Old newbie. 1st tank ( for a while)

[percy1510]

Hi guys
It’s been a while since I posted on this forum. I was well into this hobby about 6 years ago and built quite a few Heng long and Tamiya tanks. Then I stopped for a bit!!
Well the bug is back and I can’t believe how much the tanks have changed. I have ordered one of the Taligen tiger 1 kits. It comes with everything except radio and electronics. I have a spectrum radio but wanted some help choosing the right electronics. I want to have a Tamiya computable battle system and hopefully attend one of the club meetings in the future. I have looked at the Clarke system and the ibu2.
My question is what do I need to buy for each system? I know I need a main board but what about the battle system?
Also if I buy any of these 2 systems can I still use the tanks own recoil system etc.
Thanks in advance for your help
Percy

[wibblywobbly]

Welcome back, good man, I did the same once. Packed it in, sold all of my tanks and then got bitten again.

Regarding aftermarket electronics, the main players are Clark, IBU, Elmod, and the new kid on the block, the OpenPanzer TCB.

Any of them will operate a Tamiya compatible IR battle system, and many make their own hit sensor set up, and hide the sensors around the tank instead of sticking an apple in the cupola. It only costs a few pounds for 4 sensors a hit led, and an IR emitter. The Tamiya apple is around £90?

Recoil..by far the most realistic option is to fit a servo recoil, you can buy a 3D printed one, mount the servo in it, and plug the servo into whichever board you have.

Doubtless others will be along to offer their advice.

Welcome back

[Max-U52]

You can't go wrong with the IBU. Ian provides great customer support and has an excellent rep here and at other forums. His store is here

https://www.rctankelectronics.com/

For the apple, I recommend you go Tamiya, simply because it can avoid whining from guys that say the Impact is harder to score hits on. Some of the hidden IR systems are good, but I believe you give up the 45 degree armor feature (provided by the pyramid mirror in the apple type systems).

If you're going airsoft it's even easier and the IBU is about as close to plug and play as it gets.

If Kevin at RCTA ever gets them in stock again, the Asp is also an excellent board.

[percy1510]

Thanks for the advice gents. Looking at the rctankelectronics website there is an ibu2 with case for £100 but there is also an ibu2u which is £145. Anyone know what the difference is?
I have also noticed that the board has a place to plug in a recoil servo but can I also plug in the Taigen recoil, the one that Is already in the tank?. I will probably go for the servo recoil later but just trying to spread the cost a bit by using what I can from the tank.

[Max-U52]

I believe what you're looking at for 100 pounds with case is the IBU2 Pro, which has servo support for recoil and turret rotation. I'm not sure about using the Taigen recoil unit, but if someone else here doesn't know a simple email to Ian should get you all the info you need.

I'm actually using an IBU2 Pro in my 1/6 scale Hetzer, and I'm using the recoil servo circuit to pull the trigger on the .50 caliber paintball cannon. Works quite well, and I've adapted a couple other channels to suit my purposes. The IBU2 Pro is a very versatile board. I'm not sure what the differences are between the IBU2 Pro and the IBU2u, but again, if the guys here don't know, Ian will.

[c.rainford73]

Thanks for the advice gents. Looking at the rctankelectronics website there is an ibu2 with case for £100 but there is also an ibu2u which is £145. Anyone know what the difference is?
I have also noticed that the board has a place to plug in a recoil servo but can I also plug in the Taigen recoil, the one that Is already in the tank?. I will probably go for the servo recoil later but just trying to spread the cost a bit by using what I can from the tank.

The IBU and IBU2U are exceptional IMHO. I have several IBU boards and just put an IBU2U in my JS-2 and it's simply fantastic. Easier to setup than the earlier IBU and the driving and sounds are very realistic.

[percy1510]

looks like my best bet is the inu2. I have watched a few videos and it certainly looks impressive. can't wait for the tank kit to arrive now so that I can get started