Tamiya Electronics
11-26-2016, 08:23 PM
#1
Tamiya Electronics
Hey guys. Anyone know what the deal is these days for warranty on electronics? Mine were purchased from ebay a few years ago independent of the tank kit. They are fried and I am wondering if they still have the lifetime no questions asked warranty in effect. Sorry if this has been covered..I have not been very active on the forums of late.
11-27-2016, 02:00 AM
#2
Call and ask Tamiya USA toll free at 1-800-826-4922, they might help or not. Anyway, since 2014 the Tamiya USA Warranty reads impart:
The item must be purchased NEW in the box from a hobby retailer within the United States. Items purchased on auction websites such as eBay are not warrantied from manufacturing defects or missing part claims. Items purchased from “grey market” overseas resellers are also not warrantied by Tamiya America’s manufacturing or missing part warranty policy.
Read the complete warranty statement here:: https://www.tamiyausa.com/pdf/doc/ta...ranty_2014.pdf
John
The item must be purchased NEW in the box from a hobby retailer within the United States. Items purchased on auction websites such as eBay are not warrantied from manufacturing defects or missing part claims. Items purchased from “grey market” overseas resellers are also not warrantied by Tamiya America’s manufacturing or missing part warranty policy.
Read the complete warranty statement here:: https://www.tamiyausa.com/pdf/doc/ta...ranty_2014.pdf
John
11-27-2016, 05:42 PM
#3
Unfortunately your out of luck Joe. The "life time" warranty days are long gone. These days it's a 90 or 30 day warranty(can't remember off hand) with receipt and must be purchased by a U.S. vendor to get support from tamiya u.s.a. At that they will then only usually cut you a 50% discount on purchasing a new unit if they can't fix yours. This all being said it wouldn't hurt to box them up and put a note in the box with the issue and your contact info. Nothing to lose since they are small paper weights now. In the past few 2 or so years we've really seen more electronic failures on the tammy stuff, especially the flash circuit and again unfortunately their support has gone down hill. Probably won't be long till we see people buying tammy kits and selling the DMD/MF and putting their own systems in unless tamiya gets motivated on updating their tank electronics.
11-27-2016, 05:48 PM
#4
Unfortunately your out of luck Joe. The "life time" warranty days are long gone. These days it's a 90 or 30 day warranty(can't remember off hand) with receipt and must be purchased by a U.S. vendor to get support from tamiya u.s.a. At that they will then only usually cut you a 50% discount on purchasing a new unit if they can't fix yours. This all being said it wouldn't hurt to box them up and put a note in the box with the issue and your contact info. Nothing to lose since they are small paper weights now. In the past few 2 or so years we've really seen more electronic failures on the tammy stuff, especially the flash circuit and again unfortunately their support has gone down hill. Probably won't be long till we see people buying tammy kits and selling the DMD/MF and putting their own systems in unless tamiya gets motivated on updating their tank electronics.
eventhough it might cost you out of pocket you know it might be something that wont cost too much might be worth sending it in anyways
11-28-2016, 01:03 AM
#6
11-28-2016, 06:10 AM
#7
I'm also slowly switching out the electronics in some of my tamiya tanks ( JP and KT in the video )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBN_sP5xPyY
Sorry about the faded sounds , I managed to put my fingers over the mic...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBN_sP5xPyY
Sorry about the faded sounds , I managed to put my fingers over the mic...
11-28-2016, 11:11 AM
#9
Cruiser133, agree with your comment, for sure.
Enjoy in every possible way building the Tamiya f/o rc tanks; collaborating on Tamiya static to f/o conversions and kit bash'in HL tanks into Hybrids using a Tamiya Battle Unit DMD MFU electronics package. Perhaps, one needs to be a "master doofus" (not directed at Joe) to kill a Tamiya DMD and or MFU, though it is certainly easy to kill the flashing MG or main gun flash unit using a variety of plug and play mistakes.
I have built a bunch of Tamiya rc tanks and still trying to figure out how to "fry" the DMD and MF units, it has NOT happened (yet). They are bullet proof in my mitts.
