RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

It took about 30 days from Elmod in Germans to the US.
Darryl

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Mine showed up today. I am going to bench test it tonight.

Dan

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Well I got mine hooked up. Great cannon sound, good turret sounds, Nice control of the tank and it works with a Spektrum receiver.

I haven't got any engine sounds out of it yet, but I am still playing with some configuration. So I am just typing an update as a get a battery charged, and try with a fresh charge. I had asked Clark about supplying me with some with no engine sounds so I could mate it to a Benedini, maybe this is what he sent me, and that is why I have no engine sounds, or it could be I just haven't got the right stick movement figured out to start the tank yet. I'll know in the next hour.

Good news for Spektrum owners though, as I had no trouble controlling the tank with a Spektrum receiver.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Full Battery. All works. I haven't rewired for direct control of HL elevation, but the rest of it is good. I am spoiled with the Benedini engine sounds, but there is nothing wrong with these. The turret rotation and cannon are quite dynamic, with a really good machine gun sound.

I might have got lucky with my radio set up. I have steering and throttle on the right stick. On the left stick I can rotate the turret ( left and right), Fire the cannon ( straight up). Start the engine( Full Down and then right) Fire the machine gun (Full down and then left), Turn the light on( 45 degree down to left).

Great thing is with this set up I can add a Benedini card, have unique engine sounds, and use the clark board for all the other sounds and the battle system. I am very happy with this, and because it works so well with the Benedini without any modification it is very versitle. I have a large library of Sounds designed to use with the Benedini. I had talked to Clark about making me boards with no engine sound, but I have discovered, I don't even need to worry about that.

Well Done.

This is a really good piece of electronics. Nothing got warm, low FET noise all good. Thumbs up, and WOW how can you beat that price. $60!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I haven't tested the IR side of it yet but will.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

That's really exciting! I'm stilling trying to build a breakout board for the RX18, the DB3, the Benedini and the Spectrum receiver so I can house everything in a plastic box and plug in all the HL functions. What about the Elevation and cannon fire? That is my pet hatred with the current setup. Thanksn Dan,

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

This Clark board gives you direct control of the elevation motor. You have to do some minor wiring mods. Basically hook up the Blue and Yellow Heng Long wire directly to the elevation motor. It also has something called "Real Recoil" You plug in a servo and it has a quick recoil, with a slow return function built in. Very nice and easy. The Engine sound is no better then a Tamiya, but because you have the option to turn off the engine sounds, a Benedini TBS card could be used to just provide the engine sounds. You would need two speakers. One in the turret for the cannon and turret sounds, supplied by the Clark unit, and another one in the Hull driven by the Benedini for the Engine.

Clark is threatening to produce a programmable card, If he does this market has just been turned upside down.

This is breakthrough stuff.

Dan

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

what one did you order Dan

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

The TK 20 with German tank sounds

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Dan, your review has peaked my interest. I am still looking for alternatives for my Sherman and this is another option. I like the sound sets of the elmod (tracks,turret, reload, etc) but like you said for $60 a hell of a lot less then elmod. I am curious to see how it holds up in battle. Would you say the sound is on par with Tamiya? And I missed this, but it does except a Tamiya apple correct? Video anyone lol. Just checked the website, and I see it does except the tamiya apple.


Cheers,
Wade

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

VISA loaded, commence fire!
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RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Dan, I just about begged Clark two months ago to release a programmable version, suggesting it would be quite desirable even if it meant higher costs, as long as it was competitive to what was already available, but he bluntly said no, &amp; that he wasn't considering it at all. I know quite a few others have begged him for a long time (&amp; continue to :)) also, so it would be a great thing to see that everyone's effort in trying to convince him it's the right thing to do was not done in vain &amp; had not fallen upon totally deaf ears! Just like the speed at which electronics can change over a short span of time, it would be awesome to see Clark's mind change too &amp; have him release one soon .... what a difference a little time &amp; a bunch of squeaky wheels can make! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif

If Clark thinks the TK-20 is a success, I can only imagine what he will think when orders for a programmable card surpass even the expectations which he had originally hoped for the TK-20!
Dang it, I hope my 2 cards get here this week, otherwise I'll go insane waiting! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...bananahead.gif

~ Craig ~

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Craig if you look here http://www.clark-model.com/eng/index_e.html

the tk60 is there already lol
we have a tk30 on its way so hopefully will get a lowdown on the programmable sounds and different options

the Tk20's will stay as an entry level board with the tk30 and tk60 marketed at guys that like to mess about with there gear ;)

really chuffed you are all (those that have them ;) ) happy with the boards

i know there has been a little confusion over the "Plug and Play" terminology
i would just like to say that there is a few connections to make and anyone with a limited soldering/wiring knowledge can do this no sweat

so 100% plug and play it isnt id say more like 96% http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ades_smile.gif

Rob

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I don't think the TK30 has programmable sounds. It just uses a different sound architecture. More benedini like. The TK60 has a suggested price of $600, so this is moving into a different level altogether.

