TankGunner

Hi everyone, I have just made the entry into RC tanks with my purchase of a WSN T34. It was off of Ebay so it wont get here for a couple of days. In the mean time I have been researching about this tank and have a couple of questions.

I would like to buy the metal track upgrade from Mato toys. Can the T34 handle the metal tracks with only stock componets? Or would I have to buy metal gears or change the electronics.

I have also read many posts about using HL smoke and sound electronics in this tank to improve it greatly. I would like to do this conversion, and would this be the right thing to buy? If it comes back in stock. IF it isnt the right electronics to buy, what should I use?

http://www.matotoys.com/canada/produ...products_id=91

Can this conversion be done by a begginer to electronics (me) or is it a harder change to make.
For the conversion, I would like to keep the ability to fire the gun of the t34 (not with BB's, but the stock firing) could this work with the HL electronics?

Sorry for all of the questions, but there are many things I dont know yet with this hobby.

rye

My Feedback: (10)

hi
welcome , you can search this froum at the bottom for the t-34 and it will give you lots of information on it, rye

YHR

It is not overly hard, but some soldering experience would be nice to have. You will have to solder wires directly onto the Heng Long board.(Power leads to motors) With a steady hand and proper soldering techniques, this is fairly easy. If you have never soldered before though, this could be intimidating. A build up of heat is what cooks components, so you need to have an iron that allows you to quickly lay the solder joint down. Last thing in the world you want to be doing is trying to solder with a poor tip.

There was a good thread on soldering technique, you should search it out and read through the tips. You also will have to build a harness or terminal strip for the multi wire hook up to allow you to disconnect the wire for removing the top half of the tank.

A lot of us have done this conversion, and are here to offer you help, but we can't physically hold the iron for you. Practise your solding skills by soldering wire to a thin brass strip. When you get this perfected then the board won't be that tough.

I recently added the metal gear set for the T-34. This is a big improvement, but you must realize that the clutch feature of the nylon gears is gone. A stuck track could result in a large amperage being drawn which could damage the board. The stock motors are not huge amp pullers though, so the heng long boards run really cool with these motors.

TankGunner

I have a bit of soldering experiance, but will probably practice more before I attempt a conversion. I have found a site to buy the gears from. If I only upgrade metal gears and metal tracks, with all other components stock, will a stuck track damage the stock boards?

YHR

Any time you stall an electric motor you have the possibility for trouble. You should be all right as long as you know what can happen, and don't over do it. Don't hold the throttle wide open expecting the drive wheels to suddenly start turning. If they don't move, your stuck, go get it. Rocking back an forth is fine as long as you have some movement, but once the tracks stop, you're done.

The trouble with the stock boards is the control is terrible. The Heng Long electronics are such a vast improvement, it is worth the trouble to retro fit them. You'll see when you get it. It is hard to have fun with the stock dual stick jerky control.

TankGunner

Yea, I saw a video of the T34 being driven and while at first I thought that a dual stick controller would offer better controll over the tracks, it did seem pretty jerky. I think I will be good with metal gears and tracks to start it with a bit more power, and then once the electronics are in stock at Matotoys I can give it a conversion. Does this set have all the parts I would need to make the conversion, or is it missing something:
http://www.matotoys.com/canada/produ...products_id=91

I know that stock when you press the fire button the tank will flash an LED and make the gun recoil. Could this be acheived while still using a Heng Long board? For people that have a WSN T34, is the feature worth it or does it just look fake. Thank you guys for helping with my questions.

Wozwasnt

When I get round to it I'm going to fit a Vs BB gun into my T34. The flashy gun and recoil just look terrible.

ArmChairGeneral

I am in the midst of this very project, i used the innards of a HL Panther. I am about 80% complete. The WSN RC is crap compared to the HL S&S unit. I have the metal tracks and stock gear box, I will run this till it gives trouble, then I will look at either using a HL metal gearbox or buying the metal gears. I didn't solder the motor wires directly to the HL board, if you tin the HL wires thick enough they act as plugs that go securely into the WSN motor harness. I will post pics shortly in the original build thread I started for my project.

