RC Tanks Australia Forum

Hi Michael

Please don't take this the wrong way. But I've never understood why the first thing is that everyone wants to get are new gearboxes? No point having flash new gearboxes if your controller can't control them. In my opinion the very first thing you should get is a decent battery and then convert your control system.

It is very easy for online shops to sell gearboxes as a magical fix for the Heng Long tanks. The weakest link in the chain is the yellow battery. The next is the 27 mHz system. The next is probably the RX18. I've encountered far fewer mechanical gearbox problems than electrical failures.

The first thing you should do in any upgrade is to take the yellow battery and place it in the bin. They will fail. Not only that the chargers are ??????? For relaible operation of any electrical system you need a reliable power supply. With out that nothing can be expected to work properly.

It doesn't seem like a very sexy thing to be getting but a good quality battery charger and battery will save a lot of frustration. A charger that can handle LiPo batteries is a good investment as a Lipo that can power your transmitter can be between $8 - $15 (the cost of one set of decent alkaline batteries) When it runs flat (after a month or so) just recharge. A little up front expense but can literally save you hundreds of $$ over a 2 year period.

Anyhow just something to think about. It may seem very frustrating but HL tanks are very easy and relatively cheap to fix.

Most of us here have all been through what you are currently experiencing. Think of it as a 'rite of passage'.

As for your problem. Check that all wires and crystals are properly inserted as it sounds like the RX is not getting signal from your transmitter (that is assuming there is no problem with the battery) It is unlikely that the RX is burnt out. The HL radios are dirt cheap and QC is what you pay for. Sounds like a fault with the transmitter to me.

Cheers
Kevin G

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rctanksaustralia.com

Hi Kevin,

No offence taken. It's no puzzle as to why I'm looking at the gearboxes and other things at the moment. I know absolutely nothing about radio control and electronics, so I'm sticking with what I am more familiar with, which is the mechanical side.

I identified the charger and battery as dodgy straight away and replaced both. The charger rattled, and I'd already read about the battery not having much life, so I replaced both with what was available at the local electronics shop. I got a 600mA charger and a 2400mA battery. The old battery can back up the new if I should need a little extra running time and the new goes flat.
The intention is to get "Lipo's" or whatever is the best a little later when I understand that side of the thing a bit better.

The gearboxes are slipping under load and as I said above, it's what I understand better so went this way.

I'll be reading up on the RC side of things now...to put you in the picture, not having any experience with RC at all, I didn't know there was even a circuit board in the tank. In the controller, yes, but I thought that there were servo's in the tank which operated switches. This is a whole different thing for me to get my head around.

Thanks for the reply. It all helps. Looking at the controller now.

Cheers,

Michael

Hey Michael, If there were servos operating switches inside the tank it would probably work better
Cheers
Kg

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rctanksaustralia.com

Hi again,

Yes, maybe just the servo's would be simpler.

I opened the controller and had a look for anything obvious, and there wasn't. I took the crystal out, and put it back thinking it might not have been seated properly. No change.

Next I opened up the Tiger. I've read of demounting the drive sprocket to remove the tracks. I found this a pain when I did that to fix the broken link recently and found today that removing the idler first made it easier. With the tank on it's side, the idler can be rolled under the track which slacken the track enough to allow the drive sprocket to roll clear easily.

That done, I wrestled with the air-cleaner hoses. The thing I hate about plastic models is how delicate they are. Anyway, I managed to get the thing open without breaking anything.

With the tank open in front of me, with everything still connected, I powered everything up and set about the tried and tested trouble-shotting method of wiggling things to see if the fault can be found.

That too was unsuccessful.

I did however find the problem with the gearbox. My Tiger has the Die-cast metal gearboxes. On the right side, the box has one brass bushing that is too small. Under load it come out of position and allows the gear to go skew-if. That gear then skips over the next driven gear, whch is on the output shaft. That last gear has a few worn teeth, which now makes the slippage worse.

Photo's below of what I found the inards of my Tiger.

Cheers,

Michael

Another two pictures.

Hi michael

If you can try a different set of crystals as these can easily break. Only other item I can suggest is make sure the aerial is properly fixed to the receiver board as ive had a few simple fall off.

And as Kevin mentioned a quality charger will look after your batteries and allow quick battery recharge. The 600mA charger you got will take 4 hours to recharge your battery.

Regarding your new gearboxes check the tight one isn't over tight because frame over screwed. Put grease on the shaft and bushes and run them off a battery for a few hours or until smooth before putting in the tank.

Ian.

_________________
HL/Asiatam Metal Tiger 1
HL/Asiatam Metal KV-1 (1941)
WSM T-34
SU100
HE Abrams
HL Leopard 2A6
HL Jagdpanther

Hi Ian,

I did look at the aerial attachment on the controller, but I think I'll open that back up and get it a more thorough looking over. I didn't have it turned on when I opened it, and perhaps if I do the wiggle test on it's internals something might show up that isn't immediately obvious.

Cheers,

Michael

Ok. Opened up the transmitter and wiggle things. Nothing changed, nothing obviously wrong.

Clearly replacing the whole transmitter/receiver package is advisable from what I've read and what some of you fellows have suggested.

Take pity on a electronically inept Fitter and cut straight to the chase. What's the best option here?

Is this an answer?

http://rctanksaustralia.com/shop/index. ... cts_id=201


Michael

HI Michael

NO, that setup would not be the best answer unless budget is super critical and you only see yourself having only one or two tanks. I put that system together as it was under the $100 mark. It is a good little system but for a little bit more you should get the Turnigy 9X radio instead as that would suit you better for all the other control systems, RC2HL, El Mod, SGS, SLU, CLark, and so on.

Even though I make and sell the RC2HL, depending on what you want the RC2HL may not be the best for your situation. Everyone will have their own favourite but only the 9X running tankER9X has setup templates for the majority of the Tank Control ystems.

Cheers
KG

_________________

rctanksaustralia.com

_________________
HL/Asiatam Metal Tiger 1
HL/Asiatam Metal KV-1 (1941)
WSM T-34
SU100
HE Abrams
HL Leopard 2A6
HL Jagdpanther