ORIGINAL: kclank
the answer to your question is yes. i and many others have put the tamiya electronics into heng long and other bodies. I have 4 units using Tamiya, two with El-Mod, One DGS ready to install, and one "Darkith unit" installed and two ready for installation. it is very easy to do and is very modular if a bit bulky. the el-mod system as Blitz will elaborate is a group of smaller packages that has a more extensive range of capabilities and is a bit smaller over all but there are a few more cables. The el-mod system is about 50-20,0 bucks cheaper depending on your sources, and has a much better selection of sounds representing more types of tanks plus custom recording capability.
El-mod is compatible with tamiya battle system (send, receives hits between systems). it is a German product.
Which is better? IMHO For overall capabilty the El-Mod, for ease of installation- the Tamiya system. Which is more inexpensive and has greater growth potential - the El-Mod.
Back to you Blitz
Kclank,
A great summary I could not have said it better myself! Here is a longer version so folks can understand some of the functions if provides! Maybe i should put this in the FAQ section???
Basically EL MOD adds more realism to your tank for you and for someone observing the tank, it also is very reliable and I have not heard one case of someone blowing a board other then from neglect or abuse. Back to the realism part, they have designed the drive chip to control your motors to sense the surface drive conditions to optimize the power to the motors, that combined with a sound for almost every different move that you make with you transmitter, it is extremely realistic! Some of the sounds are, cannon blast, machine gun, turret sound, elevation, recoil, reload, and chain sounds for your drive wheels that change with the speed of the tank. The engine sounds that has been recorded off of the real tank or a recording of the real tank that also changes with the speed you are driving or if you are making a turn slow or fast if reflects that in the engine! Let me give you an example of how detailed they are with the sounds, you can shut you tanks engine off and still use the turret and shoot the cannon just like you can a real tank! In a real tank you would have to use the hand crank if your engine is off! EL MOD changes the turret sound to a hand crank turret sound when the engine is off!
Every movement responds better, it is tuned in much better even if you stay with your Heng Long radio! So you can add it on to your Heng long electronics and keep your Heng Long radio & smoker unit or you can get one of the Prop systems and use a High-end radio and completely remove your Heng long electronics! Another cool feature is with the Afterburner or the BIG Booster, it gives you the ability to run larger motors without blowing up your boards! It is pricey, but it is comparable to Tamiya electronics and it takes the realism way beyond Tamiya. EL MOD CSI IR Battle unit is fully compatible with Tamiya IR and EL MOD has an Extended battle mode that goes way beyond Tamiya where your sensors can sense if the IR shot hits the turret then only the turret motor goes out, if the shot hits the left side, then only the left track weakens or is disabled. This is a long explanation but it is a very complex system, and I am sure that I missed something!
The Blitz
You continents EL MOD distributor
RCTankWars.com