I am roughing out a chapter on Radio protocols and modifying to use a standard Hobby grade transmitter.
Do you think I should begin a different thread for each of these subjects?
I think the battery segment may elicit questions that deserve a thread all by themselves.
The radio solutions can be very intricate but I'm going to try and address the essential "tank centric" issues and demonstrate some advantages of using a 6-8ch radio and I'm hoping to get my hands on a FS-6 and modify it with centring on the throttle for tank specific use.
This radio seems to be born for for this hobby.
I will probably try to work with OpenPanzer on this as I see an integrated Hi-End option pack based on the OP and this radio.
I've also been playing with a
iRangeX IRX4 Plus 2.4G 4 IN 1 Multiprotocol STM32 TX Module
This allows my radio to emulate 90% of the 2.4Ghz protocols out there so I can control almost any device from one radio.
I'm going to play with this a bit and enlist the help of many other forums and their specialist users to summarise this here.
I will say that the RC5HL is the best tool I’ve ever seen to make the hobby attainable.



Ah Ha my dear friend Arctic Cat. you seem to have read my mind.
My initial Battery post was of course a basic intro into battery chemistry and relevance.
Most particularly into the power requirements of a good 1/16 tank.
Of course there are are specific nuances that apply to any battery technology and I’ll also address any specific requirements for NiMh as well if people ask. We can do pB and solar for the big scale guys if you really need to go there. I have a solar wheelbarrow that is so cool.
Pt 2 was to be a specific rant on the way to use the technologies properly.
Charging, use and storage are of course important for any item that is capable of the explosive consumption and dumping over 12hp of energy in less than a second, in a package that is smaller than an iPhone. Anything with that sort of potential deserves respect, Lipos more so, because a short circuit can trigger a breakdown that can be catastrophic.
Plastic tanks and massive thermal breakdown will result in a puddle of melted plastic.
I saw that once when a Corvette caught fire, that was just so sad.
I will go into low voltage issues and over current charging but unless you try to do a better than a 5 minute charge (12C) on a 2500 mAh battery they are pretty safe.
Millions of laptops and smartphones use this tech with impunity, by and large the issues are for extreme usage and outside the purview of of the tanker requirements.

Thanks for the Kudos .
I was using an old original TX-13 equipped Pershing that was stock. I was under no illusion that something wasn’t going to break, it was an exercise in testing the parameters of the stock drivetrain.
I agree that the electronics will run at 11 volts though I am unsure of the durability and I wouldn’t do it. There are too many ways to avoid over voltage to risk it. If you need to use higher voltage then you’ve modified to the point where the stock controller is redundant anyway. Spring some coin and get a set of proper upgraded electronics. A standard fully charged 2s LiPo is essentially 7.8-8v anyway so it’s a power upgrade from the get go.
You also seemed to miss the original idea that was to offer simple upgrade options for entry level type users.
The 380 and 390 motors are meant to be used with 12 volts (though there are 6v versions available) and a steel geared gearbox with metal drive wheels and tracks will obviously cope with substantially more than the original hardware but that is getting into the realm of super modified. This is moving away from the original premise again and anyone prepared to drop $3-400 on a drivetrain is going to be dropping some coin in the other areas as well. Usually with aftermarket control units etc. Do not transpose voltage for current. A 390 uses nearly twice the current of a 380 and this kills ESCs’.
I will be moving to 390’s in everything myself as they offer considerably more torque than 380’s. In much the same way as 550 motors are used in 4wd 1/10th trucks as opposed to the ubiquitous 540 in just about everything else. Torque is more important in tracked armour.
Input capacitors on the ESC's will give added initial punch if required. and a limiting circuit on the electronics input can tame the supply voltage to the electronics. Everyone who flies serious planes uses 2 batteries, one for the electronics, but for something that doesn't fall out of the sky when it stops, I would be using a 6v UBEC on the electronics and feeding the 12V to the drivetrain, best of both worlds.
Whilst this is outside the purview of the original post I shall do a simple "how to" on using a UBEC to allow split voltages with aftermarket hardware for those that must have the punch of over voltage or are pushing full metal rigs where a 12v system does make perfect sense. To bring the speed down just set the throttle end points to 75-85% so you can emulate true scale speeds, 4km/h would be about right for most historic armour which is a moderate walking pace, modern armour, a brisk walking pace, 6km/h is about right.

I am trying to get away from discussions of the minutiae and offer more broad solutions to make the hobby more accessible, not make the best hot rod, puppy killing armour in the world. History has shown that the elitists kill hobbies faster than the marketing people. It becomes so competitive that even to ask a question seems daunting and belittling.
It’s really all about the fun, not taking oneself too seriously. Believe me, I can get SO hardcore that getting 30-40 km/h from a tank is really no big ask. For how long? I’m not going there. When you start pushing the limits you just keep moving the weak point until something else fails, eventually you settle for something that will last. To make an extensible, easy to use platform for historians, enthusiasts and Doggy hunters seems a far better use of my resources in my humble opinion.

