IR compatibility

[gwHawker]

I know I've read this somewhere I can't seem to find it now. Is Tamia and HL IR compatible? Also have somebody that wants to run there Torro with our HL's in IR battle. I believe there is a converter board for this am I correct?

[Rubicon99]

I know I've read this somewhere I can't seem to find it now. Is Tamia and HL IR compatible? Also have somebody that wants to run there Torro with our HL's in IR battle. I believe there is a converter board for this am I correct?

Yes mostly compatible. The HL and Torro need better IR receivers like the LegoDEI one though. Also the Tamiya will be slightly "out gunned" because it simulates battle damage and slows down when hit. The HL and Torro do not. To simplify things have the Tamiya run in "test" mode and the operator simply count the number of hits equal to 5 or 6 the same as the HL. Once at the given number he is dead.

Tamiya test mode does not slow down after hits just like HL and Torro and also will never die so keep that in mind.

[Hellcat 7]

I know I've read this somewhere I can't seem to find it now. Is Tamia and HL IR compatible? Also have somebody that wants to run there Torro with our HL's in IR battle. I believe there is a converter board for this am I correct?

Rubicon99/gwHawkwer,

What converter? I have a few fellas that have Torro Tanks and are unable to play with the rest of the group that has HL/ Tamiya. Thank you

[RichJohnson]

Torro / Tiagen do not play IR with Tamiya and Henglong 6.0 / 7.0 /7.1
For Torro and Tiagen tanks you need to retrofit with with a henglong 7.0 or 7.1
and using a HL system you need a Lego dei IRreciever as Rubicon stated.

[Hellcat 7]

Torro / Tiagen do not play IR with Tamiya and Henglong 6.0 / 7.0 /7.1
For Torro and Tiagen tanks you need to retrofit with with a henglong 7.0 or 7.1
and using a HL system you need a Lego dei IRreciever as Rubicon stated.

Thank you for the clarification RJ.

[gwHawker]

Rubicon99/gwHawkwer,

What converter? I have a few fellas that have Torro Tanks and are unable to play with the rest of the group that has HL/ Tamiya. Thank you

[tank_me]

Torro / Tiagen do not play IR with Tamiya and Henglong 6.0 / 7.0 /7.1
For Torro and Tiagen tanks you need to retrofit with with a henglong 7.0 or 7.1
and using a HL system you need a Lego dei IRreciever as Rubicon stated.

Keep in mind, Heng Long has used two different protocols over the years. They have their HL protocol which is on the 5.3 and earlier tanks, and then they use the Tamiya protocol on the 6.x and newer. I've never used one, but there is indeed a converter to allow them to play with HL tanks using the Tamiya protocol:

https://www.zandatoys.com/1-16-torro-infrared-ir-receiver-converter-for-rc-tanks-plug-play-heng-long-tamiya/

I should pick on up to test as I post this every time a person says they can't play together and everyone still says they can't play together. Actually...I just ordered one. Now I hope I have a complete Taigen system at home to test it with... :)

[tank_me]

Thinking about this, I'm wondering if this converter could be used to convert something like a Beier system. It seems to only have a 5-pin in and a 5-pin out connection. It would make sense to me that it is installed inline and literally just detects the IR pulse and then sends the Tamiya IR pulse in it's place. Only 3 pins are used for the apple and the other two are the hit LEDs. The hit LEDs are probably just passed through the board uninterrupted. I don't have a Beier system to test it with though. I supposed I could test my theory by connecting it to a Clark board. If the Clark triggered it to fire, then it probably is just detecting the pulse and doesn't care what kind it is.

Food for thought...

[Max-U52]

There is one other option, if you can find one, The Mako board from RC tanks Australia is made to do exactly that, make different systems work together. I just happen to have one here, so tankme, if you want to play with it, I'll send it to you. And I won't even tease you too much about the 87 cents postage it will cost me to send it.

Also, with all do respect, I'm not sure I would say that the new heng long stuff is "mostly compatible" with Tamiya. As Rubicon pointed out, it will give and receive hits, but that's all. It doesn't have separate weight classes and the HL stuff doesn't have the flash ring to let you know when someone has been hit.

[RichJohnson]

Rubicon did say with a Legodei IR receiver apple. Which has LEDs. The stock HL mushroom receiver barely works in the shade….

[Rubicon99]

There is one other option, if you can find one, The Mako board from RC tanks Australia is made to do exactly that, make different systems work together. I just happen to have one here, so tankme, if you want to play with it, I'll send it to you. And I won't even tease you too much about the 87 cents postage it will cost me to send it.

Also, with all do respect, I'm not sure I would say that the new heng long stuff is "mostly compatible" with Tamiya. As Rubicon pointed out, it will give and receive hits, but that's all. It doesn't have separate weight classes and the HL stuff doesn't have the flash ring to let you know when someone has been hit.