I tested the IR Last night and it worked. Your tank does a little stall and LED's in the apple blink very weak, only when the tank is destroyed did they light up bright so this is one minor complaint. I doubt you could see the apple light up, except in a dark room. So the sound and the little tank recoil when it hits would be what signaled you that you actually scored a hit.

I also really don't like the idea of needing to have a TV remote to change weight classes. I would have preferred to have a jumper setting for this. Again a minor complaint. The fact that the options are so programmable will overide the inconvenience of packing around a TV remote.

Mine came with no documentation so it might be a little intimidating to the someone who hasn't messed around with electronics as much as I have . I needed a Jumper across the switch pins to turn it on. Luckily I have all this kind of stuff laying around, so it wasn't an issue, and you could improvise and bridge those pins with something to make it work.

I Installed a Benedini card with this and fired it up. Great. I now have the ability to add Benedini programmable engine noise to it.. Fired the cannon, and that shut down the Benedini[:o] Maybe a loose connection, and with the slight track recoil it jostled my hastily wired set up?????. I will have to look into this a bit more.

As I didn't make the HL wiring mods, I was not able to test the elevation functions. I will do this later today. I also was unable to determine if there was an LED gun flash It appears to be set up to for the flash units. In additon to this I never fired on a tank to test the IR emitter circuit yet. I am assuming this will all be fine, but have not yet tested it.

Also. If you want to play with the Tamiya, you need to order the Tamiya version, even if you are installing this in a Heng Long. The IR signals are different. So if you order the HL version then you will be using the HL IR which is not compatible with Tamiya. So when Clark differentiates between the HL and the Tamiya, that is what he is referring to.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

OK the reality in our tanking world now is you can have an Battle tank, Tamiya compatible with good sound( On par with Tamiya) for under $200.

If you haven't looked into this yet, you should.

Just did some more reading. With a sony remote you can change the the TK 2O to either Tamiya or Heng Long IR. Very good.

Also there is a connection for a Flash LED on the CLark board. You need to solder in a couple of pins though.

[link=http://www.clark-model.com/eng/index_e.html]Clark[/link]

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Rob, I know you had been working a lot closer than most people with Clark as far as input through email during the development stages of these boards, &amp; I have only just had contact over the last couple months to discuss the boards &amp; his intentions with them, but I have been to Clark's site plenty over the last 2+ monthshttp://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif, have read over all the pages at different times, &amp; I still don't see any notice of a programmable function being mentioned in the specs of any boards yet, even if it is Clark's intentions to release one with the feature. Call me silly, but within the various board specs listed on the website, it would nice to read "YES, Fully Programmable" under the "Sound set for specific tank model" column if it was indeed a feature.<span class="smalltxt1"><span lang="en-us" style="font-family: Tahoma; font-weight: 700"><font size="2"> </font></span></span>I know you hinted before that it was a possibility, but now you seem to be a little more sure it's definitely happening, or has already been implemented in one of these newer boards .... which is <u>great</u> if true!http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...sn/thumbup.gif

However, because a programmable sound feature isn't mentioned, I was still under the same impression as Dan, that even though the TK-30 was going to have individual sound sets for specific model tanks, a much better sound/ESC engine than the TK-20 by using this wavelet mode for more realistic higher quality, it would still have pre-installed, non-changeable sounds. So if you know something specifically different than what is currently showing on Clark's website for the TK-30, please do fill us in on it!http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ular_smile.gif

With regards to the more expensive &amp; newest TK-60 board which Clark has finally announced on the site, if I recall, you had mentioned its existence at least once before too (&amp; even before Clark had listed it on their website), it almost sounds morelike the Z-Series board (which isn't listed on his site) that Clark had described to me a while ago in an email, that he mentioned was going to be a very high priced board (well over $250+) targeting the very high-end market, &amp; according to Clark wasn't going to be a good choice for the 1/16 tanks. Sounds like Clark could be changing his mind more in favor about a lot of things which seem very beneficial to the 1/16 tank hobby world. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...eeth_smile.gif

~ Craig ~

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Does anyone know what the allied sound set is from? I like the idea of supplying your own sound sets, but at $90 for the tk30 it is still pretty inexpensive to have one for each tank.

Cheers
Wade

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

UpDate.

