rwk246

Hello all. This is my first post on this forum. I have extensive RC airplane experience, albeit dated (last active about 10 yrs ago), but am new to RC tanks. I've just purchased a Taigen Tiger I mid version with airsoft. I'm generally impressed with the unit but there are some disappointments/shortcomings, mainly the non-proportional turret rotation, engine and main gun sounds, non-proportional turret rotation and engine sounds, and the completely unrealistic body/chassis recoil. It seems from my web research that the Clark TK 22 board will address most or all of these issues and make for a more realistic machine. I am aware that the use of any aftermarket board, Clark or otherwise, will require a new, different Tx/Rx, which I can accept. Anyway, I would appreciate any thoughts/comments from current Clark TK 22 users, especially anyone who's actually put this unit in a Taigen Tiger. In addition, I have been unable to find a viable US source for Clark boards, (along the lines of TankZone in the UK), that not only sells Clark equipment but which is also available for after-sale advice and support. Many thanks in advance for any help!

Bob K.

watchguyusa

welcome!
I too was a newbie in the RC tanks, the Taigen is a good value but the Electronics do not function or sound very realistic , you will need a TK22 Clark board to fix all of the above mentioned flaws, but IMHO you will need a TBS mini for superior realistic engine sound and also engine "transition" (idle to full throttle sound), you will be investing about $250 USD and a 4 or 6 channel TX & RX $40 and up plus about 2-3 hours + in soldering and/or pulling your hair out ... but in the end it will sound and function great! I am very happy with my results in the almost the same tank as yours (mine is IR)

now some guys like the IBU2 board but your looking at much more money considering you need a more expensive radio for all the additional functions, but for me the German Music and the "Not as realistic" Machine gun sound and inferior engine transition sounds (VS the Clark/TBS setup) isn't worth it but different strokes for different folks....

MAX-u52 has a bunch of great videos comparing the two ,but I don't think he ever got a Benedini TBS unit?

I actually wanted to remove 100% of the stupid track recoil ,and with the TK22 you can do that , but in the end I programmed it with the track recoil ON but just adjusted the strength way down so it is VERY realistic when comparing to the real deal and the track recoils just a little bit

Nathen of rctanksofokc.com is in USA and has the clark boards in stock as of last week, dont forget about the sony remote and IR program cable you will need to adjust the board to your own liking

Shorty54

Welcome Bob. I have a Taigen Tiger I Early along with 2 other Taigen tanks. All have TK22s and are also IR, no Airsoft. They are not plug and play, some extra wiring is needed. I run IR so that may require more than the Airsoft. Overall I think it a good board, not the best, but good. Its priced right for what you get. I run mine with the Hobbyking T6 Txs and a Spectrum DX6i or DX5e. The sounds are much better than the Taigen, but not as good as others. You can still run smoke if you want. You need a Sony remote to program and you can program alot, including disableing or reducing track recoil. They are also able to run servo recoil and elevation. I also run a BARC4 with a TBS in another HL Tiger I I have,, I like the sound alot better on that one,, but thats becasue of the TBS. Here are a couple US distributors, I have got products from both. http://www.rctanksofokc.com/ and http://www.radiocontrolcustomtanks.com/. You will hear alot about this topic, your head will spin. Look up Gary, MAX on the forum here, he has several Taigen tanks and several different boards, all with pictures and videos. Im sure he will chime in soon. Some people love the TKs other hate them and sell them. Mine can be a little twitchy at times, but I cant complain about the price. If you have RC planes you probably have spare RXs and TXs you could use. Good luck and welcome to the addiction,

watchguyusa

this guy had also a new in box TK22 setup he was selling last week, he is here in conus ,in case OKC ran out of them?

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/tank...ing-cable.html

rwk246

Many thanks to all who have responded so far. Since my original post I've done some more online work and the IBU2 is the way I'm tentatively leaning. I"ve also done some research on the Benedini TBS, but don't completely understand how this functions or is set up. Is it designed to override the sound effects of the board that it is plugged into, or give you more, user-selectable options IN ADDITION to those supplied by the board itself, from which you can pick and choose? And how, exactly, does it connect to the (mother) board? Anyone tried using the TBS with the IBU2? Another confusion is the Clark optional setup using servos for main gun elevation and recoil. What advantage does this offer over the stock Taigen airsoft system? Looks like it would require major surgery!

Thanks again!

