T Skaz

I want to upgrade my Heng Long Tiger 1 with a Benedini sound board and smoker but I see what they have to offer and I'm confused. Does any one know what the best options are? And would I need a knew transmitter. So what would be recommended for the upgrade? I do have the 2.4 transmitter with this Heng Long Tim

ausf

You need an interface between the Benedini TBS and the HL's RX-18.

Dan from Battle Armor got Darkith's DBC system reprogrammed to do it. He sells the chip to insert in an existing DBC or an entire new system incorporating both under the name BARC.

It allows the use of a hobby grade Tx/Rx and customizable options for recoil, etc as well as making it Tamiya compatible for IR.

Panther G

Definitely get in touch with Dan. His BARC system is most likely the way you want to go if you want the Benedinni system and the BARC works excellently. he did an entire M1A2 Abrams system for me with the correct turbine and gun sounds and i could not have been more pleased with the way it turned out. The BARC and Benedinni is the system I am and will be using in everything other than a Tamiya kit or quick conversion.

T Skaz

Can you please tell me why the BARC system is compatible with the Benedinni. Why both? Sorry I don't get how these electronics work with each other. Tim

YHR

The TBS provides all the sound and lighting functions. The BARC takes transmitter stick positions and encodes them. It then interacts with the TBS to trigger the correct appropriate sound for the stick position selected making everything seemless.

You could modify your radio and do the programming to make the TBS work, but it would be anything but plug and play, and the interface between you, the operator,and the tank kind of clumsy.

I have really pulled back on my activity in tanks, and am not actively looking for any customers. When I started all this there was nothing available and I was happy to supply people with something that would elevate there Heng Longs to much more. Since that time the market has become saturated with systems, and even though I still feel the TBS is the best system on the market I have grown tired of trying to promote it. There are other all in one systems that will give you decent sound. The current IBU 3 is about the closest you can get to a TBS. All of these other systems have their issues, and will present hurdles you have to overcome. Good luck

Cheers
Dan

sollie

T SKAZ, sorry to see Dan pritty much pulled out. I think a package deal With him would be the best sound experince for you're tank, and trust med, sound is 80% of the fun. ;-)

Now I can show you a few Clips of the Benedini soundcard. I have 2 of them, one running of the Clark TK Board, and also one BARC decoder I bought a while back .

Benedini + barc ( don't mind the jerky driving outside pleez ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PC3m_frM6bE Another Clip With Clark+benedini ( the KV2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nU8bDxs5Cag another benedini sound

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fz2XTSR3SyI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzrNnJK16QY

sollie

And here a few of the soundsets to use in a IBU3 unit ( all in one ) that Dan mentioned . I hope these post's is of some use :-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3qKhfLoYQU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LY99dAb9wk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK1pVxzJrR0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BO2YcZ8u4Uk

T Skaz

Thank you! That was much help. I wonder why Dan pulled out? If it was because when I was in RC tanks about 4 years ago we had a disagreement on some issue regarding his product. It was civil but may be he took it personal. I know he knows his stuff and he's a good guy. He helped me a lot over the phone. But any way thanks!!! You guys on this sight are awesome, real helpful and you take the time to explain and post the videos.

T Skaz

To bad things get saturated. Just like the collectables in NASCAR and trading cards, same thing. Thanks Dan, Tim

YHR

My reasons for curtailing my retail activities have nothing to do with any one individual. The truth is the support required to ensure people have a good experience is a huge time commitment when dealing with these tank electronics . When I retired I thought I would have time to really get into this. Instead the opposite has happened. With no work stress the thereputic nature of a hobby is no longer required ,and there never has been much of a profit in this stuff. I just find I have other things I want to do, and being retired means I have much more then a couple of hours a day to devote to other things.

No one is more surprised than me over this fact . I always thought my retirement would be filled with tanking activities, but it just isn't. I rekindled my interest in slot cars and lately the time I do spend on my hobbies is surrounding that. I am planning to sell all my tanks except for the Cromwell and Fireflies. When I do engage in tanks it will be strictly on a personal enjoyment level.

I have exhausted all of my stock, and with the saturation in this market it just makes sense to not invest any more into this. With both Taigen and Heng Long looking at sound themselves I think the days ahead for third party electronics is going to get really crowded. 90% of people will be satisfied with a marginal improvement in the stock sound, and when that happens, there will be far fewer looking for anything different.

