IR Remote for testing tanks / refereeing battles.
Hey all, just wanted to show you a very useful diagnostic tool that I made. It's an IR remote used to send and receive tank cannon signals - good for testing as well as refereeing on the field. Many of you probably have at some point struggled with getting the IR battle system on one of your tanks to work, and have run into issues with testing the functionality. You may have been puzzled as to how you can actually test your IR emitter, or your receiver, especially if it’s your first tank or IR conversion, and you don’t have another vehicle available to shoot at the one under question. Even if you do own multiple tanks, often it can be very tedious and bothersome to have to setup another tank and radio set just to be able to test the one you’re working on.
One suggestion that I often hear addressing this issue is to simply shoot at a mirror; however, this is not a reliable solution because most tank controllers, HengLong and Tamiya included, will actually refuse to receive hits during the time the tank itself is firing. They do this to prevent the tank from shooting itself due to reflections off of obstacles. Furthermore, even if this method did work, it wouldn't isolate the faulty component. You have no way of telling if it's the IR receiver that’s malfunctioning or the emitter, or maybe even both; leaving you without a clue as to which one you may need to replace or fix.
To address these issues, I designed this Ir remote, which is capable of both receiving and transmitting ir signals, compatible with Tamiya and Henglong codes. In addition it also has the ability to test ir apple/receivers, with it’s integrated 5 pin socket. Specifically it can receive the Tamiya or Henglong normal canon signal, and can fire any signal of your choosing. You can load up to 4 different codes onto it for transmission, including the most common tamiya normal canon signal, HengLong canon signal, Tamiya one shot kill protocol, Tamiya repair code, and many others.
It is optimized for convenience, and thus boasts a very minimalistic control scheme, but at the same time very feature rich. Simply turn the knob to cycle through the choice of signal desired, denoted by the led that lights up, then press the knob in order to fire the ir beam. This remote also WILL receive hits even while it is firing, meaning it can shoot itself, and thus is capable of self-testing to a certain degree.
It is powered by a high capacity 18650 li-ion cell, and has an internal charging circuit, thus avoiding the hassle of having to repeatedly replace AA or 9V batteries. To recharge it, simply plug a standard phone charger into the micro usb connector. A red indicator light will come on, indicating that it’s charging. Once full, a blue indicator light will turn on. One can also check the status of charge with the built in battery monitor, so you never have to doubt just how much juice you have left. To do this, simple hold down the knob button for 2 seconds and the 4 leds will indicate the battery level.
Apart from serving just as a diagnostic tool when working on a tank, it can also be very useful during normal game play. For instance, if you wish to remove any remaining health left on your vehicle quickly, you can simply shoot it over again and again, without having to wait the usual 3 or 5 seconds between shots, since it is capable of continuously firing it’s ir beam. Furthermore, if you wish to reset your vehicle, you can simply send the corresponding repair code from some arbitrary distance away, instead of going through the hassle of manually walking over and turning it off and on again. The integrated socket is compatible with all major ir receiver brands, following the Tamiya pin mapping order, allowing you also to directly test if a particular receiver is functioning correctly.
For a video demonstration see here: https://youtu.be/nMcBjdKjs4E
Get one for yourself here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LegoDEI
One suggestion that I often hear addressing this issue is to simply shoot at a mirror; however, this is not a reliable solution because most tank controllers, HengLong and Tamiya included, will actually refuse to receive hits during the time the tank itself is firing. They do this to prevent the tank from shooting itself due to reflections off of obstacles. Furthermore, even if this method did work, it wouldn't isolate the faulty component. You have no way of telling if it's the IR receiver that’s malfunctioning or the emitter, or maybe even both; leaving you without a clue as to which one you may need to replace or fix.
To address these issues, I designed this Ir remote, which is capable of both receiving and transmitting ir signals, compatible with Tamiya and Henglong codes. In addition it also has the ability to test ir apple/receivers, with it’s integrated 5 pin socket. Specifically it can receive the Tamiya or Henglong normal canon signal, and can fire any signal of your choosing. You can load up to 4 different codes onto it for transmission, including the most common tamiya normal canon signal, HengLong canon signal, Tamiya one shot kill protocol, Tamiya repair code, and many others.
It is optimized for convenience, and thus boasts a very minimalistic control scheme, but at the same time very feature rich. Simply turn the knob to cycle through the choice of signal desired, denoted by the led that lights up, then press the knob in order to fire the ir beam. This remote also WILL receive hits even while it is firing, meaning it can shoot itself, and thus is capable of self-testing to a certain degree.
It is powered by a high capacity 18650 li-ion cell, and has an internal charging circuit, thus avoiding the hassle of having to repeatedly replace AA or 9V batteries. To recharge it, simply plug a standard phone charger into the micro usb connector. A red indicator light will come on, indicating that it’s charging. Once full, a blue indicator light will turn on. One can also check the status of charge with the built in battery monitor, so you never have to doubt just how much juice you have left. To do this, simple hold down the knob button for 2 seconds and the 4 leds will indicate the battery level.
Apart from serving just as a diagnostic tool when working on a tank, it can also be very useful during normal game play. For instance, if you wish to remove any remaining health left on your vehicle quickly, you can simply shoot it over again and again, without having to wait the usual 3 or 5 seconds between shots, since it is capable of continuously firing it’s ir beam. Furthermore, if you wish to reset your vehicle, you can simply send the corresponding repair code from some arbitrary distance away, instead of going through the hassle of manually walking over and turning it off and on again. The integrated socket is compatible with all major ir receiver brands, following the Tamiya pin mapping order, allowing you also to directly test if a particular receiver is functioning correctly.
For a video demonstration see here: https://youtu.be/nMcBjdKjs4E
Get one for yourself here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/LegoDEI
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