Something I've been doing the past days

[atcttge]

I got some "food tongs" which are stainless steel and they look absolutely perfect as hull bracing. Cheap, too, and there are six or eight in one set so good enough for a couple of tanks or so.

Finally got the Henntec tension adjuster installed. The installation process was made easier thanks to scalawag's post on how to install it, plus a 10mm hole saw which greatly eased making the hole for the idler assembly. The brass tube in between the idler assemblies is excellent to bracing for the hull, and after installing, the bowing-in problem up front seems to have been solved:




And finally the tank has its shoes on - although I'm using the plastic sprockets in the meantime. In my effort to convert the metal sprocket's Tamiya-style connector, I ended up destroying it, so I'm using the plastic tracks until a new pair of sprockets with the correct connections arrives:



Speaking of tracks, I have eight spare links after shortening the tracks. This means I have a lot of spares that I can use as stowage.

I've decided that the M1 will be a work-in-progress for a long time, i.e. it'll take a while till stowage will arrive in numbers until I get it the way I want it to look. All in all though, the tank is almost done. I just have to fix the electronics (I managed to make it run today - YAY!) and add the servos, reinforce the suspension arm tabs inside the hull, seal all the holes, add a few more decals, spray the whole thing with dull coat, and add the vision blocks. The priority is now to make it run (which it does now) and working (turret traverse and gun elevation, etc).

[jackalope]

8 links? Wow that's a LOT! Its looking real good though

[atcttge]

Yep. Four on each side. There's still some slack left but I think removing four on each side is enough. Thanks!

[greengiant]

Really looking good Atc. Did you figure out what to use for the commanders 50 cal MG ammo feed guide chute yet?

[atcttge]

Yep. I still haven't started building it but I have A Plan(TM) already hehehehehe

I almost shorted out the electronics last night BTW. My bad. The wiring was a mess and when I tried to make the tank turn, apparently one of the wires from the battery got snagged in the left motor's pinion. Fortunately, only one wire and not both otherwise it would've shorted out. I'll be making a bulkhead separating the engine compartment and the rest of the electronics. The bulkhead will also serve as additional bracing. Of course I'm going to tidy up the inside hehehehe

Figuring out how to mount the rear speaker. The FR7 is small enough to fit right where the smoker would be. This rear speaker is for the engine sound. The front speaker is for the other sounds.

The thing is LOUD.

[atcttge]

I also came from an RC shop recently. They carry only 4x4 crawlers and race cars. They are excited to see my tanks.

I'm getting a LiPo. They are selling a 7000mAH for a decent price. I will have to ask Ian if the IBU2 Pro can use it.

Sadly, no continuous servos in that shop. I got a crickets-chirping-in-the-background when I mentioned 360-degree or continuous servo. I had to resort to online purchase and I hope the servo I ordered would arrive before November (I doubt it - mail from HK is usually sloooooooooooooooooooooooooow for some reason).

I do not like to do a servo hack because my soldering skills aren't really that good.

I am hoping to have the M1A2 practically done by early November, along with the Leo2A6. The Leo2A6 will receive the M1's old electronics package (which is newer than the stock Leo electronics), and will remain so until I have cash again for an IBU2 Pro for the Leo (or IBU3 for the M1).

[atcttge]

thanks for the tip scalawag! I have zero idea about LiPo batteries. I don't recall now how many cells the LiPo ones the shop was selling.

I got the tracks from eBay, HK based seller. The rubber pads are installed already (looks like they are plugged in, not like the Leo tracks which are slid onto the track links) but I foresee those being removed when running the tank in rough terrain. It has the correct pad shape which is why I got it. I believe TankArmy has an even better set of tracks with rubber pads on both sides of the track.

[atcttge]

Hmmmm.... I wonder if it's possible to combine both.... But to do so means to remove the pins of each and every link.... Never mind.

[atcttge]

Doing interior work.



Rear speaker (for engine sound) is screwed to a multi-layered thick styrene bracket of sorts which in turn is screwed to the hull. Fits perfectly where the smoker would've been (I removed the smoker as the M1 doesn't produce much smoke anyway because of turbine engine). This also adds to hull rigidity although I will install more steel tubing as brackets inside because the hull is still flexing.

Also got a continuous servo (AS3103PG, a pretty weak one with only 3kg torque - but this is temporary as I ordered a SM-4315R which is slightly slower but has 14kg torque) and installed it. I tested it and it looks like it works.

Also added a bulkhead separating the gearbox from the electronics compartment for tidiness as well as prevent wires from being snagged accidentally by the gears which happened a few days ago. The hole in the middle of the bulkhead is where the wires of the gearbox, rear lights, and speaker will go through.

[atcttge]

AWESOME! According to Hunnicutt's book on the M1, turret traverse rate on the M1A1 is 9 seconds for full 360 degrees.

I just tested my M1A2's turret traverse with the AS3103PG continuous servo and it clocks at around 10-12 seconds for full 360 degrees traverse. Not bad!

I wonder if it'll be faster when another/continuous servo (SM4315R) arrives. That one is a weeeeer bit slower but has enormous torque (at 15kg) vs the current servo (only 3kg).

https://youtu.be/f34uSpchAGQ