brooksk

Greetings and Merry Christmas to all!

Hello. I am a newbie to RC tanks and have just received two Heng Long RC battle tanks. One of my tanks is a German Tiger 1, model 3818-1, sounds and smoke Air Soft. As I carefully removed it from its carton I was amazed at the details and heft of the beast. I was dissappointed to discover that my unit will not produce any sounds nor smoke as advertised. I have since written the vendor / seller about my misfortune and await a reply. I discovered this forum and saw issues with the smoke unit similar to mine. Hoping that the vendor / seller replaces or fixes the tank I am still wondering if such an occurance will continue in the future. I would like to know how the unit can be disassembled so that I can make minor repairs, such as to tracks, wheels, gears, etc., and also the sound card / speaker and smoke generator unit. Can anyone tell me how this is done for future use?

brooksk

P.S. If there is already an answer posted in a previous archive please advise.

shenlonco

My Feedback: (2)

Hi first are you sure it's a smoke and sound version? Does it have real channel # crystal that can be pulled out and changed on the radio and tank?
If not you have a standard 3 speed version... If so then make sure you turn the volume knob up on the bottom of the tank it may be off.

angusx

As Shenloco says, check the volume control. Also if it's smoke and sound, it will have a smoke switch underneath and parallel to the on/off switch (it's a little smaller, but not so much so that you can't see it.)

There's quite a lot of general information in the FAQ section.

[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_5760954/tm.htm]FAQ[/link]

Gerula

Hello. I just got your mail

First of all, you need to figure out if you have a smoke&sound or a non smoke&sound version. If your remote control has on the lower right corner a switch that enables you to select between channels A B and C that's a non S&S. You might also want to open the battery door, remove the battery and look under it for a small opening where the crystal should be fitted (you could have ended up with a S&S tank but a non S&S TX, as Heng Long QC isn't exactly famous for it's accuracy)

Another way to identify a S&S tank is by the colour of the box: white is S&S, black is non S&S.

Let us know which version you have, because if it's S&S you'll have to open the tank to figure out why the sound and the smoke are not working.

Btw, make sure the volume know isn't muted and that the smoke unit is turned on (the small RED on-off switch on the bottom of the tank)

brooksk

This reply is for the above three responses as all asked the same question.

My tank is a Smoke and Sound. I have a removable chip / crystal socket on the radio transmitter and also one located inside the battery compartment. Both of them are listed as having the same crystal frequency. This tank is almost identical to the Snow Leopard tank I also received from Heng Long and that one produces good sound effects, etc.

I have tried adjusting the volume control screw on the bottom of the unit without success. I personally did not drop or otherwise damage the unit since it arrived on my doorstep last week. (Not to say it wasn't shaken or dropped somewhere in transit, though.)

Question: If this were your tank and wanted to keep it where would you begin?

shenlonco

My Feedback: (2)

I would take it apart and look at the board for any loose wires that may be needed to be resoldered back on.
Also try your other HL tanks radio on your new one make sure to swap crystals also and give that a try first before ripping the tank apart.

Gerula

Remove tracks. (you need to push one pin out) . Remove the two tiny brackets holding in place the tubes that go to the air filters on the backplate. Then remove the tubes.

Holding the tank with the bottom up look for 6 small screws (3 on each side) located under the roadwheels and sprockets. To remove the middle one on each side you'll have to press down a bit a roadwheel, the front and back ones are easy.

Now look on the bottom of the hull for three screws (two on the back of the tank and one on the front) that have DEEP holes. Do not confuse them with the screws that hold the smoke unit, those are much shorter and have much shallower holes). After you remove these three screws you can take out the upper hull.

CAREFUL at the antenna wire (you have to disconnect it) and to the turett wires (you need to remove the plug)

Now, with the upper hull removed, just look for the wires coming out of the smoke unit and the speaker. They are probably just disconected from the Rx.

brooksk

I was thinking the same thing. Is the crystal chip located inside the tank's battery compartment difficult to extract? Is there any risk pulling it out? Can Iuse the tape (which also has the frequency no. printed on it) attached to the chip to pull on? Is re-installation with the other tank's chip as simple as re-inserting into socket?

YHR

From your message I am not sure whether this tank runs OK. Other hten no sound or smoke does the tanks other functions work?

After about 20 seconds after pushing the start button the lights should stop flashing and you should be able to hear the smoke pump kick in and start working. Is any of this happening????


IF the tank is running OK and you hear the smoke pump working, then that par tof the bord is working and the reason you have no smoke will because it needs ot be filled. If tank tank runs and you have no sound, it could be the speake ris just unplugged. So what i would do is take the top off and have a look. IF you have a digital camera post some pictures of the inside so we can have a look.

Also if you are going to take this hobby seriously, then opening up the tank and fixing things is what this is all about. I know when you buy something it should woork, but the hassle of returning such big items though the mail, means it is probably best to role up your sleeves and get to being a tanker sooner then you figured!!!!!!

brooksk

Gerula, that seemingly little bit of info was just what I was looking for. Thank a ton!

Before I proceed any further...the left side of tank above roadwheels has the three screws mentioned. However, on the right side there are five screws of similar size. I would assume I'm to remove all five screws on the right side?