The alternative electronic systems are great fun for the modeller who enjoys computer programing their RTR model, which is not an interest. Worked with the Clark and IBU2 systems, neither are optimized for IR play and that is my usual primary build goal: IR play not sound effects. Though, for a non-IR model build, such as a Tamiya Gepard Flakpanzer rc converstion, the alternative systems work OK.
While they sound pretty good in a demonstration video, I discovered operationally the Clark and the IBU2 boards seem feeble electronic assemblies and kinda of delicate to setup and work with. Neither characteristic works that well for rough and tumble outdoor IR play, I would hazard to guess.
Plus, the Clark stick command nightmare complexity will get you backyard killed off in short order, specially against those fast and agile Tamiya rc tank commanding grade school kids. And 30 pdf pages of IBU2 setup is possibly only a joy for that committed computer science guy or gurl:
The IBU2 way:
http://www.ibu-electronics.com/doc/IBU2_manual_V5_0.pdf
The Clark way:
The Tamiya way:
Bye, John
Enjoy in every possible way building the Tamiya f/o rc tanks; collaborating on Tamiya static to f/o conversions and kit bash'in HL tanks into Hybrids using a Tamiya Battle Unit DMD MFU electronics package. Perhaps, one needs to be a "master doofus" (not directed at Joe) to kill a Tamiya DMD and or MFU, though it is certainly easy to kill the flashing MG or main gun flash unit using a variety of plug and play mistakes.
I have built a bunch of Tamiya rc tanks and still trying to figure out how to "fry" the DMD and MF units, it has NOT happened (yet). They are bullet proof in my mitts.
The alternative electronic systems are great fun for the modeller who enjoys computer programing their RTR model, which is not an interest. Worked with the Clark and IBU2 systems, neither are optimized for IR play and that is my usual primary build goal: IR play not sound effects. Though, for a non-IR model build, such as a Tamiya Gepard Flakpanzer rc converstion, the alternative systems work OK.
While they sound pretty good in a demonstration video, I discovered operationally the Clark and the IBU2 boards seem feeble electronic assemblies and kinda of delicate to setup and work with. Neither characteristic works that well for rough and tumble outdoor IR play, I would hazard to guess.
Plus, the Clark stick command nightmare complexity will get you backyard killed off in short order, specially against those fast and agile Tamiya rc tank commanding grade school kids. And 30 pdf pages of IBU2 setup is possibly only a joy for that committed computer science guy or gurl:
The IBU2 way:
http://www.ibu-electronics.com/doc/IBU2_manual_V5_0.pdf
The Clark way:
The Tamiya way:
Bye, John
Last edited by Pcomm1.v2; 11-28-2016 at 11:24 AM.
11-28-2016, 11:26 AM
#10
Could you elaborate on the mistakes one can make plugging in a flash unit that will cause it to fry?
Also so please explain how an ibu is sub optimal for ir battling? I use them and I use Tamiya and both have the same stick layout both can use a Tamiya tbu and it emitter and our testing shows the same range with both.
Also so please explain how an ibu is sub optimal for ir battling? I use them and I use Tamiya and both have the same stick layout both can use a Tamiya tbu and it emitter and our testing shows the same range with both.
11-28-2016, 11:51 AM
#12
Could you elaborate on the mistakes one can make plugging in a flash unit that will cause it to fry?
Also so please explain how an ibu is sub optimal for ir battling? I use them and I use Tamiya and both have the same stick layout both can use a Tamiya tbu and it emitter and our testing shows the same range with both.
Also so please explain how an ibu is sub optimal for ir battling? I use them and I use Tamiya and both have the same stick layout both can use a Tamiya tbu and it emitter and our testing shows the same range with both.
11-28-2016, 12:48 PM
#13
Hello,
I remember you, your the guy who looks for super cheap steal a rc tank deal, a real mean Wheeler Dealer you are!
Your Question: Could you elaborate on the mistakes one can make plugging in a flash unit that will cause it to fry?
A. Answer:
I have seen others do this...
1. Removing the once newly installed Flash Unit "Plug" from the MF Unit is fraught for potential disasters and that is were I have seen ruined plugs that were torn apart, unseen broken wires that induce shorts plus sometimes MF pins that are inadvertently bent causing contact shorts.
