Open Panzer
Open Panzer Help & Info => Show and Tell => Topic started by: Shorty54 on March 19, 2018, 08:35:07 AM
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Hello everyone! I am a new user of the Open Panzer. I just received my TCB a few days ago. I updated it with the new software and tried to get familiar with all the functions. I am just starting a new tank build that I plan to use the TCB for.
I am sure I will have a few questions, as I always do. Here is what I have to work with. I am building a new Tamiya E8 from the M4 105 1/16 kit. So far for the electronics side I have, Open Panzer TCB, Flysky FS-i6X Transmitter, FS iA10B Receiver, and Benedini TBS mini. I plan to use the Tamiya DMD as the ESC and would like to use the Tamiya speaker. I would like to have 2 machine guns, which looks to be possible. I will use the Tamiya Battle Unit (apple), IR emitter and either the Taigen flash unit (I have several laying around) or just a bright LED. I have already made a servo barrel recoil and elevation. The turret rotation will be stock Tamiya. If anyone sees any issues or has any extra advice I would love to hear about about before I get too deep and have to go back and change a lot.
I need to do a little more research on S-bus and I-bus. I am not sure which one I should use???
The other thing I would like to do, if possible, is to run 2 Transmitters. I would like to have 2 people control the tank.
One person would drive and the other would have turret control. I am on the fence on how to do that with the TCB so far??
Thank you,
Shad
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Hi Shad, I recognize you from RCUniverse, welcome here. Hopefully you don't mind but I've moved this thread to the Show and Tell area since that seems like what it will mostly be, but of course do please feel free to keep asking questions too.
Everything you described in your first paragraph sounds perfectly fine and I see no issues with any of it. Hopefully you also bought the Tamiya adapter cable set so your apple and such will be plug-and-play.
As for your question about SBus vs iBus, you will be using iBus since that is what your FlySky receiver spits out. Most FlySky radios use iBus while FrSky brand uses SBus. However SBus is becoming so popular I have started to see even other brands use it, it is not proprietary. But your FS-iA10B receiver uses iBus so that's what you'll go with.
Using two transmitters will be a little bit more complicated, but possible. The fancy way of doing it would require a more advanced radio, something like the Taranis, QX7, or 9X with aftermarket firmware, and enabling wireless trainer mode. This would allow a second radio to basically piggyback on a single transmitted frequency and you could assign some functions to the master radio and other functions to the student radio, and in the tank you would just have a single receiver and nothing would need to change about the TCB setup.
But that's a lot of money. The simplest way of doing it would be to use a standard hobby radio to control the turret, completely apart from the TCB. You would plug in the elevation servo directly into the second radio's receiver. You would need to buy a small brushed ESC for the turret rotation, something like this would work (https://www.banggood.com/10A-ESC-Brushed-Speed-Controller-For-RC-Car-And-Boat-Without-Brake-p-966363.html?cur_warehouse=CN).
That lets the other guy move the turret but you probably would also want them to be able to fire the cannon. This is where the secondary radio would need to get a signal to the TCB somehow. You could use a receiver controlled switch, something like this (https://hobbyking.com/en_us/dr-mad-thrust-electronic-on-off-switch.html) (they are also available at Banggood). This switch would be controlled by the turret radio, and the output will be fed into one of the TCB's I/O ports (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:tcb:tcbinstall:io_ports_ab) set to input. Then in OP Config you would assign the external input as the trigger for the cannon fire function. If you used two of these switches you could also have the other guy control one of the machine guns as well.
In the tank both radios would need to share a common ground and you would need to be careful to wire the switch to the TCB correctly, but I could help you with that.
This is not something I have tested or ever thought of before, but it should work fine. I wasn't sure what we'd use those general purpose I/O ports for but I knew people would come up with ideas so I'm glad I put them on there.
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Luke, No problem about moving the thread, after I posted it, I realized I should've posted here.
I did not get the Tamiya cables since they were not in stock in US warehouse. I have no problem converting the ends over and making adapters to make the wiring work. Everything will stay in this tank, I dont move electronics around tank to tank. As far as the 2 radio 2 person system goes, it sounds to complicated for what I wanted. Before I just had to add another RX. 2 channels went to 1 TX and RX, and the other 2 channels went to the other TX and RX. It was pretty easy.
