Table of Contents
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Benedini Mini
The Benedini Mini is a high quality sound board sold by Thomas Benedini from Germany.
Please visit the Benedini website for more information on his products: Benedini RC Model Electronics
For your reference here are Benedini's manuals for the Mini:
Connecting to the TCB
The TCB has three RC outputs dedicated to the Mini. They are labeled Prop1, Prop2, and Prop3 which are the same labels used on the Mini.
Note that the Mini has two Prop 1 connections, one for incoming and one for outgoing. Connect the TCB to the incoming Prop 1 connection.
Use male-to-male servo cables for the connection. The TCB will supply all the power necessary to the Mini.
Mini Setup
Benedini provides a free configuration software called TBS-Flash. The Open Panzer TCB is only compatible with TBS Flash v3.0 or later. If you are using an earlier version, you must not only download the new version of TBS Flash, but also update the firmware on your Mini (use the Firmware Update button on the Misc tab in TBS Flash).
TBS Flash has many features and configuration options we will not need. The information here is not a comprehensive overview of everything the Benedini sound card can do, but only a highlight of the specific settings we need in order for it to work with the Open Panzer TCB. Please read the Benedini manual to learn more about its other features.
In TBS Flash there are three tabs: Sounds, Parameter, and Misc. We discuss each one below:
Sounds Tab
The Sounds tab of TBS Flash is where you import all your sound files, and then write them to your Benedini device. In addition to 6 engine sounds we are able to control up to 15 extra sounds. These sounds can be imported in any order on the Sounds tab, but will then need to be assigned to specific slots on the Parameter tab in TBS Flash.
These are the 15 sounds (in addition to the 6 engine sounds) that the Open Panzer TCB can control:
- Turret Rotation
- Barrel Elevation
- Cannon Fire
- Machine Gun Fire
- Cannon Hit
- Machine Gun Hit
- Vehicle Destroyed
- Headlight/Switch Sound
- User Sound 1
- Preheat sound / User Sound 2
- Second Machine Gun / User Sound 3
- Squeak 1 / User Sound 4
- Squeak 2 / User Sound 5
- Squeak 3 / User Sound 6
- Repair Sound
You don't have to use all these sounds if there are some you don't need or want. You may want to forego some sounds (for example User Sounds or Squeaks) and use those slots for advanced sound-play options such as Dynamic In, Dynamic Loop, and Dynamic Out (you can read more about these features in the Benedini Flash manual).
When all your sounds are imported, it's a good idea to save a soundfile to disk as backup. You also need to load all the sounds onto your Mini by clicking the Write Sound to Device button.
Parameter Tab
The Parameter tab is where we specify how the Mini will be controlled. The screenshot below highlights the important areas.
===== Playing Sounds ===== Most sounds will be played automatically by the TCB at the appropriate moment - for example, if you trigger the Cannon Fire function, the cannon fire sound will play automatically, and if your vehicle is moving the engine sounds will play, etc. There are however some settings you can adjust in OP Config - the frequency of the squeak sounds, and a few others. See the Sounds tab in OP Config for more. The optional User Sounds will only play if you assign a Trigger to them. They can be triggered to play once, or repeat until a second trigger turns them off. You can also assign triggers to functions that will let you increase or decrease the volume from a 3-position switch on your transmitter. See the Functions reference page for more details.