Crius

Yes, it was called the Mako.

Arnie_DK

I see that you say the board have IR compatability with the older boards.
Does this mean that Taigen have reworked the V2 board, to be kind of a V2.1 board? The one I got when the board was released in Europe(lets call it V2.0), still dont work with older Taigen boards.

Shorty54

Ah yes, thanks Gary, it looks like they brought it back to life.

MAKO 2017 [mako2017] - $39.90 : RC Tanks Australia Web Store, Bits for RC Tanks

tomhugill

By the time youve done that though you may as well have gone for a 3rd party system

Crius

I have to agree with Tom. You also have to install the LED ring on the apple if you want to battle with it. I think you're better off with an IBU and a Tammy apple, but that is quite a bit more money.

Imex-Erik

Not yet, only the single one for now. We do have a bunch coming soon though.
Yes, but unfortunately I can't give out too much info. The rehashes are needed to invest in new models so we have to have them Lots of times we plan for one model and get lots of request for another. The 75mm Sherman was an example here. We got at least x5 more requests for the 75mm Sherman before production, but after product we got tons of request for the 76mm. Sometimes it is easier to just make new molds for a few pieces of the tank and use that for capital for new models. Don't worry, we have a few pretty neat ones coming soon, we are currently finishing the Leopard now and have some new stuff coming after that.
Yea it works pretty well, most customers in the US anyway are airsoft based and this should cover most of their needs. Eventually this will become the new standard board so with the addition of a Mako or something similar you can have a battle ready tank pretty cheap. Glad to see you again btw, its been a while! How are the slot cars treating you these days?
It is more that the market is more airsoft based than anything else. In the US our sales are 95%+ airsoft. Infrared requires at least two tanks while the airsoft ones do not, most initial purchases are airsoft. Strange enough, there are a lot more airsoft battles than we think lol.
Correct, the MAKO2 I believe. I still have one sitting around here actually. It might be worth it to bring this up to RCTA, I would be happy to work with a vendor if they have questions. Kevin is a great guy actually, he has stopped by here before while he was on vacation.
The board we release (Taigen USA) is fully compatible with the old boards. This is why we waited until the release, there were some small bugs we wanted to fix and not have issues. If you get a V2 board from us it will be compatible. It is the only V2 we have carried so far (yes there are already more things being worked on!) and will be labeled as such. However yes, ours are fully compatible both ways. V1 and V2 can both hit and receive from each other with no issues.

Shorty54

I am wondering if this has been changed with the new Mako2017?
I didnt read anywhere that is says you also need a LED ring??
Maybe an email to Kevin could clear it up.

sturmgrenadier

Many thanks for the offer to help further, Gary (and for the sound advice you gave me earlier via messaging). This is a really friendly forum (and obviously a very handy one, too). I know I must be in the stone age with having little experience posting pictures online (I only learned how to use my phone to take pictures in the past year or so [seriously]), but now sounds like a good time to try/learn more about how to 'port them' to a forum like this one. (I think there are services like Photobucket or Dropbox that I can use).

The radio system (and a more advanced one than I expected, to boot) coming available is of course great news. I ordered a V2 upgrade system yesterday and received the shipping information this afternoon (that was pretty quick I messaged Erik of Imex/Taigen earlier this morning; from what I gather, he is a very busy guy. But I'm sure he'll answer in good time my question about whether I need any other miscellaneous parts (wires, etc.) to get the V2 working with my tank kit (as I've mentioned here, I've only got what comes with the Imex/Taigen Tiger I kit) and no spare/loose parts. Thanks again to those who have been advising me here. I'm not super fast with building projects (slow learning curve as they say) but will keep you posted on my progress...

Crius

You only need an LED ring if you're using a stock apple. If you get the piranha to go with the mako it's good to go, but to battle at danville you'll need to put a tube over the LED to make the 9mm requirement. I know there are a lot of guys using this system down Under and they all swear by it. I'm not really into IR but I'll be interested to see how this works out for you. I hope you'll start a thread when you get an IR tank together.

