IR emitter LED's

[Beeg]

I'm not sure my stock IR LED is working but not sure if my IPhone8 camera can see it. I've heard later model IPhones have a different camera that won't show IR and I'm not sure which IPhone model that occurred..

Regardless, the question is will any IR LED do? Motion sells IR LED's for a $1.00 but I've seen others that say "high power IR" LED's but they sell for over $2.00? For the usual IR battle tank does it matter? Will a "high power IR LED" really give better range and hit probability?

Also, looking at different IR LED's some say 1.35v, some 3.5v, etc.. What is the voltage we are looking for on a battletank IR LED?

[Rubicon99]

I'm not sure my stock IR LED is working but not sure if my IPhone8 camera can see it. I've heard later model IPhones have a different camera that won't show IR and I'm not sure which IPhone model that occurred..

Regardless, the question is will any IR LED do? Motion sells IR LED's for a $1.00 but I've seen others that say "high power IR" LED's but they sell for over $2.00? For the usual IR battle tank does it matter? Will a "high power IR LED" really give better range and hit probability?

Also, looking at different IR LED's some say 1.35v, some 3.5v, etc.. What is the voltage we are looking for on a battletank IR LED?

Your IPhone 8 should have no issues seeing the IR bulb light up. Just make sure you are in a room that is not to bright and the camera is fairly close to the bulb.

You should see it turn a faint purple just after the sound/recoil occurs (It is not timed to the sound/recoil).

I suggest firing the cannon three or four time in sequence because sometimes it is hard to get the correct angle for the camera to pick up the bulbs change in color.

The HL bulbs coming with the 6.0 tanks is rather good. In fact it is superior to the stock Tamiya IR bulb for long range and bright sunlight operations.

A lot of people that battling their tanks (all brands) do upgrade the stock bulbs, even I have done this on some tanks. Honestly though I have backed off this practice because the 6.0 bulbs are nearly as good. At best the upgraded “HEAT” bulbs (as some call them) only offer an average range increase of five feet over the HL6.0 bulbs. So instead of something like 175ft max vs 170ft max. Compared to the stock Tamiya IR bulbs, both the 6.0 HL and “HEAT” out range the stock Tamiya’s by at least 50ft.

If you must have the best then the bulb below is the one to go with.

[Beeg]

Rubicon99 Your wisdom is always appreciated. If the stock HL IR LED's are that good then that's good enough for me. I was able to use my IPad to see the light, eventually. It did take a second or two for the LED to flash and I noticed it pulsed about 3 times rather than just lighting up once.

Back to the LED's, is 1.5v the standard input for the IR LED?

[Beeg]

Looking at my IR LED in my Sherman, it's not centered exactly in the hole. Just ever so slightly offset.

How important is it to be as exactly centered?
Is there a way to put a paper target downrange maybe 10-20 yards and observe where it's aimed or the size of the illumination circle? With a special paper or lens to see it? I read the LED "beam" is elliptical in shape so I guess it varies with distance.

I found this website on 5mm LED's.....illuminating! I could never remember which terminal was the Anode or Cathode. This website makes it all very clear.

https://www.ledsupply.com/blog/how-does-a-5mm-led-work/

[Rubicon99]

Looking at my IR LED in my Sherman, it's not centered exactly in the hole. Just ever so slightly offset.

How important is it to be as exactly centered?
Is there a way to put a paper target downrange maybe 10-20 yards and observe where it's aimed or the size of the illumination circle? With a special paper or lens to see it? I read the LED "beam" is elliptical in shape so I guess it varies with distance.

I found this website on 5mm LED's.....illuminating! I could never remember which terminal was the Anode or Cathode. This website makes it all very clear.
https://www.ledsupply.com/blog/how-does-a-5mm-led-work/

HL bulbs usually are pretty well centered from the factory . If thought the bulb is off center a little it will not really effect hit accuracy at ranges out to ~ 50ft. It becomes more important though if you want to reliably engage targets out past 100ft. With two tanks or a reactive target it becomes just a matter of practice shooting at them. This will allow you to learn the correct aim and barrel elevation for your tank to make hits at given ranges.

You will not be able to see the IR beam projection with your phone camera or other off the shelf cameras. You will need a true NV system. We have had night tank battles using NVGs and it was kinda neat to watch the light show.

Yes the IR beam is cone shaped. This cone can be made smaller by recessing the IR bulb a minimum of 9mm from the opening and reducing the size of the whole the beam comes out of.

Here is an example of recessing the bulb I did on one of my T72s. The beam exit whole remained unchanged as it was already on the smaller side of what I use.
The IR bulb is inside the silver tube which moves the bulb back from the stock HL mount to achieve the 9mm set back that most clubs request/require. The stock beam exit whole remains as it is much smaller then I usually use. The combination of the two make the beam cone smaller.

[Beeg]

Guess I need to do a set back on my IR LED. That way I can make sure it's aligned properly anyway.

What is the recommended exit orifice diameter? 1/8" or about 3mm?

[Rubicon99]

Guess I need to do a set back on my IR LED. That way I can make sure it's aligned properly anyway.

What is the recommended exit orifice diameter? 1/8" or about 3mm?

Generally the stock HL opening is about optimal. Most are smaller then the stock Tamiya openings. The Tamiya openings are acceptable for the majority of clubs.

Mine are either stock HL openings, or stock Tamiya openings with a modification of an added tube like shown in my prior post above to be within 1mm of the total diameter of the IR bulb.

[SoCalBobS]

I wonder if I might hijack this thread for a question, rather than starting a new one. I have a many years old HL Panther with IR setup It has the old HL "mushroom" receiver. Will modern IR emitters trigger it? And conversely, will the IR emitter in my tank trigger modern IR receivers? Thanks in advance guys! Now back to your regular programming.

