topspin10

Hi folks - Hen long Super version Tiger 1 arrived from Mato Toys last week. Ran it in the house through two batttery charges (like 10 different power up periods). Now the tank won't respond to the start command on the controller. When the tank is switched on, lights flash, but I can' get it to respond to the start key on the remote. The instructions written in boken English mention a 5 minute wait period at startup. Does anyone know what that is for? For the first 10 powerup periods I just pwered the remote...switched the tank on...and then immediately hit the start key with no problems. Now, I tried to wait 5 minutes before hitting start on the remote...but it made no difference (thought maybe both crystals had to settle in to talk). I tried charging the battery again overnight just in case it was a power problem but I don't think that is is because I have been able on one occasion get the tank to start again (after several failures to respond it just kicked off) ...and then run with vigor once started..... It seems as if the start command from the remote is just being intermittently (or hardly at all now) being responded to. Any thoughts on what I should look at? I was really enjoying the thing when it was working and I've only owned the tank one week.....in your experience will I get anywhere with taking the problem to MATO?

thanks......JP

Turbobearcat

I would email them over this..but make sure you do the following first..


1. make sure the transmitter battery is fully charged..
2. try another battery in the tank and see if it will power up.

Mine when the battery gets too low the tank will stop cold in it's tracks and the headlights will just flash not responding to anything until I change batteries.

The only thing about the 5 minute wait was regarding a recharged battery is still hot to the touch..wait for it to cool before using it..that's all that is about.

If you have a battery you can swap in then try it..



Mark

topspin10

Mark - With that in mind....how long does it take to charge these batteries? I charged it overnight (like 8 hours)

schutzstaffel

how long for the charge..

your battery ma(1700 0r 2000)
/ devided by the charger(400ma)
= # of hours

as for me ,
i always add and extra 30min to be fully charged.

crosswind4

Hi Topspin

I Think what you mean about the 5 min. wait is just a misprint in the HL instuctions.

After you turn on the transmitter 1st. turn on the tank second and the front headlight starts flashing.

Hit the start button on the transmitter and it should start up.

But instead of waiting 5 min. which it states in the intructions it infact is only 5 seconds.

You can also tell when it is ready to use by the front headlight it stops flashing and just has a continueous light like a car headlight thats your indication that your good to go.


Hope this helps

Dave

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

The tank has power because the lights are flashing (Turbobearcat is right, it may not have enough power). Is the light on the front of the transmitter lit, as well? Often enough, it is the batteries in the transmitter that are causing the problem. They could be low in power or there could be a bad connection between them and the terminal tabs inside the battery compartment. You may want to spring them (tabs) out a bit to make sure they are in good contact with the batteries. Try changing or reordering the batteries, too.

Following that, I would pull, inspect and reinstall both the transmitter and receiver crystals to make sure they are in good shape and seated correctly.

If the transmitter and the tank both have good power, the lights are on and the crystals are properly installed, then it must be a loose wire or a short. I would start with the easiest component and look inside the transmitter first. If there is nothing obvious, close it back up and look inside the tank. Perhaps the antennae wire has separated or shorted.

Try those things out and let us know if you still do not have any success. The truth is that we can only offer limited help since no one is there with you, but if something obvious is wrong (obvious to us, anyway) we may be able to help by looking at some pictures of your tank's wiring.

Jason

topspin10

Thanks so much to all of you for the input. I actually have another tank on order to give as a XMAS gift. When it arrives I will steal the transmitter from the one and swap in the orrect crystals and see if I can narrow down the problem. After that I'd be happy to accept your offer to post some wiring pics....

tanktrack

Hi topspin .... had a similar prob with my hl tiger when i got it... it just sat
there at my feet lights flashing away but no start up.... checked everything
still no start up.... walked a few feet away and tried hey presto first time ..
not done it again since

briz

I have a "mystery spot" in my yard.....
With every HL tank I have...when I hit this certain spot....tank just goes dead.
This happens with ALL my HL tanks(5 of them)...but NOT with any of my 3 Tamiya's..
Even happens with my T-34 w/HL electronics!
It is about a 2'x2' area on one side of my yard.......I just avoid this area.

topspin10

Yeah Guys I tired to walk away a bit from the tank...didn't help. The latest is I have noticed that if I place the remote antenna on the tank antenna and press start it will start SOMETIMES. SO...i recharted tanks battery and put fresh new batteries in the remote and I still have no joy. There is just something broken/intermittent in the communication between the two.

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

My Tiger 1 did the same thing after I made some modifications to it, but upon closer inspection of the wiring, I realized that I had a short in the antennae wire. You need to open the tank.......it is not as bad as you might think.

