strmnd54

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Crocodile

How!?

strmnd54

It's not that easy ...
First ; when I turn on themaster switch (on the tank), I send power to the heater element of the smoke unit ...I let the smoke build inside the unit for about 2 minutes ( meanwhile the pumping system ( in my case ; a mini-fan) isoff so the smoke is trapped in the smoker)
Then I designed and builta sound activated swichwith an adjustable time delay ; taking the signal at the speaker terminal andstarting the fan ....

Here's a pic of my switch ; I will post some schematics later....

pattoncommander

That's an interesting idea. Only time you will see smoke is on startup, so the smoker would really have a purpose. This would be a great idea for the Mato Shermans with that radial engine.

BiggTony

Wow, fantastic work Strmnd!
Someones been putting their electronic learning lab to work....lol

borealis

Just a safety question: what if you leave the tank not ignited (but with heater on) for a long time? Does the smoke find its way through the pipes or, worse, the whole smoker melts slowly down?

BiggTony

I would think the insides would eventually fill with smoke and escape out of the vents. As for the holding chamber melting down....possible that there would be small evidence of heat exposure in the chamber since there is no airflow to help cool the resistor, but I think that resistor would give before any real damage occurs.

strmnd54

Nope !!! The power to the element heater is provided by the 5 Volts voltage regulator ...Those are thermally protected ( meaning that when they overheat they gradually shut down the output power until they cool off again ) ...This voltage regulator is mounted on the mini-fan frame to cool off ; but since the fan is off ; the regulator will act as a protection for the smoke unit ...

BiggTony

Wow, you thought of everything!

Saxondog

Normand,wonderful idea.s Don,t understand where my first post went but your delay starter idea is a very good one and are you using a 5v power source from the RX-18? Blake

strmnd54

No I'm using the same 5 Volts voltage regulator mounted on the smoke unit providing the "idle" smoke ...
Here's the modified schematic of the smoker ...As for the delay sound switch itself ; I want to build something simplier than the one I'm using right now ...I'll post the schematics after the tests results ...

BiggTony

Norm,

Is that you selling the modified smoke unit on ebay? That guy is making a killing! lol

strmnd54

No ...I post all my ideas , schematics and modifications on these forums and don't take any royalties on them ; hoping that someone who has the time and wants to make extra money will start building and selling those ....
I was hoping that Heng Long would eventually see the light and starts producing more reliable smoke units ...
I still wonder what were their intentions when they started producing smoker with removable tops ...Are they planning to sell replacement heater elements ?? That would be nice ...Meanwhile it's up to us to try improving the design ...

I'm not in here for the money but for the love of the hobby ...

yellowshaker

My Feedback: (1)

Norm, you kick ass brother!

aldoeskandary

I need assistance with my snow leopard tank. The documentation indicates to turn on the remote first and then the tank. But the lights on the tank keep flashing and I can't get the tank to run. I called the support place and they told me I had to sync up the tank with the remote. But I'm not sure how to do that. Can someone on this forum please help. Thanks Aldo!

yellowshaker

My Feedback: (1)

Once you turn on the remote adn the tank you need to hit the button on the controller on the bottom left. (it has a picture of a key on it). The tank should then start up and after a few seconds you should have control over its functions,