RC Tank Warfare community hobby forum

I am hooking it up to an RX18, if it works on that it will work on any Rx18 derived board. For £10 it will convert an Rx18 (the new ones have decent sound) and give servo recoil, Tamiya compatible IR, etc etc. Using an Arduino Nano board, which uses the same Altemega chip will be even cheaper. It's only the cost of the board plus four sensors and one emitter. Job done.

It's the great thing about open source software, 3D printers etc. Build it yourself at minimal cost and learn a great deal along the way.

wibblywobbly wrote:My tank build project is coming to a close so I picked up the Arduino Uno that I bought as a project to create an IR system. I looked at the GIThub and found that you guys have kindly done all of the hard work. Many thanks for that...

Wibbly, I've responded to this over in your other thread titled the Arduino Uno IR Battle System. For those who haven't seen it, this is a project to use a standard Arduino Uno/Nano as a stand-alone tank IR device. The code for this was made available by the Open Panzer project (the GitHub he refers to is here), but this is a different project than the Tank Control Board (TCB) which we are discussing here, so it would be best to keep the discussions separate.

It seems the Saber 2 x 5 has worked well as tested in larger 1/16 tanks but the Scout when released (if I read it correctly)..will have 2 x 10 amps per motor.

I've been frustrated running up against the IBU2's limitations, so I'm looking for something new. I noticed that Luke had explained how to preview the OP TCB using readily available Arduino hardware, so I gave it a go. I picked up a Benedini TBS mini and Sabertooth 2x12 and shoehorned it all into my T-34.

• 

  

Don't worry about the spaghetti wiring here, the stock Mega 2560 obviously doesn't have the plugs we need. Once the TCB is commercially available, it'll all be plug-and-play.

My first impressions are very, very good. Driving is smooth and customisable, I like the fact that there are a number of steering and acceleration options that you can configure. Sound through the TBS mini is fantastic, it's an order of magnitude better than what the IBU can achieve.

• phpBB [video]

Obviously this only covers the very basic functions; all the interesting stuff like shooting, lighting, I/O, etc. is a little too complex for me to try just now. I'm looking forward to seeing where the project goes though, and I'd recommend that you download and try the OP Config program to see what the full board is capable of.

Excellent work, good to see someone giving this a go, it runs very well and the sounds are top notch!

There are probably a few looking at this and thinking that it is too complicated to attempt. Yes, it does look complex, but it is one wire at a time, and the boards have all of the pins labelled. The components are relatively cheap, and easy to find on the web. If you can download a game and install it, and know how to wire a plug, you can do this.

Looking at this installation I am getting ever more interested in this whole project.

I agree the sound is awesome and although I've never attempted anything like this I'm sure with everything labeled one could manage to make it work. I think the best part is the possibility that you can customize the driving experience.

How much were all the components to assemble this setup?

Very nice to see this in action

Yes TBS is awesome for sound and especially smooth sound transitions regarding the TCB hopefully it will be available soon!

I got an update from Hobby King over the weekend. They are only just now starting production, boards are expected in the store around mid-May. Sale price for the TCB has tentatively been projected between $50-$60 US.

I'm just relaying what I've been told. Hobby King controls the process at this point, so if timelines change remember I'm just the messenger! But this is still within their original projection of Spring 2017.

Raminator wrote:I've been frustrated running up against the IBU2's limitations, so I'm looking for something new. I noticed that Luke had explained how to preview the OP TCB using readily available Arduino hardware, so I gave it a go. I picked up a Benedini TBS mini and Sabertooth 2x12 and shoehorned it all into my T-34.

Nice work Dan! You clearly know your way around electronics since you took the hard route, got it working, and didn't even ask a single support question! It's gratifying to see Open Panzer code driving someone else's tank for once.

I hope you'll like the real TCB when it comes out. For sure it will be a lot easier to wire everything!

Luke this is fantastic news! Great price and super detailed and informative site about every detail regarding the TCB and the Benedeni TBS mini should be updated around the same time the TCB is released. I can't see anything this new board can't do!