New "compatible" Heng Long 6.0 IR receiver test results

[Beeg]

This is exciting! My new tank and IR sensor are supposed to arrive early next week! Now I need to go get some armor weathering pigment and stuff.

[Beeg]

Once you have the tank set up they are pretty reliable and little in the way of spare plugs will ever be needed.

I think I have most of those types of plugs in my electrical connectors boxes. All basically 2.5mm (0.1") pitch either RCY (Dupont style) and XH plugs.

[Rubicon99]

Since I have yet to get my first 1/16 RC tank I have no idea of the usual parts typically used. Are the typical connectors JST-XH, 2.5mm? What does' a tanker usually need to keep on hand? 2, 3 and 5 pin, male and female? Extra pins?
Like these?
https://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/p...xh-series/2841

Once you have the tank set up they are pretty reliable and little in the way of spare plugs will ever be needed.

[Rubicon99]

I was reading in the descriptions of the (2) types of sun shade types-

"Sunshade Customization:
- Circle: 360 Degree Reception - all around reception, no blind spots.
- Cross: Receiver will block hits at longer ranges at non-cardinal directions, emulating Tamiya apple behavior."

Is there anything more to this or is it pretty much as stated? From what it sounds like the Tamiya users should upgrade to this unit with 360 sun shade or is it not really that big of a deal? I ordered my unit with both types of sun shade and I guess you could place whichever type is most prevalent in the battle you're engaging in?

The receiver to work correctly with the 45 deg shade must be mounted with the IR receiving bulbs at the 12-3-6-9 o’clock positions. The modifications needed to achieve this are slightly more involved and could present quite a challenge for some. The 360 sunshade makes the mounting less complicated for these folks with very little down side of not being able to see the hit LEDs from as far away in bright lighting.

I don’t personally care for the Tamiya hit angles as they are all wrong in my opinion and many others especially for modern tanks. But that is what most clubs by default use. Either Tamiya 45 angles or 360 is acceptable in club play.

[Vaseline]

The 6.0 boards are pretty much all 2 pin a few 3s, and the smaller 2 pin Dupont connectors for the LEDs. and this here IR reciever needs a 5 pin and a Dupont connector to run the LED hit lights.

[Beeg]

Since I have yet to get my first 1/16 RC tank I have no idea of the usual parts typically used. Are the typical connectors JST-XH, 2.5mm? What does' a tanker usually need to keep on hand? 2, 3 and 5 pin, male and female? Extra pins?
Like these?

https://www.digikey.com/catalog/en/partgroup/xh-series/2841

[Beeg]

I was reading in the descriptions of the (2) types of sun shade types-

"Sunshade Customization:
- Circle: 360 Degree Reception - all around reception, no blind spots.
- Cross: Receiver will block hits at longer ranges at non-cardinal directions, emulating Tamiya apple behavior."

Is there anything more to this or is it pretty much as stated? From what it sounds like the Tamiya users should upgrade to this unit with 360 sun shade or is it not really that big of a deal? I ordered my unit with both types of sun shade and I guess you could place whichever type is most prevalent in the battle you're engaging in?

[RCjetdude]

Thank you! Order placed.

[Rubicon99]

PART 2: Installations?

Sorry folks..I was going to post step by step photos, but for some reason this site is "fighting me"!!!! After 90 minutes of trying it will not upload the photos correctly? Seem to want to place them were it wants vs where I need them to be. Never had this problem before????

For those that want to move forward anyways, the IR receivers are now available at: www.etsy.com/shop/LegoDEI make sure you order the ones specifically for the Heng Long tanks and the 360 sunshade.

At some point hopefully the photos can be posted in the correct order.

I will post an abridged version on my Instagram @ fsttanks (look for the photo below) and will also # it to MotionRC's Instagram as well. It will have a short narrative, but you will still be able to see the steps and get an idea of what is needed.

[RCjetdude]

I need some for myself, my two boys and anyone else who I do battle with that doesn't have one to make it fair to me!

[karltrek]

Looking forward to purchasing a few of these.

[Beeg]

Picked up the production IR battle receivers today and ran them through three hours of testing in noonday sunlight.

They worked well beyond expectations!!! We had several 6.0 HL tanks running them and it was a shooting fest. I have never seen 6.0 HL tanks fighting so well. I have to admit it was more fun then fight with Tamiya battle systems. Everyone was evenly matched and the fighting was no holds bar. All this was made possible because of the new IR receivers taking advantage of the maximum potential of the 6.0 system. If only HL had done this from the start!!

The plan to only produce the HL version with BLUE LEDs has been changed to include the RED too. The change in LED power has made both evenly visible in bright sunlight. Below are a few photo of both side by side installed and a close up of the 360 sunshade. I also posted a video on my Instagram @fsttanks of some long range shooting along with a few more photos of today’s testing.

PART 2 will be up once I reshoot a few of the install photos. So check back.

Great news! Thank you for putting in the time and doing the testing.

[Rubicon99]

Picked up the production IR battle receivers today and ran them through three hours of testing in noonday sunlight.

They worked well beyond expectations!!! We had several 6.0 HL tanks running them and it was a shooting fest. I have never seen 6.0 HL tanks fighting so well. I have to admit it was more fun then fight with Tamiya battle systems. Everyone was evenly matched and the fighting was no holds bar. All this was made possible because of the new IR receivers taking advantage of the maximum potential of the 6.0 system. If only HL had done this from the start!!