Maybe way down the road I will attempt it with the TCB. I will keep it in mind. I would also have to figure out how to tie the TBS mini into the sounds on the 2nd driver. Thanks for the ideas and help.
Shad
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Before I just had to add another RX. 2 channels went to 1 TX and RX, and the other 2 channels went to the other TX and RX. It was pretty easy.
This is essentially the gist of my second suggestion that will permit turret movement. If that's all you need then that's all you have to do, though you're right you won't have turret sounds. If you want the second guy to fire the cannon for IR battle or whatever, then I think you need the second radio to trigger the TCB as described. The advantage of that is that you'll still get IR flash, servo recoil, and cannon sound from the TCB without the second radio needing to know anything about that stuff.
Keep us posted and remember, pics or it didn't happen! :)
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Luke,
I will work on that. I have an extra Turnigy Receiver controlled switch, https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-receiver-controlled-switch-1.html. I have a few spare esc from airplanes laying around, but they would have brake option. Some can be disabled. I'll see what I can figure out when I get closer. Right now I am building and just playing with the electronics on the bench. I'll get the camera out too, ;)
Thanks,
Shad
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That Turnigy switch should also work if wired correctly.
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Quick question on the extra ESC for second operator. Does the ESC need Reverse? What about brake, does it matter if it has it or not? I have a few ESCs from some RC planes. I think I can disable it on some.
Thanks,
Shad
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Yes it would need reverse otherwise he'd only be able to turn the turret in one direction. I don't think it would matter though whether it had brake or not.
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Great, thanks, I order the proper one.
Thanks,
Shad
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Hi
I am having issues connecting to my Radio. I have USB connected to TCB, TCB 5 on, RX connected to Ibus and Ibus on TCB and Radio on. I can update software to TCB and shows its connected. When I try to get into the radio it closes comm port and will not connect to radio. When I go to Console and snoop, the page fills up with lots of info, so it must be connecting through usb. Ideas???
Thanks,
Shad
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You probably already have but double check you are attached to the correct radio connection on the TCB, IBus goes to the one along the top of the board rather than the bottom as shown here (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:tcb:tcbinstall:rx).
When the TCB prints out all the information to the console in Snoop mode, some of the information will be about the radio - whether it detected one, what kind it thinks it is, how many channels, etc... So you should look at that and see if it gives us any useful hints.
You may also need to go into some menu on your transmitter to enable IBus. I have the original FS-I6 and not the newer I6X so the radio firmware may be slightly different. However I have used the iA10B receiver with the TCB so I know it works.
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Luke,
I managed to get it to work with a slight work around. I found a link in the help forum with the same exact issue. I can only connect to the radio during a snoop connection. Any other time it closes the port. I was able to set all my channels and zero my sticks thanks to the great video you made. I took a slight break from the build to just mess with the electronics parts. I'm working on getting the sound and parameters linked up next. I wanted to use the stock Tamiya speaker with the TBS mini but I was told it could damage the TBS. I have an amp that I can power it with that has volume control so I might use that. I'm not sure if you know anything about that or maybe someone else could chime in on Tamiya speakers with TBS mini. I attached the link below to the help thread I found. I am using Win7 pro.
Thanks,
Shad
http://openpanzer.org/forum/index.php?topic=51.0http://openpanzer.org/forum/index.php?topic=51.0
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Ok, I see. I thought you were referring to an inability to read your radio during the Radio Setup routine. What you describe is actually a known issue with certain instances of Windows, I have not been able to reproduce it on my end so I've never been able to completely eliminate it, however for those reading this the alternate connection method is described in the Troubleshooting (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:tcb:operation:troubleshooting) as well as the Connection (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:opconfig:gs:connectto) sections of the Wiki and it seems to work in all such troublesome cases.
I'm not aware of any limitations of the Benedini with the Tamiya speaker. You could always shoot an email to Thomas Benedini to confirm.
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I'm not aware of any limitations of the Benedini with the Tamiya speaker. You could always shoot an email to Thomas Benedini to confirm.
