer the white ones) and also the IR beam. I can only see one LED but I've used LEDs with dual colours - could these ones be IR and normal light?

The twin LEDs in the turret top mount are the receivers. The problem is similar to that experienced with the Taigen system but infinitely more so. It doesn't matter where the barrel is pointing, a hit is guaranteed! I'll be looking at how l can control the direction of the IR beam. A long matt black tube protruding from the barrel won't cut it!

Is there a thread or article anywhere that explains how you can build a IR system and/or how it works. For example, what's my LG TV IR beam got that my Taigen one hasn't? What makes them compatible? Are they encoded or are there different IR frequencies used?

Your patience is appreciated.

I have a WSN T34. For what it's worth, I ignored the IR in the barrel. I drilled out the hole on the right hand side of the mantlet, as you look at it from the front. I fitted the requisite tube with a new emitter of the correct frequency, and it works pretty well.

That seems to be a good solution. However, what sort of IR emitter LED did you use and is it compatible with the WSN battle system (or any other). I guess you dismantled your T34 in order to do this. Can you tell me how you took it apart? Are there screws somewhere? The single sunken screw on the rear deck doesn't appear to release anything on mine - maybe I'm being too gentle with it