1

Show and Tell / "Painbot" Battle Unit - combined IR apple

« on: October 05, 2018, 07:15:54 AM »

I was trying to source a "Piranha Battle Unit" for some of my builds, but it seems it is impossible to get one for a decent price here in the Netherlands.
Always there was a lot of taxes or shipping costs involved, so i decided to start designing one myselves..

It is not quite finished, but i hope some of you can help me out making some design decisions.
And, like always, i will share the design with the community when it is finished!

So, i started off with the recommended Vishay TSAL6100 and some TSOP32536 that i had lying around.
Some (4) basic 3mm red leds are used. These will be soldered together to a central connector.

The Receiver is became a three part design, bolted together:



And here is the little bugger after being printed in PLA:



The unit is roughly the same size as the Henglong IR receiver..



the only thing i did not really like is the connector on the bottom.. I have a 7pin row with 2,54mm pith mounted in the bottom. Maybe it would be better to use a 7/8 pin din connector or PS/2?
Please share what you think!

2

Show and Tell / Tamiya Gepard(Cheetah) SPAAG

« on: September 18, 2018, 09:54:47 AM »

Time for another project that has been sitting too long under my workbench..
It started all when i wanted to buy a Tamiya Gepard for a colleague of mine..

Before i knew it the seller asked me to build a full option model for him..!

The Tamiya Gepard is known as the Cheetah PRTL in the Netherlands and the owners served on one of these when he was in the army..
Here a picture of one of the models and it's box:



And the model itselves:



This is going to be quite some conversion as we have a lot of stuff that has to move controlled by the Openpanzer! Think about:

- Folding the rear radar up and down
- Start rotating the rear radar
- Let the front radar follow the turret
- Driving, shooting, etc. etc.

For the observant reader, i said "one of the models" because i could not resist buying three of them for myselves... 

3

Show and Tell / Using the Openpanzer TCB for LCM-3 Landing Craft

« on: September 04, 2018, 03:40:50 AM »

So, not a real project at the time (yet), just some people that started asking about the possibilities to use the TCB for this new Torro Landing Craft.

I made two people happy with this new piece from Torro, but the functions of the LCM are quite limited. No lights, sound and smoke. It does have the big hatch on the front that can move up and down...

So, does anyone have good ideas about sounds, lights, smoke other funclionalities? I would really like to hear what you think!

4

Show and Tell / DIY Reflow oven

« on: July 03, 2018, 08:33:04 AM »

Something completely different, but i managed to build a DIY Reflow oven that works quite well.

I have to say it's not completely my idea, so i have to thank Andy Brown for the work on the Android Reflow controller found here: andybrown.me.uk/2015/07/12/awreflow2/
Basically what i did is take the great design from Andy, ordered 10 PCB's from SEEED and started to assemble it with parts from Farnell.

The Reflow oven Andy is using is basacally this unit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/3322-HALOGEN-HLO3322-AEG-CLATRONIC/dp/B002UXQJZA it's a Halogen hot air oven.

I tried to tackle Andy's problem with heat loss by building the heater unit into a small 9 liter IR snack oven https://www.amazon.com/iPstyle-Stainless-Extra-large-Capacity-Countertop/dp/B07BJKL2D5/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1530624304&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=tomato+9l+snack+oven That i completely Gutted and insulated with glassfiber based insulation wrapped in Aluminium foil..

Both ovens where sourced from local Ebay (Marktplaats) for like 25 and 10 euro's The Andy Brown controller can be build for approx 15 euro's

After some tuning it turns out this little oven works out very well!

5

Open Panzer Help / Steering Problem Halftrack

« on: May 01, 2018, 03:01:47 AM »

Hi Luke,

I have a problem i can't quite figure out. I set up the TCB for halftrack with two ESC's and a steering servo.
Now i had to limit the stroke of the steering servo to 35% - 35% on the transmitter otherwise the wheels would hiyt the fenders.

But what i did not realised is that the tracks now ALSO steer for only 35%... The halftrack is not making a noticable turn at the moment.
Possible solutions crossed my mind:

- Set the min/max on the radio again -> this would probably mean 35% would give me a 100% stroke on the servo again... i don't want that
- Mix a channel on the radio so an Aux channel would follow the throttle and set the AUX to limited stroke -> not possible on the Radiolink AT9
- Use another channel for steering the front wheels -> Need two hands to steer.. Not a good solution
- Change the limits on the ESC's so these will have 35% as 100% -> no good.. It follows throttle also.. and throttle/steering is internally mixed.

Could you help me out here Luke? I'm really stuck..

6

Open Panzer Help / 12ring 360 kit need more leads.. Common ground?

« on: April 24, 2018, 08:48:59 AM »

I'm working on two RC tanks at the moment from Torro (a KV2 and a King Tiger) with the taigen recoil unit, IR receiver/sender and hid flash..

