Just found this while surfing Ebay. Has anyone else heard anything about this product? It is supposed to transform your HL Tank with IR capability into a compatible Tamiya fighting machine.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tamiya-Battl...item2a1a38dc06

ooh...I like that..might get one just to try it out...

Yeah, we talked about it already: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10961588/tm.htm










~ Jeff

How to shoot longer and harder....

more here
http://rctanksaustralia.com/forum/vi...=75&t=306#p840

I have been down this road too.

Anyone with any system can do this. Current systems are limited to the 30 meter range, because of the current output transistors. Truth is 30 meters is more then enough for most battlefields, so the trick is to limit the range of the current systems. I have included two diagrams that will allow people to do this. It is hard to nail down the resistor for repeatability. The ohm resistance is so low that wire distance and thinkness can have an effect. So each application will require some trail and error to find the right resistance to put you in the ballpark range you are trying to achieve.

The problem is this puts your light tank at even more of a disadvantage. I can see this becoming useful if we have IR battles that have the Germans outnumber 6 -1, then to even the playing field the lighter Shermans could be forced to use a range limiting resistor. This would mean they have to move in close to kill. FF could still have the long range though

So there is nothing new about this idea, in fact we beat this up on this forum last year before the Danville extravanza. I did a whole bunch of testing to find the resistance needed.

I wish this fellow well, as he seems commited to actually produce RTR stuff. A word of caution to him though, Whatever you make, make it at least be able to play the current Tamiya style of game, or be warned you will have a hugh uphill struggle to sell any. All developers should adhere to this policy. or they risk splinteirng an already small group. IF you care about this hobby, make your design have a setting that makes them Tamiya compatible, and that your IR sensor wiring will accept a Tamiya TBU.

If HL would have done their homework they could have produced and IR battle tank that would have played with Tamya out of the box. IT only would have cost them pennies more

I have 4 mato IR tanks and I think I will order some of the Makos or wait for Mako 2.0 ?
Less hits but more end speed, may be a fair trad off.
Great for a lonener tank or some one just getting started. Also if all my tanks cost $460 +++ I would not have a lot of toys..ehr i mean Tanks.

You can buy a DBC kit for $65 and get the Tamiya compatibility which will unlock access to most club play. Darkith sells kits, and Phil sells RTR. I do too, but tend to sell mine in a package system with Upgraded Chip with the Benedini sound.

My fear is that we have these new systems coming out, and if each of them is different, then it will prevent standardize meets among all. I actively push the concept of Tamiya compatibility, and wish the designer of these Mako units would realize the importance of embracing the standard as a base, and then add the special features. If all developers did this all of us would then have a common defacto standard to use when we got together. Without this we are going to see islands of systems and no compatibility. I applaud David for understanding the standard. He still added special features like, momentum, recoil track blocking,extra weight class etc, but you can set up a DBC to play just Like a Tamiya unit if you want, especially if you use a TBU with it.

I am telling you guys all these options without a base standard can actually do more harm then good.

Hay Dan I see what you are saying But.... I think you are mississing the point. The Mako is a Low Cost way to play with like tanks using the tamiya type of system.
For less then $200 bucks (plug and play) you can be on the feild playing !!! PLAYING !!
That can put a end to the ..Hi Im 12 years old and want a tank to start playing with ... Tamiya Tamiya Tamiya $1000 +++ all else is crap !!!....What !!![X(]..lost future tanker and dad buys him a DSP game . END of STORY . Fact .[&o]
I have walked away from the IR Tanking hobby three times in the past becouse of the high prices I was told and the Tamiya Tamiya attitude.....I do work and I have Money ....and boy do I spend it (Classic Cars...and toys..)

The Mako seems to be a entry level adapter in to the hobby, just like batterys ..WE up grade whan we can and if we want .
I realy dont think some one is going to buy a IR Mato stug and a Mako unit to battle at Danville ??
I have 3 DBC ( not $65, not kits and no chips +++) 2 SLU (Great but not cheep, I will be buying more!) and 4 Mato HL IR tanks (I do use them with my friends)and more BB tanks too.

