Heng Long RX18 Circuit Board

[daviddunlop]

I was foraging on the Mato Mart site this evening and ran across this version of the receiver board. It differs from their earlier series -13 and -14 in that the components are under a cover and there is just a series of sockets visible to connect the smoke unit,  speaker etc.

Has anyone worked with particular board? The site does not identify what particular RC Tank it was designed for and I am curious if it would be a direct replacement/upgrade for the earlier S&S boards in the HL Tiger I, if it still has that silly drive motor recoil feature, and any other benefits that might make it a worthwhile upgrade. I think it's main reason for existence is that it is IR Combat capable.

Cheers,

David

[mikeh]

Not sure if this helps, but my new bulldog tank has the rx18 unit. Maybe they are putting them in the new tanks now?

[Ex_Pat_Tanker]

Hi David,

To the best of my knowlage you are correct (apart from the Rx-18 is technically an electronic speed controller (ESC) with extra added "lights and music" functions). The smaller TK-YL101 board still performs the receiver function irrespective of which model of control board is fitted (afaik).
David (Darkith) has already concluded that its a straight replacement in terms of the normal functions of the -13 and -14 boards, and confirmed that there is no difference in the way that the -18 operates with his DBC and DBC2RC systems.
Newer built HL's have been reported with Rx-18s also, so they don't appear to be limited to just the IR versions.
www.rccommand.com has video of the Rx-18 performing in a Stug - it appears to do the the standard "HL shuffle" when firing, with the added [sarcasm]bonus[/sarcasm] "HL wiggle" to simulate being killed.

Whether they are an upgrade is open to debate - the new design with the plastic enclosure and plug in wiring is a neat package, but many of us have concerns about heat dissipation in our modified (and by definition heavier!) tanks.
If you want to battle a few of your friends in somebody's yard its a good upgrade (when combined with the rest of the IR upgrade kit), otherwise you may well get more benefit from fitting a fan and glueing some heatsinks to the power transistors/FET's on the Rx-13 / Rx-14 boards.

HTH,
Mart

[daviddunlop]

Thanks for the feedback.

I find the basic HL 'Shuffle' annoying enough. The fact I would also inherit a new HL 'Wiggle' if I upgrade to the RX18 would probably send me over the top. Hopefully they won't replace engine sounds on the next board with music...

David