lol. Do you use the 3:1 gears for your conversions with elmod? My plan is to use my older elmod in my tiger 1 for just backyard use. And I will probably buy some upgrades for that to make it a little more capable. I still want to get a tamiya pershing for serious battling, quality, reliability etc. But most of my battles will be backyard with my brother, and I am going to be using elmod for those projects, I want those battles to be more realistic than the run and gun, as with elmod I know that you can set the tank to have "damage" to tracks, turret,etc. depending where the beam hits. So I know you really love your elmods, and if you can offer up some advice that would be great. I plan on being able to move these systems between tanks, so if I get, say, a KV down the line I can swap it into that if I feel like it. So basically.

1) do you use 3:1 gears with elmod.
2) what recoil do you use,and elevation
3) what lower hull do you recommend for your tanks- tamiya, asiatam etc.
4) are you sick of my questions lol
5) anything else that you want to add to this

Cheers,
Wade

The good with el-mod is that the pre-set profiles and the ability to supply hig power allows you to choose anything about the inner mechanics.

I have a King Tiger with 3:1 and servo recoil and elevation, and a Sherman with stock platic gears and HL recoil (well kind of, I converted an airsoft unit to recoil).

Both have plastic (stock) hull and wheels, just metal for sprocket and drive.

Both run great, both are a pleasure to drive.

My personal answers therefore are as follows:

1) Yes, but needed only if you plan to build a tank equipped with heavy metal parts, such as metal tracks or hull. Otherwise is not needed.

2) Servo recoil and elevation is better, more precise, less space occupied and less troubled mechanics, but you need the PRO unit to support that.

3) Metal hulls are nice, but heavy. That means less battery duration.
I prefer plastic hulls with metal stiffners for longer playing time, but heavy tanks also add realism to drive (but the mechanics have to be tuned for the increased stress).

4) Nope

5) Elmod forever, is the way to go for the experienced tanker who enjoys pure driving in addition to battling.

I agree totally. I am planning basically the same thing. One El-Mod pro set on about 3 different tanks, so far. Then I'll just make a SD card for each tank.
Servo elevation is the best way to go. Did it on my HL/Tam Pershing conversion and it works great.
I will be using servo elevation on the new Tamiya Pershing I just ordered from Karen at the AAF. Just need to get a few bits and pieces for that project. It has been awhile since I built a full Tamiya kit.

Wade, I am learning as I go...and like everything else I do, I have a habit of all or nothing as an attitude. For me, the tanks need to be as realistic as I can possibly get them in this scale.Elmod gives me just about everything I need to make it happen for the drive and sounds.
1- 3:1 are most standard in my builds because they are all fighters and they are all very heavy.My PIII is over 12 lbs. KV is over 16 lbs. However the KV is still on standard ratio as the 3:1 have not arrived yet. It still moves after 8 hits in battle. It does have 480 motors in it though.
2- Recoil is usually done via servo and elevation is either servo or a Stug elevation unit, which I like very much for it's ease of installation and solid performance.
3- Again, I like realism and durability on all builds, so I recommend Asiatams hulls for whatever they have available. They utilize torsion bar suspension amnd are much better than using the stock plastic hull. It reduces the risk of cracks at strewss points and makes the tank perform better over rough terrain.As we all know, if you make one thing better, it makes sense to improve other areas. I had built and sold a basi cally stock KV with elmod ECO and it was an amazing runner.I simply prefer more weight in my own tanks. Tamiya is a great option for a build as well.they have a great lower hull setup.
4- Never brother.Ask away!
5- I will add that some of the instructions are not as clear as they could be when it comes to using the configurator. Elmod is working on improving this though. For instance, they have an option to change the gearbox profile. What they do not tell you is by doing this it actually changes all configurations in the elmod unit and is basically a generic tune for a typwe of tank that would use these boxes. So, I never use this option. I tweak each parameter individually,, like acceleration in 1st and 2nd gear, top speed for forward and reverse, recoil speed in and out, etc...and then save the file on the board.this gives much more control over the entire range of the parameters. I highly recommend trying one of the newer boards if you have not used one before.I also recommend trying a higher voltage battery pack like maybe a 9.6v and see the beast come alive. Your older elmod would work mu ch better with one of these packs as well. If you wanted to use anything more, I think it would be a LiPo for space savings. other than that, I think elmod is the future of rc tanking.It gives much more control, versatility and realism than anything else that is available. And they are constantly improving and taking feedback from the customer to make things even better. Of course there are always those that will disagree, and that's fine, but for me it is Elmod all the way.

