heritage19

Is there a place in the US to purchase an IBU2, I used to get them from the UK but have been away from tanking for a few years so I have no idea where to buy.

Crius

Still the same place, Ian Judge at RC tank Electronics in the UK.

jarndice

There was a US Distributer for the IBU Range but the service was not considered to be satisfactory so it reverted to the original UK and US distributer---
Ian Judge @
www.rctankelectronics.com

heritage19

Thank you.

heritage19

Thank you, always had good luck and great service with Ian.

RichJohnson

Go to Ian in the UK. He is the go to guy.
I will warn you though, the new ultimate model which is blue has a high level of built in inertia or momentum and you cant turn it off. I have many IBU2s and two Ultimates and I dont use them because they are un controlable in my opinion. They suck for short. Especially if you IR battle. Ive been waiting for a few years for the MFR in Italy to write new firmware for them and he hasnt, I think he wont and IMHO he ruined an excellent product with this inertia thing you cant turn off. So I have scrounged old ones where I can even smoked ones and sent them for repair.... Once I run out, I may not build any more tanks as I dont like the tamiya or clark systems.

Tanque

That's interesting regarding the IBU2 ultimate. I must confess since stopping the IBU business over here (yes for those who don't know or remember I was the distributor here in the states) I haven't been following the development of these devices much. I still have a stash of IBU2 base and Pro versions and I always thought the capabilities of these were way more than adequate for 90% of the users out there. Ivano was always very responsive and engaged in these products so hearing that he hasn't been able to address an potential issue is unusual The inability to turn off a feature under user control seems to swim against the stream of an otherwise user configurable device of this sort. Rich have you contacted Ivano directly? Was Ian able to give some insight into this concern?

Jerry

RichJohnson

Jerry, I have gone around and around directly with Ivano, first trying to convince him the ultimate was now useless for IR battle since I couldnt drive it around without running into things on the field and that I didnt want any inertia at all and then he agreed to modify the firmware some day. Its been two years of me bugging Ian and him.
I know several club members that tried out Utlimates as well and sent them back becuase they just had way too much lag for a 1/16 scale model.

tomhugill

the new versions don't have this, at least my last one didn't.

I also hated the initial delay in starting as it made it really tough to just throttle for a crawl.

heritage19

Thank you, just looking for a base model.

Crius

They don't make the IBU2 base anymore, now it's the IBU2U and the IBU2U Pro (I think).

RichJohnson

My suggestion, buy a clark, or a tamiya sheridan system.
I cant recommend the IBU2U until they fix the firmware.

Crius

What kind of tank are you putting it in? I'm a pretty loyal IBU guy, but I used the Clark TK-20 in two different tanks where I had limited space (TG Metal Sherman and Mato all metal PIII), as well as my M-41 and I found it to be a pretty good board. I found that for me personally things worked better if I put throttle on the left stick and steering on the right, but it was easy to do. It can be a pain to program, with the special TV remote and all the blinking light action, but once dialed in it's a reliable performer and runs really well. IMHO, neither the Clark or the IBU series can compete with the Asp, but that's long out of production and yes, I'm still whingin' about it. If you don't plan to IR battle I'd consider the 6.0 package from HL. Cheap and easy, and the one in my Jagdpanther works great. Excellent low-speed control, and many new features, like adjustable track recoil (yes, you can disable it entirely, hooray), turn the lights on and off from the TX, and the newest TK6.1 has provisions for airsoft barrel recoil and even smoke from the barrel when you fire the main gun. As far as airsoft tanks go, I think HL has pretty much got it dialed in, and I don't see any reason to change the electronics in any future airsoft tanks I buy that come with the 6.0 or 6.1 system. They still have a ways to go to get truly Tammy compatible for club play, but they've definitely advanced by leaps and bounds with the 6.0

And some things never change, the airsoft unit on the new 6.0 JP has already crapped out. So glad those things are still just ten bucks.

Rad_Schuhart

If the new IBU2U boards come with that issue fixed, try to update the board's firmware, not only your computer`s software. it will probably fix it too.

I have no IBU2U but for me, momentum and inertia are something I always add to my vehicles. If the board does not come with it, I add it myself with some advanced radio programming, it is much more realistic than jackrabitting back and fowards. I understand it is great a disvantage in an IR battle, but it would be ideal to have all the tanks in the battlefield feeling and behaving like real tanks instead children toys. Maybe in that board the momentum is way too much, and I agree it is a must to be able to disable it if requested, but it is a very cool feature anyway.

And yeah + 1 to the great loss of the ASPs and rc tanks australia products in general. :'(

heritage19

Tried two Clarks with two bad boards, done with them. Ian is still showing IBU2 base on his website. Five left when I checked yesterday. All of my tanks are IR. Now, most are Tamiya with a few Taigen left. The Taigen I have all have IBU2 base boards in them. As the Taigen recoil and barrel elevation units fail, (all V-1) versions, they become static models. I've been away from tanks for a few years ,Formerly registered here as Tanker 10. Just easing back into tanks and I'm surprised to see that the electronics haven't progressed as much as I thought they would. Thanks for all of the suggestions and help everyone.