Well that shows how little you battle the two systems together. HL with a LegoDEI receiver like I mentioned does have flash LEDs in fact much brighter flash then a Tamiya receiver add to that when hit the tanks shakes, head lights and tail lights flash. So pretty easy to see a hit. Now without the LegoDEI IR receiver and only using the factory supplied IR receiver the HL systems is totally useless even against other HL tanks.

Wieght classes? Really don't mean much anymore as HL is pretty well taking over the world of battling at least at those clubs that want to truly grow their numbers. HLs new 7.0 tanks are set up to be a cross between a "light" tank and "medium" tank. They have a firing delay of three seconds between shots like a light tank and can receiver 5-6 hits like a "medium" tank (Tamiya switch to 6 hits for medium with the DMD11). So with the LegoDEI receiver and simply following the 6/6/LP guidelines set up for battling, the HL tanks interfaces quite well with Tamiya tanks and are a better match against Clark systems during battle then Tamiya.

What is 6/6/LP? It is what was developed in late 2019 when HL came out with the new 6.0 now 7.0 tanks. It simply is a way to help better balance HL performance to Tamiya when a LegoDEI or other quality aftermarket IR receiver is installed.

How it works? Count to 6 between shots, 6 hits to kill(now 5 with the 7.0) and running on low power mode. Low power is slower then most Tamiya tanks at the start, about even with Tamiya in the middle and faster at the end. This gives Tamiya the advantage at the beginning of the fight and HL at the end, it has proven to be a fair balance. Clark systems have the "speed" advantage nearly the entire battle over both. So following the 6/6/LP guidelines makes the HL tank equivalent to a Tamiya "medium" tank setting. Its not perfect and requires some integrity on the part of the player (who wants to play with someone that does not have integrity anyways) but it does work. Given all the above, I think my use of "mostly compatible" is a fair assessment.

[Max-U52]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on the mostly compatible thing. At the end of the day, HL can give and receive hits, but that's all. I also don't like having to count the time between shots. Some people count faster than others.

You're right that I don't get to battle much as there is no one around here (Detroit) to battle with. But the last time I was able to battle with anyone I was using the asp board. In case you're not familiar, those things are not just tamiya compatible, they're pretty awesome. All the features of the tamiya system, plus you can fight with limited ammunition and they also have the tamiya two shot kill code for 5 rounds. A bergepanzer can replenish your ammunition and bring you back to a zero hits received status. It's really too bad that Kevin doesn't plan to make any more. I was lucky enough to get 2 of them and I won't come up off one of those for all the tea in China. But again, I don't have anyone to battle with so I guess in the end it doesn't really matter.

[Rubicon99]

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on the mostly compatible thing. At the end of the day, HL can give and receive hits, but that's all. I also don't like having to count the time between shots. Some people count faster than others.

You're right that I don't get to battle much as there is no one around here (Detroit) to battle with. But the last time I was able to battle with anyone I was using the asp board. In case you're not familiar, those things are not just tamiya compatible, they're pretty awesome. All the features of the tamiya system, plus you can fight with limited ammunition and they also have the tamiya two shot kill code for 5 rounds. A bergepanzer can replenish your ammunition and bring you back to a zero hits received status. It's really too bad that Kevin doesn't plan to make any more. I was lucky enough to get 2 of them and I won't come up off one of those for all the tea in China. But again, I don't have anyone to battle with so I guess in the end it doesn't really matter.

The 6 count was chosen because YES it was understood people have different tempos of counting. It averages out to being real world 5 seconds for the majority of people. It is pretty rare unless people are brand new to battling, the fight is in "open country" or at "point blank" range with no cover that shots are fired faster. When it happens people are warned and that usually keeps it from repeatedly happening. Experience at all three of the California clubs, LA (60% HL tanks) San Diego(40% HL tanks) and SoCal tanks (95% HL tanks and the largest membership of the three clubs) has proven the 6 count guideline it is not a problem. After some experience using it people find that they don't have to count as often because they have developed a good sense of the required "load time" between shots just like what happens to those that use Tamiyas systems.

Would it be nice if everyone had advanced MFUs to fight with, absolutely no argument there. In fact we encourage it, but sadly the overall cost, know how to properly install/program and lower reliability of those systems keeps the vast majority of HL players from doing so. It's hard enough to walk many through just installing the LegoDEI receiver that is largely only 5 simple wire extensions.

[Max-U52]

Sounds like you guys have it pretty well sorted out, but I was never really very much into the IR aspect, even when Detroit Tank command was still around, and given all the geography in between I doubt I would ever get to battle with you guys anyway.

I can't seem to find any kind of introductory sub forum here. I was thinking about posting some kind of introduction because I'm brand new here, explaining my past experience, what I might be able to contribute, and what I hope to gain as a member of this forum. I got my first RC tank in 2012 and joined RCU the following year, but over the last couple of years RCU has really lost a lot of members and has fallen off quite a bit. You sound like you've been around a while, what do you think? Would an introduction be helpful and where should I post it?

[SoCalBobS]

Here's as good as any. Welcome! Just join any thread that interests you. If you feel ambitious use the search function, resurrect an old thread and add to it. Doing so adds a lot of historical context to whatever you ae posting.