Used Challenger Strip and Rebuild.

[zooma]

With the decision being made not to spend any more time on working out how to use the TK24 CH board, I can turn my attention to the small outstanding jobs that are needed to finish the rebuild and return the tank to running condition.

The two rear lights had been chopped off and I had to lever off the lamp surrounds to extract the remains of the LED bulbs that had been hot melt glued into place. I now need to glue these surrounds back into place and fit a new wire loom with new LED bulbs and wire - and then decide where to connect these wires to the TK24 board.

There are two screws missing from the main turret turn ring gear that need replacing, so I need to find some screws of the right size to replace them with to secure the ring gear better.

Lastly (I hope) I have to improve the way that the two halves of the tank are held together. All of the retaining screws have been removed and the lower positions have been filled with (very) small magnets - but the top half of the tank has not been so well adorned and has no magnets in any of the matching locating pillar/struts.

Some of the upper plastic struts that would have held the retaining screws have been chewed away and some have had self tapping screws put in (from the underside) in the hope that the small magnets underneath may gain enough grip to hold against the tops of those few that are left - they dont!

[tankme]

The TK40 and TK50 have the same footprint of the TK24 board. They also look very similar. Just an FYI.

[zooma]

The TK40 and TK50 have the same footprint of the TK24 board. They also look very similar. Just an FYI.

That is my fear of course - dealing with an unknown board - albeit one that is clearly marked with a printed "TK series" on its underside - but that only narrows it down a little.

Against that I have put this TK board alongside the known TK24 CH board and the location of the various component parts and solder lines look remarkably similar - to my untrained eye at least.

This first board has already been posted to Clark to be converted to S.bus so I can compare the performance and ease of access to the various functions, and if it is better to work with than this non S.bus version, it will also be sent away for an S.bus conversion soon afterwards.

In the meantime I am quite enjoying discovering a little more about how this particular TK board works (from the users point of view) and I am pleased every time a make a little more progress with it.

At the moment I can gain access to all its functions, and everything works. I rather suspect that if I were using a tx with manual slide trim controls the remaining two functions that I find tricky to access as readily as I would like (DRIVE and ENGINE sound) could be easier to find on a regular basis.

This is certainly true of the Tamiya "Full Option" electronics that really don't work that well with digital trims....and they both stem from a similar time period and may have more than a passing resemblance to each other in the way they were designed to be accessed?

I am happy with what I have discovered so far and hope to be able to master the remaining two functions that elude me (on a regular basis) a little more often.

When the S.bus TK24 CH arrives back it will be good to compare them directly with each other. Maybe the later model TK50 series of boards are better suited to current driving preferences (all drive functions on the right hand stick unit) and perhaps just as importantly better suited to transmitters with digital trims?

[tankme]

I don't use my digital trims with any of my TK40, 50, 60, or 80 boards as they are all SBus.

[Jofaur86]

Hello, indeed by examining my TK 24 more closely? I haven't noticed any inscription allowing identification? apart from underneath, the mention "Clark Model TK Series" and a manual inscription in Black, resembling "04 PAN or P/ W" written very small? It seems possible that with my Radio, I can use inters for certain functions? but didn't find too much info for that? Otherwise I can use as is

[zooma]

After checking the board that is in my used Challenger more carefully, as well as having the TK Series stamped on the back, it also has CH written on the front in fine black pen so I am fairly sure that it is indeed a TK24 CH.

Today I experimented some more to try to find a positive way to switch on the DRIVE and the SOUND and think I may have finally cracked it!

By moving the left hand digital trim upwards until the top of the marker falls directly in line with the top of the "box" that underlines the name of the model, I am able to switch on the DRIVE by moving the left hand stick fully across to the left and I can switch on the ENGINE by moving the left hand stick fully across to the right.

Both the above operations completed with the left hand stick held by the spring in its centralised position WITHOUT the turret turning.

Previously, with the left hand vertical trim set at neutral, any movement to the left or right would turn the turret and make switching on the DRIVE or SOUND functions difficult to achieve - and impossible to achieve on a regular basis even with a lot of experimentation with the stick position held just above the neutral position. The turret control took over completely every time.

With the trim dialled in to the slightly raised position (described above) I can switch on the DRIVE and the SOUND before any other functions take control of the left hand stick unit.

Following the above two functions activation, I can either turn the turret with the stick held slightly downward against the string tension as I move it from left to right, or I can slide the digital trim back down to neutral and just operate the turret turning with the stick held in the neutral position by the stick units spring tension.

I can also turn the SOUND and DRIVE off by sliding the trim up to the new designated position and activate these tow function without the turret turning. Absolutely brilliant - total control AT LAST. Who would have thought that such a small trim movement could make such a difference?

All of the other left hand stick functions remain unaffected.

Top left MG with flash, Top Right Headlamps on/off.

Bottom left main gun with flash, bottom right MG 2.

I keep repeating the sequence to make sure it was not just a "fluke" - but it works every time !


The above operating sequence for the TK24 CH when in mode 2 (with all drive functions on the right hand stick unit) cannot be found mentioned anywhere - but it was found after a lot of experimentation. If I had found it earlier, I would probably not have sent my other TK24 CH back to be converted to S,bus as I am very happy with the above operating sequence.

[Jofaur86]

Great if advanced, yesterday I spent my afternoon translating the instructions on the Clark site, and also learned some new things, if can help??
http://www.clark-model.com/eng/prod_rx20_tu/index.html
I think I have already sent it to you? but without certainty. I learned certain functions to remove, others to improve the functioning of the tank: Suppression of recoil when firing, soft start, function of the type of tank scale 1, etc., of course you need the Sony remote control, or equivalent

[Jofaur86]

My TK,

IMG_0863.jpeg (2.27 MiB) Viewed 732 times

IMG_0865.jpeg (1.47 MiB) Viewed 732 times

[zooma]

Maybe the writing on yours identifies the engine sound - Panzer 4 or Panther maybe?

[zooma]

Great if advanced, yesterday I spent my afternoon translating the instructions on the Clark site, and also learned some new things, if can help??
http://www.clark-model.com/eng/prod_rx20_tu/index.html
I think I have already sent it to you? but without certainty. I learned certain functions to remove, others to improve the functioning of the tank: Suppression of recoil when firing, soft start, function of the type of tank scale 1, etc., of course you need the Sony remote control, or equivalent

The link to programming the TK22 works and very informative....and it is mode 2 !

Your English translation is also really good too - well done!

The TK24 is a little different insomuch that the DRIVE has to be switched ON and it can also be switched OFF. This makes it possible just to run the engine sound on its own and rev the engine without the tank moving.

The location of the operations is different too:- Left stick lower left is the main gun with flash and lower right is the (unwanted ) MG2, and left stick upper left is MG with flash and upper right is headlights on/off.

This leaves the tricky switching on/off of the DRIVE and SOUND that has to be performed on the left stick when in its central position - the same stick position that is used to turn the TURRET left and right !

Separating the DRIVE and SOUND switching from the TURRET turning is where the left hand stick suffers from OVERLOAD and the operator/driver suffers from HEADACHES as separating these two functions requires a lot of patience and a delicate touch!

Basically those last 4 described functions (DRIVE, SOUND, TURRET left, TURRET right) all work from the same stick unit and on the same plane and are only separated by a fraction in height. My solution is to try to find a reference point that can be repeated on demand by using the digital trim and referencing the position with its location against a line that is already printed on the screen under the model name.