New "compatible" Heng Long 6.0 IR receiver test results

[Rubicon99]

Well, I received a LegoDEI IR receiver yesterday and here is my review: It is not prime time Plug and Play ready!! I received a nice looking "mushroom" with no instructions, no diagrams, no wiring and no connectors.

Please reread this thread it was stated a number of times it is NOT “plug and play” so this should have come as no surprise. It is a hobby grade unit that REQUIRES installation. The installation is not hard and can be easily done by anyone with even a modest modeling or r/c building background.

Only the 6.0 HL version should be coming with mounting lead wires. Make sure you ordered the correct one or that you were sent the correct one. There are a few versions for different control systems.

Take a look at the thread and you will find information sources on how to install it. I posted a pictorial install on my Instagram @ fsttanks and noted this a few times over the the last several days. Installation is NOT a hard procedure especially on the 6.0 Abrams.

I will also double check with the supplier to make sure all the HL 6.0 versions are infact shipping with wires and this has not changed from what I was told would be happening.

Also you can PM LegoDEI directly he is a member here.

[Narly]

I bought for my HL M1A2 Abrams and as an Ol Timer who still thinks a light switch is an electronic miracle, I could either use some help or else e-bay it .....

[Beeg]

Well, I received a LegoDEI IR receiver yesterday and here is my review: It is not prime time Plug and Play ready!! I received a nice looking "mushroom" with no instructions, no diagrams, no wiring and no connectors.

There are posts in this thread and folks here that can help with your install. And no, it is not plug n play for Heng Long tanks. It was easy enough to install in my HL Sherman but it does take a little tinkering. Once you install one and understand the wiring it all falls into place. Any particular tank you want to put it on? I'm sure there's someone here that can help. "Ribucon99" is the guru for these sorts of things... The only gripe I had was I thought the 3D printing was pretty crude. But, if it works and a little sanding and painting then I'm happy!

[Narly]

Well, I received a LegoDEI IR receiver yesterday and here is my review: It is not prime time Plug and Play ready!! I received a nice looking "mushroom" with no instructions, no diagrams, no wiring and no connectors.

[Beeg]

Disregard..

[Rubicon99]

Rubicon, earlier your mentioned testing high-output IR emitters on the LegoDEI reciever, did you notice a significant difference using those vs. the HL supplied, and if so, what do I need to search for; "High output IR emitter"?

I tested the HP bulbs to see if they would work with the 6.0 system and if the system provided sufficient power for the bulbs to achieve their full potential. The answer was yes to both.

The maximum range with a HP bulb to hit a target with the LegoDEI receiver in moderate overcast or afternoon sunlight is rather far ~150ft and in some cases out as far as 200ft. With the stock HL 6.0 IR bulb the results were just a little less. Compared to the industry standard Tamiya stock IR bulb, both the HL and HP bulb easily outperform the Tamiya stock bulb. This is true not only for the LegiDEI receiver but also the Tamiya receiver.

By comparison the Tamiya receiver is a bit more sensitive then the LegoDEI to receiving hits with the HP bulbs at ranges past 200ft. But I have never been in a fight that was quite that far away. We tested at that range just for the fun of it and on static targets.

100ft is pretty darn far for a tank on tank moving fight. It is hard to aim that accurately on the move when you can hardly see you advisory. The goal for the LegoDEI receiver was 75ft and it easily does this in all lighting conditions with all the bulbs tested.

I run the HP bulbs in most of my older tanks but for the new 6.0 HL tanks I do not bother installing them unless a bulb “burns out”.

If you want the little extra range here is where I buy my HP bulbs.

[Vaseline]

Rubicon, earlier your mentioned testing high-output IR emitters on the LegoDEI reciever, did you notice a significant difference using those vs. the HL supplied, and if so, what do I need to search for; "High output IR emitter"?

