Changing from Taigen V2 to HL 7.1

[MrChef]

Thank you all, Jofaur, John, Ian for the support. This is the path I've chosen after considering other options like IBU2, Clark and Elmod. The TK 7.0-7.1 is just more cost effective and a simple system for someone simple like myself.

It's in the works. I'll be back soon to revisit and pick your collective helpful brains.

[LordLudikrous]

LordLudikrous,

How did this project come out on your end? I'm in the process of putting a swap from TorroV3 over to TK7.0. I happened upon a whole kit from Toucan RC that offers quite a package for $85.

https://www.toucanhobby.com/products/hl ... 9612003578

"The Package Includes:
Full Set Cables Converted to TK-7.0 Ver
Remote Controller and TK7.0 Mainboard (Leopard2A6 M1A2 & Sound / Tiger I & T90 Effect)
TK70 Infrared Combating System
Smoke Unit
Speaker"

Now I just need to find a patient resident electronics smarty pants to give me some solid guidance.

Hi MrChef, sorry its taken me so long to reply, but the 7.1 units only came back into stock in the UK late last week and I’ve completed the work over the weekend. The upgrade/swap was 100% successful with zero loss of any kind of functionality. I should point out that mine was an airsoft tank with recoil, and so I cannot comment on the IR version without servos.

However finding information was very difficult, the search terms are so common its impossible to search this forum effectively, and Google search brings up a lot of old and outdated information. I’m going to write out here the more pertinent points here in the hope anyone else wanting to do the same thing will find this helpful.

A few bits to point out first:

• This is specifically a Taigen V2 with airsoft and servo recoil going to a Heng Long 7.1 MFU. Presumably a V3 will be exactly the same but I cannot comment on the HL 6.1 or any other variants.
• The Taigen recoil servo is plug and play with the 7.1. It will not work with the 7.0 board as that has no servo support. If you have Taigen Servo recoil, get the 7.1 not the 7.0.
• You will need to rewire just about everything. Soldering skills are a must. Most rewiring will involve changing from 3 pin to 2 pin connectors. The 7.1 comes with enough wires to allow for colour coding turret components.
• Test each individual component before reassembling the turret.
• The servo control daughterboard, upper hull daughterboard, airsoft killswitch and volume control do not function with the 7.1 and will be discarded.
• For some peculiar reason the polarities for just about everything were reversed. If something doesn’t work or works the wrong way round, reverse the polarity.
• The turret elevation motor will allow the same up/down control as a normal HL tank, but if you hold the stick down long enough at max elevation/depression it will cycle round and the controls will become inverted. If this happens just keep holding it down until it cycles back to normal. If you’ve ever driven a reach truck you’ll be familiar with this.
• I had to ditch my smoker as it was a Tarr model not compatible with the 7.1. I would recommend getting one of the better HL smokers. I opted to upgrade the speaker but I don’t see why the Taigen one wouldn’t work.
• I recommend lengthening the wires for all upper hull and turret components. As the upper hull board and 8 pin connection no longer exist this will make opening the tank easier.

OK, now for the specific things you’ll need to do:

• Power Switch – The 7.1 does not come with a power switch. You can re-use the Taigen one but you’ll need to remove the leads that run to the battery connection. You can also snip off the wires that branch off for the Taigen recoil system. Plug into CN1.
• Gearboxes – The 7.1 comes with wires with bullet connectors. Desolder the original wires and replace with the new ones. You may need to plug red to black/vice versa due to the polarity.
• Turret Rotation – Works without any modification but the wrong way round. Recommend resoldering with reversed polarity and lengthening the wire. Plug into CN3.
• Machine Gun – Needs to be rewired with a black LED connector – included with the 7.1. If it doesn’t work the polarity is likely reversed, unplug and plug back in the opposite way round. Plug into LED5.
• Disassemble the turret.
• Except for the servo wires, cut all wires leading to and from the servo control module and killswitch. These components will be discarded, and all turret components will be on separate circuits.
• Gun Recoil – Cut away the heatshrink around the Taigen servo module and unplug the servo connector. This will plug straight into the 7.1 board, though you may wish to lengthen the wiring. If the recoil is working the wrong way round as mine did (firing extends then retracts the gun), press button K1 on the board. Plug into servo CH1.
• Gun Elevation – This will need to be changed from a 3 pin to 2 pin connection. Don’t worry about the polarity; if inverted hold up/down until it cycles around to normal. Plug into CN4.
• Warning LED – Cut wires leading to the airsoft motor and rewire with the provided LED lead/connection. Plug into LED2.
• Airsoft Motor – Rewire to 2 pin connection. Wires leading to any other components can be cut. Plug into CN10.
• Airsoft Trigger – The only turret component aside from the servo that doesn’t need rewiring. Plug into CN6.
• You will need to switch the airsoft function on by pressing G+B on the HL transmitter. By default the tank will fire and engage just the servo recoil.

This is an idea of how the wiring will look once everything is plugged in and working.



This is the finished result.



Ultimately, I highly recommend doing this if you have a Taigen board. The V2 in my case was comically out of date and the 7.1 is superior in every respect. While the Taigen boards might have a sound card more suited for a specific tank, the superior implementation and scaling of sound with the HL is more than enough to make up for any inaccuracies.

