schutzstaffel

hi all tanks fanatics !
i was in a dilemma when purchasing my 1 rc tank in 15 years.
was afraid of the hen long quality and thinking to buy the marui brand.
but choose hen long for the 1/16 size and plastic tracks.
the realism of the model is great ,but some modification is needed before playing with it.[]
you have to seal the gearboxes so that the grease wont splash inside the tank and on the circuit board.
i have cut 2 slices from a 2liter soft drink recipient to seal my gears and a torch lighter to shape it as a cover.
At the same time ,have shimmed(adjust) the gears so they are aligned now.
i will post more pics as my work go`s on .

schutzstaffel

had to seal side suspensions holes with long steel plates and silicone to add weight because the suspensions springs are too stiff,than spray painted the hull with a rubber paint.

you can also loosen the suspension springs by drilling another hole beside the original spring attaching holes.

adding weight really improved the traction and the suspensions movements are more realistic.(with a small pressure on the tank with my little finger the suspensions moves )

to seal the rear of the tank , i had to cut and adjust 2 plastics pieces that i glued to the body, surprisingly it has made the hull so much stronger(stiffer) side-ways a big + .

schutzstaffel

the hen long tiger 1/16 is not really ready to operate outside,have burned my circuit board wile driving in thick mud .
i have abused just a little the driving motors, the circuit board need to cool off after 3 minutes of intense driving.
the driving motors speed is variable: from slow to fast and are powerful ,no problem, it is the circuit board that is having troubles to feed these really strong driving motors.

-i have flipped (turned upside down) the circuit board because the heat is trapped between the lower hull and the board.
i still could use one of the screw holes. had to adjust the height of 1 guiding leg , and glue another support leg on the lower hull for screwing the board. i did no driling`s on the board ,was easy to do.

-changed the heatsink on the circuit board.
hen long heatsink is ridiculous for 4 transistors,have installed an thick alum. heatsink from an old computer transfo-box and bended it in a "T" shape and added a cpu cooling fan.

schutzstaffel

i love that tank still,can not regret it and the 1/24 scale is to small. if you like to upgrade-modify and fix tanks, buy a hen long 1/16.
if you do not want to work on it,then buy the small 1/24 scale from the other brand but it will brake too one of these days.

the switches are located under the tank and while driving sometimes they change positions and they are exposed to water.

-i have change the location of the switches using the German technique(cutting the rear top grilled door).
- sealed the bottom switches holes and added a charger plug so i wont have to take out the battery anymore.
-installed the volume switch beside the firing switch.

bullyhys

Very Cool!

I shall have to perform simular modifications to both of my HL Tigers

bullyhys

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

Very innovative! I'm impressed with all of your hard work. [sm=thumbup.gif]

Jason

outcastrc

Awsome mods! I am going to have to incorporate some of those ideas in mine...

Stang951

schutzstaffel - Couple o' three questions for ya:
Did you notice any difference by changing the heatsink and adding the fan to the circuit board? I burned one board when my Tiger got stuck in one spot and I was too lazy to go move it...tried to rock it out of the hole and smoked the board.

Also, did you remove the factory heatsink to the resistors, or just add onto them?

How did you wire the fan for the board?

Did you move the smoke switch as well, or do you just leave it on / off?

schutzstaffel

hello stang951 ,
i have removed the original heat sink from the 4 transistors and used it to guide my drilling`s in the new heatsink (their are 2 heatsinks inside the computer transfo-box) great if you have 2 tanks.
-if i notice a difference ? it did not burned yet,
looks cool (millage of : 4 charges), i can feel a lite breeze of air coming out of the drivers hatches holes, so while i`m aiming and turning the gun, it cools off.

had done 3 things for helping the circuit board cooling:
1-- flipped 180 deg. / / 2--changed the heat sink mass and material (aluminum has a quicker heat transfer than metal) // 3--added a fan .
next step would be an openable machine gun hatch (maybe later)
(if it burns again will post in to tell all ).

the smoke switch had to be un-weld from the board by heating the weldings and my girlfriend was pulling on the switch .
there is 3 contacts on that switch, but if you check the board design , you can see that only 2 contacts is use from that switch.
have welded 2 wires in that place that goes to the relocated switch.

for the charger plug ,the cpu fan,the circuit board and the battery ,have taken 2 small metal pieces to make 1 positive and one negative distribution plates.
(check picture below)
my fan takes the power from the new negative distribution plate and the positive come directly from the circuit board, that i have scratched a spot to weld just beside the original positive that comes from the power switch.
so when i flip the on-off switch , the fan turns on or off.

now i`m working on the painting of the details.

thanks all of you for your comment ! really appreciated !