I haven't been able to get any gun elevation working

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Hey Dan
looking at this video it shows him going slightly up on the right toggle and left and right on the left for elevation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ab61W...layer_embedded

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I reconfigured my receiver to be exaclty like the Clark site, and got everything working. It is all good.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Still haven't got the Tamiya recoil working. Instructions are a little unclear. I will have to pull out the voltmeter and hunt for the trigger wire.

No machine gun flash either.........yet. Great sound, but it isn't lighting up my machine gun LED? I will have to ask some questions about that.

So this is not plug and play. Not for Heng Long or Tamiya.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I ordered 2 of them....looking like it may have been a mistake,.....if Dan is having trouble, than I have no hope of getting them running....lol

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Ok

For the record. I am not selling these and I do sell a product that is in direct competition with the Clark board. I have tried to be as objective as I could when reviewing this product, and I hope I have at least helped out a little in this. As I have uncovered a couple of little issues I think I have to step away from this review process, as my comments might be taken the wrong way.

I think it is important that I tell you that this is not plug and play and my experience has been that you need to heat up the soldering iron, and do a little reading. Again I believe this is an objective observation.

If you buy one of these you will need to communicate with Clark directly for any guidance and help. I of course don't mind helping a little, but I will not spend too much time trouble shooting any problems with this hardware.

I like the DBC3/Benedini combo and that I support fully.

Cheers

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Just little issues. Nothing major, and I will be happy to share what I have learned. The point I am making is that the hardware is only half of the equation. The other half is service, So yes this is an incredibly low price,powerful piece of hardware. The next piece is the service, and that I am leaving to Clark to demonstrate.

Cheers

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Yes, I understand that.....its funny, over on rcregument site, some of the people were saying that this was a plug and play unit, when I when I told them the same things you are saying....I was warned for being a troll.....I ordered 2 with the hope that this will all get sorted out and some better instruction turn up. What this board is supose todo is just what I am looking for, I want to run a mix of hinglong and tamiya parts, I want tamiya recoil and I want better sound, I want hl turret rotation and gun elevation, I also want to run tamiya apples....If I can not figure it out, well, thatsa cunk of cashdown the drain, sucks to be me. If I can get it figured out, well then Isaved a bunch of moneyover just buying full tamiya systems.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I have to say how much I appreciate Dan's comments and his careful analysis of his position with respect to selling the DBC3/Benedini units. I ordered one from him and I'm in the process of building a breakout board that can be used to plug the RX18, DBC3, Benedini and provide several additional power ports and servo plugs. My goal is to plug all the boards into the breakout board, build a clean styrene kit box with a fan and be able to plug all tank systems into the top of the kit box. I'll post when done. I absolutely hate a mass of wires and naked boards floating around.
My point is that I am spending precious time trying to tame the mess of all the boards and systems that must be cojoined to make the system work. I would love nothing more than one board to control everything.
However, as all the functions need to provide the desired outcome (the HL elevation system on the RX18/DBC sucks../not Dan's fault), it's only as good as where you bought it from.
If the Clarke board doesn't provide good directions and even more importantly, great service - it's like buying a Heng Long tank all over again. Maybe it will work and maybe it won't.
Perhaps Dan can marry the Benedini and the Clarke board to provide a turn key solutions at a cost effective basis (and getting rid of the RX18!) while providing excellent sound control and management while providing exceptional service(?).
Just a hope. I hate buying overseas and waiting, and hoping, and wondering....
tjs

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Sometimes, it's not what you say, it's how you say it;)

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Here Here! http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../thumbs_up.gif

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I say this is interesting..........

http://hooben.com/product_info.php?products_id=353

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Why would I order it form Hooben when I can get one from Clark for $60 plus shipping?

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Just thought it was intesting....they just added it, if they are involved there may be a t55 sound set comming and that might work for the kv1 people that do not want a soviet tank sounding like a tiger.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Yea buddy!!! That would be good. I wasn't questioning you I was questioning their price. Hey and quit poking around in here an get back to work on the E-100!!! LOL!!! Are you waiting for glue to dry or are you stuck at work? LOL

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

$106 is still cheep in my book for a tank operation system.stuck at work ftl

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Yes, $106 is still inexpensive, just trying to save every dollar I can so I can get one of Chris's E-100 hulls!!!!

