Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Board

This forum relates to the Open Source Tank Control Board (TCB). Please read the sticky and visit the main site to find out all about the board and how to install it.
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LukeZ
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by LukeZ »

That comparison between the Asp and Benedini is neither completely fair nor comprehensive, but as I ultimately have no stake in either - and in order to avoid getting sidetracked - I will leave further defense of those products to their respective manufacturers and fanboys, in some other thread.

We certainly agree there is space for more sound options in this hobby and creating an open source version is a priority. What we need at this point are developers and community engagement. The decision was made to take Open Panzer public now and move forward using the Benedini for sound. The system is not to everyone's preference but it is complete and it does work, and to be honest one could do much worse. Hopefully this will be sufficient to attract other enthusiastic participants who together can take the project further.

In time all things are possible, but you have to start somewhere. This is where we start.
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tao
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by tao »

The DBC/BARC is/was also used as an interface with the Benedini and the old RX 18. I do like the TBS for the sound quality and ease of programming. What are some of the advantages of this over that set up? I think all of the new options are always great and just reading about
how the IBU and Clark have improved so much..and how good they are now is great.
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by tomhugill »

Here's the Chinese benedini tbs micro clone

http://m.banggood.com/Sound-Unit-for-Or ... 97656.html

£20 boom.
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by tao »

The TBS mini is better though, correct?
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LukeZ
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

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tao wrote:The DBC/BARC is/was also used as an interface with the Benedini and the old RX 18. I do like the TBS for the sound quality and ease of programming. What are some of the advantages of this over that set up?
The DBC/BARC used the RX-18 essentially as the speed controller, the TCB also requires an external speed controller but lets you choose from basically any known to man. The RX-18 has poor proportional control and is extremely noisy due to the low frequency at which it operates; using aftermarket controllers eliminate these issues. The existence of controller such as the Sabertooths that combine dual brushed motor control onto a single board make them ideal for our purposes, but you have many options.

The BARC accepted inputs from a 4-channel hobby radio, eliminating the cheap Heng Long transmitter. The TCB also requires a hobby radio but can process up to 16 channels over a single cable using today's modern receivers, and with an easy-to-use Windows interface lets you assign any channel to any function, permitting you to control your tank the way you want without having to memorize a lot of stick combinations.

The BARC interfaced with the Benedini TBS as does the TCB. However the TCB can be made to interface with any sound system (for example the Beier), as well as sound systems that don't yet exist, as we have been discussing.

Beyond that the differences really amount to options and configurability, of which the TCB has a quantity too great to list here.

The final difference between the TCB and really all other systems - not relevant to all but important nonetheless - is that the TCB uses open source software and hardware, with all that entails and implies.
Last edited by LukeZ on Tue Jan 17, 2017 9:53 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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LukeZ
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by LukeZ »

tomhugill wrote:Here's the Chinese benedini tbs micro clone
That clone comes pre-loaded with sounds suitable for the small RC truck for which it is sold. If you want any additional sound, including tank sounds, you will need to use the firmware which Thomas Benedini is no longer handing out for free, precisely because of this Chinese cloning issue. So the board will not be of much use to you unless you previously purchased a product from Benedini or are using what is essentially now pirated software.

We can all complain about the price of the Benedini cards, but we can also all agree Thomas has put a lot of work into them and as a person has contributed greatly to this hobby. Let's not disrespect him by promoting unauthorized copies that undermine his business. Tom I know that's now what you were trying to do but this needs to be said. Benedini is not an open source, volunteer, not-for profit enterprise. The Chinese clone is illegal. And if we support those who seek to run a fellow tanker out of business just because we don't like his prices, we will only hurt ourselves in the end. Not to mention this sets a terrible example to those who might wish to start their own business selling us tank things we might want.

If we want a cheaper sound card, we need to obtain it legitimately. At this point the only way I know to do that is build our own.
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by tao »

Luke..Curious I have a TBS/BARC set up..the Saber can be set up to bypass the RX ..but would there be anything noticeably different doing this? Running promax 480 motors in Tiger/KT/Panther with this set up. Thanks. tao
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LukeZ
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by LukeZ »

I'm not sure I understood exactly your setup - but it sounds like perhaps you are already using a Sabertooth speed control, BARC for IR and other features like servo recoil, Benedini for sound, and RX-18 for standard functions (smoker, airsoft, etc). Frankly that pretty much covers your bases and creates a system not unlike the Open Panzer board.

The only reason you might want to change is if you wanted to use other functions like extra servos, lights, driving adjustments, and other optional gizmodry enabled by the TCB. You really have to read through our Wiki to get a sense of what all is available and decide whether any of it is something you need. But honestly it sounds to me like you have a perfectly good setup already and there would be no need to change unless you just like to tinker.

The BARC system was really quite innovative and probably underappreciated by most when compared to the flashier all-in-one aftermarket boards.
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by tao »

At the moment the RX 18 is controlling the 480 track motors and was wondering if using the Sabertooth speed control..I would notice any difference? Thanks :)
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Re: Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Boa

Post by LukeZ »

The Sabertooth operates at ultrasonic frequencies, so as compared to the RX-18 will not have the annoying motor whine. The Sabertooth also permits much finer control than the RX-18 which I think has limited proportional speed (maybe about 10 steps). If you control the Sabertooth with the TCB you will further be able to take advantage of acceleration and deceleration constraints and a host of other driving adjustments you may or may not need, but even without the TCB a Sabertooth alone should give you an improvement in control.
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