rrudytoo

My Feedback: (27)

Hello All,

While I've flown RC planes for twenty-five years I am a newbie to RC tanks and I just received my first one, a Heng Long Panzer III that has upgraded motors and drive system from RC Dynasty , and I have a question.

When I turn on the transmitter and the tank main power switch all I'm getting are flashing lights. I have new AA batteries in the transmitter and I charged the 2000 mAh Ni-Cad battery for 6 hours so that shouldn't be a factor. The instructions mention that when the lights are flashing that the tank will be inoperable but they don't say how to correct the situation. And I don't have to tell you how awkward the Chinese to English translations are in those instructions. Sigh.

The instructions state that the smoke switch is mounted on the left side of the hull but the switch is not there. But, close to the main power switch on the bottom is a red switch that is not mentioned in the instructions. Would it be safe to assume that this is the smoke switch?

Any help here would be appreciated................A LOT!!!!

Al

PS: I live in Greenville, South Carolina. Are there any RC Tank clubs in the area?

tankinstein

Hi rrudytoo

Welcome to tankin,
Ok on the transmitter (radio) there are three buttons 1-has a key on it, 2-has a G on it and 3- has a K on it
1: push this to start tank .
2: push this to make machine gun sound.
3: push this to make cannon sound and recoil.

hope this helps

mrunktonkey

This is a smoke and sound version correct?There are three buttons on your transmiter case in the center close to the bottom. The left one'starts' your tank when you press it. (After you've turned on the power switch on the bottom of the tank.) You'll hear the 'engine' crank over a couple of times then rumble to a start. Once it's'running' for a second or two you canshove the right stick forward and the tank should more forward. You then have full function of the tank's other features as well. The center button is for your machine gun and the right button is the main gun recoil. This is how my Tiger and Pantiger are set up and I believe this is the same for all HLtanks. BTW, you'll want to push that button again to shut down the 'engine'before you power off the tank. HTH and GL.

Cheers, Bob

Malloc

The red switch should be the smoke unit. When it is on you should hear the air pump on the unit making noise.

rrudytoo

My Feedback: (27)

Hey Guys,

Yup, I tried the "Start" button as described in the instructions but nothing. Against my better judgement, I turned on the tank without switching on the transmitter and I get the exact same situation..........flashing lights and an otherwise dead tank. Hmmmmmm. Could the transmitter and receiver not be communicating? They are both marked as being channel 2. I may dig into the tank to see if something is disconected.

Al

mrunktonkey

Before you start digging, try wiggling the cyrstal on the transmitter.. it might be loose.

Cheers, Bob

thecommander

Boy we have a lot of Bobs here...... Just to take it a step further. Make sure both crystals are the same frequency and number and that they both are iseated properly. H L packaging leaves much to be desired and many thins are shipped loose as a goose...LOL Don't be afraid to give the xmittter a love tap or two and try it in a diffenct location to verify that there is no RF inteerference. Also be sure the ant. is screwed in and all the batts are good. Let me know how you make out.
Bob, thecommandernj NEAD CO

rrudytoo

My Feedback: (27)

Oh, boy. I'm hitting one dead end after another. As I mentioned before, the transmitter batteries are new Duracells and, yes, they are installed correctly. The receiver batttery has a six-hour charge on it so that should be sufficient. I checked the crystals and they are both on channel 02 and, yes, they are both properly seated but I just had to push this a bit further. I installed two crystals from an aircraft frequency, channel 15..........72.090, with no improvement. Rats! I reinstalled the original crystals.

I split the hull top and bottom to look inside but nothing appeared out of place. I then opened up the transmitter and all appeared good inside there, too. I have to think that I have a faulty circuit board somewhere and that I'm going to have to return this to the seller. BUMMER!!!!

Just to make sure that I'm doing this correctly...............

1) Turn on the transmitter................red light above the on/off switch is lit.

2) Turn on the tank's main switch..........the lights begin to flash.

3) Press the "Engine Start" Button on the transmitter................nothing happens except that the lights continue to flash.

If any of you have any more suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'll be in touch with the seller and see what they say. I'll keep you posted.

Thanks for all your help as it is really appreciated.