Hi Luke,
the TBS Mini is rated 1,2W / 8 Ohm with 5V Input Voltage.
Thomas offers three different speakers for the TBS Mini:
- Visaton R10S => 30 Watt at 4 or 8 Ohm
-Monacor SPX-21M => 25 Watt at 4 Ohm
- a lttle one called Type BE-2 => 15 Watt at 4 Ohm
Look at here: http://www.benedini.de/html/sound.html#SpeakersE (http://www.benedini.de/html/sound.html#SpeakersE)
I think a 4 ohm speaker with 10Watt is the best choice.
More watts reduces the volume and efficiency of the speaker.
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I agree 4 ohm will give more volume. The question here is, will the Tamiya speaker work? I see no reason why it wouldn't, if the Benedini can handle both 4 and 8 ohm speakers.
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I sent Thomas an email, waiting for reply. I read on the RCU forumn that the TBS gets very hot running a 4 ohm speaker and could damage the TBS. I found no info on anyone saying it burned out though. I dont know much about how speakers and amps work. If I run an amp. would that take the stress off the TBS? The AMP is powered by the battery and only a single wire goes to the top pin of the LS on the TBS. I just dont want to ruin the TBS or the new Tamiya speaker.
Shad
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Thomas just replied,
that's true!
Only 8 Ohm speakers can be connected to the TBS Mini directly.
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Good to know, thanks for posting. Presumably then the Tamiya speaker is 4 ohm.
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I am trying to verify 100% that the stock Tamiya speaker is 4 0hm.
I just checked the ohms in the Tamiya speaker through the 2 wire plug in and it showed 4 ohms.
I am not sure that is the proper way to measure a speaker.
Maybe someone else can verify 100%.
Shad
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That's the correct way. I just measured mine and got the same thing (sorry I was too lazy earlier)
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Thanks Luke. So if I add my amp, does that make it possible to run a 4 ohm speaker? Does the amp take the TBS amp out of the equation so then the TBS amp is not being used? I am very green at this :o
Shad
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I think these questions are better put to Thomas but I believe yes, if you use an amp then you are sparing the TBS Mini so you should be able to use whatever speaker your amp can handle.
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I made some progress with the electronics. I have all the IR components working properly. I am using the HK ESCs, instead of the Tamiya DMD. I have the Tamiya IR Emitter, machine gun led, and TBU. I am using the Taigen flash unit. All is sending and receiving hits from my other Tamiya tanks. I am just using one of the TBS downloaded tank sounds so no incoming hit sounds or destroyed tank sounds. I will have to make my own sounds, unless someone would like to share theirs. I have messed around with a lot of the programming features in the OP config. Mostly just to get a feel for what the changes actually do and to what extent. I have a couple questions about programming.
1. Can the Tank be programmed to shut off sound when the TX is turned off? Right now it continues to run.
When the Tamiya TX is shut off the tank shuts off too. I have it programmed to start with the turret stick (LF).
2 Can the IR indicators lights on the TBU be shut off so not to blink every time the IR shot is ready to fire?
This is a nice feature, I just dont want it to be confused with a hit. I know it only flashes short and quick,
compared to longer and more steady flash after a hit.
3. Is the "learn" button not used on the TBS with the TCB? On the BARC it was used to synchronize the sound to the movement of the tank. Right now it seems the sound moves too quickly and does not seem to be in sync with the movement of the gearboxes.
I have not yet installed the 2nd RX and TX for an additional operator. I want to get the basics down first and get some good sound files. Then I will move on to the addition of another operator.
Overall I like the TCB! I have played with many of the settings in the OP config, mostly just to see the changes in the tank, from momentum to barrel recoil speed and return. I have not tried the VS tank IR yet. I have 3 VS IR 1/24 tanks. I know they are not the same size, but I thought to hide them in buildings and use more stationary targets. At least be able to use them in some way.
I also, for some unknown reason, ordered another TCB and HK ESCs. I guess that means another tank sometime in the future?? ???
Thank you!
