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

[Raminator]

How much were all the components to assemble this setup?

The combined cost of the Arduino board, TBS mini and Sabertooth was about the same as an IBU2 Pro. Since the TCB itself should be fairly cheap, it'll be a very flexible and powerful solution at a really good price point.

I got an update from Hobby King over the weekend. They are only just now starting production, boards are expected in the store around mid-May. Sale price for the TCB has tentatively been projected between $50-$60 US.

Nice one, congratulations Luke. Like I said, this becomes a very powerful setup at this price level.

Nice work Dan! You clearly know your way around electronics since you took the hard route, got it working, and didn't even ask a single support question! It's gratifying to see Open Panzer code driving someone else's tank for once.

I hope you'll like the real TCB when it comes out. For sure it will be a lot easier to wire everything!

Thanks, it all went together pretty painlessly. The only issue I ran into was forgetting to set the jumper for the communications, and a little bit of head-scratching and going over the schematic revealed the problem pretty quickly. I'm very impressed with the work you've done on the project, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it progresses and evolves once it's readily available.

[Max-U52]

I've been thinking about the TCB for a very light 1/6 scale tank. Think Panzer II. Probably a 12 volt (3S) system. What do you think?

[LukeZ]

You could use it for a heavy 1/4 scale if you wanted, assuming you can find ESCs adequate to your needs. That is the advantage of using external speed controls. If you can get an idea of the current draw of your drive motors then you will have a good idea of what sort of ESC you need.

Since space probably won't be an issue, you might spend less money buying 2 hobby RC ESCs than if you get one of the high-current Sabertooths which are kind of expensive. Although out of stock right this minute, the HobbyKing X-Car 45 ESCs are super cheap and good for up to 45 amps continuous. HobbyWing also has the Quicrun 1060 for about $20 each, and an interesting dual unit called the WP-860 for about $40. Both Quicruns are good to 60 amps continuous but note an odd thing about the Quicruns is that they have a lower continuous current rating in reverse than in forward (only 30 amps). However given that tanks don't spend a lot of time in reverse and the Quicruns have very high peak current ratings (180 amps) I think they would be fine.

There are plenty of other options from Castle Creations, Holmes Hobbies, etc... The TCB can run them all.

[43rdRecceReg]

Just scanned this thread quickly, as it grabbed my attention. I checked out the Open Panzer.org web page, where you say the TCB will be available in May- in the US, anyway; but you also mention the 'Scout' ESC package. Am I right in thinking that TCB+ Scout combined have as much to offer as, say, the Asp 2, the Ibu3 or the Clark TK 60?

[LukeZ]

The Scout ESC is just another dual motor speed controller, very much like the Dimension Engineering Sabertooth controllers only open source and theoretically much less expensive to produce, which is why we created it. However as of now we have no manufacturer lined up for the Scout so it's sort of unobtainable. But as described above the TCB is compatible with all sorts of off-the-shelf speed controls (in fact it requires them for the drive motors), so even without the Scout you won't have a problem pairing it with some other speed control.

Even then, the TCB + speed controller would not quite equal the abilities of the Asp/IBU/Clark because all three of those have built-in sound, the TCB does not. Right now to get sound you need to purchase a third component, namely the Benedini TBS Mini sound card. It is an excellent sound card, but overpriced.

We are working on our own open source sound card that will cost a fraction of the Benedini, but again even when the development of that is stable we still have to find a manufacturer to produce it, which is a challenge.

I'm biased but personally I think the TCB has much more to offer than any other solution available today in terms of advanced features. Not everyone wants or needs advanced features, so that may or may not be a plus depending on your requirements.

PS: Hobby King will sell the TCB globally, not just in the US.

[c.rainford73]

I like this product as I've been checking it out on here and your website. If you had a less expensive option for the sounds I think this would be a great selling point Either way it's an excellent product

[tao]

Agreed the TBS mini is a fantastic sound card with a lot of tricks and settings available on it.
Of course if you guys can eventually drop the price on something as good or better..even better!

[c.rainford73]

Can this be purchased as a kit with a sound card and the speed control in the future.... That way for some folks that are not too comfortable with purchasing seperate pieces from different vendors it would be easier to order and make it more plug and play like a package? Versus a board that has all in one?

Just curious and wanted to know. If this has already been previously mentioned my apologies if I missed it

[LukeZ]

There's no plans to sell a bundled set for now. For one, I'm not in control of the selling at this point.

We are still in the first chapter of this project. If the TCB meets with some kind of success and the project attracts more contributors and continues to grow, then who knows what might come in the future. It was a pretty big accomplishment just to get a major manufacturer to produce and sell the TCB entirely at their own expense. But right now today that's as far as we've come.

[Max-U52]

It will be interesting to see what the new Taigen sound units sound like. I think they could be used with the TCB and from what I've heard they would be much, much less expensive, maybe as low as the $20 range. They are set for just one tank, but how many guys buy a TBS and move it from tank to tank? Usually (I could be wrong on this) once a sound system is in a tank it stays right there, doesn't it? If I put a TCB in a Tiger with the Taigen Tiger sound unit there wouldn't really be a reason to ever move it, don't ya think?

So what do you think, Luke? Could the TCB support the new Taigen sound board, like the one in the new Panzer IV, that just came out in Europe?