Al

BIGMIG

You most likely have a bad crystal...................................If the lights flash on the tank and the light on the transmitter is brite.......
I would bet the problem is the crystals.This has happened to me several times and the set you tried were most likely not compatable with the tank radio and receiver.Not just any crystals will work with these tanks.Your transmitter and receiver on the tank are not communicating due to one or both crystals being bad.Get hold of the people where you bought the tank and ask them to send you another set of crystals.

BIGMIG

P.S. you can try to pull them out and reinstall them and see if that works.?? But like I said above it is a bad crystal.It's nice when you have a couple of these tanks as it is just a matter then to pull them (the two crystals ) from a working tank and install them in the non-working tank to confirm 100 percent this is the problem.

BIGMIG

Dug up this old post for you =============See "Communication problem upgraded tiger S&S tank" this is a fairly common problem....................hope it helps you out.

BIGMIG

P.S. Had a vendor I bought some tanks from with this problem and he was the one who helped figure out what was going on and why the tanks did not work.I had two out of five of ther tanks I bought from him with the same problem.............What were the odds of that .....??????

YHR

It most likely is a crystal problem. AS Bigmig mentioned get hold of the vendor, explain what is happening and what you think it will take to fix(New Crytsals) Much cheaper for both of you to try this before sending the tank back.

Not any 72MHZ crystal set will work, They have to be F type crystals

mrunktonkey

Based on this thread, I'm thinking that having a spare set might not be a bad idea.. who sells the HL capatible cyrstals?Thanks!

Cheers, Bob

rrudytoo

My Feedback: (27)

BIGMIG,

I think that your thoughts on the crystals are spot on. Everything I'm seeing says that the transmitter and receiver aren't "talking" and I wasn't aware of the incompatability of the 72 and 26 MHz frequencies. That's good info!

I'll follow your advice and contact RC Dynasty and ask for an exchange of crystals. Two out of five tanks with bad crystals, huh? And I thought I had a problem! So much for quality control.

Thanks to all for your invaluable help.

Al

Ern

That's what happens when you buy from Raidentech.... Sorry BIG, I had to do it!

Rudy, I believe that RCDynasty is Mato's eBay selling name. I had the same thing happen with my first tank - a Tiger from Mato. They offered replacement parts, but I wasn't sure what the problem was and sent it back. Shipping was expensive though. They'll make it right for you

BIGMIG

Shame on you Ern,
They were not from Raidentech...................They were from a member on the forum here who had posted in RCU classifieds
some variouse tanks for sale.At the time when I bought them if I recall they were $65.00 dollars delivered which was a hell of a good price. This guy went on to open his own on-line store selling misc-RC items...........Bought several different items from him.
But back to the tanks I bought from him to tell you what kind of a guy he was.........................He was the one who figured out it was the crystals that was the problem.He sent me a set to fix the first tank and they did work but were (aircraft chanel crystals) and I then discovered the second tank had the same problem.So I ordered three sets of the "RED HAWK" crystals from Tower hobby for around $18.00 dollars plus shipping and got back hold of this gentalman and told him my problem with the second tank and that I had ordered new crystals from tower and what I paid.He said he was very,very sorry and that he wanted to make it right with me. (should note here these were smoke and sound tanks) He said he was going to send me a new tank of my choice for free plus a check for $25.00 dollars......................I told him he did not have to do that but he insisted that is what he wanted to do.I chose another Tiger tank...........And 6 days later I got it with a check in an envalope taped to the box of the new tank.

This is a nice story I like to tell as there are some nice people still in this world we live in. I have told this story here before for those who remember when this took place.

I will assume the comment about Raidentec was ment to be in the way of a joke and that is how I will take it.But there are some here who like to show them in a bad light.................Still beyound me as to "why" because they sell HL tanks cheaper than anyone else and on top of that still offer free shipping on them besides.?????? Who else selling them can claim that.........And they don't even come on forum here to pro-mote thier sales like other's seem to use this forum for,and those who do don't even come close to the prices Raidentech sells for.Wonder why that is..????? Raidentech I assume has to pay people to work for them and I think must pay rent on a building for this business as I don't think as big as they seem to be they are selling out of a garrage.

As I have stated here many times I have no connection with them other than being one of their happy customers who has never had any problems with them with any of the many orders I have placed with them.I have many orders placed with them where I got free shipping,but payed the same price for all my items that everyone else paid.

