My HL Abrams build thread

[canklebreaker]

Figured I make a new thread documenting my planned build for the Abrams so I can get assistance along the way (which I already need!) and my experience with Toucan Hobby.

I received the tank and discovered that the control board is a dud and didn't respond to binding, so that was disappointing. Upon further inspection, I find a 1" crack on the fender of the hull and a couple parts of the attachment add-ons broken. I've contacted Godfrey at Toucan and communications tend to take a day to relay back and forth due to the time difference but he has been great in trying to make things right by stating he will provide replacement parts and advised me to glue the crack. Still waiting on a response regarding the control board. I think I may use drywall tape and shoe gloo to try to reinforce the crack. Overall, not the greatest first-time tank buying experience but support has made up for it.

In regards to upgrades, I plan to magnetize the hull and currently have metal tracks with rubber pads, metal idler wheels, metal road wheels, and metal sprockets in bound. I have the metal support drive shaft bearings that need to be installed and I also widened the opening to pull the battery plug into the main body.

In my clumsiness I snipped a pair of wires that lead to the rear lights. I have no knowledge in regards to electronics so any input would be appreciated as to what I need to do to reconnect those wires.

[Vaseline]

Alternatively instead of shoe goo, you can make "Sprue goo" which has been a godsend for me in reinforcing areas. You dissolve little bits of plastic model trees or other styrene bits in a bottle of either acetone, or MEK sub.

[Rubicon99]

Figured I make a new thread documenting my planned build for the Abrams so I can get assistance along the way (which I already need!) and my experience with Toucan Hobby.

I received the tank and discovered that the control board is a dud and didn't respond to binding, so that was disappointing. Upon further inspection, I find a 1" crack on the fender of the hull and a couple parts of the attachment add-ons broken. I've contacted Godfrey at Toucan and communications tend to take a day to relay back and forth due to the time difference but he has been great in trying to make things right by stating he will provide replacement parts and advised me to glue the crack. Still waiting on a response regarding the control board. I think I may use drywall tape and shoe gloo to try to reinforce the crack. Overall, not the greatest first-time tank buying experience but support has made up for it.

In regards to upgrades, I plan to magnetize the hull and currently have metal tracks with rubber pads, metal idler wheels, metal road wheels, and metal sprockets in bound. I have the metal support drive shaft bearings that need to be installed and I also widened the opening to pull the battery plug into the main body.

In my clumsiness I snipped a pair of wires that lead to the rear lights. I have no knowledge in regards to electronics so any input would be appreciated as to what I need to do to reconnect those wires.

The “plastic” used in HL tanks is not polystyrene. It more akin to a nylon based polymer. So it tends to flex and not break easily. The “crack” now that I see it is more of a stress bend and would best be reinforced with a thin layer of approx resin. Don’t overthink the repair because believe me you would have one heck of a time trying to break the area clean off the tank. The “plastic” is rather thick and reasonably tough.

If you are going to convert over to magnet hull retention and run metal tracks with rubber pads you will also need to reinforce the hull to keep it from flexing. The factory screws work well to create a stiff unibody upper to lower hull system. With them removed and with the 2.5 lbs of metal tracks you are adding the magnets alone will not keep the hull from flexing. This will in turn cause issues with de-tracking (loosing a track) especially when running in “off road” or in “uneven terrain”.

IMO unless you are running a battery that does not fit into the stock battery box, I would not convert over to magnets. They do more to weaken the tank then improve ease of battery access. All you need is 4 screws to effectively have the unibody effect with the Abrams. On mine I just run with 2 in the front and 2 in the rear and forgo the rest.

The wire repair is super easy. Strip a small section on each end to bare wire, twist the bare wire ends of the same color (red to red and white to white) cover each section of bare wire with a small amount of electrical tap and you’re done. You can get more complicated with the repair if you want but for the lights it’s really not needed.

Hope this helps....

I know we all are looking forward to watching your build so it up👍👍

[oldwolf]

Personally, I would solder each wire and cover it with heat shrink tubing. If you have never soldered anything it is a handy skill to learn and basic tools are quite reasonable.

[canklebreaker]

Alternatively instead of shoe goo, you can make "Sprue goo" which has been a godsend for me in reinforcing areas. You dissolve little bits of plastic model trees or other styrene bits in a bottle of either acetone, or MEK sub.

Thanks for the tip, never heard of that method before.

[canklebreaker]

The “plastic” used in HL tanks is not polystyrene. It more akin to a nylon based polymer. So it tends to flex and not break easily. The “crack” now that I see it is more of a stress bend and would best be reinforced with a thin layer of approx resin. Don’t overthink the repair because believe me you would have one heck of a time trying to break the area clean off the tank. The “plastic” is rather thick and reasonably tough.