Thank you guys, I appreciate the responses. I was wondering how the stug elevation unit would work, and now I have my answer. Like I stated when I have the time to make it to nead events, maybe even danville, don't know when but ( IF ) I do. A 5 month old will do that lol. I at least would like to have a Tamiya for serious battles and I was hooked on your Pershing Joe. So most of my battles will be backyard and those might be far a few between anyway. And I have the KT that has been sitting for about a year and half now all gutted, this one I am planning on doing detailing to, so I would want the newer elmod for that one, and haven't decided on what allied tank for my brother to use with a new elmod unit also for that. My tiger I will use the elmod I already have. I know you don't have experience with the older models, mine has an adaptor to connect to the rx-14 and use the original tx, I am wondering if I omit that adaptor, could I use a hobby grade radio, ah well might just try it, and if I fry the unit, well that just gives me an excuse to go buy a new one Thanks again this info was exactly what I was looking for.

Cheers,
Wade

The Stug elevation unit is very good and robust. Probably the best unit on the market just short of using a servo.

Probably going to get one of those stug units and most likely a tamiya recoil from Karen. And also for the tiger might just go with the metal suspension arms and reinforce the hull, before I go with an asiatam hull. The nice thing about this hobby is you can do as little or as much as you want, and down the line I will probably upgrade to the asiatam. I tossed and turned deciding what I wanted to do with these tanks, weighing the cost of upgrading. And you always hear the same thing, save your money and buy a...........you know. because you will end up spending the same if not more, but where is the fun in that. And I will have my tamiya, oh yes I will have one.

Cheers,
Wade

Wade, another thing I forgot to mention is the Tamiya recoil unit WILL plug into the elmod board directly. I am one who enjoys building these tanks and trrial and error is part of the experience. The Tiger I first bought cost me a fortune to get right. But, now it is a very strong runner and I would not be afraid to run it hard at any time. My Tamiya Pershing is a definite keeper. The thing runs great no matter what. I am planning to add bearings to the road wheels as this was a stock build when I bought it.
I am really trying to get to Danville because I am not sure how much longer I will really be in the hobby actively. I am thinking about trying to sell some tanks and save up for another car for the dragstrip. Too many hobbies and not enough money LOL

Nooooooo Joe you have to stay in this hobby, you have come so far. And it wouldn't be the same without you.


Wade

I will be here for a while yet, as I still have a lot to do before I can get back into the racing scene...especially test my arm and see if I can still handle a car. I love the tanks and all the guys I've met here...but I need that thrill that only a built Mustang at 8500 rpms can bring me!
I have tried to get out of this hobby once, and I failed miseably..LOL I ended up buying building 4 more tanks instead. maybe I can build a race tank???LOL

A 1/16 tank geared for pure offroad speed would surely be a mechanical challenge...

I wish I could find an older video I had seen where someone used a gasoline engine in one of their tanks not sure what scale it was. Most likely 1/6 or 1/8 but it was crazy. that tank really moved. Going to have to do a search and find that video, it was funny.

Wade

I think I saw a few of them. One was an Abrams adn the other I think was a Stuart.

Joe in your post about the aerosport, do you use that tx for your elmod conversions? because that radio has a great price tag, and I need to invest in a decent radio, the ones that i have that are decent are only 2 or 3 channel for my rc trucks.


Wade

Wade, the aerosport works great with elmod tanks. Only thing to keep in mind is it will NOT be the right choiuce if you plan to add extra sounds like commander's yelling or songs to the elmod unit. It would require more channels than the radio has. If that's the case, go for the rds 8000 and you can hold 10 models in the memory and have 8 channels to command. if you're not interested in that, the aerosport is a great buy.

Thanks bud.


darn it, that means if I have two elmod equipped tanks, in order to have both tanks have, lets say the commanders yelling I need two of the rds8000 radio's[:@] I know you said you can program up to 10 models, but I plan on using these to backyard battle then I will need two. Man thats $400 for two radios. I need to sell some of my other rc stuff lol.

Wade

Hmm, well yes, that would be the way to go my friend. LOL, never said it was cheap to have fun!

I plan on searching through some of my stuff this week to see if I have a recoil unit lying around. And I most likely will be ordering some parts, most likely a stug elevation unit, maybe metal arms, for the tiger. I was going to build this thing up, but I just want to get the older elmod in it, and get the thing running, so I am not going to spend a lot on it, as I want to concentrate on getting the new elmod and using that for more involved projects, good runners and battling, most likely my KT or a panther g. If any of you have some pics on how you modded a turret to incorporate a stug elevation unit and a tamiya or heng long recoil it would be appreciated. I would search myself, but I am being lazy.


Cheers,
Wade