I do not intend to battle in a leage, been there, they are no fun ( Paint ball, RC Gas boats , Scale boats ,rc cars, Drag (Bracket)racing, car shows,) Im having too much fun to want to intorduce more stress in to my life. and for others there is Tamiya.

Ho ..I would be useing the Mako in a Stug, 5 hits and more speed off sets for no turrent, seems fair to me .. and gets some Stugs on the battle feild !!!

It is nice to catter to all apects of interest and budget in this hobby.

Some people have r/c tanks as their only hobby and have the cash to indulge themselves; and there's nothing wrong with that but it is non the only representation of the hobby.

IMHO, Captain Action makes a good point. We see this at our own club, the Can Am. Mom and Dad come out a kid or two, fortunately we make a good impression on them and we have had a few get into the hobby that we would not have had if the price was in the four figure range.

We are not a compedative club, so this suits us, it may not suit others, one has to make the choice what type of club you want and go with it; I am happy with our choice.
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I completely understand. At least this bridges the gap.

My point Is really HL could have done us all a favor and built their system with the Tamiya in mind,

Yeah, unfortunately they didn't.

Maybe something to do w/patenets, though I seriously doubt it.
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So in order to prevent more IR development happening in isolation of one another it would be nice if each developer commited to a base line minimum so we could all play together to prevent more IR systems heading down independant paths taking small pockets of users along with them, and never shall the twain meet.

It is not costly or expensive to do, developers just need to know what we want as a bare minimum.

Once the novelty of just IR battling wears off most will come to the realization that more then just frequency similarity are required.

In retrospec the IR range limiting ideas are an inexpensive ways for Heng long battlers to add different classes to their battles. As all Heng Longs are five hits and you are out, you could use this simple idea to differentiate weight classes.

This caters to the market that doesn't want to spend $500 on a tank. Now you can buy a stock IR Heng long, spend $3.00 more for a harness and resistor, and have the ability to change weight classes via emitter range.

I think I'll promote this idea for Heng long users. I could easily make up cables that are plug and play, and supply 3 resistors for different ranges. It would be a patch cord that all users could simply use.

With all due respect Dan, at today's prices even HL tanks with only a few upgrades and modifications quickly get into the 500.00 dollar range.<div> I think that if HL is to continue it will need to drastically increase it.s reliability and electronics packages. We have seen that cottage developers can build systems that work with the current Tamiya system so why does not HL and WSN and others develop their systems to what could be called the standard, which is Tamiya. Not getting into a cat fight as to who's tanks are better or more of a value but the idea being provide novis and beginner hobbiests the ability to participate with the primary system. Provide the basic functions hits. damage and load times.</div><div> Range I don't believe really comes into much of the play because in the outdoors the lighting conditions can have unusual effects.</div><div>The choice between a Tamiya and an HL should be the users desire to either build a kit or use a straight from the box vehicle. not everyone wants to spend hours building a kit and others take as much pleasure building and fine tunning a kit as much as actually driving them.</div><div> There are finally HL vehicles that have the quality to be able to OTB perform. The time is now for them to perform systematically to the standard battle systems.</div><div> If HL's tanks had that ability I would by a new Panther G yesterday, I believe they are finally that good. I enjoy upgrading HL and WSN tanks just as much as building Tamiya kits. The great majority of my tanks are not Tamiya. I only have 2 real Tamiya tanks my Panther G and my Pershing but I have modded and fabricated and upgraded many tanks using tamiya components because they are that easy to adapt to almost any tank.</div>

That is kind of my point. When HL developed their IR tanks they could have put a little more thought in to what they were doing without spending any extra, and given us something that would have interacted wiith Tamiya. My message to who ever is behind this Mako unit is to do the same upfront research and build us something that works with Tamiya, on more then just IR frequency. That is what is so good about Davids DBC. It emulates Tamiya first, and then adds momentum, an extra weight class, and blocks the Heng Long recoil. I would like to see more developers follow that path, then start forging news ones that can drive a wedge between us.

