1/16 Elefant Ludwig/Asiatam

[HERMAN BIX]

Hell of a great thing to have you back Mr Rad..............like a returning Jedi !!

[xrad]

Thx Tom and Herman!!

For those of you using OP TCB, this is nothing new. It is for those of you who are considering getting the board. Cost:
60$ TCB (comes with a bunch of hook up wires and male-male Rx connector)
150$ plus for sound board
40$ for 2 esc's ( no high power motor drivers on the TCB)
139$ for SBus RadioLink 12 channel unit

Is it worth it. YES.

OP TCB has been out for a while which is nice for me(less bugs). Super easy to use, Super fantastic WIKI ( http://openpanzer.org/) and works with any (suspect it works with any of the major brands) SBus or serial type Rx. This is REQUIRED.

I decided to go with RadioLink, my new favorite radio system. It used to be spectrum, but then they started to get expensive. 80$ for a 6 channel Rx only. Seriously! I found that RadioLink is a great brand, at least on the ground. I use it for my boats, crawlers, and now tanks. A 12 channel (real 12 channel w/sbus) Rx is 19$!!!! A real 12 channel Tx AND Rx was 139$ to my door. WOW! The RadioLink (RL) GUI is easy to use and lets you configure many many variables, especially for quads and helis. This is a 2.4 GHz air Tx, but does not really matter. Works fine for ground. This is the LEFT throttle version (which means that the left throttle stick does not have a spring return. Easy to open and fix if so inclined.

So, being sbus, the TCB is easy to config via it OP Config program (free to download). So now you have capability to adjust each channel on the TCB or on the RL Tx. So here is easy way to config the system for basic function (not battle config)

1) get an OP TCB off ebay (you will need to buy additional sound card, and esc's for motors)

2) download the OP Config program (free), read through the wiki, especially the quick start guide

3) Hardest part is assigning the OP TCB a com port (you have to download a win driver exe file..takes a sec). I used com4. Open the OP Config program and then 'connect' to TCB. Plenty on the wiki if it does not work

4) Do not hook Rx up to TCB yet.

5)BIND the Rx with the Tx by powering up the Rx(NOT through the TCB, use a separate old esc) and pressing the tiny side binding button on the Rx. you should now have a red RX light. Test the link with a servo or two on a few channels. NOW, you need to change to SBUS by pressing the same tiny button twice in 1 sec. The led should turn purple/blue on the Rx. You are now in sbus mode (one of 2 options the TCB can read from an Rx)

6) Assign 5 aux channels on the RL Tx for cannon, mg, engine stop start and lights. You are just picking switches right now (somewhere where you like them). I will have to replace one switch (aux switch 'F' on the RL Tx to an SPST 'momentary' as right now it is a 2 pos regular switch, for mg #1. The RL Tx swith 'H' is already a SPST 'momentary' for cannon fire. Each one of the Tx aux switches is assignable. The TX comes with 5 analog pots, and 8 aux switches, plus the four channels for the 2 sticks. More switches than channels allows more versatility. Save the setting under a model name. I used 'quad' as a base for the radio, rather than Heli.

5) Disconnect the radio from the old ESC. now you can connect the Rx to the TCB (male to male using appropriate pins on board..the bottom ones at 'radio' connection). The TCB supplies radio power now.

6) Make sure you are still connected TCB to OP Config program(green bar at bottom of GUI). Make sure you are in the RADIO section. Make sure your TX is ON. Then hit the 'read radio' button at bottom of OP Config. Now you should see in the read radio section the 4 stick channels and the 5 aux channels you are sending info on via the sbus, plus a buch of empty channels. In my case, there are 16 channels on the TCB and 12 on the radio..plenty of options....

7) now it is a matter of configuring which aux does what function on the TCB. You can test your channels via the radio. Start with the 4 motion channels and reverse or set as needed. I strongly suggest that you write down in chart form the OPConfig program data that is currently displayed for the AUX CHANNELS: AUX 1-5 and the respective control channel, the radio switch (ex F,H,etc) , the 'position (1,2), and what function you want associated (cannon, mg,etc) so that when you go to FUNCTION section, it is easy to transcribe what you need to then create the new FUNCTION /TRIGGER associations.

8 ) Now you have to upload any changes in OP Config to the TCB by going into DEVICE -' Write setting to device.' Don't forget to also create and save model settings a file to your desktop.

I am not covering battle channels or battle config or aux config more than this as there is a GREAT WIKI on all of this, but if you can get this far, you can do the rest. If you have a question on one of the button choices in OPConfig, just hover over the '?' There is a font bug hiding some of the OPConfig info/choices on my high res screen, but the '?' answers everything. NICE JOB Open Panzer!

TCB case For those of you with 3D printers: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2666669

DON'T FORGET: once you exit OP Config and re-open or re-connect the TCB to desktop, OPConfig does NOT automatically download board settings, so be sure to read board and/or load saved file first before making any config changes.

[tomhugill]

If you want to keep your normal radio a ppm convertor can be bought for around £10.

[xrad]

True Tom. I have one of the RMILEC units in a trinket project. But the pretty orange color of the Radiolink unit and easy wiring was calling my name...

[xrad]

When I began the elefant of a project, it was in 2010, before I had a 3D printer. So the ball was actually cast in resin. Now I have my coocheer (ebay .. a rock solid printer, takes an evening to build and dial in, has large printing platform something like 220x260x240mm). This printing buddy helps me out a lot. So today I made some freecad designs and printed them up for the mantlet and guard. Came out pretty well. I have printed many many parts over the years and have had good success with coocheer 3D printers. Well under 200$ delivered. At one time I had 3 printers going at once...kinda cool to see these robots working.

Coocheer comes with Cura, the printing program, which is also rock solid and never had an issue. Currently, it is 3 steps: create design, mesh design, and print design. But this only takes a few minutes for an easy design. So for example, it took about 10 minutes to design the guard, and then off to printer. Honestly, I don't know half of the functions on freecad, but it does what I need.

[xrad]

ball mount, not OEM, but good enough for cannon travel and easy RC servo set-up..

will have to fine tune the bolt on cover for correct size...plenty of travel U,D,L,R...

[xrad]

made a few parts for the Elefant:

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2993799/files

a newer version of the main gun sight cover has been uploaded to thingiverse, wherein the sight hole is rotated/positioned closer to OEM

[midlife306]

Nice work
Cheers
Wayne


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[xrad]

Thx Midlife! Here is a close up of the track tensioner. Basically the axle tube moves about 5mm or so front to back in a frame channel. The front wheels are held in place with two screws set into the threaded axle tube. If you tighten the screws too much, the wheel stops spinning as the edges pinch on the axle tube. So, I drilled out the axle tube where it sits directly under the outer tensioner tube set screws. Put in 2 5mm stainless set screws and now the axle screws are pinched in place, and the axle tube can not move side to side. Double benefit.

Unfortunately, one suspension arm broke in half. Think it was a bad casting. Trying to epoxy-fiberglass it. Will see how that works out...

[midlife306]

That’s a cracking piece of engineering
Cheers
Wayne


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