Newbie's HL Tiger 1 pro thread!

[whjohnson]

It's arrived! Battery's on charge!

Seems fedex screwed up on the delivery address but it's here now.
The wife says I'm a big kid! You bet!
Tomorrow's playtime!
Can't wait until the dog sees it!

Cheers
Will

[ALPHA]

It's arrived! Battery's on charge!

Seems fedex screwed up on the delivery address but it's here now.
The wife says I'm a big kid! You bet!
Tomorrow's playtime!
Can't wait until the dog sees it!

Cheers
Will

I'm envious... Everyone is getting early Christmas gifts

by the way... if the other half gives you a hard time about your tanks.... ask her about shoes.... though I won't take responsibility for the punishment that might be handed out

ALPHA

[whjohnson]

Hi guys,

Right,
Had a short play last night once the batteries had charged up. The dog attacked the tank as soon as I chased him with it!

Anyhow, some initial observations.

R/C controller,
The speed control is very coarse - seems to be all or nothing no matter how softly you push/pull the control lever. I guess that the internal standard potentiometers are not non-linear ones, or if they are, the range is very small.

There only seems to be one of the trimmer sliders= controls which is actually enabled/fitted. The others seem to be just dummies moulded in place to keep muck out.

Recoil action.
Tank jerks, gun barrel doesn't, which is a bit naff.
Tank is BB version.

Sound effects - poor quality but you get the message. Don't know if it's the quality of the sound embedded software,presumably on one of the chips the sound electronics or just the standard speaker.

So what to do!

Comments welcome.

Cheers
Will

[cupoftea]

Hi Will

How far you wish to go with upgrades to the Tiger is very much a function of budget constraints. You can quite easily upgrade the motion control and sound by fitting an aftermarket control board. It does cost though. A board such as a clark board will give you improved motion control and sound as well as the possibility of eliminating the track recoil function [url]www.clark-model.com/eng/prod_rx20/index.html[url]. You will need a different transmitter and receiver to operate most aftermarket boards though.

[whjohnson]

cupoftea, many thanks for that.

Firstly, who deals with Clark boards in the UK?
Secondly, would I need to replace the original HL R/C controller as well as the board inside the tank?

I've been yearningly looking at youtube vids of Armourtek stuff today!

Oh wow! But at £4K or more there's no chance!

I watched a video posted by a guy from Denmark who had a Armortek jagpanther and the sound it made was brilliantly realistic, even mimicking the rev changes with gear changes and engine over-run when going down steep inclines.
Anyone know what type of sound electronics they use in Armourtek stuff?

Finally, I manged to de-track one side of my Tiger 1 last night - the tiny allen bolt inside the front drive sprocket hub had come undone.

It was a struggle to get it all re-aligned and back together but I managed it without having to break the track link to refit the tracks.
Anyone know what size Allen key is needed to retighten this one? 2.5mm perhaps?

Cheers
Will

[Lord Haw-Haw]

cupoftea, many thanks for that.

Anyone know what size Allen key is needed to retighten this one? 2.5mm perhaps?

Cheers
Will

You are correct 2.5 mm. I use loctite (purple or blue) on the screws -the oe lock washer doesn't seem to work well.

[jeff1101]

How about ratios? What gives the best scale speed? I've watched countless youtube videos where the tank just jerks away like a formula one car, or spins at high speed straight from standstill - not realistic at all.

Even with 3:1 or 4:1 ratio gearbox, the tank will still jerk somewhat. (It can't be helped). If you really want "realistic" accelaration from a standing start, you would need to upgrade the controller board with something like an inertia control feature like Clark? or IBU2 that can simulate this kind of gentle rolling start. However these boards can be pricey.

[cupoftea]

Hi Will

I believe that, at present, you can order clark boards direct from the USA. The IBU2 that Tankbear (he is a member of this forum) sells in the UK looks to be an excellent board. You do have to replace the heng long controller (transmitter) to use these boards. If you take a look in the electronics section of this forum you will find many informative posts on the various control boards. I don't know where you are located but if you have a model tank club in your area it would be well worth paying them a visit and taking a look at the various options available.

As Lord Haw-Haw says - a spot of blue loctite will stop the sprocket screws from working loose. Use the blue type because it does not set solid and will enable you to remove the screw if you ever need to.

[scalawag]

Hi whjohnson,

The Clark board is good, however very recently Tankzone became the UK distributor for Clark. I would suggest taking a look at the retailer blacklist thread on this forum before purchasing from them . It may still be possible to buy direct from Clark, however they have indicated that at some point all UK sales will be redirected through Tankzone.

http://www.clark-model.com/eng/index_e.html

http://www.tankzone.co.uk/index.htm

UK distributor aside, the big disadvantage of the Clark board as far as I am concerned is that it has a single set of sound files for a specific tank model. This means you need a different board for each model of tank you own. New tank, another board to buy!


The IBU2 is available through Tankbear on this forum. He has just set up a website and his customer service and attention to detail in my experience has been superb .

http://rctankelectronics.weebly.com

Whilst a little more expensive, the IBU2 comes with a range of sounds for different tank models. These are contained on a micro SD card and can be changed very simply. This means it is possible to have one IBU2 shared between several tanks, which will also work out cheaper if you have more than one tank The IBU2 also makes use of the existing HL wiring again making it a relatively simple task to move the board between tanks


Both these options will need you to also purchase a hobby grade RC transmitter(tx) and receiver(rx). If you check out the radio gear threads in the electronics/extras section you will get some idea of what is suitable/available.


I am slowly switching all my tanks from HL/Taigen electronics to better boards. I have some Clarks which I have to say are good for what they are, and I have just ordered an IBU2 as I think this will now be a better option for me.

[jarndice]

WHJ, I echo everything scalawag says, I must tell you about Tankzone, If you do deal with him he may well treat you properly to begin with but you have my promise he will let you down, When I joined the Forum I read the Blacklist and saw tankzone listed, I wrote in defence of them for I had been treated well and then he cheated me out of £490, a sum I am still waiting, for also if you compare his prices against other dealers including Clark boards and accessories without exception they are higher, avoid him, as scalawag says there are other boards out there as good and some better, remember if you buy a clark board from tankzone and later you have a problem could you rely on him for back up? BEWARE. shaun