Shad
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1. Can the Tank be programmed to shut off sound when the TX is turned off? Right now it continues to run. When the Tamiya TX is shut off the tank shuts off too. I have it programmed to start with the turret stick (LF).
In fact this is the default behavior, which you can confirm by watching your TCB in Snoop mode when you turn off your transmitter, you will see that it also turns off the engine. If that doesn't happen for you there are two possibilities, 1) your receiver continues to send a failsafe signal to the TCB even when your transmitter is off, such that the TCB never knows your transmitter was turned off, or 2) your Benedini Mini isn't quite setup correctly (see #3 below). The first case should be easy to determine by using Snoop. I no longer have an iA10B receiver on hand to test, but my other FlySky receivers have no problems in this regard.
2 Can the IR indicators lights on the TBU be shut off so not to blink every time the IR shot is ready to fire? This is a nice feature, I just dont want it to be confused with a hit. I know it only flashes short and quick, compared to longer and more steady flash after a hit.
Ah, the old conundrum where one person requests a feature and the next person requests it be removed. I really don't see how it can be confused with a hit since a hit creates a whole long sequence of dimming and fading lights ala Tamiya, whereas the reload indicator is just a short blink. It would indeed be possible to make it optional, but I won't promise when or if that will get done.
3. Is the "learn" button not used on the TBS with the TCB? On the BARC it was used to synchronize the sound to the movement of the tank. Right now it seems the sound moves too quickly and does not seem to be in sync with the movement of the gearboxes.
Correct, the TBS Mini learn button is not used - instead we have created a Prop Settings file (http://openpanzer.org/wiki/doku.php?id=wiki:tcb:tcbinstall:sound_benedini_v3#misc_tab) that gets imported into Benedini's Flash program, and that tells the Mini all the setup information it needs. You may want to confirm that this has been loaded onto your Mini correctly and verify that Flash reads back all the values as shown on the Wiki page. You can also attach a regular servo to the Prop 1 output of the TCB to see a visual representation of the throttle signal being sent to the Mini. It should track your throttle stick movements unless you have accel/decel constraints applied, but even then those will serve to slow down the sound rather than make it faster as you describe.
I am just using one of the TBS downloaded tank sounds so no incoming hit sounds or destroyed tank sounds. I will have to make my own sounds, unless someone would like to share theirs.
I've attached a couple that I took out from World of Tanks, they're not great but maybe will suffice.
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I will do more testing later tonight. Dont worry about the LEDs IR shot indication. I just thought if it was a quick tick of a setting I missed. I am all for it, its a good feature! The prop settings all match, I made sure of that during setup. I am more concerned with the sound shut off mode when TX is turned off. Ill try and load the destroyed sounds tonight. I am not sure how to load them with the TBS downloaded engine sounds. Ill do some more reading. I have some older sounds from my BARCs too, Ill see if they can be loaded. They were before the TBS updates though so not sure if they will still work.
Thanks for all the help!
Shad
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Ill try and load the destroyed sounds tonight. I am not sure how to load them with the TBS downloaded engine sounds. Ill do some more reading. I have some older sounds from my BARCs too, Ill see if they can be loaded. They were before the TBS updates though so not sure if they will still work.
You can easily remove/add individual sounds from existing Benedini soundsets within Flash so that is not a problem, what he did not make possible was extracting individual sounds from his pre-made sets for use elsewhere, but that is less of an issue since you can start with one of his sets and just change/add the sounds you want.
The TBS updates should have had no effect on the sound files part of things so you should still be able to use your old sounds as long as they are in the correct format.
Keep me posted on what you find out about the receiver.
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No luck on the tank shut down when TX is turned off. I checked in the TX and all channels are failsafe "off".
When I shut off the TX, the led flashes on the RX, but engine still sounds and I also found will continue to drive if I shut it off while driving. The only way to stop or shut it off is too disconnect RX from TCB. I checked prop settings again, and they are correct. If I first turn the TCB on, then all lights flash indicating no radio signal until I turn the TX on.
I tried checking during snoop and its not reading any radio loss. It reads nothing when the TX is turned from on to off.