If you are going to convert over to magnet hull retention and run metal tracks with rubber pads you will also need to reinforce the hull to keep it from flexing. The factory screws work well to create a stiff unibody upper to lower hull system. With them removed and with the 2.5 lbs of metal tracks you are adding the magnets alone will not keep the hull from flexing. This will in turn cause issues with de-tracking (loosing a track) especially when running in “off road” or in “uneven terrain”.

IMO unless you are running a battery that does not fit into the stock battery box, I would not convert over to magnets. They do more to weaken the tank then improve ease of battery access. All you need is 4 screws to effectively have the unibody effect with the Abrams. On mine I just run with 2 in the front and 2 in the rear and forgo the rest.

The wire repair is super easy. Strip a small section on each end to bare wire, twist the bare wire ends of the same color (red to red and white to white) cover each section of bare wire with a small amount of electrical tap and you’re done. You can get more complicated with the repair if you want but for the lights it’s really not needed.

Hope this helps....

I know we all are looking forward to watching your build so it up👍👍

Appreciate the insight and tip to repair the crack and clipped wires.

I did forget to mention that I planned on reinforcing the lower hull with an aluminum brace kit from rctanklegion that would require a little work to epoxy it on should I magnetize the hull. For the time being, I'll stick with the stock screws. With all of the metal components, do you think I should upgrade to red 390 motors?

[canklebreaker]

Personally, I would solder each wire and cover it with heat shrink tubing. If you have never soldered anything it is a handy skill to learn and basic tools are quite reasonable.

I figured that was the proper way to repair it but being that I never soldered nor have any tools I will try Rubicon's method. It would definitely be a handy skill to acquire. Thanks!

[Rubicon99]

Appreciate the insight and tip to repair the crack and clipped wires.

I did forget to mention that I planned on reinforcing the lower hull with an aluminum brace kit from rctanklegion that would require a little work to epoxy it on should I magnetize the hull. For the time being, I'll stick with the stock screws. With all of the metal components, do you think I should upgrade to red 390 motors?

YES. You will need to add 390 red motors if you want to be able to turn reliably. The rubber padded tracks add a huge amount of grip and need the extra power to keep the tank from getting bogged down in turns.

[canklebreaker]

YES. You will need to add 390 red motors if you want to be able to turn reliably. The rubber padded tracks add a huge amount of grip and need the extra power to keep the tank from getting bogged down in turns.

Once I upgrade the motors, would a fan or 2 be required to cool them? In case I need to get a fan, what is the type of connector that is used on the wiring for the TK 6.0 boards? Is there a name for it? I see the white connectors and the thinner black ones that each have 2 prongs.

[Rubicon99]

Once I upgrade the motors, would a fan or 2 be required to cool them?

What is the type of connector that is used on the wiring for the TK 6.0 boards? Is there a name for it? I see the white connectors and the thinner black one thats used for the LEDs.

You will not need a fan to cool the motors because the new 6.0 and up electronics can handle much more heat then the older generation systems and the Abrams has a rather large empty internal volume. UNLESS you are going to run at 9 + volts, as these higher voltages will heat the red 390 motors quickly when run at full power to high enough temps to melt plastic.

Staying around 7.2-8.4 volts will not over heat the electronics or red 390 motors.

The wire “plugs” go by a few names. Most common is JST. If you search Amazon or Google for JST plugs you will find a lot of different sizes and shapes to fit your needs.

Disclaimer: I do run most of my tanks on 9.6 batteries including the T72 you drove at the battle day. BUT I use the full power potential sparingly (low power mode turned on) which does not cause heating issues. I do have some tanks with cooling fans but these are tanks unlike the Abrams have very little free internal volume to help dissipate the heat.

[canklebreaker]

Understood, is there a noticeable difference going from 7.2 to 7.4 volts?

How much run time would a 3500 mAh battery provide with all of my upgraded metal components and 390 motors?

[Rubicon99]

Understood, is there a noticeable difference going from 7.2 to 7.4 volts?

How much run time would a 3500 mAh battery provide with all of my upgraded metal components and 390 motors?

A 7.2v NiMH is much different the a 7.4v Lipo battery. The 7.4v Lipo battery typically puts out a higher and longer peak voltage of around 8.4v (+ - .2v).

The 7.2v NiMH peak voltage is around 7.6v.

That one volt difference is visibly noticeable and helps bring the motors to life.

How long will a 3500 mAh battery last? Depends on if it is a NiMH or Lipo.

