Just bought a faulty Heng Long Tiger

[tomhugill]

The down side of buying off eBay. You can hide a lot of issues under the banner of used condition. Your best bet for replacement gears are these:

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.vi ... 1074612529

They are nigh on indestructible will pull anything.

[ALPHA]

I still think you got a good deal....even if you had to strip all the internals ...I would think you got a good deal...25 pounds..less than 50 dollars US plus ship...you might be able to get the upper and lower for that New... but nothing else...no wheels no tracks no firing mech no RX no TX...pretty much no nothing else

Don't worry Aywins ... you came out way ahead IMO....gears most people replace anyway....

did you fire the gun yet?

ALPHA

[AlwynTurner]

How about these, I am anxious not to spend too much on this beast until I know how bad the damage is? I am thinking of painting this in citrus yellow

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heng-Long-Met ... 337251117b

Cheers

[ALPHA]

How about these, I am anxious not to spend too much on this beast until I know how bad the damage is? I am thinking of painting this in citrus yellow

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Heng-Long-Met ... 337251117b

Cheers

They are good alwyn .... depends on your budget.... IMO... paying the few extra dollars for the black steel gears are a better investment


ALPHA

[tomhugill]

The extra £10 will stand you well. The black steel ones are nigh on indestructible but the pot metal ones strip very easily

[tomhugill]

Magman they won't fit the tiger, the shafts are too long.

[wibblywobbly]

Alwyn, a couple of things.

Have you checked whether the tank turns? If you push the stick forwards, both motors should run one way, pull the stick back and they should both run the other. Push it to each side and they should run in opposite directions.

If the motors do not run at all when the stick is pushed to either side then check the trims are centered on the transmitter.

If they still don't run in opposite directions then check that the cable that connects the receiver board to the RX18 is plugged in properly.

The reason I say this is that if the motors are running forwards and backwards then there is a signal getting to the RX18. If there wasn't then the motors wouldn't move at all.
So, if the signal 'is' getting there, and the motors are working then the electronic speed controllers are ok. It is the signal that tells them which way to run.

It may well be that the stripped gears are the cause of the problem, and that there is nothing wrong with the electrics at all.

If you want a cheap gearbox option then fit plastic gears. They are amazingly strong. People hear a clicking noise and think that the gears have stripped, they haven't, it is just the ratchet on the slipper clutch that is doing what it was designed to do. The trick is to simply take the gearboxes out, undo 4 screws, remove the gear with the slipper clutch and epoxy the slipper ring in place. I have run tanks for years using plastic gearboxes over some very inhospitable terrain and they not only do the job, they are very quiet, very cheap, and even if they do give up, they are only a few pounds to replace. If you do need to replace them, you end up with spares from the first set. I fit them in most of the tanks that I build, and something as light as a standard Tiger will be fine. If it doesn't turn on grass that is nothing new, some people spend a fortune trying to get their tanks to do that, and still fail. Tiger tracks grip grass, its in the design of the cleats, and it takes a lot of money to solve the problem, the heavier the tank, the bigger the problem (if you don't run a tank on grass you really have no need at all for anything beyond the standard issue light as a feather Tiger).

Smoke units are something that most people remove from their tanks, the amount of smoke that they produce is tiny, and all of the time that it is running, it is draining your battery. It is the same for lights, once you get used to the wiring just leave one connected so that you know when the tank is switched on.

If your electrics really are not working, and you want to spend some money, get plastic gearboxes and aftermarket electrics, not an RX18. You will end up with a far better tank as the alternative boards available are a world apart from the HL offering.

Have fun

RobG

[tomhugill]

I have been gathering the courage to buy a first tank (and trying to squirrel the money away so the wife doesn't notice) when I spotted this and bought it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Large-Rc-heng ... true&rt=nc

The seller says the problem is:
'I can only get to move forward and reverse, not turning and smoke generator not working, hence selling spares/ repairs.'

I wondered if anyone had come across these problems before and knew of an easy fix or can advise which components I might have to replace? If it isn't an easy problem I can bring to the December Hyde meeting and maybe someone can take a look?

As my first adventure into tanks I'm hoping I haven't bought a lemon and wasted my money.
Regards
Alwyn

Alwyn missed the bit about Hyde! You'll definitely find some help at the meet!

[AlwynTurner]

Thanks everyone for your input. I'm going to connect everything up tomorrow and see what runs and what doesn't. Especially thanks Rob for the advice about the smoke generator, really I am not worried about the smoke, just so long as the tank runs as it should. I'll report back tomorrow on what I find. Best regards
Alwyn

[AlwynTurner]

Well and now for some really good news. I plugged in the battery and turned the tx and tank on and started fiddling. Considering I don't know how to work the tank I finally figured it out (I think). I got the tank start up sound, then I was able to do forward and back left and right turn, don't know how to do a spin but I think it was trying to do that but obviously with stripped gears it don't work so hot. The tank turret rotates and elevates. Haven't tried to shoot bbs but I'm less worried about that. From what I can see the RX18 seems to be working so the board I ordered may be surplus to reqt.

One thing I noticed is that even when not trying to move the tank, the motors seem to be trying to spin, fiddled with the right trim? control and managed to stop that but not quite sure what I'm doing here. At least I appear to have a live tank, just with shot mechanicals. Sound is working good.

All is not doom and gloom! Cheers
Alwyn