First time in this forum... I've been in RC for awhile but never into tanks... until my 10 year old decided he was interested. I've done a lot of reading and scouring the internet. I don't want to invest a ton into something but at the same time I would like to be able to upgrade as interest grows. Not interested in air soft versions. This would be something that my son would enjoy together. I read a lot about WSN - not a budget breaker for IR but you really can't upgrade and I haven't read too much positive about them. I looked at 1/24th stuff (VStank) but price isn't much less than HL and 1/16. Seems like HL is a good entry point with upgrade potential but I'm finding it hard to located US sources - especially the IR versions. IMEX / Taigen are beyond the budget - especially if you're looking for 2 - Dad has to have one as well which brings me back to HL. I can find air soft versions at reasonable prices. I've read that you can convert them to IR and that there are some conversion kits available... where to find these I'm not sure. Again there doesn't seem to be a lot of sources here in the states. If I lived in the UK or Australia I'd be in business.

I know everyone has their opinions but does my line of thought make sense? Other suggestions? I'm really open to hear what others have to say. Just trying learn a lot before making any kind of investment. This forum has been great and there seems to be a lot helpful people.

Thanks,

- Ken

Hallo Ken, If you are set on buying a HENG LONG I/R 1/16 Tank you will have to buy someone else's used model as HENG LONG have discontinued I/R Tanks,
There are a number of ways to get a new HENG LONG Airsoft converted to I/R BUT they all mean more expense.,
Most of us buy a new control board from CLARK or IBU2 or ASP or --- well you get the idea, that means $150 then a new transmitter $60 plus receiver $20, But we usually buy a new control board for reasons other than just changing an Airsoft HENG LONG to I/R.
You could search sites such as E-BAY but you must be very careful because there is some real rubbish out there,
I am surprised you won't consider the UK as you being in the USA are not liable to VAT,
(VALUE ADDED TAX) from any member nation in the EU including the UK,
There are two UK dealers who have been selling in the USA for years and have a scrupulous record of straight dealing. they are-
www.welshdragonmodels.com (Steve)

[email protected] (Dave and Julie) also on E-BAY trading as Forgebear.


shaun.

I wouldn't rule out an Imex/Taigen pair of IR tanks until you talk to Erik. The prices on the website can be deceiving and Erik can really put together some good deals for RCU members (and buying two saves money as well) so it's worth the time to call him. Heng Long has stopped making IR tanks so they're starting to get scarce. You can check ebay and then check here to see if the seller is for real. Stay away from goRCgo, that site is dead but it will still place a hold on your paypal account if you try to buy something. I think the best I saw on ebay for an IR PzIII (and all I could find was the IR Stug) was around $140 plus shipping, so two of them is a pretty good chunk, and of course you don't want two of the exact same tank, right? Check rcdynasty on ebay, they have the Jagdpanther in IR for $150, but I think shipping to the US from them is about $40 for a tank.

Festus 105 I am just north of Winston/Salem, I'm not sure where your located. If you and your son have not run an IR tank and wish to experience it before investing, send me a message and maybe we can get together. Also on 26 Dec. we are having a one day fun run for RC tanks up at the AAF Tank Museum that would be beneficial too.

Herman

Thanks for the responses... I had not read that HL had stopped producing the IR versions... no wonder they are hard to find. I'm definitely open to suggestions and haven't ruled out any place or anything.

- Ken

although it is in Canada www.matomart.com has IR tanks

Anyone done a conversion to IR? Sources for the parts or kits? Found OZArmour has one but it's not really close by

Ken Hi, The world is a lot smaller than you think, I ordered an ASP Control Board from RCTA (Australia) on the 30 November and it arrived in good condition this morning (December 7 in the UK.
The ASP Board is a plug and play unit with extra's such as a second MG socket and apparently compatible with both HENG LONG and TAIGEN without any wiring changes needed.
WE WILL SEE!!
This board will amongst other things convert a HENG LONG/TAIGEN Tank into I/R.
It cost me complete with Postal charges £102.42 /$155.05, Buy it now while the Australian Dollar is on its knees, My £102.42 is the equivilent of Australian $ 211.90 so just about half price!!
Australia is closer to the USA than it is to the UK (Geographically) so your postal charges should be even cheaper than were mine.
shaun

Thanks for the reply... I've seen those... comes out to just over $100 without shipping.. something I'll have to look at and compare.

- Ken

Just remember, only Tamiya tank kits, with the tamiya Seperately purchased Ir kit are complete ready to go. henglong and taigen require the tank electronics to be gutted and an aftermarket system to be installed to be tamiya type IR compatible. As stated HL discontinued IR, but taigen stil markets theor brand of IR, which only works with Taigen.

converting one of these other tanks takes some paitence along with some money.
Evyerbody here is happy to help you. i have a couple BARC systems and am trying out an IBU2 as soon as it arrives in the mail. The IBU2 looks cool because its one board do all plug and play, just get a better speaker than stock hl.