[Rubicon99]

I wonder if I might hijack this thread for a question, rather than starting a new one. I have a many years old HL Panther with IR setup It has the old HL "mushroom" receiver. Will modern IR emitters trigger it? And conversely, will the IR emitter in my tank trigger modern IR receivers? Thanks in advance guys! Now back to your regular programming.

Simple answer is no. The old 5.2/5.3 stock tanks from HL and all the Taigen tanks do not use the Tamiya IR “protocols” and thus cannot interact with the new 6.0 HL tanks or any that use the Tamiya IR “protocols”.

Check out the thread below it will help you understand some of the issues a little more clearly

New "compatible" Heng Long 6.0 IR receiver
test results

[Mojary]

Hi. I have an iPhone 11, and its camera can see the IR emitter LEDs. In general, LED has become so popular that soon ordinary light bulbs will disappear from the market. And in general, infrared LED has found the most comprehensive application in almost all areas of our lives. This device can be found in household and medical equipment; it is involved in complex technological processes and serves the military. I also use it in my life; I even recently bought an LED driver from https://www.ukled.co.uk/led-drivers.html. Because it's kind of like a recharger for LEDs, in my opinion)

[DavidN]

I bought a Tamiya tank that has the IR apple receiver on top. But it is missing the Tamiya IR emitter. I have the IR bulb but I don't no where to get the littler white pins at the other end to plug into the Tamiya MFU board. The HL IR plug is too big. The Clark IR plug is too small. Can anyone kindly show me where to get it? Should I just take the one from my other Tamiya tank and go the the local electrical store and ask? I need one with the wire attached. If I have to get it with the plastic part and the metal part separated, I won't know how to connect them 2 together :-) Thank you!

[Rubicon99]

I bought a Tamiya tank that has the IR apple receiver on top. But it is missing the Tamiya IR emitter. I have the IR bulb but I don't no where to get the littler white pins at the other end to plug into the Tamiya MFU board. The HL IR plug is too big. The Clark IR plug is too small. Can anyone kindly show me where to get it? Should I just take the one from my other Tamiya tank and go the the local electrical store and ask? I need one with the wire attached. If I have to get it with the plastic part and the metal part separated, I won't know how to connect them 2 together :-) Thank you!

If all fails you can buy the Tamiya wire and IR bulb set as a complete unit from AAF.

[DavidN]

If all fails you can buy the Tamiya wire and IR bulb set as a complete unit from AAF.

Do you mean the complete TBU? That's almost $100 :-( Worse scenario, I will just use one emitter for two tanks as to place it on the barrel of the tank. Easy to switch them between each other, lol.

[Rubicon99]

Do you mean the complete TBU? That's almost $100 :-( Worse scenario, I will just use one emitter for two tanks as to place it on the barrel of the tank. Easy to switch them between each other, lol.

No you can buy just the red/white wiring with plug and bulb separately. No need to buy a complete TBU.

[DavidN]

I see! I will go to the website and look for them. Thank you!

[DavidN]

No you can buy just the red/white wiring with plug and bulb separately. No need to buy a complete TBU.

I went to AAF website and this is the only item that I found closely to my need. They don't have the picture for it. Do you think this is the right item? Thank you!

http://shop.aaftankmuseum.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=7255030

[Rubicon99]

I went to AAF website and this is the only item that I found closely to my need. They don't have the picture for it. Do you think this is the right item? Thank you!


http://shop.aaftankmuseum.com/Produc...ctCode=7255030

I believe that is it based on the price.

[DavidN]

A lot of people that battling their tanks (all brands) do upgrade the stock bulbs, even I have done this on some tanks. Honestly though I have backed off this practice because the 6.0 bulbs are nearly as good. At best the upgraded “HEAT” bulbs (as some call them) only offer an average range increase of five feet over the HL6.0 bulbs. So instead of something like 175ft max vs 170ft max. Compared to the stock Tamiya IR bulbs, both the 6.0 HL and “HEAT” out range the stock Tamiya’s by at least 50ft.

If you must have the best then the bulb below is the one to go with.

Regarding this item FSH 4545 you recommended, I have been monitoring it for a few months now and it is always in back order.
I saw another one, the SFH 4546. The head of the bulb is round instead of pointy like the SFH 4545. Is this still good for the purpose of our battle? The description is the same but the viewing angle (whatever that means) is different.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/detail/osram-opto-semiconductors-inc./SFH%25204546/2205956?utm_adgroup=Essen%20Deinki&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Shopping_DK%2BSupplier_Other&utm_term=&utm_content=Essen%20Deinki&gclid=CjwKCAjw_tWRBhAwEiwALxFPoXaHFSrB_SY0Do586aWuWkuhoqzrYM2TsqtXmP9Fn_7f8bdTtiC6PhoC8jgQAvD_BwE

[Rubicon99]

Regarding this item FSH 4545 you recommended, I have been monitoring it for a few months now and it is always in back order.
I saw another one, the SFH 4546. The head of the bulb is round instead of pointy like the SFH 4545. Is this still good for the purpose of our battle? The description is the same but the viewing angle (whatever that means) is different.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/...hoC8jgQAvD_BwE

It should be fine because the bulbs need to be recessed ~9mm inside a barrel or mantle. The intention is to “focuses” the IR beam spread. This makes bulb shape less important.

[oldwolf]

Regarding this item FSH 4545 you recommended, I have been monitoring it for a few months now and it is always in back order.
I saw another one, the SFH 4546. The head of the bulb is round instead of pointy like the SFH 4545. Is this still good for the purpose of our battle? The description is the same but the viewing angle (whatever that means) is different.

https://www.digikey.com/en/products/...hoC8jgQAvD_BwE

Isn't that less powerful? 130 mW vs 550 mW?