The TBS is not going away and it is still the best sounding easy to use light and sound machine. Thomas Benedini is my friend, and he is very helpful and supportive. You can add the TBS to any RC device easily to make use of its great sound engine. Trust me that I have kept enough hardware for my own personal use, and anything I do build will have a BARC TBS in it.

Because the footprint of the TBS is so small,I am looking at adding it to 132 scale digital slot cars to bring sound to that hobby now.

Cheers

Dan

ausf

Glad to hear you're enjoying retirement Dan.

I fully agree, there's something about 1/16 RC tanks that doesn't lend to professional work. So little return on investment/effort compared to other genres.

I'm thinking about selling off most of my collection too, just don't want the hassle of shipping them so I keep putting it off.

T Skaz

I know exactly what you mean Dan. I've been away from the RC tanks for about 3 years now, doing the quad drones. Retired from UPS for about 5 years now. Now I'm back into the RC tanks. Ditching the drones. I'm just focusing on one tank and that's the Tiger 1. I want to make it sound and look like the real thing. So if you can give me any suggestions on this particular tank I sure would appreciate it. I don't do any tank battles.
I used to make custom golf clubs and fishing poles but people can get quality stuff cheaper then what I can make it for.
What ever you end up doing have fun and enjoy doing it! Tim

ausf

I came to RC tanks from the static world as well and had your same concerns and mindset. After building the Tamiya Tiger I (best engineered RC kit they make) and the M4, I wanted a StuG, so I went the HL route. After correcting all the mistakes, adding the traverse, recoil, etc and installing a Benedini, Visation and all that, the simple conversion of a $100 HL was well over $700 and countless hours of bench time.

A Tamiya Tiger I @ $550 would be much less than what you'll ultimately be spending on getting the HL right with the TBS, et al.

Here's the StuG:

T Skaz

Great job on that StuG !!! Love that detail work!! Thanks for sharing !! Tim

YHR

Well Tim I think the IBU3 is not quite done yet. It might be worth waiting awhile until they have finished tweaking it. Sollie has done some nice files with it and also understands the TBS well. I think he would be a good guy to talk to over the IBU3. You will get an unbais opinion from him. The thing with the TBS is once you understand it, there are so many things you can do with it. Each individual sound has a volume control, so you can really fine tune the relationship between sounds without having to resort to rerecording files at different sound levels hoping you guessed the level right and you don't have to do it again. These are the little things that no newbie pays attention to until after he has bought a system.

I read complaints all the time abut how the cannon on this system or that system is drowned out by the engine files etc, all the time knowing that the TBS handles this very easily. The reason the TBS sounds so good is that you can alter each engine step volume. So when you rev the engine the sound actually gets louder at the same time. It gives it a dynamic sound that makes the sound real, and not just a recording in a tank. Like Sollie commented on 80% of these sound systems is the sound files, and nothing is easier to manipulate then a TBS. Having said that I have not used an IBU 3 and I believe they have added this feature. Again Sollie has done sound files in each system and can comment on this better then me.

A Clark is inexpensive, and as a control and IR board has a lot of features. Adding a TBS to a Clark board results in a pretty powerful system. The thing with the Clark is you have to reconfigure the sticks to have any kind of decent control. The default transmitter stick setting is horrid in my opinion, but once you figure that out it is good. The static sounds, are very good, but the original board suffered from a poor engine file architecture. Clark has now moved to the TK 24 and has a sound programming option as well so it might be a decent set up. I just have no experience with it am an not likely to.

All lot will depend on what type of person you are. Guys who really like to mess around with generating their own sound files really appreciate the ease of the TBS compared to other systems. Others just want a good sound file and have no interest in doing any sound file tuning. This tends to mean they overlook some of the features of the TBS, only to find out later the system they purchased is limited.

So sound is kind of a minefield, and you get lots of opinions on what is the best from people who haven't really experienced what is out there. I read a lot at different forums and I am amazed the claims people make about a system and yet have zero experience with any other. Ask them a few questions and it becomes pretty obvious. People tend to promote what they have purchased as the best, regardless if it is or not. I can say I have played with them all up until the ASP and IBU3 came out. I have now lost interest, and am happy enough with the TBS to not want to bother looking at any others. Like I mentioned I have my own personal stock of electronics, and I know what i am going to be using going forward.

