Photos, videos, drones; pictures of tanks.

[SoCalBobS]

(This topic is to continue one that got to hijacking another thread.)

From Zippersnapper:

"Bob, I have been meaning to set up a close flyover on my tanks. These 2 are perfect for that as they have all sorts of settings to use (without boring you to death) and what not. Both of these are registered with the FAA (the mini technically doesnt have to because its under 250g and Im not flying under part 107). With that said, flying over people can get dicey if the wrong person is watching and wants to cry about it. Some states, not sure about Cali, can be a real pain and cause allot of grief for flyers. It would be awesome to film a battle-no doubt about it. The battle of course cannot be close to restricted airspace, such as near an airport or God forbid, a military instillation. Rules have gotten really strict in recent years. Flying over RC tanks should be a non issue of course.

Some time last year?, I was into tanks really heavy, then dropped off the map for a long time. Thats because I got into Drones..then that kinda faded away, and now Im back heavy into tanks again. I want to merge the 2 hobbies for sure. Now that the weather has gotten somewhat tollerable, I'll get into flying again-Its allot of fun.

I watched your vid (Im a subscriber) and it was most enjoyable. I can appreciate the time it takes to set up your camera's, get the shot, then set them up again, get another shot, so forth and so on. Thats a hellava lot of work, not to mention editing the footage. Well done sir. I have a DJI Osmo, and have yet to figure how to mount it to my tanks-any advice would be outstanding. First person footage from a commanders point of view is super killer-love it. Sure beats those cheesy FPV cam's, altough I do have a few of those as well.

I wanted to ask you about the squeeking tracks. That totalty blew me away. What board are your running? Did you edit a soundtrack in? Cause' that aint no stock board, thats for sure.

Great job sir."

[SoCalBobS]

Ken, thanks for subscribing to my Youtube channel. I use Youtube mainly to place the videos that I present in this forum. So, to your questions - we're talking about the T-34, right? The board is Heng Long 7.0, otherwise the tank's electronics & mechanics are basic HL 6.0 version. I think that when HL reduced the tank sound selections to two, they used the chip space for added audio depth. The tracks, sprocket and idlers are metal, otherwise the tanks is plastic. Those squeaky tracks? That's how they sound, no audio added. I think it's just the T-34's wide and large links. They do sound like real T-34's in movies, don't they? Just luck.

As I mentioned earlier, my drone is a Phantom 2 with a Hero 3 camera and video transmission add-ons. I can watch with goggles or a monitor, and the Hero captures high rez footage in the flight. What I learned is that the Hero lens is very wide angled, which means that one needs to be really close to frame a tank, and overall battlefield shots have a lot of curvature distortion. I wonder if either of your drones have less fisheye effect?

I fly r/c at an FAA recognized club field, so although we are in Class B airspace, we can still fly up to 200' AGL. DJI drone firmware sets a ceiling of 140' at the field due to the proximity of an airport. Of course, to video a tank battle I can't imagine being more than 20' off the ground.

I agree with you regarding the "cheesy FPV cams". The first person view in the T-34 view is from a Runcam 2 mounted on the rear deck of the tank. Supposedly the Runcam 2 has a TV out that I can connect to FPV video, but I haven't done that yet. That would give me the FPV video along with a high rez recording. I used velcro for the T-34 video, but I'm thinking of making a metal camera mount base, attaching rare earth magnets to it and under the chosen spot on other tanks.

As far as the walkalong footage, I drafted my wife holding an iPhone in a short tripod for that. She did well.

So there we are. It'll be interesting when others chime in on this thread, which all of course are welcome to do.

Bob

[SoCalBobS]

Two camera setups:

This was an early setup with the Runcam 2 on a Sherman. No longer in use. It was fun to see the drivers heads in the view!

This shows a Runcam 2 mounted on a T-34, and a very versatile and inexpensive tripod by Manfrotto.

[Rubicon99]

Two camera setups:

This was an early setup with the Runcam 2 on a Sherman. No longer in use. It was fun to see the drivers heads in the view!