Crius

Photobucket has stopped 3rd party hosting so I've been using imgur. I made a video of how to post photos from imgur to my other forum but you don't really need one here. You can post photos straight from a PC. Naturally, I did a video.


I'm sure Erik will be able to hook you up, but I'm sure they're very busy if they just got a container. I hope you're going to try a good radio with that. I like the FlySky i6 and i10, but everyone has an opinion on radios, can ya dig it?

I tried uploading the video like a photo with the url address, we'll see what happens.

YHR

I don't know if the Mako integrates with the Taigen to slow the tank down after being hit. This would be necessary for sure to be truly compatible. Trading IR signals is only half of the game. So be sure to check that out before spending money. Without integration into the esc, there is not much point of going halfway

What the new Taigen MFU does is open the door for a third party to build a Tamiya IR compatibility component, much like the pioneering work David did with his DBC so many years ago. Maybe the Mako is that unit now, but when I looked at them before they did not incorporate the battle damage and subsequent slowing of the tank. But that was years ago and maybe they do now.

Erik

Still into slot cars. I enjoy proxy racing as it is easier to be actively involved without having to spend $3000 in traveling expenses to get to an IR battling event. Living in a remote area with a small population base does not mix with tank battling very well. Without an active battle field close by it was only a matter of time until the shine came off. It was a great run while it lasted . Still have most of my Tanks. I sold a few to finance some slot car parts and pieces.

Thumbs up to Taigen for advancing the cause. You guys are listening and this bunch of electronics with its price point is pretty awesome IMO. For a single operator who is just wanting his Tiger to sound like a Tiger, you guys have answered the call. No need to spend hundreds and open yourself up to the learning curve 3rd party electronics presents to people who don't know the hot end of a soldering iron. It can be a bumpy frustrating road to travel. This development just makes things simple for those that just want to run their tank and not become a electrical engineering programmer (grin)

Shorty54

I forgot, the Taigen Apple doesnt have lights. Its been so long since I used one I forgot.
It looks like this is the soloution to add to the Taigen Apple.
BlueRing [BlueRing] - $9.90 : RC Tanks Australia Web Store, Bits for RC Tanks

No cheap option for Tamiya compatible with new Taigen boards then. oh well, pay to play!

philipat

Eric, thanks for all of the work to bring out better electronics. This is much better than the last Taigen setup and certainly better than my first HL RX-13. I have a few comments and questions if I may.

- Modular sound cards: very cool! Will the sounds for each tank be completely different? Engine? Cannon? etc (Tiger I engine and Tiger II engines are different; 88 sounds different from the 75, etc)
- MG push button...nice to have that mod built-in. I did that to my existing Taigen controllers.
- Proportional smoke and turret built into the board...super cool!
- Better motor control and much richer sounds. All very cool.

While that's a solid turn at bat, it's not quite a grand slam. What's missing?
- Gun elevation: still not on an up-down stick. It's just the rotating motor. I prefer that stick move the gun up when up and down when pushed down. The airsoft could shoot using another button like the MG button.
- No support (or at least not mentioned) for LiPo. Do they support Lithium ion? Hoping to get smaller, powerful batteries, especially for smaller tanks.

Suggestion: Make the cabling longer for the MFU-to-sound card and for the volume control.

BTW...I like the airsoft. I detail my tanks; so, there aren't any airsoft battles. But, shooting stuff is still a big part of the fun of driving the tanks.

YHR

I would just suggest buying a Tamiya apple. Yes it is expensive for what it is, but you will only need one for club events. The one thing a club needs is a consistent universal Apple. The Tamiya is just that. Once you truly get into IR battling, a flaky, inconsistent sensor is a major hindrance that can cause all kinds of trouble. I R emitters are the same. We all want to have fun, but a guy running around with a tank that seems invincible is a problem, and in time his participation diminishes the game for the rest of the field. Conversely an over sensitive Apple the detects stray IR signals from everywhere also wears on you. After years of building my own, it finally dawned on me the whole exercise was a waste of time, and the Tamiya Apple was the answer to level the playing field and remove all doubt on compatibility.

