philipat

track recoil can also be disabled by unplugging the microswitch from the airsoft gun to the mainboard. You'll lose the cannon sound when you shoot, but there won't be any track recoil. The rctank.de Panther's use the Taigen 2.4 GHz system, which is better than both the HL 27 MHz or HL 2.4 GHz systems. If you want to keep the cannon sound and lose the track recoil you have to either get a new electronics system or one of the systems from RCTA.

CGNoorloos

Once again thanks for all the helpfull info and feedback everyone.
Last night i took contact with rctank.de and am now in the proces of ordering the metal Panther G. It comes with a 4:1 box and they will replace the 280 motors with 380 motors for me so she will have no issues turning.
Looking very much forward to finalsing the deal and unpacking her when she comes.
I took the one with the 320deg turret not the newer 360 turret but that is fine.

I did order the 2.4ghz model so i will then just unplug the the canon so she doesn't do that track recoil.

@Strato50: Seems i ordered the same. Any things i should remember or be cautious about with this tank or just general tips and tricks for this model?

Edit: Well the tank is payed for and now being worked on. Looking forward to providing it with a home

Tanker 10

I have the same tank that you ordered. I've really enjoyed it.

CGNoorloos

Such a good looker! I am very glad i did not go for the Tiger. I still would have liked it, but the Panther and JagdPanther just look so much better

Now i just have to check the postal status atleast 50 times a day though :P

YHR

If you wanted to add sound to this I did up a tutorial on adding an inexpensive sound card to these. This will allow you to disconnect hull recoil and use this sound board to bring back a better cannon sound. If this was all you were looking to do, you would just need to buy one sound card.

This was done up using the Heng Long 2.4 ghz transmitter with the smoker control button on the transmitter, which works a little better then the Taigen for this purpose. However you can do this with the Taigen electronics as well. You still tie the start into the smoker, but now you have to live with the auto delay, i,e you start the tank and then the sound will engage later in the cycle.

http://battlearmorrc.weebly.com/addi...hz-rx-mfu.html

Again this is a DIY project for guys who don't mind a little bit of soldering

Enjoy your new tanks. They are very addictive.

Tanker 10

Thank you. I don't know where you are located but it took my Panther right at five weeks to get to California from Germany. It is now running on an IBU2.

Strato50

As far as the series of metal-hull tanks that are available, I have to say this is probably my favourite so far. It's very durable, the wheels and tracks are super smooth & it just drives nicely.

I put some bigger motors in and it really tears up the grass now. I've had zero mechanical issues so far, I've barely adjusted the tracks! Haven't converted it to Clark IR yet, so the biggest mechanical change will be disabling the silly HengLong recoil unit and installing servo recoil & elevation.

Imex-Erik

Yes the metal Panther chassis is very nice. I like the weight distribution myself. It is my favorite of the "currently available" tanks too

CGNoorloos

I live in Norway Tanker 10. I expect it to take 3-4 days. Ordered it yesterday and i arrived in Hamburg this morning so i expect shipping with either truck or plane today towards Norway. And then it should arrive monday with delivery later that day or on thuesday. Postal is normaly quite quick here. (knocks on wood)

CGNoorloos

Hey guys i have one more question,
What kind of batteries do you use in these tanks? In the RC planes and truck that i have i used Li-Po batteries. In my truck orriginaly was a brushed motor and fitting ESC. It was said you could use 2 cell li-po's with those and so i tried it. However i had 2 motor faliures in short time. Since the Li-po is slightly stronger (7,4v instead of 7.2v if i remember correctly) and i used 5200mah li-po's i ran the car allot longer too. I ended up shredding them motors really fast.

But what are tank electronics like? Should i stick to the original battery or a bigger one or is it safe to use Li-Po in tank? I expect heat is less of a problem since i won't be gunning the throttle like on my offroad truck, but i do worry about the motrs and gearboxes as well as heat since the tanks are allot more closed up then my truck is.

Can anyone shed some light on this?

Strato50

I always suggest NiMH batteries. The advantages of a LiPo that make them great in aircraft don't apply to tanks.. weight, and burst amperage. Tanks do better with sustained voltage over time which is what NiMH pump out. Plus they are easier to charge & safer.... imagine trying to remove a burning battery from a locked tank ><

Otherwise LiPO WILL work in our tanks. Stock HL electronics might be a bit more delicate but they're fine in Clarks.

CGNoorloos

Tanks, do you know how the motors and steal gearboxes coop with the extra power too? I'd hate to wreck them motors and gear. i know they are metal but still.