If you're happy then that's just great.
I haven't used a NiCd for 15 years and have no desire to combat the issues again. (Pun intended)
Battery technology has moved so far forward. I agree and did make a point that the duty cycle and usage in tracked armour is slight by comparison with most other forms of RC.
I get 30-40 minutes of Doggy hunting from a set of 18650 batteries I rescued from a tool pack and they are, as the name suggests, just 18mm in diameter and 65mm long. They use less then 1/3 of the battery bay.
A NiMh pack is a valid solution just not a way to go forward with modified layouts and larger motors. There are just more options available with a LiPo solution.

There is no setup change needed to move to a 2s LiPo solution except mounting the batteries and a connector. The voltages are close enough to be of no consequence. You can include a low voltage cut off if you think you may need one, personally when it gets slower I come home and change the battery.
I agree with the need to be diligent and aware but as you stated, the accident you mentioned was the result of misuse and probably ignorance by the tech.
I have used the procedure you mentioned to recover cells but being aware of the issues, used a specific area and monitored the procedure. It works sometimes. Don't tell me you haven't seen an NiMh pack explode due to unsupervised charging or failed equipment, the results can be just as catastrophic. Nearly every issue I’ve seen has been high energy packs being pushed to the limit or abused in competition environments. Or just idiots. As soon as you make something idiot proof we seem to generate a new level of idiots. I intend to minimise these issues by education. I cannot protect someone from themselves.
In scale armour the battery is not a critical component, it just provides motive power in a very steady and controlled way.
This is why I went the 18650 route, simple, stable, cheap, neat and reliable. Just what’s required so you can get on with countering those cunning Basset Hound tactics.
I won't agree that they are any more temperamental than NiCd/NiMhs just different. Back in the day there were all sorts of rituals to optimise packs that make the LiPo procedures seem simple. (That makes me feel SO old ) Whilst you also don't have to worry about the self discharge either. You can run a LiPo down to 2.8V/cell with little chance of damage actually. Most use 3.3v or so for a safety margin. There are a lot of protection circuits available for about a dollar that cure this easily.
I have an idea for a Low voltage alarm led that can be fitted anywhere on the hull that would give a visual sign without compromising the scale look very much, just the nub of a 3mm led poking out of the hull wherever is practicable.
My Radio rant will address Telemetry and FPV as well as multi-protocol systems, modifying for ground system specific handsets, and updated firmware that continues the idea of the original “TANKERx”, a good idea but a bit overcomplicated for most users at the time.
As for the heat issue I haven’t found that to be the case. Both chemistries are adversely affected by extremes in temperature but LiPos have developed to the point where I would consider them to be the more stable option.
I live in Australia where summers are regularly 100F and winters down to 20F daytime. (40C and -4C)
I use a bank of LiFePo4 (Lithium iron phosphate) cells as the battery in my motorcycle. These are more stable and are the weapon of choice in serious solar and wind generator systems. They are of a slightly lower nominal voltage than LiPos (3.3v/cell) but have a similar energy density. They lend themselves most perfectly to the “deep cycle” type of environments.
The fact remains that Lithium Chemistry is here and is the default storage in tens of millions of electronic devices and, as you will see in some future articles, all of these issues are easily addressed and that, by and large, a LiPo is a simpler, more compact and more effective solution. Like a lot of things they get simpler with familiarity.

These questions are exactly the reason I began this series of posts. Thank you all, keep challenging me as I can’t consider all angles from my limited insights, we learn by listening and teach with examples.
I mean to consolidate the battery myths and address any issues, whether Nickel or Lithium chemistry to maximise the Doggy stalking and minimise the fuss about batteries.
You will find that there are many potential arrangements which are all valid in the environment in which they are employed. My aim is to be resource that can offer an educated opinion without judgement to simplify one of the weak points in many hobbyists armour (pun intended). I offer the 18650 solution as an almost free solution that can be done with minimal tools and offers more runtime and slightly more power for an entry level Doggy hunter. The issue that seems most prevalent is that people transpose and confuse voltage and current. They are all ingredients of the same pizza but cheese is not pepperoni. Voltage is the toppings and amps is the family vs a single slice.

Well done to all of you by throwing some valid and pertinent issues that I’ll address more specifically in individual posts.

It seems that due to my amateur status on these forums I am limited to 5 posts in any 24 hr period (edits included) and I cannot post a URL until I’ve earned my chops.
Absence makes the heart grow fonder…

Smooth Roads
Bill

P.S.
My dogs hate all of you.
I breed pedigree Basset Hounds (the Maytag dog) as well as support an insufferable addiction to gizmos.