Thougts (new?) on mako2 boards?
 

Hi all,

I've been reading the Mako2 board at the manufacturer's site and was wondering if anyone here has gotten it to work? How was the delivery (duration to US, packaging)? How well does the IR system perform? To me it seems to be a perfect solution to just plug in a board (1) to make it compatible with tamiya/HL/taigen all at once and would be my ideal solution for my Taigens (and incoming BB HL). There's also something they're calling the Mako TE that's straight up an IR translator just to receive Tamiya signals (for a cheap and real quick solution).

Anyway, really thinking about getting these boards and outfitting all my tanks and would appreciate anyone's insight or experience with them.

If you are in the market for this kind of thing you should read up and see what the options are.

You owe it yourself to check this out as well

http://battlearmorrc.weebly.com/infrared-battling.html

At the end of the day buy what suits your needs best, but don't paint yourself in a corner would be my advise.

I bought one a while back when first messing around with HLs after owning 2 Tamiyas for a while.

Service was great, shipping not bad at all from Oz to the US in time or cost and the board performed as advertised. That said, it was a very short sided, non researched foray that was almost immediately obsolete.

If you are absolutely positive you will never need to grow beyond Tamiya capatibilty IR, meaning no better sound or Tx/Rx, etc, go for it. I used in an HL for about a week before I upgraded to a DBC2, then DBC3 w/Benedini. All the steps could have been avoided, saving time and money if I thought it out better. Since then, there are so many more options, you're best served looking around before you outfit.

My Mako is still going, but not as intended. It's hotwired into my Kettenkrad, jumping off the El Mod system to fire Tamiya's code. It can't receive hits, just dishes them out, but it's only as a gag:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYNtkRHrwz4 Here's an earlier vid of testing out the Mako with the Panzerfaust:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kbkmi0Vn8E

That's still pretty awesome concept though. :) Can be placed in gun pits and such for panzerfaust type simulation in a battlefield. Still, what you did looks cool. :)

@YHR: yep I read that, three times. :) Just looking at options and their costs/time. I think once our local club is re-established I'll have a better idea on how to go about the electronics upgrade; that is, most likely any significant upgrade in tx/sound/IR won't be (if ever, a sad possibility in my area) needed until maybe 6 months for the club to get going again.

The DBC was around for a while before the Mako was released , but as i live in Australia, when the Mako came out i had to have one for my Panzer III.

It did work as advertised, but i did find it a little hot & cold in terms of getting it to work all the time. I don't really use it anymore and have moved onto Tamiya or my HL's have the Clark TK with Benedini sound.

Like the others have said, research ALL the options and if it means spending a little more to be happy with your tank then i would recommend it. ElMod, SGS, IBU, Clark, DBC - there are many options for upgrading.