The NiMH will last longer because you can run it to almost zero mAh and or down to 6v where the MFU low battery cut off will shut down the tank.

The Lipo will have more peak power for more of its charge but should NOT be run down much past 50% of its charge and you should not let the voltage drop to where the MFU low power cut of engages.

All that said, how much run time does all this equal out to will depend on how heavy handed you are with the throttle. For me a 7.2v 3500 NiMH running in a heavy tank with 390 motors and rubber padded tracks and being HEAVY and CAREFREE with the throttle is roughly 20-25 minutes. A Lipo is slightly less(staying in its safety margins) at a solid 15 minutes, but I have more peak power for the 15 minutes of running with a Lipo.

Personally anymore I don’t use anything under 5000 mAh NiMH, Lipo or even Li-on batteries except as back ups.

If you don’t have experience with Lipo batteries I strongly recommend not using them and getting yourself a few quality 7.2 or 8.4v 5000 mAH NiMH batteries. They are far more forgiving and easier to handle, plus you have the space in your tanks hull to fit a large 8.4v 5000 mAH battery (you would have to move the speaker but then that is easily done and will not change its performance.

[canklebreaker]

Sorry, I should've clarified that I was referring to NiMH batteries specifically but great info nonetheless. I'll stick with the NiMH battery for my tank.

[canklebreaker]

A couple of quick updates
1. received new control board from Toucan and swapped everything out and it finally turns on!
2. Clipped rear LED wires fixed
3. metal tracks arrived
4. red 390 motors, LED beacon, and antennas ordered

Questions: am I supposed to bind the controller to the tank each time I use it? Whats the best way to cover the holes where I don't plan to attach the accessory parts?

[Rubicon99]

A couple of quick updates
1. received new control board from Toucan and swapped everything out and it finally turns on!
2. Clipped rear LED wires fixed
3. metal tracks arrived
4. red 390 motors, LED beacon, and antennas ordered

Questions: am I supposed to bind the controller to the tank each time I use it? Whats the best way to cover the holes where I don't plan to attach the accessory parts?

You only have to bind the tank to the controller once.

Covering wholes will mean you are going to need to paint the tank to cover the filled wholes because the wholes will look even worse once filled and not painted. If you don’t mind, what parts are you not installing because the Abrams does not have that many accessories parts to attach?

A reminder about the red 390 motors. They usually need to be wired red to black in order to work correctly. Don’t ask me why it is just how it tends to be with HL systems.

[canklebreaker]

You only have to bind the tank to the controller once.

Covering wholes will mean you are going to need to paint the tank to cover the filled wholes because the wholes will look even worse once filled and not painted. If you don’t mind, what parts are you not installing because the Abrams does not have that many accessories parts to attach?

A reminder about the red 390 motors. They usually need to be wired red to black in order to work correctly. Don’t ask me why it is just how it tends to be with HL systems.

That's really strange, because if I don't bind it each time I turn it on, it won't respond and the LEDs continue to flash.

I wasn't planning on attaching the tow cables and smoke grenade launchers but covering up the holes seems more troublesome so I'll go ahead and install them.

Thanks for the tip on the red motors.

[Rubicon99]

That's really strange, because if I don't bind it each time I turn it on, it won't respond and the LEDs continue to flash.

I wasn't planning on attaching the tow cables and smoke grenade launchers but covering up the holes seems more troublesome so I'll go ahead and install them.

Thanks for the tip on the red motors.

Are you talking about having to push the start “lock/star” button on the remote each time to start the tank. If so that is what you have to do to start the tank and is a normal operation.

[canklebreaker]

For it to function, I need to first turn on the remote, hold down the lock button then turn on the tank. Is that the normal sequence of operation? I thought after binding the first time, I would only need to turn on the remote and then the tank without having to hold down the lock button.

[Rubicon99]

For it to function, I need to first turn on the remote, hold down the lock button then turn on the tank. Is that the normal sequence of operation? I thought after binding the first time, I would only need to turn on the remote and then the tank without having to hold down the lock button.

Once bound, you should only have to turn on the tank and remote power. Then simply push the “start” button on the remote to start (and turn off) the tank. That is the normal operation.

If the power is on to both (lights flashing on the tank and red light on TX is on) and you push the “start” button on the remote and the tank does not turn then you have another problem.

[canklebreaker]

Thanks for clarifying, I turned on the remote, tank and then pressed the lock button for it to function.

Is it possible to swap the controls so that the left joystick controls the tanks movement instead of the turret? It seems more intuitive (for me at least) to control it with my left hand/joystick. I recall reading about it somewhere but can't find the thread.