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Convert Heng Long Sherman to work with Taigen 2.4ghz transmitter.

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Convert Heng Long Sherman to work with Taigen 2.4ghz transmitter.

Old 04-16-2015, 05:13 AM
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jroz
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Default Convert Heng Long Sherman to work with Taigen 2.4ghz transmitter.

Hi guys. I recently purchased a Heng Long Sherman tank, that comes with the standard 27 Mhz Crystal radio gear. I was wondering, if I replaced the receiver hooked up to the rx18 board with a 2.4ghz receiver, would that then allow me to to bind the tank with the Taigen 2.4ghz controller I already have, the same way as you can bind any number of Taigen tanks to the same handset? Do you require a specific type of 2.4ghz receiver to enable this to happen? Is the Heng Long control board compatible with the taigen transmitter? Would I need to purchase a brand new board?? Sorry if these are very basic question, I'm very new to upgrading, but any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Old 04-16-2015, 06:46 AM
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To take a Heng Long tank to Taigen electronics all you need is the controller and the MFU (multi-function unit). The taigen MFU won't work with the HL MFU or receiver, you just swap them out. Can you show a picture of the controller you want to use?
Old 04-16-2015, 07:53 AM
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The Taigen system isn't really an improvement over the RX-18. Why not upgrade to a hobby radio system?
Old 04-16-2015, 08:15 AM
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So I would need to replace the HL multi function unit with a Taigen MFU? You can't just change the receiver currently attached to the HL MFU?


By Hobby Radio system do you mean changing the MFU with one from a different company? I'm guessing there are specific ones you need to get? Would the Taigen handset work with those, or do I you need a specific handset to go with specific MFUs?
Old 04-16-2015, 08:37 AM
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Captain Nemo, were you talking about something like a Clark board? Or similar? I had considered getting something like that for my Taigen Panther G (my baby) and possibly switching the taigen rx 18 into the new Sherman (if that would even work. Sorry for being such a newby). Alas I have no idea where to find a TK22 for a panther in the UK. I looked at Tankzone, but of course the one of the only ones that were out of stock were for the panther. Any other options?
Old 04-16-2015, 09:02 AM
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Yes, I was referring to a third party board like those from Clark. Then again it really depends on what you want to get out of your tank, for a runner/basher the HL RX-18 and stock Taigen electronics are great. If you want to upgrade it to do IR battling and have better sound and recoil, I would suggest upgrading to a Clark or Elmod system.
Old 04-16-2015, 09:14 AM
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Ian Judge is in the UK and he has the IBU2, which would be awesome in your Panther (I just ordered one for my Jagdpanther and I can hardly wait for it to get here), then you could just stick the MFU from the panther in the other tank. When you go from HL to Taigen you don't need the receiver anymore, as it's built into the Taigen MFU. Only the HL has a separate receiver hooked to the MFU, not Taigen.

And never apologize for being a newbie. I've been in this hobby two years and I still consider myself a newbie. We all have to start somewhere, the important thing is that you're here now and we have another tanker. We need all the tankers we can get!

And the handset (also called the radio, transmitter or TX) from the HL tank won't work with anything except the HL electronics. When Nate says Hobby grade he means a new board and a new handset/transmitter/radio/TX.

If you get a clark board or an IBU2 you can run them on a 4 channel radio (I use a six so I'll have extra channels for stuff like volume control) and you can get radios like that for under $30.

And I didn't know you were in the UK so it wouldn't be a good idea to get the RX from me like I said in the PM. Exchanging spare parts like that isn't such a great deal once you add international shipping.
Old 04-16-2015, 09:27 AM
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OR I sell the BARC system that converts the RX18 over to a hobby grade radio with a completely Tamiya compatible battle system as well. You can add momentum and lose the HL hull recoil at the same time.

If you are happy with the Heng Long elevation cam it is plug and play and can be installed in less then 5 minutes.

There is a pretty good following of DBC ( BARC) users in the UK.

If at a latter date you want some of the best sounding files availble you can add the Benedini that is also plug and play with the BARC.

It is only am matter of time before you will be getting rid of the propriatory Heng Long orTaigen radio. You can buy better( hobby grade) radios for less money, so my advice is you should.

IF you want any of the compatible battle systems with sound you will have to lose the factory radios at some time. Plan on a hobby grade radio with a proper receiver, and then you have a broad selection of sound and battle systems once you have made that choice.