I also noticed the snoop does not read any turret stick movements. Only trans forward, reverse, cannon fire, mg on/off, and damage from incoming hits. No left stick movements at all. I also noticed turret sounds eliminate cannon fire. If I rotate turret or elevate, and fire cannon at the same time, the cannon makes no sound.
Thats all for now.
Thanks,
Shad
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No luck on the tank shut down when TX is turned off. I checked in the TX and all channels are failsafe "off".
When I shut off the TX, the led flashes on the RX, but engine still sounds and I also found will continue to drive if I shut it off while driving. The only way to stop or shut it off is too disconnect RX from TCB. I checked prop settings again, and they are correct. If I first turn the TCB on, then all lights flash indicating no radio signal until I turn the TX on. I tried checking during snoop and its not reading any radio loss. It reads nothing when the TX is turned from on to off.
Ok, the issue here is your receiver, not the TCB or your Benedini Mini. When you turn off your transmitter, your receiver continues to send a valid signal to the TCB, so it has no idea your transmitter is off. I don't see much in the way of documentation about the iA10b receiver, except as part of this manual for the FlySky i10 transmitter (https://www.horizonhobby.com/pdf/FSY004-Manual.pdf). On page 33 it discusses their conception of failsafe, when failsafe is set to "Off" on the transmitter what that really means is that the receiver will continue to maintain the last position of all channels. This is actually not what we want and is a great way to wreck your model if you lose signal. The other alternative is to set specific failsafe positions for each channel to go to in the event of a loss of signal, so what you could do is set the failsafe position of whatever channel is assigned to turn off the engine to the "engine off" position (this is something you will do in your transmitter). That should work, although ideally what we'd really like is for the receiver to simply stop giving any signal at all so the TCB knows the connection is lost and it can automatically take action to stop everything.
I believe the iA10b receiver also has a PPM output, you might try running the TCB on that instead of iBus and see if it behaves any differently but I'm guessing not.
Otherwise you can get a different receiver, I know for a fact the FS-A8S recommended in the Wiki does not implement failsafe, which is actually what we want because that lets the TCB do it.
I also noticed the snoop does not read any turret stick movements.
This is correct, Snoop doesn't report on every last thing, if it had to print something to the screen every time the turret stick was touched the console would be unreadable. There are a wide variety of things it will report on, including the things you mentioned as well as various functions if you have them assigned, but it won't say anything about moving the turret stick. Your turret will however still work.
I also noticed turret sounds eliminate cannon fire. If I rotate turret or elevate, and fire cannon at the same time, the cannon makes no sound.
This is simply a limitation of how the Benedini works.
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I had figured out the "off" settings. I change the throttle to zero, actually all channels failsafe to no movement. At least the tank will stop now. I am still trying to figure out a way to shut off sound since I have the engine start up and shut down on the left stick lower left corner.
I was also trying to get the destroyed sound to play a few seconds before it shuts the tank off. Right now as soon as the final hit is taken, it shuts off the tank.
Thanks for the help, its a little frustrating at times, but its still fun!
Shad
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I had figured out the "off" settings. I change the throttle to zero, actually all channels failsafe to no movement. At least the tank will stop now. I am still trying to figure out a way to shut off sound since I have the engine start up and shut down on the left stick lower left corner.
In that case you would want to program failsafe in your transmitter as left stick lower-left corner. Of course, if you lost signal while your engine was off, this would result in turning it on...
I was also trying to get the destroyed sound to play a few seconds before it shuts the tank off. Right now as soon as the final hit is taken, it shuts off the tank.
This is as designed, it matches the Tamiya behavior which is the standard for IR battle. It makes sense, if the tank is destroyed it shouldn't still be able to move or do anything else!
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As far as the last hit taken issue, I was referring to the sound of the tank being destroyed. The tank shuts off including sound, before the complete sound is done playing. I had a sound of a burning tank, or fire sound, with the BARC and TBS, the sound would continue to play for a bit even after the engine sound had shut off. I understand the tank movement stopping right away.
Just to try the PPM output, would I just plug the cable that is in the ibus now into ch1 on the rx?
