Newbie help with KV-1

[petej]

Hi

I just took delivery of my first RC tank, a Heng Long KV-1 with metal upgrades. Really happy with it so far (only got it yesterday), but have a few questions:

1. What do the sliders on the RC unit do? I've moved them about, but they don't seem to change anything.

2. There is a small metal spike on the engine deck that I assume you use with the metal aerial, but I've been using it without. Does it just improve the range that you can be from the tank?

3. How often do you need to charge the big battery in the tank? ie: how many hours will it last?

4. I read a few posts about replacing the RC box. Would that improve the performance of the tank?

Thanks in advance :~

Pete

[xrad]

1) the sliders are to 'fine tune' the stick control. on more expensive remote units, these will adjust servo position

2)use the antenna for better reception, if you don;t like the look, trim it to scale length

3)battery charging depends on total battery amperage and the power of your charger. Example: 1000ma battery will take ~10 hours to charge with 100ma/h charger. Only use 7.2 V batteries with this system, but you can increase battery capacity to say 3800ma and get yourself a good auto charger

4)R/C box? do you mean transmitter or receiver or function control unit? HL tanks with the rx18 are pretty good for the money. Futaba tx/rx and elmod is probably the best, but you pay as you go. No need to get Futaba tx with HL electronics.