RC Tanks Australia Forum

MAKO BERGEPANZER BOARD
Quick start Guide

Introduction:
Thank you for your interest in the RCTA MAKO Bergepanzer Board. This unit can function as either a normal battle tank or a bergepanzer (repair) unit. Selection of either battle tank or bergepanzer and weight class is done at startup during the programming period.

Connections:
To connect the MAKO.



a) Remove the 5 pin cable from the IR port of the RX18 and plug it into the MAKO output
b) Connect the supplied 5 pin cable from the IR port to the MAKO input
c) Connect the LED indicator (and ATRC if also purchased)





Startup:
Once the MAKO is connected properly and the tank turned on the indicator LED will flash twice denoting the version number of the firmware present. This is followed by a 5 second programming period where the LED stays lit. During this period a Sony TV remote or Universal remote set to a Sony TV can be used to program the MAKO.
The program options are accessed by pressing the following keys on the remote:

1 – Light Battle Tank (3 lives, 3 second reload)
2 – Medium Battle Tank (5 lives, 5 second reload)
3 – Heavy Battle Tank (9 lives, 9 second reload)
4 – Light Bergepanzer (3 lives, 6 second reload)
5 – Medium Bergepanzer (5n lives, 10 second reload)
6 – Heavy Bergepanzer (9 lives, 18 second reload)

Once selection is made the LED will flash accordingly:
3 quick flashes – Battle tank
or
12 quick flashes – Bergepanzer
then 3, 5 or 9 slower flashes depending on weight class selected.

Settings are stored in the MAKOs Eeprom and are retained he next time the tank is turned on. You do not need to program the tank at every startup. Settings can be changed at anytime during the startup programming period. So you are able to choose from any of the 6 options whenever you wish.

Bergepanzer Jumper Setting:



If Bergepanzer mode is selected the range of the IR emitter should be decreased to ensure only the tank being repaired by the bergepanzer is affected. To decrease the range of the IR signal the jumper at JP01 should be removed. The jumper should be returned for battle tank selection.

Operation:
Battle Tank Mode:
When battle tank mode is selected the MAKO operates as a standard MAKO. Please refer to the MAKO manual for further information.

Bergepanzer Mode:
When bergepanzer mode is selected the MAKO fires a repair signal only. Hence the bergepanzer is not capable of self defence and must be protected or kept in a 'safe' area of the battlefield. The reload periods for bergepanzer mode are twice that of battle mode (see above). Once the reload period is over the indicator LED on the bergepanzer will flash twice.

To 'repair' a battle damaged tank the bergepanzer should approach to within 1 metre (3 feet) of the tank and fire a repair signal. If the tank is able to be repaired the indicator LED on the tank will flash and then stay on for the primary repair period. During repair the the tank is unable to move or fire. HOWEVER, both the bergepanzer and the tank being repaired are susceptible to attack. Part of your battle strategy should be to protect your bergepanzers and to make your opponents bergepanzers high value targets. The length of the primary repair period depends on the weight class of the tank being repaired.

Primary Repair Period:
Light Tank – 10 seconds
Medium Tank – 14 seconds
Heavy Tank - 18 seconds

Once the primary repair period is over the indicator LED on the tank being repaired will start flashing rapidly indicating the secondary repair period. If a tank that is in the secondary repair period is hit with another repair signal it is immediately repaired and released. Otherwise the tank is repaired and released at the end of the secondary repair period.

Secondary Repair Period:
Light Tank – 5 seconds
Medium Tank – 7 seconds
Heavy Tank - 9 seconds

Once a tank is repaired it is returned to the state it was prior to the last IR hit received. For example if a light tank is repaired after taking 2 hits then it will not be destroyed the next time it is hit as the hit count will be returned to 1.

IMPORTANT NOTE 1:
As a consequence of working in conjunction with the RX18 the next hit received by a tank after repair is processed by the MAKO only. Hence, to indicate that the tank has been hit the motors will stop and the indicator LED will flash however no explosion sound will be triggered.

IMPORTANT NOTE 2:
To ensure that tank battles can eventually end there is a limit of 5 repairs per tank. Only tanks that have sustained damage can be repaired.

IMPORTANT NOTE 3:
During repair your battle tank is immobilised. It can not move nor is it able to return fire. If the tank being repaired is hit by an enemy tank the repair process is stopped and the tank sustains damage. It is also released and only then able to return fire. The repair process needs to be restarted if this occurs. KEEP YOUR REPAIR AREA WELL DEFENDED.

IMPORTANT NOTE 4:
The repair signal sent or received by the MAKO was designed to be compatible with the repair signal sent by the Italian Battle Unit (IBU). However, the actual compatibility of the two systems has not yet been tested (as of July 2012).

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