Another "new tanker" here, some questions for HL M1A2

[Rubicon99]

i think it is such a shame that these tanks need maintenance right out of the box. people spend hard earned money and should receive a much better product. but damn, they do look nice. my Tiger lasted 3 runs, and very light ones at that. i'm going back to the old school plastic army men and evel knievel toys. maybe some KISS dolls. HL tanks are garbage.

They usually don’t need anything except to add the small kit pieces on and the vast majority run very well. Problems are more often USER error then anything mechanically defective from the factory. Learning how to maintenance an RC tank IS part of the hobby. If you are not willing to accept that fact then tanks are not for you.

[cpt.chaos canada]

Honestly, I wouldn't say any upgrades were *needed* out of the box. I do plan on running this tank outdoors though, through dirt, rocks, sand etc. and I know that down the road upgrades will help keep it reliable.

My problems really don't necessitate any upgrades or fixes:
-The battery needed a few cycles before I got good run time out of it. The bigger battery though adds a lot more runtime and weight which help traction.
-One track came off the sprocket on a side hill, totally operator error.
-Bearings will be good but not necessary for just running around.
-Original motors, gearboxes, etc. are just fine for most situations so far.

I think the only downside is that out of the box, the figure is unpainted and not exactly a modern soldier; he does look like he belongs with the WWII tanks (same guy came with the Sherman I ordered). To me this is not a big deal at all.

I had started with a set of tanks from Amazon that, well, would be delivered before a camping trip I had a while ago. I thought about it too late and no Heng Long tank would have arrived in time. I needed to have more patience, as the Heng Long tanks would have been (and are) much better. These other tanks are not really scale, no proportional control, and all have the same chassis with different bodies along with the same diesel engine sound. They do not have the ability to IR battle either. The M1A2 had a motor burn up after a couple weeks; it likely could be replaced but was more toy grade with no listed parts replacements. Although I was bummed the day the motor burned up, it gave me a great excuse to get the HL M1A2. I will say that everyone had fun with the "toy" tanks while camping though.


Clay

Very well said Sir!
I bought HL tanks since last year, all the newer Basic versions and one full pro version.
My goal is like your's and some others to drive them outdoors and hopefully attract a few more people to join me.
So far all bystanders have been very exited when I hand over the controls.
(I always carry about 4 tanks with me, while on the road, trucker here)
---
I started as you a few years ago with an upper toy grade tank.
It was enough to experiment with driving, pics and videos taking, as well as an atempted funny side line story over in the RCG forum.

https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2882032-a-not-so-serious-RC-Tank-thread-%21-%21-%21

---
You may have to do an upgrade though that is related to the online forums.
Get yourself some HAAT rounds!
(Highly Anoying Anti Troll)

CCC

[SoCalBobS]

i think it is such a shame that these tanks need maintenance right out of the box. people spend hard earned money and should receive a much better product. but damn, they do look nice. my Tiger lasted 3 runs, and very light ones at that. i'm going back to the old school plastic army men and evel knievel toys. maybe some KISS dolls. HL tanks are garbage.

Didn't you already say this a week or so ago? Why again?

[tmodel66_71]

Hi Clay,
I too am a new tanker. I got my new tank a week before my birthday 7/1 and had to wait until then to open the package. I knew what it was but wife made we wait. Anyway I love my new heng long 7.0 M1A2 Abrams tank. I got the pro version from MotionRC. But nobody in my family seems to like it like your family so I guess you are truly blessed. The tank is great but does seem to need some more power though. I have been running nimh batteries in it lately but I might try my 2s lipos in it that I have for other reasons in it as well. My abrams came with xt60 connector so I have 2s's that have that connector. Who knows I might upgrade my motors to the red ones also. Oh yeah I did also just ordered the 1/16 heng long King Tiger from motionrc in n the pro version as well. Can't wait to receive that one. Happy tanking!!

[tmodel66_71]

Has anybody tried to put 540 motors in these 1/16 heng long tanks?
just wandering?

[Rubicon99]

Has anybody tried to put 540 motors in these 1/16 heng long tanks?
just wandering?

They do not fit the stock HL gearboxes. There are a few aftermarket gearboxes that use them but the performance is not much more then one sees with 390 motors and slightly higher voltage batteries like 9.6v.

9.6 = the approx power output of 540s on 7.2v.

HL 390 motors are a direct drop in for the majority of their tanks.

