IBU2 frustration

[jackalope]

Ok so I decided to upgrade the electronics on my King Tiger and went with the IBU2 and it started out great. The sound was much better, the tank ran better, turned better, did everything better, except it couldn't run very long...like a few feet and it would shut off. Ian suggested using 2 batteries and I did and it ran much better! I could drive around my yard now, well so long as I didn't hit a bump or try to go up a hill or it would die again. Ian suggested setting the motors amp settings to 15 and when I checked they already were set to 15. So then the next step was to get a lipo battery so I went to the hobby shop an hour drive away and bought a Traxxas 5800mah lipo battery and smart charger as the guy said it was the best set up for no hassle lipo batteries. So back home and plug the charger in and the battery and within 20min the charger starts pouring out white smoke. So back to the hobby shop to swap it out and they checked out the replacement one and after 20 min it was till smoke free. Once again back home and put the battery on the charger and after 10 more minutes the charger said the battery was full so I disconnected and hooked it up to the tank and took it outside and nothing. It turns on, the headlight lights up, machine gun goes off, main gun fires, turret rotates, but the damn thing won't start!

So back into the house and double check the switches and #4 is set to the on posistion for lipo batteries so I try it again and it does the same thing, won't start. If I flip the #4 switch off to a non lipo battery is starts just fine and runs fine but if I turn it on for the lipos nothing.

Now I'm a big boy and can be a very patient man but for the love of God come on already! Its like when I do an upgrade to this tank I take 3 steps backward for every one forward! What am I doing wrong cause I can not figure it out and am getting ready to just say screw it and sell the damn thing before I throw it into a wall. The ONLY thing saving it is the fact that I've been building it since before Christmas and I want to see it done but DAMN whens it gonna be done if it can't run?!?!?!

Please help!

[MichaelC]

jack sorry to hear about your difficulties. Out of curiosity, are there many users of IBU2 this side of the Atlantic ?

MichaelC.

[Tankbear]

jack sorry to hear about your difficulties. Out of curiosity, are there many users of IBU2 this side of the Atlantic ?

MichaelC.

Not loads (based on my sales) but in the last 6 months it is becoming more and more popular.

[jackalope]

I really like the system its just frustrating is all. Ian's customer support is really great, it seems I PM him a question and its like he must be waiting by his key board to answer me! His customer service is just about the best I've experenced.

I wish there were more people around here with tanks period that way I'd have some one to battle with! I really enjoy them both building them and driving them but it gets a little boring all by myself.

[Tankbear]

LOL next time I'm over there I pop in for a play.

[jackalope]

Tankbear said it should be ok to do a test run with the lipo switch turned off so I took it out for a test drive and OH WOW this thing did not disapoint! The tank runs great now! The TARR mark II smoker works perfectly with the IBU2 system and lipo batteries! Turn the smoke to ON before starting it and there is a big puff of smoke on start up just like a real on! Then just creeping around the exhaust is just a little but when you crank it up to full throttle the exhaust is IMHO the perfect amount. Couldn't be happier with the way it runs and the smoke and the sound effects are MUCH better then the H/L, Taigen sound effects! Fire the main gun and after the round fires you hear the shell hitting the floor of the tank, its great! Machine gun sound is real good too I just need to try to figure out what happened to the machine gun barrel flashing as it doesn't look like it does anymore, headlight works so I'm hopeful I just missed something. Speaking of the headlight it can be turned off and on independent of the tank running unlike the H/L, Taigen set ep where if the tanks running the lights are on now you can turn them off!

Also you can control the turret with the tank not running, the turret then makes the hand cracked sound. Also when the tank is off you can fire the main gun and machine gun, the main gun can also be elevated or lowered when the tank isn't running. In a battle this would be GREAT so you can hid from the enemy and lay in wait for them and blast them as they drive by! Then fire your tank up and get out of there!

I may be frustrated with the battery crap and the gun timing but I gotta admit this IBU2 set up is pretty damn cool! Again I just can't wait to get my upgraded sound card and speakers.

[sarge8888]

Hey mate when you have everything sorted a video would be great to see and hear your tank

[MichaelC]

jack sorry to hear about your difficulties. Out of curiosity, are there many users of IBU2 this side of the Atlantic ?

MichaelC.

Not loads (based on my sales) but in the last 6 months it is becoming more and more popular.

Ian I think you are the only one for us if we need to buy IBUs so it would an accurate reflection.

[wibblywobbly]

Just out of interest what was the original battery that you were using? I am only asking because if it was from an HL tank it would not run for long. It should run just fine on a fully charged 5000mah 7.2v Nimh battery.

One thing to look out for is voltage drop, the IBU2 detects 6v, so if your battery isn't fully charged you will have a much reduced run time.

Another quirk is the hull recoil, eg the track jerk. If the battery is anywhere near 6v and the track recoil is active, then the voltage spike will drop the volts to 6v and the tank will die when you fire the gun.

You may want to try it again with the track recoil deactivated and see if this fixes the problem, I had it on mine, and by not having track recoil I increased my run time by about 30 minutes?

RobG

[Tankbear]

Hi Rob,

This is a beast of a tank weighing in at 22lbs and the original battery was 5000mah. You are correct about voltage dipping this is why I recommended the LiPo battery in this instance.

On the track recoil issue, me and the manufacturer have over the last week been testing a firmware update which fixes the track recoil whilst in motion and a few other improvements to the driving controls. I will be making the official release and details public tomorrow.

Ian.