[Jofaur86]

Hello, so I say well done (even if I don't use and don't really know this type of card) a clear, precise, and precise explanation... great work.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

LordLudikrous, that Tiger could set off the smoke alarm in the kitchen! (Of course, I love it. ) While I still prefer the sound modules of the Taigen V3, Taigen/Torro needs get up to date on the rest. The 7.0, 7.1 HengLong boards have quite respectable sound for a Tiger (or close enough for any of the other Maybach engines). The low speed control is great. Even the TongDe boards seem to offer better control. Is anyone at Taigen/Torro paying attention here?

[LordLudikrous]

Its absolutely baffling that Taigen is letting their product line stagnate so badly. I don’t see why they don’t just put a rebranded version of the 7.1 in their tanks, unless their primary sales are build-it-yourself kits sans electronics because builders just put their own in. With any luck TongDe releasing new vehicles on the regular will give both HL and Taigen a kick up the rear.

I honestly much prefer the sound of the 7.1. The engine has a much more realistic engine note as it throttles up and down, with throaty revs when you lift off the throttle. I find the Taigen sounds like a single audio file being played on repeat and the change in engine noise is in clear stages rather than a progressive change in note like the HL.

Theres a few more things about the 7.1 that I have to say I really like, and I’m pointing then out for anyone on the fence:

• The price for a start. I did consider the other hobby boards, but the Clark TK50 plus a transmitter was nearly £220. The latest Elmod board plus a transmitter and importing costs would have been around £270. The 7.1 board and transmitter? £77 from Forgebear. It’s a lot of bang for buck.
• Built in configuration options – changes are all done by button/stick combinations on the transmitter. Theres loads to choose from and it works really well.
• Everything is adjustable. Turret rotation speed, turning circle size, engine speed, track recoil strength, braking strength etc.
• You can turn off neutral steering. I know the Tiger was capable of turning on the spot but switching it off makes it so much easier driving the tank at slow speeds as you can’t accidentally spin around.
• Independent forward and reverse trim adjustment. I cannot overstate just how brilliant this little feature is. I found with my Taigen that adjusting the trim so the tank went forward perfectly straight meant it would pull fairly strongly to the left when going into reverse. The 7.1 however allows you to adjust the trim separately for both forward and backward, meaning the tank won’t pull to one side at all regardless of direction. Love it.

I would honestly feel fully confident with my skills and the excellent low speed handling taking my tank around a technical course, whereas with the old electronics the risk of shooting over an edge to oblivion was far too high.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

What a fine summary of the advantages of the newer HengLong boards, LordLudikrous. Your claim that "Taigen sounds like a single audio file...rather than a progressive change in note like the HL" really interests me. Now I wish I had, say, a Tiger 1 in both a new HengLong and a Taigen V3 sound board to compare side-by-side.

[Jimster]

I would highly recommend a good aftermarket board if quality custom sound is important to you. Be sure to visit Rad Schuhart’s excellent site if you strive for authentic sounds and driving.
https://radindustries.wordpress.com/

[LordLudikrous]

What a fine summary of the advantages of the newer HengLong boards, LordLudikrous. Your claim that "Taigen sounds like a single audio file...rather than a progressive change in note like the HL" really interests me. Now I wish I had, say, a Tiger 1 in both a new HengLong and a Taigen V3 sound board to compare side-by-side.

Well luckily I’ve still got all my V2 stuff so I’m able to do a comparison. All these clips have sound so if you can’t see an option to unmute you will need to right click each video and click “Show all controls”.

First off, start up, idle and shut down.




The Taigen startup is probably the better of the two, while the shutdown isn’t massively different. I do think the idle is better on the HL.

Start up followed by repeated light throttle application.




No contest here in my view, the HL and its enthusiastic roaring wins this hands down.

Finally increasing throttle application and holding for a few seconds at increasingly high speeds until maxed out, then a gentle release of the throttle back to idle.




Hopefully this illustrates what I’m referring to about how the Taigen sounds have very obvious stages while very clearly being the same sound played repeatedly (particularly apparent at 7 and 12 seconds on the Taigen clip). The engine idle sound also continues to play regardless of throttle application. Admittedly this is a V2 and not a V3 but the sound card is the same, and having seen plenty of V3 tanks on Youtube they don’t sound any different to me. By contrast the HL has a smooth transition between various engine speeds and feels much more natural as a result, even if the engine sound is less accurate.

Obviously this won’t hold a candle to the really good stuff like Jimster linked to, but for the price I think its absolutely superb. If HL allows for greater sound customisation or packs in their TK8.0/8.1 boards whenever they end up coming out, I think the premium boards might be in a lot of trouble.

[MrChef]

Back again. Almost ready to do this. I understand where the plugs go to operate what for the TK7.0 board. I'm curious if this video is helpful in showing the how to part of wiring the asiatam recoil?

phpBB [video]

I understand it's for the open-panzer and not the Heng Long. Just curious if its a decent demo.

[tankme]

Should work for the elevation just fine. Just not sure about the recoil part of it. The TK 7.0 only has two 3-plug slots and they both deal with the battle system. Neither is for recoil so right there the way it's wired doesn't work as one 3-pin plug. The limit switch on the HL is CN6 and the BB launcher is CN10. Normally a motor has no preference for direction, but my guess is that it has to be wired in the right direction for the Asiatam to work right if at all. I did find a vid of someone getting it to work on a 6.0, but that was with a rely.

phpBB [video]