Stang951

One more for you:
Did you have to remove the resistors from the board to get the heatsink unscrewed from it? On mine the screwheads face the center of the board and look very difficult to get to.

schutzstaffel

your board transistors are bent a little too much ,the screws should be facing horizontally or parallel to the circuit board .
no didnt remove them , i have unbent it just a little enough for my screw driver to pass ,no problem seam to be solid enough,had bend-unbend it 3 times wile adjusting the new heatsink.
best regards

Stang951

Thanks I might try that this weekend when I troubleshoot a non-working motor. I may even have a few spare heatsinks and cooling fans that I could use.

schutzstaffel

[:@]
need some help !!
could someone post me a picture of that terminal (connection) that come from the top hull ?
i could not find that picture.

-it is the 2 small wires of the machine-gun led(light) that has disconnected while working on the tank.
they go on the top section of the large terminal(connection) with 9 or 10 wires welded to it .
i dont know where to weld them on the upper connection .
see picture below , >> warning ! << on that picture ,they are not welded at the right place. i need a similar picture or instructions.
thanks.

Stang951

I'll try and post some pics when I get home from work. I had all of the wires come loose on me and had to resolder them all. I think that the actual description of how the wires are soldered are in one of my posts, probably Tiger Paint!
Check HERE: [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3795014/mpage_3/key_Tiger%2CPaint/tm.htm]Tiger Paint[/link] About halfway down Rumnhammer has a response with the description of where the wires go across that entire small board.

schutzstaffel

now i am at a millage of : 8 charges.
it has rained today, have tested my circuit board in water and mud ,at the same spot where it burned 1 month ago ,have really abused the engines and it did not burned !

had played in mud for about 10 minutes, untill the track one the left side was to full of mud and little rocks,sorry only have a pics of the right side ,almost forgot to take a picture ,at least the right side track was not clean yet.my detail painting still not finished(too much fun ! )
but you can see the metal texture on the turret that i made with tamiya putty/acetone .

Stang951

Great to hear that there is no more heat problem with your mods. Other than shotty wiring and the VERY poor heatsink design, I wonder how bad the electronics really are. They seem simple enough that with proper cooling they should last.

Harquebus

Yeah! Real mud! I enjoy your pictures because they show so much realism. Most tank drivers are so worried about dirtying up their tanks they should just leave the "Shelf Queens" on the shelf.

-Harq

Gaizokubanou

You did all that using standard plastic threads? wow they are tougher than I thought. Great pics and modifications btw, very practical.

schutzstaffel

gaizokubanou ,
yes it is plastics track,quite tough.
one of my friends broke one link ,but it was because the ice and sub-zero temp. plastics crack easily in cold whether .

stang 951>>>> di you started the fan project ?

Stang951

No time right now, trying to get the house ready for sheetrock, and work is driving me insane.

Gaizokubanou

Thanks for all the pics and almost step by step instructions on your mods. I'm also trying to do some of your modifications, like fliping that circuit board and installing better cooling, but I only see single screw on the board and even after I remove the screw the board seems to be connected to the bottom chasis by other means... how many screws should I remove and where are they???

Harquebus

I love this kind of topic series. The hated Heng Long tanks actually inspire people to perform more modifications and improvements than any other tank. It ultimately leads to a lot of head-scratching, problem-solving and troubleshooting. Even cursing at the darned things has value.

[8D]

Good information, schutzstaffel. A lot of people who own the 1/6 21st Century M5 Stuart tank, for instance, have also relocated the power switch, added cooling fans, rearranged the interior, etc. The power switch is a sore spot because it is located in a very un-scale location; right on the back of the tank on the engine deck.


-Harq

Arachna

Funny you mention that. It had me scratching my head on mine. Rather then move my switch, I hid it under a cloth ammo belt that is glued on and drapes over the switch. You simply lift it up to throw the switch...it never shows.

schutzstaffel

hi gaizokubanou,
if i remember well , there was 3 or 4 screws to hold that circuit board.
they are all on the top side of the circuit board, once you will have unscrewed all , it will come loose.

harquebus>>>> you have motivated me to check other makes and models on that site.
have some reading to do ! do you know where i could find(site) some 1/16
or 1/8 ,1/6 used tanks ?

arachna>>> could`nt find the switch at first look ,had to search, great job.

Harquebus

Well some have moved the power switch to a location under the rear hull overhang, basically that flat spot right under the axe and sledge hammer. Then the switch hole can be filled with scrap plastic sheet and/or putty.

Here's an idea I used to accurize the pioneer tools on the hull: drill out and elongate an oval hole in the pick-mattock "head". The thick end of the wooden handle should be able to slide through almost completely. These are just like the kind you find in any hardware store.
There should be a hex-shaped hole going completely through in the "Box" end of the track wrench. The plastic of these parts is very stiff but the modifications are rewarding. At least the conversion is cheaper that the Armorpax white metal parts.

One more thing Arachna, tie that gear down or it will fall off the tank!

-Harq