[tmodel66_71]

Ok. Thanks

[tank_me]

Has anybody tried to put 540 motors in these 1/16 heng long tanks?
just wandering?

Kinda...540s installed, but haven't tested them yet in my Abrams chassis. These gearboxes originally came with 550s, but they were too long to fit in the Abrams.

[tmodel66_71]

Ok. Thanks

[tmodel66_71]

HL 1/16 King Tiger coming tomorrow from MotionRC in the pro version. Any recommendations to do to it out of the box?
thanks everyone

[SoCalBobS]

HL 1/16 King Tiger coming tomorrow from MotionRC in the pro version. Any recommendations to do to it out of the box?
thanks everyone

Later, not right away, you'll want to check the track tension. To do that, you'll have to remove the hull top. Unless it throws tracks, I'd wait and run them to let them settle in first.

You'll love it. With it's weight and fat tracks, it'll go over just about anything!

[tmodel66_71]

Thanks bob

[761st]

The KT is a fun tank. Enjoy!

[ccarley]

Just an update...

The bearings arrived, and were a perfect fit. There had already been a build-up of dirt/grass/whatever in the openings so it was good to pull it apart, clean it out, and get those bearings in there. There is noticeably more support on the output shaft now so that is an incredible worthwhile addition,

I'll also add that as the tank is "breaking in" it's getting a very nice clacking and squeaking sound from the tracks, even though they are plastic. Hopefully I can get some better photos and maybe video of the tank in better places aside from my backyard soon.

Although I am considering adding some more tanks (maybe soon? ) I'm looking at adding a F-117a Stealth to the hanger, which after doing some calculations on, is somewhat close to 1/16 scale and could compliment the Abrams...

Clay

[SoCalBobS]

Just an update...


I'll also add that as the tank is "breaking in" it's getting a very nice clacking and squeaking sound from the tracks, even though they are plastic. Hopefully I can get some better photos and maybe video of the tank in better places aside from my backyard soon.


Clay

My KT has metal tracks, and they are by far the loudest I've heard. It's those double rows of teeth. I'm sure yours are just as loud.

[Hamsolo]

Yet another new tanker here as well... looks like I got the bug pretty bad too! LOL! Just got my HL Abrams PRO 7.0 dropped off by FedEx yesterday, and have gotten about as far as getting it unpacked, battery charged (They weren't kidding about the battery having minimal charge either), and going through the function test. Tell you what though, when I finally turned the tank on, my cat jumped about a foot in the air and I got a BIG grin on my face! I haven't been this excited about a new R/C model since the time my father got his Bergen turbine helicopter up and running!

Anyway, I do have some questions.

1. I can see a motor upgrade happening. This model with all the metal parts is heavy, and I can already see it benefiting from more torque. Is there a "best" red motor upgrade? Or are they all about the same?

2. I saw a set of red motors that were rated for the 6.0 control board. Would they be compatible with the 7.0 setup?

3. Has anyone tried running a 3s battery? I ran across a couple of pages online that said yes, but when I talked with the shop I ordered the tank from, they said no.

[Evan D]

There are fake red motors so be careful. The 6 and 7 are the same. The difference is the connectors and if you happen to find motors with the different connector just solder the ones on your motors to the new ones. A fully charged 3S LiPo is about 12.5V, I wouldn't do it.

[Hamsolo]

There are fake red motors so be careful. The 6 and 7 are the same. The difference is the connectors and if you happen to find motors with the different connector just solder the ones on your motors to the new ones. A fully charged 3S LiPo is about 12.5V, I wouldn't do it.

Hadn't realized that about the motors, but shouldn't be surprised I suppose. That being the case I'll wait until MotionRC restocks. Thanks!

[Rubicon99]

Hadn't realized that about the motors, but shouldn't be surprised I suppose. That being the case I'll wait until MotionRC restocks. Thanks!

Buy the Taigen black 390 motors for their 3:1 gearboxes. These have a higher rpm peak but slightly less overall torque. They are excellent for tanks with “non rubber” pads aka stock HL plastic or metal tracks.

The motors are rated up to 12v and the HL 6.0-7.0 systems are rated for 3 cell Lipos BUT the system and motors get hot fast and you have to limit the run time so they can cool down. Running the tank on LOW POWER vs HIGH POWER setting will limit the the draw of 3cell Lipos to 7.2v and thus you will not have issues with high heat build up.

So you can use 3 cell Lipos in LP and then sparingly in HP. Just not always in HP.

[Hellcat 7]