[Beeg]

If you need connectors, they are standard JST "XH", 2.5m. I get all my servo wires and connectors for my airplanes from Henson Hobbies. Always good to deal with and fast shipping.

http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/connectors/250mm_X57/

..and these JST BEC work for your 2 wire connections.

http://www.hansenhobbies.com/products/connectors/miscconnectors/

[Rubicon99]

Great do they supply a pin out diagram as it looks as if it will sit on a 5 pin lipo balance plug. Any recommendations on which IR emitter to get ?

Honestly your best and most simple route given you need everything is to buy the full Tamiya battle until that has all you need for your IBU system. It’s about $100 and there are some on EBay or the AAF.com museum store has them too. Once you have the Tamiya base installed and you still want the low profile LegoDEI receiver it is an easy plug and play swapping of the Tamiya receiver for the LegoDEI one.

Note: The Tamiya battle until is NOT compatible with the Heng Long 6.0 control system programming. They can fight each other only because the beam sequence is “the same” not because of how it is interpreted.

[Arcright]

That looks like the right one.

Note: This is only a receiver not an IR beam projector.

Great do they supply a pin out diagram as it looks as if it will sit on a 5 pin lipo balance plug. Any recommendations on which IR emitter to get ?

[Rubicon99]

So if I get the one below will I be able to battle Heng Long system new and old ?

Sorry for all the questions not had an RC Tank before.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/7103...active_2&crt=1

That looks like the right one.

You will be able to battle(receive hits) with Tamiya, Clark, IBU and 6.0/1 Heng Long tanks. Please note thought that you will need the base to plug it into. Most people using an IBU control board use the Tamiya base and wires which are a bit different then the 6.0 Heng Long ones. Also you will need to install an IR bulb and wiring to your IBU. Normally these can be purchased through Tamiya.com 1/16 tank parts section but they are not taking orders because of the current health issues set upon the world by China.

Note: This is only a receiver not an IR beam projector.

[Rubicon99]

Before I secure the 5-pin XH plug in place, is this about the right height? The Sun shield just clears the oval hatch hinge.

Looks GREAT!!! I would go with that height!

[Beeg]

Before I secure the 5-pin XH plug in place, is this about the right height? The Sun shield just clears the oval hatch hinge.

[Arcright]

IBU2 is a Tamiya compatible system. You need the standard IR receiver LegoDEI makes not the HL one or a Tamiya IR receiver.

So if I get the one below will I be able to battle Heng Long system new and old ?

Sorry for all the questions not had an RC Tank before.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/710385147/ir-battle-reciever-v10?ref=shop_home_active_2&crt=1

[Rubicon99]

Opened my Sherman to do the LegoDEI sensor install.

Do I need the little board or can I just whack all that off along with the screw pillers and install a 5-pin XH plug?

Remove the stock 3 pin plug and circuit board. Then enlarge the whole to fit the supplied 5 pin. Adjust the height of the iR receiver to be as flush with the hatch opening as possible and then secure the 5 pin in place. The stock wires for the IR receiver can all be removed from the tank.

[Beeg]

Opened my Sherman to do the LegoDEI sensor install.

Do I need the little board or can I just whack all that off along with the screw pillers and install a 5-pin XH plug?

[Rubicon99]

Got my new sensors yesterday and got them Installed on all three of our tanks. The Panzer was tricky because it is a little tighter in the turret but nothing too major. The three pin connectors they came with don't fit the connector in the tank but I had some floating around that did. I also had some two pin connectors that fit the ones provided with the sensors. My Abrams has the 360 turret mod so I did it first but couldn't plug the two pin into the 6.0 to power the LED's so I pulled power from the little board that the sensor plugs in to. Works great. The two pin connectors I have come with pigtails so I just drilled a couple holes, passed the pigtails down through the holes and used some gel CA to glue the connector in place. Then just soldered the pigtails to the appropriate pads on the little board. I used the harness that came with the sensors and folded it at about 1" increments to make a stem and soldered the three pin connector to the appropriate leads of the harness. I then wrapped the the LED power leads around the folds and finished it all off with a piece of adhesive lined heat shrink tubing. Locked it all in good. I made the stems longer than they could be for some tanks but the Abrams needs it up a little higher to clear what's on top of the turret so I just made them all the same. They work great the full length of my basement and will do some outside testing today.