Now I ask why I should not want to pass this information on to other members here to take advantage of if they choose.In reality
I don't really care where anyone buys their tanks or how much they pay for them.A HL Tiger S&S tank is a ....HL S&S Tiger tank.!!!
Pay $70.00 dollars for it or pay $700.00 dollars for it.......It's no skin off my nose...........


End of story........

BIGMIG

P.S. Here is the pictures of the free tank and the check............One thing I take a lot of pride in is the fact I'm a very truthfull person.What ever that is worth to some...........

Ern

Yes, it was meant as a joke... I ordered from them once before RCCommand came along and Phil wasn't what he is today, and did take advantange of the free shipping. Tiger worked, but it didn't come with the metal inner supports that Mato was shipping out, and the transmitter was defective [but I didn't find that out until a year later so I didn't get to deal with their customer service - came missing some of the metal battery contact parts inside!]

That was three tanks ago... I'm almost to where I need a pool table to display them all! [Yes, also meant as a joke!] You still have trains on it, or back to RC vehicles??

BIGMIG

Hello Ern,
Well most of my time working on the HO train layout.But caught myself looking at some more boats.
But also still looking at another track vehicle to work on to stay current with the HL controls...........

thecommander

I have seen them on EbayUK site in England. Try that venue, Bob, thecommandernj

YHR

Here is the guy you want to talk to. Pete was very helpful as I searched for a supplier of crystals that would work in HL Tanks. I was able to get new channels that other people didn't seem to offer. I ended with a set of 27MHZ F type crystals that work fine in HL tanks.

[link=http://www.performancedevices.com/home]Performance Devices.[/link]

The website has changed since I was last there, They used to sell F and S type, but I don't see that anymore. I am guessing F stands for Futaba but it would be best to email him and ask him about what is the equavilent to a 27 Mhz FM F type crystal

PDV930-0975 Chan 01 26.975MHz

PDV930-0995 Chan 02 26.995MHz

PDV930-0025 Chan 03 27.025MHz

PDV930-0045 Chan 04 27.045MHz

PDV930-0075 Chan 05 27.075MHz

PDV930-0095 Chan 06 27.095MHz

PDV930-0125 Chan 07 27.125MHz

PDV930-0145 Chan 08 27 145MHz

PDV930-0175 Chan 09 27.175MHz

PDV930-0195 Chan 10 27.195Mhz

PDV930-0225 Chan 11 27.225MHz

PDV930-0255 Chan 12 27.255MHz

Sorry to the guys who may have been reading this as I was editing it. I was thinking these Heng Longs were 72Mhz and saw 49 channels available!!!!!

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

Al, my son just got his Panther V and it showed the same problems you've had. we tryed everything we could think of and finally gave up, started boxing it back up. when i said check if the tx crystal is in the tx? the crystals were reversed rx in tx and tx in rx. once we switched crystals it worked great! hope this works for you.

Joe

Ern

RCCommand has crystal sets... $7.00

http://www.rccommand.com/tank%20parts.php

mrunktonkey

Thanks YHR! Much appreciated. I've got it b'marked and did a C&P with that crystal list you posted. Will place an order, I think a spare set of these is good to have around, esepcially when ordering new tanks. Your post should be added to the FAQ.

Cheers, Bob

YHR

Just remember to get the F type crystals, the S type of the same frequency will not work

DukeSedan

Howdy,
I bought a HL Tiger1 off of ebay (I think it was RCDynasty but I'll have to check) and hada very similar problem.  Tankwouldn'tdo anything, just flashing lights.  I tested battery voltage and had well over 7.2Vv after charging it.  However, I checked voltage at battery when attempting to function tank and voltage dropped to around 2-3V.  If you have a spare battery to test with (I'd recommend getting a spare anyways, I got one at local hobby shop for $20 and plan on hooking two or three in series inside my Tiger) or have volt-meter with back probes you can find out if your battery is at fault as mine was.  A charged battery can show good voltage but you can't tell if it can maintain voltage without a load on it.  Good luck!

rrudytoo

My Feedback: (27)

Hey Guys,

Wow! My simple query has led to a flood of great information. Thank you all!

I placed an order with RC Command for a set of crystals and they should be in my hot little hands early next week. I'll let you all know how they work.

It's too late as I write this but tomorrow I'm going to try Joe's suggestion of swapping the Rx and Tx crystals to see if that makes a difference. Who knows? If it worked for Joe, it could work for me, too.

Al