Shorty54

Hopefully Dan (YHR) will chime in, I think he is the ACE when it comes to TBS, Im still a rookie, I have one and the sounds are great, but its still very new to me so Im still learning all the cool benefits of it. http://battlearmorrc.weebly.com/

yellowshaker

My Feedback: (1)

ElMod is another option. All plug and play and very nice sounds and function. Also compatible with Tamiya IR battling.

Tanker 10

Welcome rwk246. Your decision to purchase the IBU2 is a good one. I bought the Clark board first and after many hours of trying to make it work, non functioning remotes, and wanting to shoot myself, I bought my first IBU2. I now have three and will be purchasing more. Also, you do not need a "more expensive radio". I am running two of the IBU2's on the inexpensive Fly Sky CT-6B. The other runs on on a DX6i, part of the $306.00 Clark board package I bought. I don't recommend the CT-6B however due to the fact you have to have a cable and computer to adjust settings. I won't be buying anymore of these. I like the fact you can change sounds on the IBU2 with a simple card reader and a computer. Customer service is great from rctankelectronics, Ian is great to deal with and is always ready to help as am I if you need it.

Strato50

Clark wins for simplicity of installation and expense. I run them extensively.

Even with just the 'upgrade' Taigen speaker they put out a good volume of sound at good quality. As I've said many times I'm also very satisfied with the level of support and repairs are carried out if you need them, which frankly does happen but isn't frequent. I now run 10 Clarks, they're my go-to.

If you want to venture further as mentioned here there are good options for sound upgrades, and more intricate control boards such as Elmod & ASP.

Welcome aboard, we're all here to help and hardly any of us are crazy!

DHMountainBKR

Welcome to the best forum there is. these guys are an amazing resource and are go over out of their way to help. It is truly awesome.

First for Clark site to order: http://www.radiocontrolcustomtanks.com/index.html
Carl is amazing and helps above and beyond. May need some soldering/ rewiring and programs with Sony IR remote.
[email protected]
I had the Clark board became very well acquainted with it but, ultimately went with the IBU2 Ian's customer support and how easy this board is plug and play was hard to beat.
If you are interested there Is a dealer in the Bay area in CA. The guy was awesome as well.

IBU2 plug and play amazing features use sim chip for programming really easy to use.
IBU2 US contact Jerry: [email protected]. Little more expensive but, will save a lot of hair pulling over Clark, as a beginner. For more experienced and you want to solder and rewire Clark rocks for price and features as well.

This is a really fun hobby, and the people here show how good people can be.

Just wished I lived closer to everyone to get together.

If you have further questions I can give you a good beginners feel for what I went through and you can way the options on what is a better fit for you.

Hope this helps,

Have a great night,

Todd

rwk246

Thanks again to everyone who has responded. I have been in touch with Ian who kindly (and promptly) answered many questions I had r/e the IBU2; I'm still leaning in that direction. I repeat my question regarding the Benedini as an add-on to the IBU2 board. With such a setup can the user select some sounds from the Benedini and others from the IBU2 depending on his specific likes, or would the Benedini sounds supersede/override the IBU2? And again, where and how does the Benedini connect to the IBU2 board? Finally, Ian was somewhat noncommittal about using the IBU2 board with the airsoft; is there any reason that this should not work? A few posts online suggest that this wouldn't be a problem. Comments?

Bob

YHR

The Benedini does the engine sound the best and is the easiest to build your own sound files. It will work with any standard RC radio but you will be limited to access. It is also an expensive package if you added it to the IBU2.

The BARC4 is a TBS encoder that maps your transmitter functions and then auto instructs the TBS on what to do with them. It is also a completely compatible Tamiya IR Battling system.

Cheapest option is to use the old HL rx18 for an esc, and when you do this it becomes a complete system.

IF IR battling is not your thing you could pair up BARC4/TBS with a sabre tooth esc, and lose the RX18.


Honestly I am a hobbyist first and only brought this combo to market when none of these other systems existed. I have tried them all(except the new Asp) and always go back to the BARC/TBS/RX18 combo. It is the most Tamiya like IR unit with good range,and the engine sounds of the TBS are still the best.

if you have no interest in the BARC then you can hook up just the TBS to any other system sold to use its superior engine mapping . You can buy these from me, Benedini or Hobby king.

Buy them from me and the service comes with it, plus I have my own sound files that have been tailored to tanks.

You can check out my website for my opinions on this, and listen to the files that have been created. The tutorial showing how the tbs can be hooked up to a Clark would be very similar to how you would hook it up to an IBU2. It would however be a costly way to go.

IBU3 and the Tk 60 are other systems a few months away as well.