Wow you did the install the REALLY HARD way, I did two tanks similarly during testing until I found and easier way. But I also understand the full aspect you were trying to achieve.

I am surprised though that with all the extra wiring work you that you did not move the IR receiver location to the round commanders hatch. It could have sat flush with the MG ring and been a much lower silhouette. Glad it is working well for you and I am fairly certain you will be impressed with the improvement to the point of never looking back toward using the stock system again.

Note: I would recommend rethinking using the small circuit board to draw power for the LEDs. This was tried during testing and “might” have been the cause of two MFU failures that required complete replacements. It also caused the IR receivers to NOT perform as well due to the additional required power draw of the LEDs. Both issues have not occurred since a direct bypass of the small circuit board has been used. If you keep your install setup, I would recommend simply modifying the LED wires by extending them to directly plug into the MFU. To give them the needed length to work with the 360 turret is ~12”.

——————————————————————————

The easy way for folks looking to install one or more of these IR receivers: The three plug end of the provided wire is meant bypass the stock hatch plug (which should be removed completely) and be plugged directly into the tanks black control box(MFU). That is why the three plug female end does not fit the male hatch plug end slot. NO SOLDERING of wires to anything in the tank is necessary. See short photo install below.

Should people have a 360 rotation ring installed. The wire I recommended to be sent (~12”) should be long enough (for the majority of the HL tanks) to bypass the 360 rotation wire harness (if you have that option installed) and allow for a number full rotation before having to reverse the rotation process.

Below is a short down and dirty 3 photo step install process. For a few more detailed photos see my Instagram @ fsttanks and look for the first photo shown below.
Start photo of Instagram install pictorial. @fsttanks

Provided 3 pin (white plug) plugs directly into control MFU. Small optionally added JST2 plugs into the #3 slot to provide power to LEDs.

Remove small circuit board for stock three pin plug in turret, enlarge the whole to fit the 5 pin end of supplied wire and secure in place once final IR height is adjusted and set. See example below but note your IR receiver might need to sit slightly higher to clear turret hatches or obstruction.

Note: All of the existing stock wires for the stock IR receiver can be removed from the tank as there should be no need for them after install is complete.

[Rubicon99]

So I have a IBU2U which I believe can only work with Heng Long IR up to V5.3 ? Will this new sensor work with the IBU2U and will it make it compatible with the V6.0 system

IBU2 is a Tamiya compatible system. You need the standard IR receiver LegoDEI makes not the HL one or a Tamiya IR receiver.

[Arcright]

So I have a IBU2U which I believe can only work with Heng Long IR up to V5.3 ? Will this new sensor work with the IBU2U and will it make it compatible with the V6.0 system

[RCjetdude]

Got my new sensors yesterday and got them Installed on all three of our tanks. The Panzer was tricky because it is a little tighter in the turret but nothing too major. The three pin connectors they came with don't fit the connector in the tank but I had some floating around that did. I also had some two pin connectors that fit the ones provided with the sensors. My Abrams has the 360 turret mod so I did it first but couldn't plug the two pin into the 6.0 to power the LED's so I pulled power from the little board that the sensor plugs in to. Works great. The two pin connectors I have come with pigtails so I just drilled a couple holes, passed the pigtails down through the holes and used some gel CA to glue the connector in place. Then just soldered the pigtails to the appropriate pads on the little board. I used the harness that came with the sensors and folded it at about 1" increments to make a stem and soldered the three pin connector to the appropriate leads of the harness. I then wrapped the the LED power leads around the folds and finished it all off with a piece of adhesive lined heat shrink tubing. Locked it all in good. I made the stems longer than they could be for some tanks but the Abrams needs it up a little higher to clear what's on top of the turret so I just made them all the same. They work great the full length of my basement and will do some outside testing today.