Is there trick or preferred method of track removal? I just tried using a safety pin to dislodge one of the track's pins and nothing budged.

brooksk

YHR,

When I turn on the tank's power the lights flash. Depressing the engine switch at the controller stops the flashing and after a few minutes the tank is responsive to movement commands, as well as the cannon firing a BB. When I turn on the smoke function switch there is a loud whirring noise. I'm guessing that is the smoke generator? I have added aerosol fluid per manual's instructions. After reading some of the posts on this forum (esp the FAQ area) I am wondering if I needed to charge the tank's battery longer. The manual tells me nothing about how long to charge. I had only charged the batteries for ~1hr before trying to use them. Since I have a 1700mah Ni-Cd 7.2V battery and my charger is rated 400mA output we'll see if a full charge (~4.89hrs) helps get things going. Also, I don't mind rolling up my sleeves to see what's happening and make any repairs, I just don't want to void any potential warranty since it's brand spanking new.

shenlonco

My Feedback: (2)

Sounds like a dead battery you need to get yourself a peak charger a duratrax onyx 200 would be great for you look here first charger on the top great price good deal.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTS1000p?&C=P

Gerula

You're welcome.

NO.the 6 screws I mentioned in the first part of the disassembling procedure are 3 on the right and 3 on the leftand can be foundUNDER THE ROADWHEELS/ SPROCKETS as looking at the bottom of the tank. They are not on the side of the lower hull either, those are holding the speaker.

The3 screws mentioned in the second part are on the bottom itself, two in the back,forming a line parallel with the backplate4, and one in the front. Again, these are longer then the screws holding the smoke unit in place.


One side of the pin has some carvings to prevent it from moving. You need to apply quite a bit of pressure to get it going.

brooksk

Gerula,

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my descriptions of the screw locations. Above the roadwheels / sprockets on the tank's left side (when viewing the tank from underneath - like a car mechanic standing underneath a vehicle that's on a lift as when doing any under carriage work, etc.) there are three screws. I can see that the best way to get to them is track and, possibly, roadwheel / sprocket removal. On the tank's right side, when viewed from underneath there are five screws located between the track and lower hull. The other three screws you mentioned I can clearly identify on the tank's bottom. Tomorrow (it's late here - after midnight now) I will check each tank's battery for charge with a mult-meter and label each controller / crystal set and then swap. If still no change I will roll up my sleeves and attempt to remove the Tiger's upper hull. I'll take pics and post them if nothing obvious is found.

angusx

Haven't experienced this problem myself, but I gather that the smoke generator comes already primed (mine have) and adding more fluid can stop actually stop it working, presumably by swamping the heating element.

YHR

This problem could simply be a low battery combined with the speaker being unplugged from the board. Sounds like everything is working ofen except the speaker so

Fully charge tank and try again

Take of the top half of the tank

Trace the two wires from the speaker back to the board. They should be plugged int othe RX 18 at the loacation labeled, "SP" Beside that is a 3 prong plug. This is the volume control jack. It must be plugged in as well. Trace the three wires from this back to the volume control. Ensure all three wires are soldered to the volume control.

My guess at this point is either someone forget to plug something in, or possibly a wire has broke at the solder point on the volume control. This is a weak area.

Another problem could be that the smoker and the speaker jacks are plugged into the wrong sockets on the RX 18. They both have the same plug end, and in some factory workers haste they may have just got it wrong.

Let us know how you make out.

Here is a diagram I found useful and harvested it off the internet somewhere

Dan

Gerula

Two of them hold the speaker. You need to take out the 3 screws that are simmetrical with the 3 screws on the left side. Hope this helps (when I said the screws holding the speaker will be on the side I was thinking about the Panzer III, sorry )

brooksk

I have carefully removed the tracks and split the upper hull from the lower hull. Upon inspection there was one pair of wires which looks like it belongs to the speaker and it was disconnected from the other end at the junction box (whatever it's called). I plugged it in and hooked up the battery again after making sure I had a full charge. The tank still will not produce any sound effects. The only sound I get is when I slide the Right / Left Trim lever back 'n' forth, it sounds like radio interference noise, like a whine but I'm not sure where exactly it's coming from.

Also, changed the crystal chips out and switched them with the other tank I received at the same time. Also just switched the transmitter chips between sound producing tank and silent Tiger. I get sound (and movements) from the M26 using the Tiger's transmitter with M26's chip. Also get movement and sound from M26 using silent Tiger's chips. Conclusion: silent Tiger's transmitter and chips are fine.

Given that I found a disconnected wire inside the silent Tiger I'm guessing that the problem lies somewhere inside. Ihate to do this but is the speaker inside the M26, model 3838-1 (S & S), identical to the Tiger's? I will try to upload some pics, hopefully someone there can help.

brooksk

brooksk

Here's a few additional pics of the guts of silent Tiger. I saved and printed out a diagram of the RX-18 module YHR provided and from all I can see it looks pretty near identical. I could not see any broken terminals or burnt areas. The other board, TK-YL101-1, is also depicted. It does not look nearly as 'clean' as the RX-18 board, but again, I cannot see any notable burnt areas, etc., that are obvious.

I took apart the speaker and all wire connections look good. Not sure how to test that unit unless I swap it with the one inside the working M26 tank.

Does anyone know how much both those boards and speaker costs and where to find them?

[Just tried uploading the pics, internal server error. I will try to upload tomorrow if anyone wants them.]

Gerula

Make sure the speaker is connected to the CN5 connector on the board and the smoke unit to CN10.

If these are plugged right, what you want to do next is to swap the Rx18 from the silent Tiger into the M26. If this mutes the M26 you probably have something fried on the Rx18. If it doesn't, it's time to unscrew the volume knob from the Tiger and carefully look at it.

YHR

In the picture you posted of the RX 18. The speaker is not plugged in!!!!

candycab

Welcome to the insanity,hope you enjoy your new toys

Just looking the thread over and you beat me to it YHR

Gerula

 Guys, relax, he already said he found it disconnected. Look a few messages back.

candycab

Its all good here Nice to see it wasn't a major issue It always sucks to have to work on new toys before getting to play with them for a while until the urge to start tinkering sets in.

YHR

AS Gerula suggested, have a look at the volume control knob, and make sure the three wires that terminate there are OK. Just make sure you plug that speaker back in!!!!.