Imex-Erik

The V2 actually requires less wiring than the V1 so if you have the V1 installed you are good to go. Depending on which kit you got it also will come with a decent wiring kit (TAG120605 MB/SC) but I do not think you will need any of it. Both the AIO kit and the MB/SC kit come with the new wiring for the sound card and the new volume knob. You shouldn't even have to cut a wire, that was the plan for this one.
It's good to see you around my friend, I used to enjoy seeing your posts I'm glad some hobby is still keeping you entertained, we all need something! All of my friends won't touch anything on the ground so I just play with my tanks all by myself at home. Being able to run your own TX system is nice too, I like being able to operate my tank from inside my house in the AC, it is waaaaaay too hot here in Florida. We are hoping this setup will suit most tanker's needs. With more sounds and features coming in the future the majority of requests are now addressed (modular sounds and ability to use one's own transmitter) and we can work on more radical changes and/or updates. Show us some of those slot cars!
Ok so let's get down to details....

• Yes, different sounds for different tanks. The Panther is pretty much done if I remember correctly and a few others are almost as well. There are even some done for tanks we are not done with yet
• The MG button annoyed me from the start, I also did the same thing.
• The proportional smoke unit thing we thought hard about but it was decided best to do it on the board. This would make both Taigen and HL units compatible and we wouldn't have to change the design or increase prices on them. The way it works is the idle is set a 5V and with throttle the voltage is increased to almost full Vbat.
• Better motor control is a must The rotation and elevation units are MUCH quieter now too on the new P3/P4 tanks. We are listening!
• Elevation was a lot bigger issue than I first thought. The plan was to keep compatibility with all previous tanks which means there is a limit to what we can and can't add. I would personally like to move away from gearboxes, but they are a bit more durable than servos. To add a servo we would of needed to do something like HL did and add a clutch (which isn't working out too well). The clutch makes it so loud it sounds broken and we would need to add a custom mix to add certain features to channels for the hobby grade receiver. I didn't want ANYONE to either have to solder, program, connect to a pc, or even change settings on this board. Just a plug and play with a few mild upgrades. This board will eventually become the standard electronics coming from us and will replace the V1 systems in the future. Speaking of the future we are already working on something else....
• No support yet for a LVC for lipos. The reason is lipos just aren't really needed at this time with our current tanks. Another very big issue we have is with freight and lipos. The shipping cost would have to go up and safety starts becoming a big issue. You would be VERY, VERY surprised at some of the horror stories I hear about charging and batteries. One of my favorites is from a well known hobby shop whose tech couldn't get the Lipo to read on the charger to balance.... so he chopped the balance leads off for some reason and it eventually caught fire when he did get it to charge somehow. How these people get jobs as techs I don't know....
• If you longer cables just LMK. Give me an email first and I'll see what I can do. I'll figure out the plug type too (some sort of JST connector I'm sure) and let you know where to get the pins and plugs for it too in case you want to do it yourself as well.

THANKS for the comments, these are what I like to see! You guys may think I'm crazy but I write all this stuff down and it is brought up when I visit. Even the smallest details, if it makes sense I bring up and will argue it for you. The P3/P4 tanks have lots of changes you guys suggested actually.

philipat

Cool on the sounds!

Excellent thinking on the proportional smoke.

I could live with keeping the current elevation motor while converting to an up/down stick control for gun elevation. If I hold too long it corrects itself. But, simply running the motor in opposite directions allows for fine corrections up and down without having to completely cycle the gun elevation. That said, I do appreciate your desire to ensure durability.

