Re: tamiya dmd or elmod ?

[ICE]monkey · Post by **[ICE]monkey** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 2:13 pm

hi guys opinions please , got my tamiya kt but its only got the gearboxs with motors do i get the dmds or fit elmod, if i go for the elmod set up is it compatable with the tamiya recoil ?
regards ,ice

Post by **Matdragon** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 3:28 pm

it is compatible but it requires some work i think to get it operational.

I'd go tamiya, because you can pick up some good deals on the DMD's and they work a treat, and sound great. el-mod is highly tempermental but once you get it to work right like for example wibblywobbly has, it can be great.

cheers,

Maty

Ex_Pat_Tanker · Post by **Ex_Pat_Tanker** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 3:54 pm

Tam electronics cost about the same retail and aren't readily available, so unless you can get a good deal with all the wiring I'd lean toward el-mod. I believe El-Mod is also more forgiving of your choice of transmitter.

STEINER · Post by **STEINER** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 4:25 pm

Tamiya DMD

As its a Tamiya KT, rebuild it with its correct electronics. That way you will retain the Value if not enhance the value of the model.

jb1 · Post by **jb1** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:08 pm

ElMod electronics have some great features that Tamiyas don't have-- built-in momentum with braking, turret rotation/cannon elevation/cannon & machinegun fire while engine is off, customizable sounds, deep parameter configuration (with "Configurator"), etc. These are attractive if you're a tinkerer and want a realistic-acting RC tank with upgrade potential. It's also a nice alternative if you've already got a Tamiya Panther or Tiger and don't want your King Tiger to sound and act exactly the same.

However, Tamiya's the standard, with a much larger base of users and guaranteed long-term support. If you have problems with a Tamiya, you can Google a do-it-yourself solution pretty easily (it's a simple, robust, plug-and-play system, so there are fewer problems). With ElMod, the little bit of info that's out there may be about older versions, so you may have to contact customer support for help.

If you plan to do IR battling, the fact that ElMod tanks stop when they get hit would be a liability (although it's more realistic). ElMod's apple is a naked circuit board that doesn't reject IR hits at 45 degrees, and doesn't have the horizontal slats to help with outdoors usage. Although it's compatible with Tamiya's battle system, you can't plug in a Tamiya apple. (According to the ElMod documentation, their electronics will support a Heng Long flash unit, but not the Tamiya flash unit.)

It's not an easy choice. (FWIW, I recently dealt with this and chose Tamiya for my third tank, after having one of each.)

Post by **Matdragon** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:18 pm

very nice little side by side comparison their,

however one thing hit me as odd ...

jb1 wrote:
If you plan to do IR battling, the fact that ElMod tanks stop when they get hit would be a liability (although it's more realistic).

"Commander we've just been hit from the left flank by a pershing on a hill, what shall we do ?"

"stop now and we'll get shot again! ha they will never expect that!"

last heard speach of a King Tiger crew through the communication's radio network that stopped in the middle of a battlefeild when hit rather than carrying on going to the nearest cover

wibblywobbly · Post by **wibblywobbly** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 6:59 pm

Matdragon wrote: very nice little side by side comparison their,

however one thing hit me as odd ...

jb1 wrote:
If you plan to do IR battling, the fact that ElMod tanks stop when they get hit would be a liability (although it's more realistic).
"Commander we've just been hit from the left flank by a pershing on a hill, what shall we do ?"

"stop now and we'll get shot again! ha they will never expect that!"

last heard speach of a King Tiger crew through the communication's radio network that stopped in the middle of a battlefeild when hit rather than carrying on going to the nearest cover

Ahem!! Try sitting in a tank, getting hit by an 80mm round, and see if your hands and feet stay on the controls? It is far more realistic for the tank to momentarily stop, than to carry on as if it has been struck by a wet sheep.

There is one thing that no one has mentioned. If you buy a Tamiya DMD etc then it goes in one tank and stays there. You cannot do anything with the sound, or install a Tamiya sound from Tiger into a Sherman, that means every tank costs you another Â£200 in Tamiya control units.

With the Elmod you store ALL of your tank sounds on one sound card. I have built my entire system into one box, and I can fit everything into a Panzer III hull. I can remove everything from this hull and install it in my Tiger 1, T34, or Panzer SIG33, and can modify my Jagdpanther or Bulldog to take it as well if I want to. I will have tank specific sounds on all of them simply by removing/replacing any of 3 jumpers on the sound card (that I am hoping to replace with switches to make it even easier). So that is potentially 5 tanks all with exceptionally realistic controls and sounds for the cost of one system, as opposed to the Â£1000 that it would cost for Tamiya electronics to achieve the same. The only additional cost, though I can design my way around that, is the mushroom/connection lead. The led emitters are about 80p from Maplins.

Food for thought!

[ICE]monkey · Post by **[ICE]monkey** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:21 pm

very true my hl tiger 1 has the three card elmod set up and so does my hl pershing, by panzerIII will be hl electronics as im building it as a bergepanzer, no need for top class electronics or sounds, as the tamiya tigerII has still got the recoil,mg, elevation electrics still installed i might go for the tamiya dmds as its just a plug and play job

Jakeand · Post by **Jakeand** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:24 pm

"I have built my entire system into one box"

Some inovative work there Rob!
Could you post some closeup pics of the box?

Thanks in advance

wibblywobbly · Post by **wibblywobbly** » Sun Oct 04, 2009 9:07 pm

It's a pleasure, sorry for the quality, they were taken on my camera phone in macro mode, and that shows up any camera shake!

The four board motor wires exit the box and go into a pc female 4 pin connector. The four wires from the motors go into a male pc 4 pin connector. That way the motors are always correctly connected and are detacheable instantly.

A second 4 pin male/female connector will be mounted next to it.

A resettable 10amp fuse is now inside the box.

The circuit for the switch/fuse/board/battery and switch/battery will go through the second 4 pin connector. This way both the motors and the power supply will be instantly detacheable. The switch/volume is mounted on a card, which happens to slot very securely in front of the gearboxes without any screws or glue, so this can be pulled out too.

There will be a Tamiya (groan!) >:( male/female connector between the battery and the circuit so that the battery can be disconnected and charged.

...and just to show that I don't spend my entire life up to my armpits in solder and plastic.... ;D

Lynne Brianne Reservoir and the Black Mountains (today). I love Wales, no traffic, fantastic scenery and lots of brilliant coffee stops in the middle of nowhere...