Remove the tracks from both sides (pulling a link pin is the easiest way).
Remove the three (or 4?!!) long screws from the bottom of the hull.
Remove the two front screws (short) under each of the fenders that were blocked by the tracks (the rear screw on each side can stay).
The two sections of the hull will separate, but will be connected by a bundle of wires (unplug) and the antennae wire (metal connector pulls apart).

Look for broken or loose wires.......the antennae wire may just be unplugged. Take a picture and post it, so we can see it topless.

Jason

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

That's weird, Briz. I don't like strange, unexplainable things............you should move.

Turbobearcat

I have a fast charger..takes me about 15-20 minutes to get a full charge.... the trickle charge would be around 4 hours or when your battery gets hot...

topspin10

Icecram - Sorry for being such a rookie but this is my first tank.....can you give me a little more detail on "pulling a linkpin" to get the tracks off? THanks!

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

Sure.

As you can see, the tracks are basically several dozen individual links that are held together by metal pins. In order to remove one of the pins, you need to push one out with a tiny screwdriver, stiff wire or even a safety pin. From one direction (inside of the track on my tank), the pin will push out enough to grab it with a pair of needle-nosed pliers or maybe even your fingers, but it won't go out the other direction because the pin has a raised surface at one end that will not go through the track link. Once you get a pin pushed out, the track will be one, long set of links that you can pull off of the sprocket, idler wheel and road wheels.

At that point, you should be able to see the screws. There is a group of three small screws toward the back end on one side that hold the speaker in place......you can leave them and the last screw on each side. [sm=thumbup.gif]

icecreamslick

My Feedback: (9)

That is kind of an offensive name to call someone who is trying to help you.

kuhndog599

i have something like that. except its right at the end of the driveway.... its happened about 5 times and i'm tired of running to get it so i stay away from it too.

schutzstaffel

have the same problem with one of my controllers(it is the controller in my case) could be the antenna wire to or receiver.
see video:

http://media.putfile.com/preview-2-80

topspin10

Icecream - Please forgive the bad typing............!
( I saw the blunder too after i typed it)

.....you have been a great help so far........many thanks!

topspin10

Well Good News and bad news. Good news - I found the problem to be the crystal set in the tiger. They intermittently work, and when replaced with an "04" freq set (tiger is "02) they work each and every time. I used an 04 set I received in my SUPER verion S$S Bulldog I received from Mato Toys and mean to give as an xmas gift. The bad news is the bulldog tank that I received was smashed on the rear of the tank with numerous pieces missing around the light bezel. Controller did not work. Airsoft canon did not work. The sad thing to note is there was no blemish on the packing box used to send from Mato to my home. The product box containing the graphics and styrofoam for the tank was in bad shame with deep gouges in the styrofoam. I am certain this tells me that the tank was mishandled/damaged on their end before even being packed to be shipped to me. How could their quality control let this happen.? I thought these super versions were somehow blessed by Mato....I don't believe that is the case. I am now out another 25 bucks sending this thing back to them....for a replacement.

So on my end I have ordered two Mato Super versions...a tiger and a bulldog....netiher of which arrived satisfactorily...and one was a COMPLETE basket case.


Thanks folks for all your guidance troubleshooting with me...I just wanted to give some feedback on the issue.

wolfbane

hi topspin10
like yourself i received heng long smoking tiger1
and also like you all it did was sit there and flash at me!
but after reading sound advice from the other guys ((and after doing a basic dismantel)
(spot on instructions from icecreamslick!!))
i followed your own solution to change the crystals to 04 from 03
hey presto off it went no problems as of yet
cheers guys
not had it smoking yet as its a christmas present for my brother
but if 5 minutes wait is needed for any thing i would guess it's for the smoke oil to
heat up. perhaps. (i'll find out after christmas day)
regards many thanks and awsome dudes
live long and be preposterous
wolfbane

topspin10

Hey wolfbane - Glad you were able to solve it. After I solved this I haev to say I thoroughly enjoyed this tiger so far. As for me, my smoke has stopped but I think it is because I committed the crime of overfilling and so I have to wait for some of the fluid to dissipate.

Shin_kazama

ahm,

about henlong tanks,

that was a b-e-a-u-tiful tiger!

are there linked tracks available for type 90 chassis hen long tank line?

like my leo 2a4.

okay, 2 my problem..

about a few days ago, i found a leo 2a4(i already have one),
but with no controller, and had lost its gun and batteries, at a local flea shop(philippines).

and just yesterday, my operational leo 2a4 burned its rx after accidentally being shorted.

was caused by a small screw that might have been picked up by my tracks.

all smoke and burnt silicon smell,

and i remembered the other leo 2a4, which its rx was intact,

and i transplanted the uper hull to the lower hull of the recently bought leo.

but still only lights blinking...

i know 4 a long time that type 90 chessis rc tanks b hen long were all compatible with a sinlge frequency but with multiple channels.


any explanations?