P.s. (not to be rude but li-po has allot more sustained power then Nimh one of the reasons they are so nice and li-po's are quite safe if handeled with care, but they are not as foolproof as NiMH)

YHR

2C lipos are fine to use. You have experience with lipos so you understand the importance of handling them correctly. A low voltage alarm is required and I wouldn't charge them in the tank. I use lipos in my tanks that have power invertors and amps as they can deliver the amps when required. Sometimes Nimh batteries will fall short and the tank electronics can " brown out" and the tank will reset itself. In an IR battle this can be annoying. Using Lipos will eliminate this from happening. However if the tank is not that demanding then regular Nimh will be fine as well.

cheers

Dusty Steppes

I run Maxxpacks 5000 NIMH in all my tanks except for the T34. It has 2100's in parallel. I like the added weight they provide as I run them mainly in the backyard in the grass. I am currently upgrading my electronics to Clark TK22 in my tanks with the hope of making the 15+ hour drive to Danville next year.

CGNoorloos

Ok nice. I am happy that i can use Li-Po's. That way i don't have to buy new batteries for a longer run. I will try the stock battery first though as i have no idea what the run times will be, but knowing myself longer is better.

philipat

stock batteries will give you 20-30 minutes of run time. 5000 mAh should be in the hours. Stock electronics are not setup for LiPo; so, you'll need to add your own low voltage alarm or cut-off.

CGNoorloos

20-30 mins? Wow didn't expect that long. Then perhaps i won't even need the larger li-po's if my tank will e closer to 30 mins. Still waiting on the mail tough. It takes ages!

CGNoorloos

Package arrived today so i can pick it up after work. So exited. Looking forward to test it and then use the weekend to break in the motors and gears. Found some nice info on that in the stickies.

I will post pictures when i get her unpacked

CGNoorloos

Well there she is. Was happy they packaged her well, as there was a big dent in the side of the box. One of the retaining pins in the back had snapped off but fixed that with some tireglue.

First thoughts, WOW she is heavy! Took her for a drive in the living room and she ran great. After some charging i ran her outside a bit and she ran very smooth untill i tried to run in the sandbox at the playground. The sand thereis quite course and it imidiately jammed up the tracks and one smal stone stuck in the space of the idler. Good thing it has a metal gearbox or i am sure i would have stripped some gears right there.

So it seems that if i want to run in sand i need to find places with very fine sand. The smoker works well and when stationary the sound of the smoker sounds allmost like an idling motor, really cool.
She ran great in the grass, even on a small grassy uphill. I am very glad i asked for those 380 motors as like some of youpointed out the 280's likely would have been a bit weak for such a heavy tank.
Now i can go and add the details, knowing she runs nice. And i gues that within some days after i get some paints i will try to weather her a little.

I think there is only one little drawpack, and that is the motor that turns the turret is very,very loud. Does anyone know of a good replacement motor that is allot more silent?

Thanks again for all the help and tips you guys have given me on my way to my first tank not just in this thread but also for all the info's writen in various other threads, it really helps novices in tanks like me allot.

Edit: How do you guys transport these thanks? Right now i use a big bag but i think i want something with a hard floor?

kizwan

Is that Taigen Panther with metal lower hull? Congrats CGNoorloos!

Do you know the hard case that some RC heli come with? Some people use that, the ones big enough for tank, radio & batteries of course.

CGNoorloos

Oh right, that was a good idea. I'll see if i can get my hands on a used one. We have a flying club nearby so perhaps one of them has a second hand for sale, or maybe i could make one myself.

Yes this is the one with metal lower hull, torsionbar suspension metal wheels, tracks. Not sure if it is official Taigen, the tank is Taigen but the lower hull is the rctank.de brand i believe, but i think it is identical to the Taigen one that is comming now, perhaps Imex-Erik knows.

Tanker 10

You're going to enjoy that tank, congratulations.

CGNoorloos

Did my first trip out with the tank. The surface looks nice on the pictures but the sand had many small stones that jammed up the tracks nonstop.



Also made two video's (they are still being edited to remove the woozy ness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xD0uZjkByFI
In the video below the right belt got stuck while i tried to climb that hill. It would climb it without problems when the tracks where not jamming.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EfYZEAlZ_YM

Panther F

Those units must be taken apart and gone through. Yes, oiling the endbells (on each end of the motors shaft) will make the motor run better and quieter but it's usually the crude gears inside that are making most of the noise.

Make sure there are no "seams" on the face of the gears and oil/lube the casemate so the gears also don't vibrate. This amplifies the sound so a small gear/motor noise sounds worse than it is.




Jeff

Dusty Steppes

Be careful driving on that type of terrain. Those rocks are the perfect size for working their way between the interleaved wheels and causing damage. I busted a metal idler arm on my Tiger I on similar terrain. I would suggest you carefully inspect between the wheels for any stones, especially the ones that might be close to the same color as the wheels.