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I thought you only did panzer 3's and panzer 4's........http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...unge_smile.gif

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

"there may be a t55 sound set coming" ... Since Clark had already confirmed a Russian sound set was coming after the initial release of the German set, I guess this would be it. Ha ha http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...ey/msn/lol.gif, so the Hooben link was interesting indeed, but not too surprising really, however it was slightly confusing why an almost questioning tone, as I think you already knew from RCTankRegiment that Clark admitted in a post yesterday there was a new TK20-T55 version coming ... no "may be" there, I think it's safe to say there <u>is </u>one definitely coming very soon http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...wink_smile.gif, nice. As you put it, now my KV-1 won't have to sound exactly like a German tank.

According to Clark's site, it lists the board for release in October:
Part Number______Application________Release Date
<table height="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="1" id="table68" class="MsoTableTheme"> <tbody> <tr> <td height="1" style="border-left:1.0pt solid black; border-right:1.0pt solid black; border-bottom:1.0pt solid black; width:25%;border-top:medium none;mso-border-top-alt:solid black .5pt;mso-border-alt:solid black .5pt; padding-left:5.4pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-top:0cm; padding-bottom:0cm"> <p style="mso-pagination:widow-orphan" class="MsoNormal"><span class="smalltxt1"> <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family:Tahoma"><font size="2">TK20-</font></span><span lang="en-us"><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Tahoma">T55</span></font></span></span></p> </td> <td height="1" style="width:50%;border-top:medium none;border-left: medium none;border-bottom:1.0pt solid black;border-right:1.0pt solid black; mso-border-top-alt:solid black .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid black .5pt;padding-left:5.4pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-top:0cm; padding-bottom:0cm"> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="smalltxt1"> <span lang="en-us"><font size="2"><span style="font-family: Tahoma">Russia</span></font><font size="2" face="Tahoma"> T-55 tank</font></span></span></p> </td> <td height="1" style="width:25%;border-top:medium none;border-left: medium none;border-bottom:1.0pt solid black;border-right:1.0pt solid black; mso-border-top-alt:solid black .5pt;mso-border-left-alt:solid black .5pt; mso-border-alt:solid black .5pt;padding-left:5.4pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-top:0cm; padding-bottom:0cm"> <p align="center" class="MsoNormal"><span class="smalltxt1"><span lang="en-us"> <font size="2" face="Tahoma">2012/10/1</font></span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody></table>
I'm still wondering if Clark will indeed release multiple individualized tank sound sets for the TK-20 boards eventually, or if he sticks to just one German, one Russian, &amp; one Allied sound set as first thought http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...n/confused.gif ... &amp; I'm still waiting for my 2 TK-20 boards to arrive. http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f.../sad_smile.gif

~ Craig ~

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I'd like to hear more about the TK-20 mated to a Benedini and how it would be configured. That would take care of having to upgrade and what tank sound is being offered. I'm assuming (hate the first three letters) that all the sounds could be captured by the Benedini??
If so, the price point would be great and would provide the ability to move the modules from tank to tank - saving more money (I hope).
tjs

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

A Benedini can work with any receiver as it takes regular servo signals for engine sound mapping. Because the TK 20 allows you to not start the Clark engines sounds it provides a perfect platform to be supplemented with the Benedini Engine sounds if you wanted something unique that Clark never had.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

Who knows, maybe a month or so down the road Clark releases a fully sound programmable card for $100 - $150 that provides exactly what you want in a single card, then the whole point of saving money by jumping too early on that combination would turn out that it wasn't a saving at all. There are still so many variables yet that haven't been fully confirmed or tested with these new cards, &amp; it's going to take a little while for everyone to digest them &amp; put them through their paces before we can get a real grasp in how great or how average the cards will be, &amp; which types of tank hobbyists will benefit from using them the most. So I guess I'm just saying, if it isn't an urgent matter to update a tank as soon as possible, it might be beneficial to wait a few months &amp; see just where Clark's boards end up going, or at least wait to see if Clark makes some absolutely clear statements about whether he is going to release a fully programmable card or not.

However, I do understand your desire, &amp; like you, I am curious to see how that combination fairs as well, because the more options in the long run the better anyway, of course. But that combination is still going to be in about the $200-$225 price range for both cards assuming the Clark boards remain in the $60 range &amp; the Benedini mini can be purchased for around $140. If someone needs a quick resolution, doesn't have time to wait to see what unfolds with the rest of Clark's plans for his other boards, &amp; that combination works well, then it could be a good choice right now for a programmable solution.

~ Craig ~

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

well this is interesting and I am going to assume right now that Clark and Hooben are the same people until someone shows me they are not.
Hooben also has some ships sold by a company named Arkmodel, Arkmodel has posted info on the Clark boards on other sites, or at least a poster named arkmodel has done this. I think the coincidence is well.. you get it.

RE: Clark electronics TK20
 

I hear you, also wonder if the same group of tech's do the SLU's that fireman Tim carries?