Hi Rich.
If you go to -
www.rctankelectronics.com
click on "store" and you will see the "TPA DEAL" which consists of a
"Sound board", (Which Fits onto the IBU2)
2 Volume controls,
2 Visaton FR7 speakers.
total cost,£45.00 or $67.77
I promise you won't listen through a HENG LONG speaker ever again.
shaun.

I just put a TPA in my Jagdtiger and I'm quite pleased with it.

You're gonna love the Asp. I'd love to see photos of yours. Since I got mine (I have two) there have been changes. I'm using all three speaker ports on the Juno board and it sounds pretty good. And that's on stock speakers (two of them are the mato high end speakers). I'm still trying to unravel the mystery of speaker boxes.

Back on topic, Ken, if you want to do an IR conversion you'll find most of the ready made parts available are for tanks that were never made in IR, like the M26 and the M41 (Tamiya does make the M26 in IR but I don't know how well that would cross to TG or HL). If you look for build logs on those two you'll probably find conversion builds that will give you an idea of what's involved. Most other tanks are (or were) available in IR so conversions weren't necessary. Rich has done a couple of conversions so maybe he can help.

Ken Hi, If all you want is to convert a HENG LONG Airsoft to I/R then I will point you to RCTA @
www.rctanksaustralia.com
On the menu click on E STORE,
and on the right side of the page is a list headed BEST SELLERS, scroll down to "MAKO" this will take you to the "MAKO 2 I/R BATTLE SYSTEM BOARD",
Which converts a HENG LONG/TAIGEN board to a TAMIYA I/R system.
The MAKO 2 is priced at US $49.50 and Kevin (RCTA Prop) generally sends his products post free.
shaun.

Does the MAKO Board plug into the RX18 board? Does it matter if the HL is airsoft version?

Thanks,

Ken

Hi Ken, The MAKO 2 board is built JUST to fit onto a HENG LONG "RX18 AIRSOFT BOARD" as well as a TAIGEN Airsoft board..
I hope that helps.
shaun.

Dont use a mako system unless you cant afford something better. The ibu2 is plug and play for henglong and costs about 170 bucks, i got mine yetserday.

i have seen lots of mako equipped tanks at battles, the ir range is very short, and the tanks always have lots of failures on the field. IMHO the Mako is not worth having. Sorry. I think its enough to drive somebody away from this hobby.

Hallo Rich, I have never owned a MAKO 2 board but I do own an ASP board which I bought from Kevin at RCTA and while I was on the site I noticed the MAKO 2 BOARD so that when KEN asked for information about a board that would convert a HENG LONG Airsoft to TAMIYA I/R I made the suggestion,
Oh by the way I also run an IBU2 pro and a CLARK TK22.
I agree the IBU2 is a brilliant board as is to a lesser degree the CLARk TK22 but you would surely acknowledge that both of those boards are more expensive, as to its shortcomings I have no knowledge but Kevin is a top man so I would be surprised if he has not made efforts to get on top of the problems.
shaun.

Tried just now, SOLD OUT.

Anyone know how fast they restock items like this?

Hallo Rick, If you go back to the site and go to the contact part of the top bar, send a message to IAN and talk to him,
He is one of the most helpful people you could meet.
By the way I just looked at the site and it shows one left in stock!
Go on talk to him.
shaun.

Shaun, thanks for the advice, however 1) just tried the website and it still says "sold out" next to the quantity box, and 2) after a great deal more reading and research I decided to go all-in-one and take your advice and just order an ASP from RCTA. By the way, Kevin from RCTA is in the US for the next few weeks, and thus is saying he'll only ship to US customers for that period. So on the plus side for us here in the US, we can get stuff from him a lot faster as he's shipping from Tampa.

I have another question: does anyone have a Heng Long or similar Sherman that they have mounted more than one speaker in, or a single larger than stock speaker, and if so do you have any photos you can post showing how you organized it to fit?

Rick Hi, When my "ASP" arrived the parcel was full of useful stuff including a "USB" plug and cable so that I could download information on the TWO, YES TWO "SD" cards from my PC,
BUT what was not included was any instructions on which plugs went where,
SO my good friend go to the relevant "RCTA" shop page and print off a copy, it will come in handy.
shaun..

I just got my second Asp and I've found another very useful source of info is the RCTA Forum. There's tons of info there on the Asp and it's features and hook up.

Now I just have to find time to install the second one in an IR Tiger. I've been procrastinating for lack of an apple, but we'll get there eventually. Right now I've got a loctite conundrum to sort out.

I've considered an ASP for my Abrams, but I couldn't find any sound files for it. It says they are in the Wiki, but they aren't. Anyone have the sound files for the Abrams for the ASP?

I just asked Kevin about the sound files again; hopefully he'll either let me know or pop in an post it here.

Edit: Kevin asks that you contact him directly, he can help you out.