Now this 360 kit is included: https://www.torro-shop.de/navi.php?a=2108&lang=eng it has 12 rings.. But with the Openpanzer i have:

MG LED
- positive
- negative
IR transmit
- positive
- negative
IR Receiver
- positive
- signal
- negative
Barrel elevation
- positive
- negative
Recoil
- positive
- signal
- negative
Flash unit
- positive
- signal
- negative

This sums up to a grand total of 15 wires.. So, would it be possible to create a common ground lead between..?

7

Open Panzer Help / Gyro Turret lock function

« on: April 17, 2018, 05:03:51 PM »

I happened to come across this:

Ordered one from HobbyKing and it will probably work fine if you would use a servo for turret rotation.

But i was wondering if it would be possible to use the internal drive units on the TCB maybe general I/O in-out?
Seems the Gecko would be a good alternative, but as the TCB has the drives already integrated...

8

Show and Tell / Torro Tiger II acoustic smoker

« on: April 17, 2018, 01:29:11 AM »

Another project started alongside the FAMO.

The plan is to build a Kingtiger (semi) full metal based on the Torro. I'm building this in commission.
The new owner wants it to look like David Parker's Superking.. http://www.panzerwrecks.com/product/superking/

So i started cutting it up after it arrived (new in box) and gave it some damage on the last remaining fender.

9

Open Panzer Help / Leopard "Gepard" 35mm Oerlikon gun salvo

« on: March 27, 2018, 05:20:33 PM »

I have 4 Tamiya Gepards ready to be build. these will be controlled by the Openpanzer TCB.

For sound i will be using the Benedini TBS mini and the appropriate sound-set.
Now i noticed that the soundset for the main gun is actually a (soundfile) salvo of 7 - 10 shots for each gun trigger..

Is it possible to have multiple (number adjustable) flashes with certain (adjustable) timing between them on the main gun?
Now it only seems possible to adjust the reload time of the main cannon..

10

Open Panzer Help / Use Built-in drivers for tank control

« on: February 02, 2018, 01:56:07 PM »

Hi Luke, i know that the built-in drivers are by far not strong enough to push a 1/16 RC tank forward.
But how would they fare in the little 1/35 Jagdpanther i attached?

Will this work or am i'm going to blow up the TCB? I got 9 openpanzer lying around (free shipping at Hobbyking and only 35 euro a piece ) but rather ask then smoking one..

11

Open Panzer Help / Functions & Triggers - direct AUX channel passthrough

« on: January 29, 2018, 03:06:41 PM »

Luke,

I'm trying to do the following: Passing Through a Aux channel - 2 pos switch to the RC output 3.
Now it seems i'm only allowed to use the standard Tank controls (elevation, rotation, engine speed etc.) as a trigger source and not any of the other (AUX)channels.

This would add some very interesting possibilties.. Like opeing cooling flaps or hatches in some situations..

Is this a possibility?

Cheers, John

12

Show and Tell / Asiatam FAMO SdKfz. 9

« on: January 27, 2018, 11:26:16 AM »

Hi,

For all that are interested, my current build of the Asiatam FAMO Sd.Kfz. 9.

I plan on using two Hobby ESC's and 1 servo for steering. I'm building this for someone else who asked me to assemble and paint it for him.
The following features will be added:

- Openpanzer TCB + 2x Hobby esc's
- Benedini mini or micro for sound
- 3D printed electronics box under bed
- 3D printed combined speakerbox/hood ventilation actuator
- ON/OFF switches, charger jack etc. etc. in the side toolboxes
- Airbrushing and weathering of the complete model

Attached a picture how the unit arrived!

13

Open Panzer Help / Pololu Dual VNH5019 usable?

« on: January 27, 2018, 11:04:25 AM »

Hi Luke,

Just found this: https://nodna.de/Pololu-Dual-VNH5019-Motor-Driver-Shield-fr-Arduino-12A is it usable as a drive unit for the TCB?
Did anyone use it?

Cheers, John

14

Open Panzer Help / Halftracks settings with 2 Hobby ESC and steering servo

« on: January 27, 2018, 08:44:41 AM »

Hi,

At the moment i'm trying to setup a Halftrack with dual Hobby ESC's and a single steering servo.
Now it seems that Openpanzer is not accepting me setting this.. (look at attached picture)

Which seem strange because of having 4 RC channels available and not using a turret?

Would this possible to add this as a feature?

15

Open Source Sound Dev / Benedini Micro & Openpanzer

« on: November 05, 2017, 12:22:24 PM »

In the Wiki it is stated clear that the TCB is only compatible with TBS Flash v3.0.

Problem is that the TBS micro is not supported by v3.0 and only works with V1.0

So.. what if i want to make a Micro work with the TCB?