Who developed the MAKO - well that would be me

I developed it for me. Not exactly true I made it for a really nice guy in our club who is going through a hard time and doesn't have a whole lot of $$$$$ to spend on his hobby. Now he has two tanks that can battle with everybody elses and as far as I'm concerned I don't care what anyone else thinks or says about the unit.

But I DID develop it. It is my creation not someone elses that I'm taking credit for.

However, I've had a nice chat to a guy in Germany. The MAKO doesn't need to do anymore than handle the IR frequency because the unit below will do that for me . I think cost about $39



When combined with my custom tanker9X firmware (a Tanker friendly version of the popular ER9x firmware) for the Turningy 9X radio it should be pretty good.



The suberb ER9X firmware wil allow you to set momentum / inertia setting for each model individually (not one setting for all). Will allow you to program servo recoil speed for each individual model. I've even got a unit that will allow you to contriol the volume of your tanks sound. I call it the PotHead. Cause all it does is control your volume pot.

Even if you have other makes or models of tank controller I've had a quick look at them too and just select an instant setup from the Tank specific templates menu. Best of all ER9Xand hence tankER9X is open soucre. IT ISFREE!!!!!!!



Now what excatly should I have researched??

where are these available can i order from a site this uses the IR for Heng Long Apple right
i think it's cool, if it works for battles i would like to have some for some of my tanks for sure

Thanks Phy

This kind of ingenuity in the hobby helps everyone. Especially for us less tech savvy!

I love the plug-n-play style interface. Makes me confident to buy a Heng Long knowing this circuit is available.

First off let me say, I wish you well in your endeavors. I am glad you have responded so we can discuss what you are developing and get answers from the source.

I offer these questions, and look at the resulting debate as good for the hobby. There is nothing personal involved here. Yes I do sell the DBC3 and Benedin sound systems, and what you are offering means we are competing in the same market. My only interest is to discuss the facts, and the price point so people can make informed choices

You asked the question of exactly what you should have researched. Not sure if that was genuine question, but I hope it was.

Again all this hardware you have developed is new to me so Let me recap what I think you have developed.

A module that takes out the Heng Long Jerk

A module that allows HL tanks to interact with Tamiya with respect to the basic IR frequency

A module that you can plug into an RX18 and use a hobby radio, and using the radio specific software can program momentum, and adjust the speed of a servo recoil.


Now my questions

Can you give me an idea of a retail price on each of the above?

Does your system that allows battling between tanks have adjustable weight classes?

Does it interface with the drive motors to to slow the tank down progressively after the tank has received hits.

Are you aware that a $ 55 DIY DBC2 kit does all of the above mentioned including everything that your modules do?


I look forward to your responses. I ask these questions as a guy who has been in the hobby five years now, debated all the difference between tanks, and value over the years. All I am interested in are the facts. THis is a hobby to me, and if you have invented a better mouse trap that is going to benefit all budget minded tankers then this is great. So far I don't see anything here that I couldn't do with a DBC2, and a programmable radio though. My hope is that you actually do care what other people think, and look at these questions as valid points worth considering.

Cheers

I am really interested in getting Kevin(??) to consider these points and include them in his PIC code

Not looking for conflict just some open dialouge to move us along. If he considers what I have said, makes a few changes and produces RTR products I'll line up to buy them as well

well i got one of the mako units and i cant get it to do anything. any body eles try one. ive sent them an email about this havent heard a word.well let use know if youve had any luck withone so far 29 buck for ????? dont work???

One of our guys brought a tank to our battle day yesterday. here is what it dose.<div>It Dose take hits</div><div>It dose give hits</div><div>It can fire and refire instantly no time delay from what i could tell.</div><div>It is only able to take 5 hits.</div><div>There seemed to be no reduction of tank functionality when taking hits.</div><div>So, for simply fun runs, it works. it will not meet any requirements in organized events.</div>

LOL, Potthead. funny.

Baron
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well i guess just one other has got a mako so 1 works 1 dont. might whant to consider that before you buy one they still havent rsvp to my email