Thanks,
Shad
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As far as the last hit taken issue, I was referring to the sound of the tank being destroyed. The tank shuts off including sound, before the complete sound is done playing. I had a sound of a burning tank, or fire sound, with the BARC and TBS, the sound would continue to play for a bit even after the engine sound had shut off. I understand the tank movement stopping right away.
Your destroyed sound definitely should play to completion. I will try to do some testing on my end to see if I can reproduce this, might take me several days though.
Just to try the PPM output, would I just plug the cable that is in the ibus now into ch1 on the rx?
Yes, but I believe you also need to enable PPM in you transmitter settings.
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Sounds great Luke!
I need to take some time and get back on the actual build of the tank. So a little down time on the electronics will be just fine. I have all the basics down and wiring so at least I know what I need for room in the tank and where to mount everything as I build.
Thank you!
Shad
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I tried the PPM and no change, just as you thought. I changed failsafe settings to on and programmed so all sticks would be a zero and set to turn tank sound off. It does work now. Just as you stated, the tank can now turn on by itself if tank sound is off and loss of signal, no bi g deal. It will be fine for now, as least it can run out of control now. I might look for the other RX you mentioned. I dont really need the 10 channel anyway, and the 8 is smaller in size too.
I tried the hit and destroyed sounds withe the tank engine sound off. It does play the whole destroyed sound. It seems to cut it short when the tank engine sound is playing. I am going to try and load some other TBS sounds from another computer they were saved on. The computer is faulty, so I havent had good luck trying to extract the files from it.
Thank you,
Shad
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I might look for the other RX you mentioned. I dont really need the 10 channel anyway, and the 8 is smaller in size too.
Actually the FS-A8S receiver supports up to 18 channels in iBus mode so you will have no limitations. It is only called an 8-channel receiver because it is limited to 8 channels in PPM mode, which is the limit for PPM. But if the receiver has iBus/Sbus capability, then whenever it is used in those modes the channel limit is almost never restricted regardless of what the receiver's name might be.
I tried the hit and destroyed sounds withe the tank engine sound off. It does play the whole destroyed sound. It seems to cut it short when the tank engine sound is playing. I am going to try and load some other TBS sounds from another computer they were saved on.
I did a test last night and my destroyed sound played to completion whether the engine was running or not, so I don't know what's going on with your setup. You might try reloading the sounds on to the Benedini just to be double-sure, and also check you don't have any extra settings assigned on the Sounds tab in Flash like loop, dynamic in, or whatever.
Perhaps you can also post the Benedini sounds you're using and I can try to test those (put the .tbs file in a Zip first). Actually if you do that, also include your .tbp (parameter) file.
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I am just using the Pershing sound file from Benedini and added in your destroyed sound in slot #7 under 1st coder function.
I played close attention to the last hit, and I dont even hear it while the engine sound is on. It immediately shuts off.
When the engine sound is not turned on, it plays the destroyed sound completely.
Shad
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I am just using the Pershing sound file from Benedini and added in your destroyed sound in slot #7 under 1st coder function.
Even so, please save the resulting sound set (.tbs file) and your parameter (.tbp) file, zip them and post them here. Controlling for all possible variables is the only sane and effective way to perform troubleshooting.
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Hopefully I did this properly..
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Yes, those were the correct files.
Experimenting with these and my own sounds, it doesn't appear that the sound files themselves make any difference, which I guess is actually good. What I have discovered is that in fact with any sound set, the behavior you described occurs probably 90% of the time. Apparently in my earlier testing I got lucky and both the engine shut-down sound and the destroyed sound played to completion, but in doing more extensive tests what you experienced is actually more common - the engine shut-down sound for some reason interferes with the destroyed sound.
It's odd that this is so because the commands to the Benedini for the shutdown and destroyed sound are sent over different channels (Prop 2 and Prop 3 respectively). Also it isn't strictly to do with the fact the engine is running, because I can program it to leave the engine running and the destroyed sound will always play. Rather it is something specifically to do with the engine shut-down sound, which interferes with any other sound, not just the destroyed sound. It just so happens we want to play the destroyed sound at the same time as the engine shut-down sound so that is how you discovered the issue.
