IBU2 installed and reviewed

[wibblywobbly]

Just a quick note to say that to date the only board that I had never installed was an IBU2. One arrived yesterday, overnight delivery from the UK vendor, complete with a bargain priced 6 channel tx and receiver. This deal is very good if you don't have a transmitter.

Even though I had a customised wiring loom, I had used the 8 pin HL socket for the turret controls, and had an HL 2 pin wired to a high intensity muzzle flash led, I simply had to bind the rx, plug everything in, configure the channels and it worked.

Apart from one wire soldered to the wrong pin on the 8 pin socket which was entirely my fault ( I was in a rush, a friend was coming round to shampoo my carpets, ), it all works as nature intended.

Nice board, well put together, easy sd card access, and the tank runs very nicely on it.
The instructions are on the web, you can't really go wrong with the install.

It would be nice to have a comprehensive list of .ini file descriptions, as there looks to be some undocumented settings, eg turret rotation speed etc, that I would like to experiment with.
The sound files are the same format as Elmod, eg .wav 22khz 8 bit so I will see what I can do in Audacity to create something for my Bulldog (though the Leopard 2A6 is close).

Just waiting for some styrene sheets to arrive, I can then do a secure and transportable fitment.

Happy bunny.

RobG

[Tankbear]

Hi Rob,

Sorry I might not of made it clear but I ship the radio & IBU2 package already setup so you didn't need to do the binding and configuration step.

Regarding the setup file ibu2.ini it is common between the base and pro versions, so the turret speed you can't find description for is a pro only feature so yo will find this in the pro manual which is in the manual folder on your SD card.

If you want Bulldog sounds look here http://www.ibu-electronics.com/downloads_9.html where a couple have already been created.

Ian.

[wibblywobbly]

There was nothing included to say that it was bound, and no instructions, it didn't appear to be bound as the rx was flashing. There is a weird binding process on these where the binding memory is lost if it isn't saved.

Sure, I could download the Bulldog files, but I wouldn't learn a single thing that way, I much prefer to play around and see how to do things, it's what I bought the board for. I know it's not an Elmod, but I will see what it does just because I enjoy doing this sort of thing.

RobG

[Tankbear]

There was nothing included to say that it was bound, and no instructions, it didn't appear to be bound as the rx was flashing. There is a weird binding process on these where the binding memory is lost if it isn't saved.
RobG

Idea of the radio package is for people with no experience of the after market radios and often shy away so the package removes all that hassle, so they can focus on just connecting to the IBU2 to the tank wiring. I take on board what you say and will make this more clear to customers. As for yours loosing the bind, all I can think is because you mentioned one of the servo leads became damaged during transit it wasn't get all the four channels and causing the flashing LED indicating not bound.

Sure, I could download the Bulldog files, but I wouldn't learn a single thing that way, I much prefer to play around and see how to do things, it's what I bought the board for. I know it's not an Elmod, but I will see what it does just because I enjoy doing this sort of thing.

RobG

No worries I understand. For your information

Maximum number of speed steps is 40. Also the IBU2 sees how many steps are in the setup file and automatically works out which to play to match the throttle position.
Each file needs to be 22khz, 8 bit, max 1mb, and 8 character file name

Ian.

[wibblywobbly]

I did a complete sound file, gun and everything, and even have radio chatter. lol. Need to get a speaker soon, as I am currently playing through an HL one which is pretty dire.

I came across one weird thing, well two really.

If tne battery voltage only drops a small amount, eg mine is on 7.2 volts (as opposed to 8.4v fully charged) and I fire whilst the tank is moving, then the track recoil, which was set on 1, will overload the electrics and the tank cuts out.

The instructions say that to eradicate the track recoil it should be set to 1 in the .ini file, it should however be set to 0.

If the track recoil is set to 0, then firing on the move does not cut the electrics with a low battery, though 7.2v wasn't exactly 'low'.

I've no idea if this can be fixed in the next firmware release or if anyone else has ever raised it?

Cheers

Rob

[tomhugill]

Is yours a pro? If so the lipo low voltage cut off might be enabling as under load the voltage might be sagging under 6v

[Tankbear]

Hi Rob,

Your correct setting the track recoil to 0 is off not 1.

If your experiencing the tank stopping the engine or totally resetting this would indicate your battery voltage is dropping too much. Either your battery is bad or starting to fail, or you've a bad connection in the wiring.

Ian.

[wibblywobbly]

Mine is just the base version.

I tried it with two batteries, one on 8.4v which ran ok, with no cut out, and the other on 7.2v which powered off the tank if I fired while the tank was running. It made no difference whether the tank was on blocks with no resistance on the tracks, or on the floor. It happens at medium to high revs which looks like it tips the power drain if I fire on the move, the track recoil kicks in momentarily and causes enough of an amp pull to trip the power off.

They are nimh rather than Lipo's.

If I disable the track recoil, it doesn't happen with either battery.
The gearboxes and motors are brand new with pre wired plugs, so no dodgy soldering there.
The battery/switch solder joints are totally solid.

Yes, it could be a dodgy battery, just out of interest, the manual refers to a Lipo low voltage cut out, but does it do anything if an nimh drops below 6v? E.g. if the nimh battery momentarily fails to supply enough current, will the board detect it and switch off, which is the opposite of detecting a power surge/overload on the board and cutting out.

It would be interesting to know?


Cheers

RobG

[tomhugill]

The low voltage cut off on my boat ESC doesnt differentiate between types off batteries just if the voltage is too low. Could be the same here.

I'd imagine the cut off is happening with track recoil because the motors are drawing a rapid spike of current, while without they aren't. Not sure there's much more to it than that.

[spongehoobtank82]

Hey guys my ibu2 does the same thing when am using nimh batterys, using lipo's now and not done it since, so I think it does cut off when it detects a low voltage in nimh batteries, I have heard lipo's don't suffer from voltage drop under load as bad as nimh, how that helps.