2. Using to much force and poorly aligning the white plug when a rookie builder is newly installing the Flash Unit plug into the MF socket can bend a pin causing an unseen short.
3. Also, last year, for my Sherman 75mm build, Nick of Nick's Sherman resin mantlets and turrets recommended stripping off the orange installation from the Tamiya flash unit to fit inside the 75mm gun barrel and that is another possible short - shock safety danger issue.
4. We can go on but the range of mistakes modelers make is endless and I ain't going to argue with you, it is what is.
__
Your Question: Also so please explain how an ibu is sub optimal for ir battling? I use them and I use Tamiya and both have the same stick layout both can use a Tamiya tbu and it emitter and our testing shows the same range with both.[/QUOTE]
B. Answer:
1. The IBU2, it is the setup issues in my opinion that make it Clark like in that it is not user friendly (plug and play) and it uses a similar problematic Open Board Design = to feeble, to delicate, to cheaply made, to painful to setup work with (like Clark), not to mention the IBU2 terrible 30 page pdf instruction file, which leads to the primary issue: good luck with durability vs the product cheapness and I ain't going to argue with you, it is what is.
Hope this helps and I recommend to you this famous quote from the UK, relative to RC Tank Controllers:
John Ruskin
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When
you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay
too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you
bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The
common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will
have enough to pay for something better.”
Bye
I remember you, your the guy who looks for super cheap steal a rc tank deal, a real mean Wheeler Dealer you are!
Your Question: Could you elaborate on the mistakes one can make plugging in a flash unit that will cause it to fry?
A. Answer:
I have seen others do this...
1. Removing the once newly installed Flash Unit "Plug" from the MF Unit is fraught for potential disasters and that is were I have seen ruined plugs that were torn apart, unseen broken wires that induce shorts plus sometimes MF pins that are inadvertently bent causing contact shorts.
2. Using to much force and poorly aligning the white plug when a rookie builder is newly installing the Flash Unit plug into the MF socket can bend a pin causing an unseen short.
3. Also, last year, for my Sherman 75mm build, Nick of Nick's Sherman resin mantlets and turrets recommended stripping off the orange installation from the Tamiya flash unit to fit inside the 75mm gun barrel and that is another possible short - shock safety danger issue.
4. We can go on but the range of mistakes modelers make is endless and I ain't going to argue with you, it is what is.
__
Your Question: Also so please explain how an ibu is sub optimal for ir battling? I use them and I use Tamiya and both have the same stick layout both can use a Tamiya tbu and it emitter and our testing shows the same range with both.[/QUOTE]
B. Answer:
1. The IBU2, it is the setup issues in my opinion that make it Clark like in that it is not user friendly (plug and play) and it uses a similar problematic Open Board Design = to feeble, to delicate, to cheaply made, to painful to setup work with (like Clark), not to mention the IBU2 terrible 30 page pdf instruction file, which leads to the primary issue: good luck with durability vs the product cheapness and I ain't going to argue with you, it is what is.
Hope this helps
and I recommend to you this famous quote from the UK, relative to RC Tank Controllers:John Ruskin
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When
you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay
too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you
bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The
common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will
have enough to pay for something better.”
Bye
Last edited by Pcomm1.v2; 11-28-2016 at 03:49 PM.
11-29-2016, 04:51 AM
#15
Moderator
Guys, I want to remind everyone that part of the user agreement every member of RCU digitally signed when joining is that we will all keep conversations civil and respectful. When dealing with people, especially strangers, it's much better to work out negative thoughts in private rather than in public. That's one of the reasons that RCU has a private messaging feature. I won't remove any posts here at this point, but will remind everyone to represent the hobby in the best way possible not only to each other but to all the other RCU users who may also read your posts.
11-29-2016, 05:46 AM
#16
Join Date: Nov 2012
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I have ONE Clark TK22 and ONE IBU2 and I have not set up either yet as the Clark will go into my T55 because of lack of space issues and the IBU will go into my Lowe to see how it goes. I am a bit intimidated as I have almost exclusively used Tamiya, so we shall see...