It may be possible to work around it somehow by putting a delay into the shut-down sound... I may need to consult with Thomas Benedini about it as well.
I'll keep you posted. Thanks for your patience.
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I am glad it was no me then! I would think there should be a way to make this work. I am not sure how exactly these boards work, but I have 2 BARC4s that were paired with the TBS and they would work fine. I know back then, we played with more settings in the TBS to get the sounds and functions to work. With the TCB, it seems you have the settings more pre set. I am not complaining, or trying to compare the TCB to the BARC by any means. I am confident that you can get it working properly. Being patient is no problem. I am very satisfied with they way you have been helping me, Im am sure it can be frustrating at times.
I am trying to get my old sound files and parameters off my damaged computer. I would like to try and load one of them. They were set up on the BARC4 system. Just to see if they would be any different.
Thanks,
Shad
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Here are the props and params I just read off one of my other TBS minis. They may be of no help.
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It's strange because the BARC configuration puts both the engine start/shutdown sounds and the destroyed sound all on the Prop 3 input where there will necessarily be a conflict.
I've never had a BARC to test, buy I wonder if you remember when the tank was destroyed did the engine shutdown sound play in addition to the destroyed sound, or was it the destroyed sound only?
If I had to guess I would say it must have been the latter...
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I will hook a BARC up and try it again. I seam to think the engine cut out and the destroyed sound played. I remember being able to hear the burning sounds. I mess with it some more this weekend. I think I found how to retrieve my old sounds.
Thanks,
Shad
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Luke, It works great with my sound setup from my BARC setup running on the TCB.
I think its just changing the sound mode. I was able to retrieve my old sounds from my broken computer. I just wrote them to the TBS, and changed the parameters to match the sound locations for the TCB. To be honest, the sounds seem to sound much better, the driving sounds are very nice. It could maybe just be how they were recorded though too. The problem is, its the wrong sound set for my build. I dont have the wav or file format, so I cant change or re arrange the sounds within the TBS. I just have the complete file.
So, I think with a few tweeks, this can work very nicely. I will need to practice building sound files now.
Thanks,
shad
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Luke, It works great with my sound setup from my BARC setup running on the TCB.
Are you saying the engine shutdown and destroyed sounds both now play simultaneously?
I think its just changing the sound mode.
What is this "sound mode" you speak of?
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Try these and see if they work.
Thanks,
Shad
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Yes, that does seem to work but it's not clear to me what you've changed.
If the only change is the "Mute Engine" mode on Sound 7, in my testing that does not reliably work although it seems to have in this case, but it didn't with your earlier sound set from the other day.
The good news is that by introducing some minor delays I seem to have gotten it working reliably with all sounds, although further testing by you and others will be useful to make certain. I will include this change in the next release, however the next release also includes a bunch of other things which aren't quite ready so it may be a week or two yet.
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I also noticed a glitch and not 100% reliable. That's why I wanted you to test also. "Mute Engine" was the only thing changed on that sound set. I am testing the other sound set I have also, I have not noticed the reliability issue with that one.
The glitch I have noticed so far is;
1-the destroyed sound doesn't always play on the last hit,
2- Auto startup after destroyed hit, the engine will not rev past idle (dead stick)
3- Full throttle engine rev sound with no input from stick with no way to stop without a complete re start up, power down and power back up.
I thought maybe a low battery, low voltage, but the same issues after a full charge.
The other sound sets I have were custom created by someone else. I'm not sure I should post them publicly,
I would not want to step on the creators toes, or make them upset. Some don't mind sharing and others do.
If there is anything in the TCB or TBS you want me to change and test, just let me know.
Thanks,
Shad
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No need to post any more sound sets, I don't think it is the sounds themselves that are the problem, or if they are it's not in a way that is consistent or discernible.
I will try to see if I can reproduce the odd TBS behavior you are getting with the full throttle sound, that is not happening for me but I'm also using the firmware with the delay fix implemented, which may prevent the Mini from getting confused and doing weird things.
I will do more testing and let you know what I find, but for the moment I don't think I need anything else from your end, you've been very helpful so far and I appreciate it. When I have the new firmware ready I will have you test.