This shows a Runcam 2 mounted on a T-34, and a very versatile and inexpensive tripod by Manfrotto.

Bob you are killing the movie magic by showing how you film your tanks. LOL

[Zippersnapper]

Outstanding Bob. Runcam 2...I have seen that. It shoots great High Def I may say. The squeaking of the tracks-Totaly mind blown on how real that sounds, I was floored.
I didnt want to use velcro or any other rubber bands, or whatever for a mount. I wanted someting like you suggested. A hard mount that could be easily swapped among tanks. I do have several small "camera" mounts with the 1/4 X 20 thread attachment point and was trying to come up with a game plan for adjustabilty. My brain is not that swift, so Im still thinking on it.

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then video is perhaps worth a book. PLEASE keep up the excellent footage as its a treat to watch. Hopefully, Rubicon, Rich Johnson & others willl shoot some vid, Im a subscriber of Rich's channel as well. As for me, Im working on it. I have a Channel too and shoot basic stuff for my own enjoyment, not really for anyone else. I live in an apartment, so having a playground is out of my reach-so sad. I have a few pretty decent rock crawlers, but that got old really fast.------nothing beats a TANK !

[Rubicon99]

Outstanding Bob. Runcam 2...I have seen that. It shoots great High Def I may say. The squeaking of the tracks-Totaly mind blown on how real that sounds, I was floored.
I didnt want to use velcro or any other rubber bands, or whatever for a mount. I wanted someting like you suggested. A hard mount that could be easily swapped among tanks. I do have several small "camera" mounts with the 1/4 X 20 thread attachment point and was trying to come up with a game plan for adjustabilty. My brain is not that swift, so Im still thinking on it.

If a picture is worth a 1000 words, then video is perhaps worth a book. PLEASE keep up the excellent footage as its a treat to watch. Hopefully, Rubicon, Rich Johnson & others willl shoot some vid, Im a subscriber of Rich's channel as well. As for me, Im working on it. I have a Channel too and shoot basic stuff for my own enjoyment, not really for anyone else. I live in an apartment, so having a playground is out of my reach-so sad. I have a few pretty decent rock crawlers, but that got old really fast.------nothing beats a TANK !

Zippersnapper, I post my videos on Instagram @ fsttanks. Its an open account so anyone can take a look.

[SoCalBobS]

Yep, nothing beats a tank, except more tanks! I tried some r/c wheeled vehicles on my trail. They couldn't keep up. Rock crawlers could, though. There is a 1/4-20 adapter that screws into the Runcam and GoPro mount, if you have those. Also, the iPhone is in a holder that has a 1/4-20 socket for the tripod. "You can find anything on Amazon"!

I showed some film secrets.....but not all! Nobody questioned how I took a picture of my iPhone taking a picture! I used my iPad. Doh! Another secret gone.

Squeaky tracks? This guy has been out in the dirt many times. Grit and wear can do many things. The inside of my T-34 looks like Rubicon's, only not as extreme....

[Zippersnapper]

LOl..yes sir, most of the time I shoot with my phone, got one those handy dandy adapers too. The Phones always charged, on the ready-too convenient.

I just finished putting a "Pico" LED from Evan Designs in the 105 Sherman's 50 Cal.....Love those tiny LED's.,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lszvrbjZ2TI

[SoCalBobS]

LOl..yes sir, most of the time I shoot with my phone, got one those handy dandy adapers too. The Phones always charged, on the ready-too convenient.

I just finished putting a "Pico" LED from Evan Designs in the 105 Sherman's 50 Cal.....Love those tiny LED's.,...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lszvrbjZ2TI

Wow! Looks great. I have four of those to put in my Flakpanzer, waiting on a modified 3DP part.

Actually I have a question for you: did you shorten the leads, and if so how did you remove that insulating coating at the new ends?

[Zippersnapper]

The insulation has to be removed via Hobby blade...scraping it off. I order all my LED's without the resistor on, and after fishing the lead through tiny openings, solder it on myself.

Im waiting to see that Flakpanzer !!! All lit up !

