Rex Ross

I have an M16 halftrack that I am very happy with........ except that it quits runnung for no reason. Nothing works. If I pick it up and shake it, or lift the back of it about 3 or 4 inches off of the floor and let it drop, it starts again and things start to work for a short while. Anybody else have this problem? It came out of the box like this. I can't get it apart enough to check for loose wires, bad solder joints etc. I have all of the screws out that look like they hold it together, but I don't want to force anything.............yet.

I just hope I didn't buy another paper weight. Any ideas on the problem, and how to get it apart without a Dremel tool?

thecommander

hi Rex,

I have two of these M-16s from Wasan. I did notice that their range is very limited. At Danville this past weekend I dropped off about 4 of them that we collectively bought from an importer. We quickly noticed that the range with all the rc tanks running next to it was only 15 feet or so. Outside during the winter my first halftrack seemed to be limited at 30 feet or so. Make sure all your batteries are good and that you antenna is tight. Next time it stops walk towards it and see if it starts running again. theya re all on the same frequency so we had to take turns driving our own. the battery tray and springs are frail. you might have a loose wire or soldered connection. I will be ripping mine apart soon to upgrade it and completly rebuilding my second one into a Tamiya TBS battle halftrack to run in IR battles.

Panther F

Got any left for sale? I need to get one of these too.


- Jeff

thecommander

Hi Jeff,

I will have to check with my supplier/imported who belongs to our NEAD tank club and with my fellow club members. I lost count in Danville and need to see if anyone who placed an order is not going to come thru. They each posted a deposit but I will check on it for you. Send me a PM with your email and or phone number. It is a very high quality model and with some fine tuning will be a great runner. I already removed the hard plastic mudflaps that served best as anchors and the bumper winch will need to be replaced by the roller for all terrain use.

Here is a video of my M16 in some towing duty action with my daughter's M26 and Kubelwagen at the AAF Tank Mus Extravaganza this past weekend....
http://www.youtube.com/user/spideytank

Bob, NEAD CO

fleshpedler

Already fitted mine with tammy running gear need
less to say now very good, problem with the standard one could be that if you are useing cells other than duracell the postive side sometimes have a post that is a little shorter and so does not make contact in that channel yes i know its only a small amount but it makes ths difference between running or not...........
Fleshy....................

thecommander

Looks nice Fleshy. I like that canvas top. Any IR battle systems in it yet??? Bob

killick64

I've had the same problem myself, and I don't think its a "wiring" issue .... at least not in my case. My halftrack quits immediately if it suffers a hard "hit" (i.e. collision with a coffee table leg). Sometimes it starts up again after a few minutes of jiggling the unit just as you`ve described, but occasionally I`ve had to open the battery box (Grrr! ) and gently "massage" that whole array of Mallory AA Duracells. I'm convinced its a battery mounting problem. I have an R/C toy truck that does the very same thing when I run it into a fencepost but in that case I can usually "hear" one or more batteries rattling after the impact.

Range, performance, etc NO PROBLEM! I'm possitive it's a `battery contact` issue....... Maybe a superthin foam `gasket`over the batteries may help.

Panther F

I guess then the secret to operating these is to avoid ramming it into a coffee table leg or fencepost ... aye? Either that or mount a huge piece of foam padding on the front for protection.


- Jeff

Rex Ross

The Commander and Killick64...........

Youse guys are right, the problem is in the battery compartment and/or the wiring up to the circuit board. I bypassed all of that and everything got cured. One 9v transistor battery will run everything just fine.

Getting the floorplate off under the Quad .50 cal is a bugger. There are two screws under the radio and the ammo cans behind the driver. The radio and ammo cans are glued on REAL GOOD for some reason. I can't figure why they just didn't make those a snap-in type. The other screws on the floorplate are all visible and easilyaccessible.

killick64

Rex .... Have you permananetly mounted that 9V? Any pictures or detailed nstructions?

Jeff ... Both "Suggestions" Taken under Advisement!

Rex Ross

Jeff.....
I'll take a few pictures today of the disassembled M16. The 9v battery I used for troubleshooting was attached to the exposed circuit board connections in the R/C compartment just to bypass the battery box which was empty of batteries. It was intended for testing only, but it worked so well I thought I could just drill a hole in the floorplate for new wires and mount the 9v in the battery box on the bottom of the M16. The existing setup for 8 AA cells is poorly made, in my opinion. I have no idea how long a 9v will last compared to 8 AA cells (12 volts), I understand the AA cells will last longer. But I think that the battery box has enough room for two 9v batteries wired in parallel. More testing is needed.