Unfortunately the only way to really know is to buy them and try them. What works for others may not be your cup of tea. You will also find out what is really important to you. For me it was the functionality of the TBS, and ease of sound file generation. The BARC was just an electronic device that would trigger all the sounds seemlessly with the transmitter. It automatically programmed the TBS so the user didn't have to. It basically took a 4 channel radio and turned into a 12 channel giving the user lots of sound triggers. Many people think because the BARC was a spawn of the DBC2, that i was just charging a premium for selling factory stuffed boards. The truth is the BARC is much more advanced over the DBC in its programming. Many people were confused by this and that is why I changed the name to BARC, to help differentiate the two. In the end with the loss of the OLD RX18 and the new 2.4 ghz toy radios not being able to be tied into, the writing was on the wall for the BARC. It was fun, and I still feel to this day, you are hard pressed to find anything that sounds better. The TBS may be expensive but it is worth every penny. All the other boards have crept up in price now as well proving that certain features just cost money to produce.


Cheers

Dan

sollie

Thanks for taking the time Dan , great Write up. should give a pointer ore 2 as to waht to look for

T Skaz

Thanks for all that info Dan. May I ask how much do you charge or did charge for the TBS mated with the BARC? And Dan when you say wait until they tweak the IBU3, who are they? I really don't know who to get these electronics from and who is making wha and where just to purchase it. And is all this available in the U.S. Tim

sollie

About the IBU3 is pritty fresh out of the press( made in italy, same as IBU2 ) It have had 2 small FW updates ( adressing a few issues, adding even quicker stick setup and support for the DKLM gearbox ) . And still more to come. Like barrel stabelisator and , I have been told , induvidual sound/Level/volum controll for each sample , much like the TBS Benedini have, and that's a feature I really miss for it to be a all in sound Board ( at least for me )

Not sure if any carry's it in the states . Here in europe it's
http://www.rctankelectronics.com/
http://www.rctank.de/

Here is a review to make a few things Clear.
https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...?f=199&t=19630

Now just to state, I have no business realations regarding the IBU, and used barc/benedini/Clark /ibu2 and 3 , and soon the Clark TK 60 also.

YHR

Ivano( Skeeter here on RCW)is the designer and manufacturer of the IBU3. The IBU3 is new, and I think there are few tweaks that are required., Tanque is the US distributor of these boards and is online here often enough. He would be the best guy to comment.

Typically it pays not to be the first with new electronics.

FYI and kind of irrelevant at this point but I was selling the BARC4/TBS for $240 Can which is about $200 USD. I am not sure what these other boards are selling for now., but they have been creeping up as each one adds one more thing to try and be like a TBS. IF you are into IR battling the performance of the IR side of these boards is important to. The BARC was a consistent hitter and had good range. Ask around about the other boards if this is important to you.

YHR

Yes the big downside of these tanks. They weight so much and cost so much to ship. Also a lot can go wrong on route, and of course the purchaser wants a perfect tank so issues can come up if you have to take one back. When I go to sell mine they will be sold as is, with the understanding that the purchaser is a hobbyist who knows how to fix things. My experience with any tank is that they need constant maintenance and repair, even the hallowed Tamiyas. A lot of first time purchasers don't realize what they are getting into in this regard.

YHR

I will be interested in hearing your comments on the TK60. What Clark was promising with downloadable IR settings was very enticing, and I was hoping he would deliver on all that was discussed. His recent updates to allow programmable sounds means he is heading in that direction.

Cheers

Dan

T Skaz

I don't do any battling. Just want to own one RC tank, the Tiger 1. And I want it to be highly accurate and detailed. I can handle the weathering and detailing but I'm lost when it comes to the electronics. Thanks, Tim

Crius

Tim, you might want to take a look at this. Kevin set up this system for me and it was a real easy install.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItvyBzI3LmY I now have two Tigers on the 9XR TX, the other being an IR Tiger One Late, I can drive both tanks at once, switching back and forth from the TX because I have "model matching", and the S33 has gotten a turret MG34 that has its own separate switch and sound track. The Asp comes stock with a 20 watt amp and two different Micro SD cards for sound tracks. In addition to the four music tracks, dual Mg tracks, incoming round sounds, voice commands and great engine sounds, it also has at least four separate tracks for user installed sound.

sollie

Sure will . Hope to receive it soon

Crius

Sollie, what did you have to pay for the TK60? I'll be very interested to hear your opinions on how the new features apply to airsoft tanks. For guys like me, all that great IR tech is fascinating, but relatively useless. I might get into two IR battles a year, if I'm lucky.