RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

BarryC wrote:

Uncarina wrote:Barry,

Definitely looks solid. 20-25 pounds! Will the motors be okay with that?

Cheers, Tom

Hi Tom,

It would seem that there is very little data on proper weight. The old "trial and error" approach is where I am headed. The motors are certainly a question mark as I have ZERO experience to draw on.

Most seemed more concerned with the structural sturdiness and honestly that has been my main concern as well but you've asked a good question. I know that "freewheeling" wheels and freedom of movement of all the running gear will play a big factor when paired with the weight. If I could come up with a way to test it without the gear boxes but yet have the sprockets and tracks on an incline to see how freely she rolls but I would need a substitute rear axle.

Thanks,
Barry

Nice support/stiffening mods. I think its worth to give your tank a proper weight to make the suspension work realistically.

Thanks , super helpful

DNAR wrote:Nice support/stiffening mods. I think its worth to give your tank a proper weight to make the suspension work realistically.

Thank you DNAR, I agree completely about the weight just trying to determine what both realistic from both and operating standpoint as well as what the structural integrity of the HL suspension mounting "towers" will take.

Cheers,
Barry

While working on the internal reinforcements I made some changes to the traversing servo mount. I like the final out come much more workable, I came remove the servo or the mount with servo.

Barry

I have also secured the Belly Armor "main frame" using blind nuts securing from inside the hull. I will also use these same screws to retain the "false" floor with the sheet lead sandwiched between the false floor and the hull lower plate.

Barry

Very precise work!

Cheers, Tom

Uncarina wrote:Very precise work!

Cheers, Tom

Thanks Tom, I try hard to keep it neat!

Barry

I received my "goodies" from RC Tank in Germany containing the HennTec Track Tension set and the (Manufacture ?) Axle Supports w/Bearings. I spent Thursday evening and yesterday getting them installed.

The Axle Support were first as they only required drilling the three mounting holes for each or so I thought. The web site clearly states the they are for the HL 7.99mm Axles. I am using the Ultimate II Gear Boxes and when I tried to fit the supports they would not fit over the axle shafts. When I tried them on the stock HL Axle shafts they slide right on. When I measure them both with my dial caliper I found that there was a .01mm difference between them the Ulitimate set being larger, they are 8mm and when I measured before ordering I "thought" I had measured them the same. MY Mistake!. So as a word of caution, be prepared if using the supports on a gear box other than the stock HL set.

Fortunately I have a Lathe and so I extracted the axle shafts and chucked them in the lathe and using "only" 400 and 600 grit wet/dry sand paper I polished them down until the bearings slip fit over the shaft. I then polished them out using 4000 - 12000 polishing pads. All Good Now!
.


Next came the Track Tension system; drilling a 10mm hole using a drill bit NOT designed to drill plastic is a serious challenge. The bit wants to grab as the plastic is so much softer that the metal it is designed to drill. I almost let it get away on the first hole but stopped short of drilling through. I finished the hole by filling using a "rat tail" file. It was very time consuming but infinitely more controllable. For the second hole I marked out the diameter, then opened it up using a high speed cutter in my Dremel until about .020 undersized then filed it to size. All in all a straight forward installation just exerciser extreme caution if attempting to drill to full size.

Note; only applicable if you have the HL solid axle installed on you Idlers then the hole needed to locate the eccentric is too large (yes I know) you will have to reduce the hole size to match the eccentric shaft and center it to properly to locate the center of the 10mm bushing hole. You should then plug original hole though it is hidden behind the flange of the finished installation. The 10mm hole does overlap the original hole that is why I plugged it.



TAFN,
Barry