Would love a strong battery that is smaller and fits well in the smaller tanks. I worry that the added boards (sound card, etc) make space a huge premium in the PzIII and IV and other smaller tanks.

I'd have to look. But, I think I found the plug types (at least for the 2-pin plugs) and documented them in my PzIV build thread. Knowing the 3-pin plug info would be awesome. Then, we could fabricate our own cables to match our own individual mods.

jayhall0315

Crius, when you see this message can you check your private messages. I sent you a PM about three weeks ago after I watched your lower hull Abrams build but I do not know if you got that message. I was hoping to get in contact with you. Thanks - Jay

YHR

Just this one time. 1/32 scale Lotus 30 in BARC racing colors. Scratch built resin with a scratchbuilt brass chassis. Electronics are simple, although I do run Digital cars as well and built some sound files for my Benedini to add some Porsche 917 rumble to the room. Getting my butt kicked in Proxy racing, but that is the challenge. To build a car that is fast and smooth to drive. I have been at it a couple of years already, and each build gets slightly better then the last one. I got a top six in one race, but the rest I have been a midpack runner at best.

I apologize to the board for the intrusion. PM me if you have any questions





Getting back on track. I think you did the right thing with the sound module, You know Mato's first tank had a removable sound COB and I was hoping they would have expanded on that, but they went down the metal tank road and we never saw another Plastic release. This plug and play sound module is a great idea, and keeps things very simple for the user. Again, a really good idea in the fact there is no need for computer interfaces or set up files to contend with. That can get real tedious, unless you are a sound Geek like me. You know some guys are into the programming , but honestly when I look at how complex some of these systems have got, with having to program your radio and then configuring your sound card, no wonder some people just give up., So Kudos to a well thought out design that will be easy to use and put the fun back into running a tank, without all the other stuff to have to wade through. With the PWM signals to the ESC, a third party developer should be able to come up with a way to add a Tamiya IR component to this set up Sure would be nice if a $40 module could be developed for this kind of thing..

jayhall0315

Crius, I received your message but at the email I registered with when I became a RCU member. I am not sure why it is not coming to my private message inbox, but I have contacted an admin to look into it. Thanks for the information you sent me!

Imex-Erik

Well since there is an interface with the stock system I guess you could always just use a servo and run it direct from your receiver for the elevation. Then you could put the cannon on something like a trainer and set it up so that it is mid channel at low (so no elevation sounds) and high when held. Then move your elevation to your throttle stick and that should be a pretty cheap and simple fix. I have a lot planned for this board for little mods and such for people. This actually is a pretty flexible board.
That is an awesome Lotus! I am a huge Lotus Elise fan. I got to drive a 111R about 10 years ago and have been hooked ever since. And yea, the ease of use is key. As much as I LOVE to tinker, the stock system has to be super easy to use, aftermarket boards such as the Open Panzer, Clark, IBU, and RCTA boards will always have the place as the aftermarket kings, but for a stock system this is getting really great.

tiger rampage

Erik I don’t mind the rehashes I just don’t want to hear “don’t you have that one already!!!!!!!!” 😂

Marc780

Erik i wish you could tell me if, and how i could make this work on the Hooben T55... I like, no LOVE, the Heng long/Taigen 2.4 ghz and would really like to use it in this tank i have coming. With the Rx built into the function box and no antenna needed - and no worries about frying the receiver (just buy another one for $40). Can you tell me is this even possibly? PM sent,

Crius

There's no reason why you couldn't use this board in the T55. It will probably make things a lot easier. The only thing I still don't like about the new board is the track recoil. If they come up with a user friendly way to eliminate track recoil I think this board is all you'd ever need for any airsoft tank.

Imex-Erik

I think enough requests have been passed along now. I'm sure something will turn up soon.

Crius

Marc, I should probably re-evaluate my earlier statement because I think there may be one reason this board won't work - doesn't the T55 kit have servo elevation and recoil? I don't think that will work with the new Taigen system.