YHR

If you buy electronics there are no wires attached to the board for the motors, so you are forced to solder to the board. I like your idea though if you are using an old board.

TankGunner

Although it wasnt my original intention, I think I might just buy a Heng Long smoke and sound tank and try to just transport the electronics over to the T34, as ArmChairGeneral is doing. Then I will also have a 7.2 battery to use instead of the AA setup in the T34 already. I also wont have to worry about wires as much, because the Heng Long tank already has everything connected, I would just have to switch the turret and motor connections, and get the smoke out the right pipes. Also, people have been saying to replace the T34 motors with 280 motors for a more realistic speed. Will the HL electronics lower the speed of the tank, or would I need to replace the motors too.

Panther F

If you use the stock motors with the 7.2 voltage the tank will be very slow. Some aftermarket 280's (like I used with the Tamiya upgrade) will bring the tank back up to it's scale speed.

But hey ... try it out first and then you decide!


Jeff

YHR

I think the lower voltage and the Heng long electronics leave you with a suitable speed. I haven't calculated the scale speed but it feels about right.

pattonrocked45

i picked up one of those cold touch soldering irons "as seen on tv" works great for hl boards

TankGunner

Hi everyone. I think that my conversion may have to wait a bit. Right now, I dont have the funds to be able to buy the t34 metal tracks and a whole other Heng Long tank just for the electronics to put into the T34, and even then I wouldnt be able to use the airsoft gun. I think what I may do instead is buy a set of metal tracks for it and try to enjoy it 'as is' untill mayby around the summer when I can afford the parts for a conversion. I also would like to get a bit more experiance before attempting something that could, if done wrong, leave me with 2 useless tanks gutted of electronics. But I wont let this setback deter me from the hobby, because theres something about a moving shooting 1/16 tank that to me is much more impressive than 1/35 static models.

SNOWTANK

I have a T34 I won on a bid from EBAY. It should be here within a week or 2. I was thinking about the same thing regarding upgrading the tracks and getting HL boards and stuff for the T34. For now when I get it I will try the T34 as is and see how long I can use it before it craps out.

SNOWTANK

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

You don't need to buy a whole Heng Long tank just for the electronics. All you need is an S&S conversion kit, which contains two boards, two crystals, a smoke generator, a speaker, and a transmitter. This kit would cost less than half of an HL tank.

TankGunner

I havent been able to find the S&S conversion kit in stock, and it also does not come with a battery that I would need. I think that the AA setup has too much voltage for the HL boards to handle. But when I am able to get the 7.2 battery I need as well as the S&S kit, I will start again on the conversion. I was thinking that the battery and the kit would cost nearly as much as a tank itself, but I guess it would be much cheaper.

Panther F

I have and the slower speed isn't correct. Plus, with the 7.2 voltage and the stock motors you will be cruising at top speed all the time, where with the better motors the throttle is regained.

The replacement motors are very inexpensive to overlook while everyone is looking for upgrades, this is the cheapest option so far.


Jeff

TankGunner

Panther F which motors were you referring to? Do these motors decrease the speed of the tank, because this is something I was hoping to do. It looks a bit fast stock.

Panther F

I was referring to using the stock motors with the upgraded electronics which uses the 7.2 volt battery which makes the tank too slow, then use the better motors. If your running the tank stock with the replacement type AA batteries then yes, the tank is way too fast.

Drop the voltage down some by building a metal spacer to eliminate some of the batteries (try 2 at a time) until you decide it's slow enough.


Jeff

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

The S&S conversion kit is only $33.54 USD from Mato (it will be back in stock in a week or two), and a 7.2V 3200mAh NiMH battery pack can be found for around $12.50 USD.