The plan to only produce the HL version with BLUE LEDs has been changed to include the RED too. The change in LED power has made both evenly visible in bright sunlight. Below are a few photo of both side by side installed and a close up of the 360 sunshade. I also posted a video on my Instagram @fsttanks of some long range shooting along with a few more photos of today’s testing.

PART 2 will be up once I reshoot a few of the install photos. So check back.

[Rubicon99]

Im looking at LegoDEI's Etsy page right now and he has Henglong under the board type dropdown menu is why I was asking. Yeah I see you need to replace the 3pin JSTX with a 5 to run the LEDs in addition to the IR receiver. but as you say not ready yet gotcha, Ill have my eyes peeled in the mean time thanks for the info.

Wait a little while longer. If they did move forward with listing them I am sure you would get the production version I will be getting in hand. I am trying to persuade them to include the wires, 5 pin JST plug and 360 sunshade with the new receiver. It would raise the price a few dollars, but I feel it would really simplify the install and use for most people.

[Vaseline]

They ones on Etsy are NOT for the Heng Long 6.0 system and DO NOT work with it. They have been around a while exclusively for the more advanced Tamiya, Clark and IBU battle systems. The Heng Long 6.0 battle system cannot read them.

The new ones being tested in this review look the same and are based on the ones currently being offered for Tamiya, Clark and IBU, but there have had a “number” of changes to get them to work with the Heng Long 6.0 battle system.

I was told the new Heng Long 6.0 compatible receivers will not be listed yet. They are working at building a sufficient inventory of them prior to opening up available to the public, at least that is what I was told.

Also the only difference between the prototypes I have and the production ones are the LEDs and level of power supplied to them. The production ones will have the super bright “BLUE” LEDs. Normally the “BLUE” LEDs are an upgrade option for the Tamiya, Clark and IBU receiver version. That’s a hug plus because they are easy to see from rather far away even in bright sunlight unlike the red LEDs.

I will state these are NOT PLUG & PLAY direct fit to the HL 6.0 battle system external IR plug port. It’s not hard to change out the wires and plug, but it is not something I would recommend for the novice with no RC “hobby” experience. Once I have the production units in hand I will post PART 2 which will hopefully give folks an idea of what is needed.

Im looking at LegoDEI's Etsy page right now and he has Henglong under the board type dropdown menu is why I was asking. Yeah I see you need to replace the 3pin JSTX with a 5 to run the LEDs in addition to the IR receiver. but as you say not ready yet gotcha, Ill have my eyes peeled in the mean time thanks for the info.

[Rubicon99]

So to clarify the ones on Etsy are beta units and not strictly V1.0 release yet?

They ones on Etsy are NOT for the Heng Long 6.0 system and DO NOT work with it. They have been around a while exclusively for the more advanced Tamiya, Clark and IBU battle systems. The Heng Long 6.0 battle system cannot read them.

The new ones being tested in this review look the same and are based on the ones currently being offered for Tamiya, Clark and IBU, but there have had a “number” of changes to get them to work with the Heng Long 6.0 battle system.

I was told the new Heng Long 6.0 compatible receivers will not be listed yet. They are working at building a sufficient inventory of them prior to opening up available to the public, at least that is what I was told.

Also the only difference between the prototypes I have and the production ones are the LEDs and level of power supplied to them. The production ones will have the super bright “BLUE” LEDs. Normally the “BLUE” LEDs are an upgrade option for the Tamiya, Clark and IBU receiver version. That’s a hug plus because they are easy to see from rather far away even in bright sunlight unlike the red LEDs.

I will state these are NOT PLUG & PLAY direct fit to the HL 6.0 battle system external IR plug port. It’s not hard to change out the wires and plug, but it is not something I would recommend for the novice with no RC “hobby” experience. Once I have the production units in hand I will post PART 2 which will hopefully give folks an idea of what to expect.

[Vaseline]

So to clarify the ones on Etsy are beta units and not strictly V1.0 release yet?

[Rubicon99]

UPDATE:

Sorry I have not posted PART 2 yet a few things have come up. I will be getting my hands on a couple of production IR receivers to play with so I felt holding off would be best until I have those installed.

[karltrek]

This looks great! And much needed.

I met up with a bunch of friends with newly acquired Heng Long Tanks from Motion RC last Saturday for some shakedowns on a wonderful perfect battlefield near my house. We all decided to try out the IR battle system and it was a total bust. The sunny day prevented the system from being reliable at all. But I can really see how the ID battles could be a lot of fun. We need to try it again at dusk.

We are more than ready to purchase this solution as soon as it is sorted out and ready.

[Rubicon99]

Yes! They look great Thank! Thank you for your work on these. From what Rubicon99 is saying they are very promising. I know that I and my boys are eager to get our hands on some. Hopefully that might be sooner rather than later.

Based on the three prototypes I have been running and gunning with for the last week or so they are ready! The only issues is installation and mounting which I will be going over in part 2 of the review shortly. For those with some basic+ skills with slicing a few wires and making a small mount for their specific tank type to hold the receiver, these are an absolute winner produced.