New Tankers come here!

[Slurve]

Just wanted to make this group for people just getting into 1/16 scale RC tanks since i know there will be a lot of new people because of the Henglong tanks that just came out on motion RC.
Feel free to post pictures of ask any questions!

[fastphil]

Hi Slurve, I have a question on the new tanks, we've heard Alpha and James mention something about watching a video about a 2-minute function checkout, and I've looked around for it, can you tell me where to see it? thanks!

[Slurve]

So sorry Phil i looked around for awhile to but could not find anything. I would try asking Alpha himself or James or what you could do is just make sure all the features work properly and conduct a test of your own😀 Hope this helped and if you have any questions or find anything out let me know!

[fastphil]

Thanks for looking around for it also...i'm just going to put it thru it's paces, but i'm sure it would be better to go thru the recommended procedures...

[Alpha]

The "two minute test drive" is shown in some of the videos, and in others it was edited out. The idea is fairly straightforward, as I cover in the voiceover portion of most of the tank videos. Essentially, you want to verify that everything works exactly as the tank arrives out of the box, before you start applying the decals, cosmetic plastic accessory parts, opening the bag of BBs, etc. This is covered in the manual, but here is the step by step in more detail:

1) Unbox the tank and place it on the ground exactly as it arrives out of the box. Don't attach any accessories yet.
2) Insert 6 AA batteries into the radio. 1.5V alkaline or NiMHs are fine.
3) Locate the battery, it will have a storage charge on it that should be enough for a few minutes of easy driving.
4) Insert the battery into the battery bay under the tank.
5) Plug the battery into the tank's connector
6) Turn the radio on
7) Turn the tank on (there's an On/Off switch under the tank, or in the case of the Tiger 1, it's under the driver's hatch as seen in its Build Overview video)
8) The tank's headlight will slowly flash. This tells you that the system is armed and ready to go.
9) Press the "Lock" button on the far right of the radio. The tank will roar to life!
10) Press the "S" smoke button to turn smoke on and off. Note that it may take a minute or so for the smoke to heat up.
11) Press the "V" volume button several times and observe how each press makes the volume louder and louder, until it turns the sound off, then begins the cycle again. Select a volume you like.
12) Press the "G" and "K" button at the same time to cycle through four different sound sets. Leave it at the sound set you like, the radio will remember this setting the next time you turn the tank on. You can reset it at any time.
13) Press the two buttons as proscribed in the manual at the same time to cycle through the four levels of track recoil.
14) Press the machine gun button and verify that the machine gun sound and LED fires.
15) Hold down the machine gun button and press the shooting button at the same time to toggle the Airsoft firing sequence. You don't need to have an Airsoft BB loaded. Note, always point the barrel away, just in case there is still a BB in there from the factory testing.

16) Drive the tank forward and back with the right stick forward and back, and turn right and left with the right stick left and right. Notice that all the controls are proportional, meaning that you can do them slowly or quickly. See how in our videos, I am able to coordinate both sticks with differing speeds of input. That kind of precise control will come with practice. For now, just move them in all directions to verify the tank drives and turns in all directions. See the manual for how to fine-tune the radio settings for acceleration curve, sensitivity, max speed setting, etc.

17) Maneuver the turret with the left stick: Left and right traverse the turret left and right, and up and down elevate/depress the barrel up and down. Note, when you hear the "clack, clack, clack" sound, that means the turret or barrel has reached its endpoint. Cease giving it that control input.

18) After a minute or two, power down the tank, remove the battery, and plug it in with the included charger. DO NOT run the tank more than 2 minutes. Assuming everything works, congrats, your tank is fully operational! Proceed to installing the cosmetic parts. By the time you've installed all of them, your battery should be fully charged, then you can go out and play for stringently.

[mshagg]

Lol having assembled the T90 recently, it would have been incredibly frustrating to have to disassemble it and box it back up to sort out an issue. That thing is ridiculous.

Listen to Alpha - do the 2 minute test!

[fastphil]

Thanks Alpha, for the "check-out procedures"....I am really looking forward to running and photographing the new tanks this Spring, and called my brother to see if I could send him a Sherman, at first he said he wasn't interested, but after I sent him a couple of your tank videos, he quickly changed his mind and is super excited about receiving one...!

[TiredIronGRB]

Tanks a lot Motion RC, here begins another addiction

[NCflying]

So from the 2 minute test drive video the tanks should work right out of the box? I got my sherman and panzer today. One battery wouldnt even read on my meter. Im charging the batts right now but all the sherman would do is blinking lights and the panzer did nothing because of a completely dead batt. Anyone have any insight on this?

[Rubicon99]

So from the 2 minute test drive video the tanks should work right out of the box? I got my sherman and panzer today. One battery wouldnt even read on my meter. Im charging the batts right now but all the sherman would do is blinking lights and the panzer did nothing because of a completely dead batt. Anyone have any insight on this?

If the batteries are to low nothing will happen except the blinking lights. The new 6.0 has a built in low power system that will shut the tank down or not turn it on when the power drops below a certain point.

You should have better results once the batteries are charged.

[RCjetdude]

I noticed the same thing with my son's Panzer that he got today. It ran for just a short bit then quit so it does work but just needs the battery charged.

[NCflying]

The sherman works now, i had to hit the lock button on the controller. Still charging the panzer batt.

[RCjetdude]

I believe the batteries are Lithium Ions. Give the one that indicated dead a good charge and see if it registers.

[RCjetdude]

That lock button was the next thing I was going to mention but you got it. Good job.

[NCflying]

That lock button was the next thing I was going to mention but you got it. Good job.

I got a Panzer for my son also and a Sherman for myself, I cant get him to go flying with me so maybe he will like being a tanker.

[NCflying]

Is there something I need to do to get the gun to fire a bb? It wont recoil or make sound.

[Alpha]

See Step 9 in my "Two Minute Test Drive", posted above. It says that you must press the Lock button to activate the tank. Think of the Lock button as the "Push to Start" ignition key on a sports car.

Father and son battles is a good thing, in this context, NCflying!

[Alpha]

Is there something I need to do to get the gun to fire a bb? It wont recoil or make sound.

See Step 15 in my "Two Minute Test Drive", posted above, or refer to the printed manual.

[NCflying]

See Step 15 in my "Two Minute Test Drive", posted above, or refer to the printed manual.

Thank you Alpha!

[RCjetdude]

Something else on the battery with it being Li-ion is it may just be "sleeping" so to speak and a brief NiMh charge on a charger can effectively "reset" it. I have successfully awakened Li Po's this way but Li-ions typically have electronic circuit boards built into them for protection that can make a battery respond differently on a checker.