Tanque

I'm curious, what are the features or characteristics you thought you might have seen in the current control systems? I believe Open Panzer had a lot potential
but unfortunately after an all too brief commercial glow it returned more solidly to the realm of DIY'ers.

Jerry

heritage19

More reliable elevation units in the Taigen tanks. I've got three that have died again. I'm not going to replace them for the third time. Tamiya electronics that aren't so bulky. Admittedly, I haven't seen the electronics in the newer Tamiya offerings, just the WWII electronics. What happened to Heng Long IR. I see a combo airsoft and IR, but where is the barrel recoil for their IR. The sounds seem better in their 6.0 and 6.1 but not up to Tamiya. Yes, I know, there is a very large price difference between the two and you get what you pay for. Maybe just expecting too much I guess. What happened to the ASP board, that seemed to be headed in the right direction and now out of business?

Rad_Schuhart

About the ASP 2... Well, I think there were a mixture of factors:
They were shipped from Australia and a lot of people were reluctant about it because shipping costs (but were nothing serious) and custom charges (never had any problem)

Also, unlike the obsolete Tamiya electronics, it required a fully programable 8 channel radio, so to squeeze all the juice it takes a bit of effort at the very beginning programming the radio. I loved it and learnt a lot in the process, but the masses seems to not to be comfy with it.

And also most people did not care at all about the loads of functions and extra sounds that board has. Lack of interest which I dont understand, because I loved it and it was absolutely revolutionary. There was nothing nowhere near to it, and is still superior to most of them nowadays, including all those clarks.

Price, even when it was affordable and cheaper than its competitors, it seems it did not sell well.

After the first batch, some chips were worldwide out of stock and it delayed a lot the second bach, which never saw the light.

So Kevin decided to stop producing any board except those simple makos for IR combat. Huge loss for the hobby.

jarndice

I love my ASP2s and I wish they were still available,
I think that the reason why they failed to sell was that they were almost unknown except to a few diehards,
After the event it is easy to say that Kevin did not keep hold of demand and the wait for them to become available again was too much for a lot of potential customers and then the redesigned board was introduced only half developed the promised chip was a dud and that pretty much killed the project off,
.Kevin is an electronic genius but a really poor businessman he tried to produce every electrical project that came to his extraordinary mind which belatedly meant he farmed out some of them but it was by then too late for the ASP2.

Crius

There's an opportunity for ya, Rad, see if Kevin will license you to produce Asp boards. If they come in under $250 each I'll take four to start with.

Crius

Tanker 10. Tanker 10. Hmmm, I seem to remember a guy named Joe with that handle, but we all know the Hippy Brain and it's multitude of shortcomings.

Didn't I once sell you a tank?

At any rate, it' always good to see the prodigal son come home. Stick around for a while, it's really changed, especially soft skinned stuff.

HL doesn't have barrel recoil yet, and i stress yet, except for the primo line of M1 Abrams, which not only has airsoft barrel recoil and IR at the same time, it has smoke from the barrel when you fire the main gun. HL has by far made the most advancements since you've been gone, and they just about have it completely dialed in for airsoft. Almost. And they're coming right along with IR, but for club ready Tamiya compatibility they still have a ways to go.

heritage19

Thank you for the information, too bad they didn't work out. Loss for him and us it sounds.

heritage19

Yes Gary, that's me. No, never bought a tank from you, but I remember donating a couple of bucks for a cat operation????????????? So how are the HL tanks overall these days? Have they improved their plastic? Is it still a sub-par tank. I remember buying a Sherman of theirs on Ebay for some really low price, like $49.00 bucks or so and I got what I paid for. I'll have to see if I still have it. Just moved from Ca. to TX. and I'm still unpacking. Happy to be back.

heritage19

I remember the board, and Kevin. Corresponded with him once or twice about an ASP but for some reason I never bought one.

Crius

HL has come a long way with electronics, but they're basically the same tank as far as quality goes. I got one of their all plastic Shermans and it' really quite good, and there's a guy on ebay that was upgrading tanks to better suspension and selling them for a decent price (I got a JP from him with all metal suspension and roadwheels, you may have seen the video), but they still use the same plastic and have all the same shortcomings. I still think they're a good buy for the money, and with a bit of skill and patience can be turned into very cool models.

The cat is doing well, and will be 7 years old this summer. I'd tell ya he said thanks again, but all he really said is Meow.



So what's your next project? Another place we've made advancements is 3D printing, and it's come in very handy. Once you get settled PM me your address and I'll send you some samples of stuff like jerry cans, ammo crates, Oil drums, etc, etc.