Waitin' for parts!...still...

[Bulldog01]

The dragon didn't effect the BB gun. It was shooting fine then it was loosing distance. I'm using good BB's, not the cruddy ones that came with the tank. All the wires are good. It's probably internal in the gun itself. Those are cheap, so I will probably order two so I can take one apart to see how it functions. Hopefully make a little more power in the process!! Anyway, that's where I'm at....

[MichaelC]

I hate to say it Darren, it is a very slippery slope. I was at this stage maybe a year and a half ago, and you don't even want to know how many tanks, spare parts, extra parts (waiting to be install) and wish list parts that I plan on getting. I have to put a stop in getting new tanks as I am simply running of space (and wife's patience) so now it is just one upgrade after another.

Have fun !

[Tankbear]

I hate to say it Darren, it is a very slippery slope. I was at this stage maybe a year and a half ago, and you don't even want to know how many tanks, spare parts, extra parts (waiting to be install) and wish list parts that I plan on getting. I have to put a stop in getting new tanks as I am simply running of space (and wife's patience) so now it is just one upgrade after another.

Have fun !

Same here. Last tank I added to collection (kv1) was made up left over bits I had laying around. strangely it cost probably cost twice that of a new HL tank but is well sweet and fun to make.

Now considering taking axesaw to the ZTZ to convert into a Russian T72 just as my wife kill me if I bought another tank.

Ian.

[Bulldog01]

LOL - No worries guys. I wanna get this tank running reliably as possible. Then add a few more to the collection!! HL is cheaper than Tamiya by a longshot. But atleast it's easy to add bearings and the sort fairly easily....It's just the initial cost! I know that adding metal wheels, bearings and the lot is a tough job on the HL Bulldog. The HL German tanks definitely have more options as far as upgradeability. Always have fun!

Darren

[Bulldog01]

Well, did a little futzin around and took the airsoft unit out and lubed it up with some RWS spring pellet gun oil I had lying and low and behold, it's shooting ok again. While I had the top half of the tank off, I decided to change the motor leads from the cruddy HL wires to some good 14 guage silicone wrapped wire. What a difference with the stock motors! Hopefully next will be the main power leads. It kinda gets a little tight underneath the speaker and in the battery compartment with lipo's though. All is good so far. Thinking about upgrading to the Clark TK22 when the sound files for the Bulldog come out. Any of you have any experience with the Clark boards? Thanks again -

Darren

[MichaelC]

Wow that is some thick wires...... Do you mean you actually get more power from the thicker gauge ? Also, how did you jam that into the Dragon ? Did you only stick the lead into the ports or the whole wire ?

[Bulldog01]

It seems like the motors have a little more torque over grass and rough terrain. With the rc cars I race, we always go with 12guage wire. That is a little too thick for the tank though. 14 guage was just right and just fit the dragon. I will probably upgrade to the 400 or 480 series motors. The solder joints on the HL wires were not that great either. One just pulled right off! As far as the fit into the dragon, it is just the wire, not the silicone cover. The battery leads and the on/off switch will be a little trickier. There's not a whole lot of room for the thicker wires and still have the battery fit into the compartment. I have been looking around the net for some thinner quality wires also, si I can re-wire the whole tank. Always something to do!! LOL

[Tankbear]

Got to agree the stock HL (and the ones with the after market gearboxes) motors feel weak. Interesting how increasing the cables makes a noticable difference to the stock motors.

As for upgrading the motors speed 400 should be fine with the fixing screws and shaft diameter been same as the ones been removed. But 480 often have different shaft diameter and sometimes different location of fixing screws so needs some work to fit.

Also regarding the motors be carefull with the running currents (don't want to fry your RX18) i've got some 480 motors rated at 5A running current and that appears to be ok with the RX18, but I think a lot of 480 motors are 10A upwards which I'm not certain will work in the RX18.

Plus powerful motors mean shorter run time so it is a good job your upgrading to LiPo battery as these seem very well suited to the larger drain motors.

Ian.

[MichaelC]

It seems like the motors have a little more torque over grass and rough terrain. With the rc cars I race, we always go with 12guage wire. That is a little too thick for the tank though. 14 guage was just right and just fit the dragon. I will probably upgrade to the 400 or 480 series motors. The solder joints on the HL wires were not that great either. One just pulled right off! As far as the fit into the dragon, it is just the wire, not the silicone cover. The battery leads and the on/off switch will be a little trickier. There's not a whole lot of room for the thicker wires and still have the battery fit into the compartment. I have been looking around the net for some thinner quality wires also, si I can re-wire the whole tank. Always something to do!! LOL

When I get my MAKO/ATRC I will have to switch over to the 14 guage then. When I had the Dragons I was having a hard time tightening the wire connection. Its either too loose with just the lead, or too thick with the sheath. I alsop noticed that you have to "step up" the gauge so that it will fit into the RX-18 connectors. I guess you are limited at some time with the connectors to the RX-18.

I think the battery leads are already 14, ain't they ? Also, what so special about these "lipo" batteries ?

[Tankbear]

When I had the Dragons I was having a hard time tightening the wire connection. Its either too loose with just the lead, or too thick with the sheath.

When I did mine I stripped a bit more insulation off and then twisted the copper wire and folded over on itself to double the thickness and make a nice tight in the ATRC.

Also, what so special about these "lipo" batteries ?

Problem with a battery is delivering power, basically if your motor needs more power i.e. whilst turning on grass it will draw more current due to limitations of the battery the voltage will drop (power = amps x voltage). And as you know the voltage controls the speed of the motor which will slow down as the voltage drops. Now this is only small put you notice it by thinking the motor is struggling (more noticable as the battery is getting flat, which again is the lower voltage)

Now with Darren changing the cables to thicker ones this also has helped because the resistance to the motors is reduced and hence more voltage at the motors which is more noticable as Darren has pointed out.

Now LiPo batteries if you look have a C rating either 20C, 25C, 30C, 40C etc (the higher the more expensive) what this means is the amount current (amps) the battery can deliver. For example my LiPi is 5000mAh 30C so 5000mAh =5A and the 30c mean 30 times 5A =150A. So a tank running two drive motors at 4 or 5A each = 8-10A which is well below the 150A the battery can deliver so in short you don't get a voltage drop and hence the motors feel stronger. Plus the batteries have low internal resistance which means don't even get hot when drained unlike NiCd which feel warm after use, again the heat is wasted energy which means the battery pack last longer etc.

Only issue with LiPo batteries is you need a specific LiPo charger (most smart chargers will do them) and you need to be carfeul with them as dropping them could damage them (I use hard case version) but I find the benefits are well worth the change.

Ian.