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One more thing, I will be replacing the 10 channel RX with 8 channel RX, its on the way.
I just found out if the engine sound is off, the last hit will start the engine sound. I suppose it loses signal so it starts.
No worries. I just ran through 5 kill cycles (5 shot kills x5 times) no issues, other than the startup on last kill when engine was off.
The positive side of having small issues like this, is you learn a lot more about how the system works and your way around the board. I am still having fun! No worries here!
Thank you,
Shad
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I just found out if the engine sound is off, the last hit will start the engine sound. I suppose it loses signal so it starts.
That we can be sure is not a TCB issue and if it was you would have observed it long before now.
One serious limitation of the TBS Mini is that it does not have an explicit engine "on" and "off" command, it only has a "toggle" command. For this reason it is actually not difficult to get the TCB and Mini out-of-sync with each other, which I'm certain is what happened in your case. The only reason the Mini was "starting" the engine on the last kill shot is because it was out of sync with the TCB, and therefore was off when it should have been on and on when it should have been off.
I'm confident if you go back and try again you will find this behavior has disappeared.
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Hi Shad, I've posted firmware updates for both OP Config and the TCB. These updates include the slight delay which in my testing seems to resolve the issue of the Bendini not playing the engine destroyed sound on the last hit. However the updates include a bunch of other stuff as well and this is one of those updates which will erase all your saved settings, I try to do these as infrequently as possible but occasionally it is unavoidable. Therefore it is recommended you save an OPZ file of your settings before updating, otherwise you will have to go through radio setup all over again as well as re-create all your function triggers.
To backup your settings:
- Open your existing version of OP Config and connect to your TCB
- Read all the settings from your TCB (green arrow) then save an OPZ file to your computer (File -> Save Settings to File)
- Now check for OP Config updates and install the new release (Help -> Check for Updates)
- After the new version of OP Config is installed, go to the Firmware tab, click Get Latest Release for the TCB, then Flash the new firmware. Your TCB is now updated but all its old settings have been erased.
- Open the OPZ file you saved earlier (OP Config -> File -> Import Settings). You will see a message that not all settings were imported, this is fine, it just means that new settings have been created since your last save. Any new settings will automatically be initialized to some default value.
- Now write the imported settings back to your TCB (blue arrow). And for good measure, save a new OPZ file that will now contain all the new settings as well.
Earlier you had requested the option to turn off the cannon-reload blink effect, this option is now available on the Lights & IO tab under the "Indicator Lights" heading.
Please test this version with your Benedini Mini and let me know what you find. I was never able to reproduce the odd behavior you described that caused a full throttle sound after the tank was restored. I'm assuming it was some kind of glitch with your Benedini. But the tank destroyed sound should reliably play now on the last hit, at least it does for me, so let's hope it does for you as well.
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Thanks for the fast updates Luke!
I updated, no problem, thanks for the step by step, it helped to not lose saved settings!
I ran the TBS through 10 cycles with 3 shots to destroyed state and allowed tank to auto start back up.
So far so good. The Sounds played correctly, no glitches. There must a sequence to starting the TBS, It can get out of sync, but it seems to only happen one time. I am trying to put my finger on if its random, or if its something I am doing. I like to keep the TBS and Flash hooked up so I can change params and add sounds. I think I may have to completely disconnect, and re-power up TCB.
Anyway, I think its cured. I'll be sure to let you know any other issues I find. Thanks for adding the option of the IR reload lights too.
Thanks again for all the help and support, and being so fast at responses!
We are all at different levels of skill when it comes to some of this electronics stuff, I am kind of at the low end ???
Customer support is very important and your doing a great job!
Shad
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I have 3 "squeek" sounds in the TBS. I loaded them in sound # 12, 13, 14 on the params page.
They are enabled in the OP and set at the default OP settings. I dont hear them while running the throttle.
Are these sounds workable with the TBS mini?
Thanks,
shad
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I discovered a bug that prevented these from playing, I've posted a firmware update that should fix it. Give it a try and let me know. (This update does not erase your settings so you can just flash your TCB directly).
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I have squeaks now. 8)
Thanks Luke!
Shad