Last edited by YHR; 04-16-2015 at 09:30 AM.
Old 04-16-2015, 09:27 AM
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RCUNiverse FUBAR.
Old 04-16-2015, 10:05 AM
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Okay I think I'm starting to get the picture now. Like I said I'm still quite new, so I'm going to take baby steps with my tanking upgrades. Right now I'm focusing on two things. 1) Looks, cause I just love to paint these things. 2) Mobility performance, so gears, motors etc. I was under the impression that switching to 2.4ghz would improve responsiveness and range, (correct me if I'm wrong) so I was looking for the easiest/cheapest way to convert my Sherman.

The IBU2 board looks stunning, but it's a lot of $$ to drop on something that seems to mainly be about sound and IR (again, sorry if I'm missing something lol). I did see something on ebay that looked interesting, but I haven't found any reviews for it so far, despite a lot of them selling. It's an 'upgraded' RX-18 board that they've created to work with some upgraded motor.

Board
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heng-L...item4ada002f51

Motors
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Heng-L...item33935da465


Is this a product to consider or to avoid? Motor specs seem a bit too good to be true. I'd probably be thinking of using this board to replace the one in the panther, with the upgraded motors and moving the panther MFU to the Sherman.

Thanks for all your help so far guys, I really appreciate it
Old 04-16-2015, 10:45 AM
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If you want to upgrade to a real radio and have good controls but keeping the tank more or less stock. Go with a barc3 from battle armor. I put one in my panzer 3 and use a 5 channel radio just cause i have it. The tank runs smooth and performs great in IR battles.
If you want to start rebuilding and modifiying tanks and getting fancy like servo recoil or elevation etc, there are more options, but I like the BARC4 i got from battle armor combined with a radio that has a dial knob for channel 5 or 6. Dan over there is tremendous help getting special stuff sorted out.
Old 04-16-2015, 11:11 AM
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I did exactly that with my HL Walker Bulldog got this from Welsh dragon models:

http://www.welshdragonmodels.co.uk/t...les-1865-p.asp

Bound to my existing Taigen controller, fairly simple process, but you get no instructions, I found details here 16th post on page:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-t...-2-4ghz-2.html

For the binding process:

http://scaledtanksworld.com/stw/index.php?topic=1641.0

Tony
Old 04-16-2015, 12:25 PM
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£24 for that Taigen RX18. Not bad.I guess I could go with that, or just hold out for something better and more pricey. Anyone else have any ideas about that motor/board combo I linked to? It doesn't say if they're 400s, 480s..or anything else
Old 04-16-2015, 01:54 PM
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The first thing you should do is upgrade the gears to something else. Mato 2.0 or the 4 shaft Heng long boxes will give you way better control. Also with the better gear ratio you don't need to upgrade the RX18. it will power a tank fine if the tank has a lower then stock gear ratio.

After you do this then look at the board options. Again the BARC is lo cost and easy to install, and you have the option of adding a super sound system if you want to. It has the ability to grow with your needs. Or go with a full out IBU2 or Clark board. Any of these options though mean you have to convert to a hobby grade radio.

I may be the first one to tell you this is a must, but I won't be the only one. Inevitbly you will end up there, and if you make the decision sooner them later you will save yourself time and money. The Hobby king T6A radio is cheaper then the stock Heng long/Taigen radio, as is way more capable.
Old 04-17-2015, 01:17 AM
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Well, just to chip in here, I have a slightly different view. I have just bought a Taigen Panzer iv with metal tracks etc and the 2.4 ghz radio system and I am thinking of changing it back to a HL crystal 27mhz setup with an RX18. Simply because I dont like the really cheesy looking Taigen TX. Just my opinion but its worse than the HL. I only back yard run my tanks and like the airsoft function so this suits me. I also tend to run my tanks on the same frequency number so one TX suits me. If I have a pal or two over for a battle, then it's easy to frequency check for spare channels. I have been experimenting with Clark boards but not found them an easy swap out although I'm getting their. what frustrates me with the HL tanks is their lack of robustness. Everytime I open one up a wire seems to come loose from somewhere then it can be a sod to locate its origin and fix it so watch out for that..

Without going on and on, I think it just depends what you want to do with the tanks. They can be frustrating but incredibly enjoyable at the same time.

Cheers

CaptB
Old 04-17-2015, 04:40 AM
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Agree with you on the old RX18 with crystal. To back up even further the RX14 had way better sound on it then the RX18. I wish the sounds of the RX14 had migrated across to the RX18. IF they had done that I bet more people would have been happy with the stock electronics.

I still have a couple of RX14's. I should do a video up just to show people that the sound was actually better.
Old 04-17-2015, 05:22 AM
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Good comment YHR, sometimes progress is'nt always for the better............