I am really impressed with how well this model is put together. That battery problem (that I have) is a mystery regarding it's construction in comparison to the quality of the rest of it. The springs that engage the negative ends of the batteries are flimsy, fragile and a total joke.

Outside of that, I love that little gem. The problem of the range interests me. I'll have to check mine out. So far, it hasn't been able to keep running long enough to get that far away.

And now............where the heck is my camera..........................????????

Panther F

Aaaahhhhhh, 8 AA cells huh. [:'(] Me is thinking a 12 volt battery pack for mine ... when I get one that is.


- Jeff

Rex Ross

Jeff,
I'm going to "unrecommend" my earlier post on how to fix the intermittant battery problem (that I had) that involves disassembly of the model and redoing the wiring. Always think twice, then post once. Upon further inspection I found that the metal battery box connection tabs that contact the positive ends of the batteries do not stick out far enough to make a good contact with the small bump on the positive end of the battery. The spring end (negative) is ok, but the positive end is marginal. I made a shim by folding over a small piece of aluminum kitchen foil a number of times, and carefully placed it between the positive ends of the batteries (all 4) and the battery box connections that are molded into the ends of the battery box. This worked, but I gotta come up with something better...... Or maybe someone else has a better plan....... Also, the batteries are kinda loose and can move from side to side. I added a 1/8 inch thick piece of styrene flat stock in between the left and right battery stacks to keep them straight and aligned better. It's 3 inches by 1 inch. See photo.

Panther F

Well, there's the problem as clear as day!! In your photo there's a screw missing!


- Jeff

Rex Ross

Picky. picky, picky. Hey, that's accurate. That's how it is supposed to be. The real ones were like that too!

Besides, I have a few loose screws too.

kclank

please post your method of folding foil! hee hee

Rex Ross

please post your method of folding foil! hee hee

[/quote]

Dear kclank..........ya do it the same way you would roll a joint using papers, except ya forget to put wacky weed inside! Ha Ha

I'm getting the munchies for some reason.................[sm=bananahead.gif]

Actually, I found a better way. I got out my collection of springs and found some small compression coil springs that had an inside diameter that fit over the positive nub on the battery. Now my AA battery pack has batteries that are spring loaded at both ends for a good solid contact.

This afternoon I'm gonna see if my good buddy Jim Beam has any good ideas about this.

Panther F

Before I entered the wonderful world of R/C tanks, years ago I had a lot of battery operated "toy" projects, and Radio Shack became my main supplier for battery boxes and hook ups.

I know those toy battery compartments are severely lacking, but I'm sure it could be replaced with something better, so ramming into fence posts and coffee table legs can continue.


- Jeff

fleshpedler

is that not i said ...the batteries need a longer nose.........................
Fleshy.....................
and by running 2000 mah ni-mh AA they give with the tammy set up at least half an hour and range is no problem............the dmd and mf units seem to run on 9.6 to 10 volts without any problems.........

Rex Ross

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey Fleshy............
Yes, after re-reading your previous post, you did point that out. I was so interested in looking at your winch cable and canvas cover that I missed that comment. I would never have suspected that the positive nose length was not the same on all batteries. I just took a look at the bucket of used batteries that I have and there definitely is a difference between some of the 7 brands of batteries that I have. Amazing. I learn something new every day! Thanks

blitzkrieg65

Hey Rex,

Screws are on the way courtesy of H & S Company! Gotta keep those Halftracks in the fight!

The Blitz

thecommander

Hi Guy,
Those screws on the boggie wheel supprts come loose very quicly duing shipment and rought use. I recomend using Loctite on them either from Permatex or the Tamiya equivilant. I would caution against running to many volts thru the DMD and MF units. I'm glad that you have had good results thus far, but if somone tries do do the same with just charged batteries they may get themselves into trouble. We plan on having to of the M-16s converted to T-12 GMCs for the next battle weekend in Danville at the end of June. Here is a link to my daughers M26 and my m-16 and Kubelwagen on towing duty at the indoor RC tank battlefield. I will post threads when the build begins sometime next week. I had a few shipments and gratis projects to catch up on first.

Please post some pix on your variants.... Bob, thecommandernj

http://www.youtube.com/user/spideyta.../0/naGz271oOPM

Flyn Chris

When the sceen first shifted to the M-48, I was thinking, wow, what great detailing and weathering

thecommander

The 1:1 sacle is very easy to detail, but the cost of the paints and pigments is very high.....LOL Bob

Flyn Chris

LOL, good one Bob, I guess I wouldn't need my magnifying glass then either