[tank_me]

Wow! Looks great. I have four of those to put in my Flakpanzer, waiting on a modified 3DP part.

Actually I have a question for you: did you shorten the leads, and if so how did you remove that insulating coating at the new ends?

As ZS said, the stuff has to be scraped or sanded off as it is really just enamel paint used on those really tiny wires.

[deepdiver8055]

This is the pro edition with the metal running gear. Been painting the base colors. I'll tell you this: when buying an RTR tank make sure you break it down and recheck all the screws and fasteners or anything that has threads. I found two road wheels were barely held on by two different screws and two different sized washers and both arms were stripped out. So the solution was to take two of the 5 screws from the turret ring and use them which they fit perfectly and tightened down to hold the road wheels on. Then I used the two screws I removed and put them into the turret ring and they also tightened down. Case closed. I also had to make an extension for the loaders machine gun to get over the optic unit and also cutout a small hole so that I can turn the power switch on and off without having to rotate the turret before shutting down the tank. I just use a small screwdriver to turn it on and off through the rack next to the AC unit on the back, I assume it's an AC unit, looks like one, not sure though. I'll have to look into the real one and find out what that big box is. I worked on the Bradley's in the military (63 Tango) but didn't do anything with the M1's.

However, You know how they say never to volunteer for anything in the ARMY?? LOL well I did on one occasion because the driver of an M1 was sick so in formation that morning they needed a driver and asked. I was the first to raise my hand and step forward! lol I was glad I did. What an experience that was during live fire exercises.

[deepdiver8055]

One of my drone videos, Got my commercial license and made this for one of the local tree service company's in town.
Turn it up, It's themed to music.

[Zippersnapper]

https://youtu.be/tyNZmA9nUnE

[Zippersnapper]

This is the pro edition with the metal running gear. Been painting the base colors. I'll tell you this: when buying an RTR tank make sure you break it down and recheck all the screws and fasteners or anything that has threads. I found two road wheels were barely held on by two different screws and two different sized washers and both arms were stripped out. So the solution was to take two of the 5 screws from the turret ring and use them which they fit perfectly and tightened down to hold the road wheels on. Then I used the two screws I removed and put them into the turret ring and they also tightened down. Case closed. I also had to make an extension for the loaders machine gun to get over the optic unit and also cutout a small hole so that I can turn the power switch on and off without having to rotate the turret before shutting down the tank. I just use a small screwdriver to turn it on and off through the rack next to the AC unit on the back, I assume it's an AC unit, looks like one, not sure though. I'll have to look into the real one and find out what that big box is. I worked on the Bradley's in the military (63 Tango) but didn't do anything with the M1's.

However, You know how they say never to volunteer for anything in the ARMY?? LOL well I did on one occasion because the driver of an M1 was sick so in formation that morning they needed a driver and asked. I was the first to raise my hand and step forward! lol I was glad I did. What an experience that was during live fire exercises.

Most but not all of the screws that hold these Tanks together are nothing more than number eight sheet metal screws. God only knows I've lost plenty, so Ace hardware for the win. A 100 count box is a little more than $5.

[deepdiver8055]

https://youtu.be/tyNZmA9nUnE

Nice!!!

[deepdiver8055]

Got the new sounds for the M1 installed. Here's the funny thing.... I went with a TK6.0 and an TX to match because they have the M1 sounds. Well I decided to order another TK7.0 to keep as an backup and decided to load it up in the M1 because I took the original M1 TK7.0 and put that in the Taigen Tiger tank so that left the M1 with out any module until I received the V6.0 Transmitter so it was sitting. Well come to find out and to my surprise the TK7.0 I just received had two sounds installed and one just happen to be the M1 sounds!. So here's a quick vid of the M1 with the new sounds.

[SoCalBobS]

Interesting. I ordered some 7.0's last month and the rep made a point of asking if I wanted the Tiger & T-90 sounds. I didn't think much of it at the time, but maybe there are different sound options depending on the tank. It'd be worth checking into.

[deepdiver8055]

[deepdiver8055]

Added some dust to the paint. I'll be adding more details as I go.