Cheers

CaptB
Old 04-17-2015, 05:33 AM
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Captain B I sort of had the same idea, but going in the other direction. I want to use the same controller for all my tanks and it's kind of neat controlling 2 tanks at the same time, but I'd rather be on 2.4ghz than 27mhz. The Taigen TX looks a bit naff, like something you'd get with a cheap drug store bought RC car and the MG control is just weird (toggle switch for MG. What were they thinking??) The only thing is I've found the Taigen 2.4ghz controls to be a lot more responsive than the Heng Long 27mhz. My friend has a Heng Long Tiger with 27mhz and the thing lurches around, compared to my 2.4ghz panther's smooth movement, and dies after traveling a certain distance away, while the panther keeps on rolling toward the horizon . Range is a big concern with me because we use the tanks primarily in woods and parks. So fun watching people from a distance who are wondering where in the hell the two battle tanks that just rolled past them came from. I think what I'm going to do is seek out a hobby grade 2.4ghz handset, purchase a clark or ibu2 for the panther and whack the panther MFU into the Sherman. Now my next question is (brace yourselves for the potential newbyness of this) will I be able to bind my taigen rx18 in the Sherman to the new hobby grade radio?? Obviously for convenience sake I'd like to be able to control both tanks with the same handset, using the same buttons/sticks to perform the same actions on both.

As always, you guys have beyond helpful in your responses.
Old 04-17-2015, 06:05 AM
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Hi jroz - I think the problem you describe with your tank lurching is not really a radio TX issue - probably more to do with the mechanics,RX or the MFU (RX18?) or all three. I've noticed that some RX18 boards are more responsive than others and just a swap out helps a lot. Your other point about range - well I've not had a problem driving my Crystal based tanks almost out of sight, but I appreciate that a 2.4ghz system may be better and more reliable for this reason. Just depends what you want to do - as I say - for me the crystal based system using one TX is great!!! Having said all this, I would not object to upgrading to a hobby based radio system. I do a lot of RC electric flying and all my aircraft are on one - Flysky 2.4ghz radio system - absolutely brilliant - full range and 20 model memory. I am using this same radio system with my Clark airsoft setup for my Jagdpanther which is what I am wrestling with at the moment. I have put side gun traverse in this tank so it should be great when done - more news on that later.

Tally ho

CaptB
Old 04-17-2015, 07:29 AM
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You can use the hobby grade radio and the Taigen MFU if you add the RC2TG from RC Tanks Australia. Then you could use the same TX for both tanks. However, the stock Taigen MFU will not bind to a hobby grade radio without some kind of assistance, like the RC2TG. If you go that route, the receiver from the radio connects to the RC2TG and then the RC2Tg runs the Taigen MFU through the better radio. Another thing to consider when you decide which radio to get is whether or not you want model matching. Model matching allows you to turn both tanks on, start and run one tank, then park tank one and turn off the engine, turn on tank two and drive that without having to turn off the power to tank one. Basically, you can switch back and forth from one tank to the other. Without model matching, if both tanks are turned on at the main power switch, whatever you do with the radio will happen on both tanks.
Old 04-17-2015, 07:32 AM
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Originally Posted by YHR
I still have a couple of RX14's. I should do a video up just to show people that the sound was actually better.
Go, Man, Go! I'd really like to see a side by side comparison of the sounds in the RX-18 vs. the Rx-14, and I imagine it would be helpful to a lot of others as well.
Old 04-17-2015, 07:53 AM
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I have an RX14 in my HL panzer iv DAK which I'm working on at the moment and it's staying in it.........excellent board and see no point in changing it out............

Cheers

CaptB
Old 04-17-2015, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by CaptainB
I have an RX14 in my HL panzer iv DAK which I'm working on at the moment and it's staying in it.........excellent board and see no point in changing it out............

Cheers

CaptB
Does the RX-14 run on the same HL TX as the RX-18? Does it have proportional steering and throttle? I've heard they're good boards so I was thinking of maybe trying to pick one up, just to play around with. I'm also thinking of taking my spare RX-18s, with the TX, and using them to make some artillery emplacements. I've seen photos of the French coast where the Germans took tank turrets and mounted them on fixed pill boxes to defend the beaches. I think it would be cool to have few of those scattered around my tank village (I've got to come up with a better name for that. Village and Tank Trail just don't seem right, and battlefield seems a bit pretentious). I have a couple spare turrets that would be perfect for a project like that.
Old 04-17-2015, 10:23 AM
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Yes RX 14 uses the same receiver as the RX 18 does, and the BARC interacts with it as well. The engine sound on the RX14 has a better( let me rephrase that, less annoying) sound track then the RX18 does with respect to tank movement.
Old 04-17-2015, 02:25 PM
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Sounds like a cool project with the turrets...........keep us posted..........

CaptB

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