Happy with the quality of the tanks? [Archive]

evilcindy

10-01-2002, 04:22 AM

Hi everyone :) I just received two tanks from ToyEast.com and I am having the problem you are talkking about with one of them. It happened almost immediately after I got it - the right wheel makes a horrible grinding sound and it veers off to the right. Adjusting it with the calibration stick does not help it. It seems hit or miss since my other tank has no problems. Good thing I bought two tanks otherwise I wouldn't know it was abnormal!

ToyEast.com is being kind enough to exchange my tank for a new one - good thing too! I spend way too much money with them!!

Anyhow, just wanted to let you guys know that your tanks SHOULD NOT be making that grinding noise.

Cindy

swissracer

10-01-2002, 04:30 AM

i ordered mine from toyeast too...

do u sent you have to sent your damaged tank back? or do you just get a new one?

both of mine aren't good...

evilcindy

10-01-2002, 05:25 AM

I emailed Steve and asked him what I should do about it. He told me to return the tank to them and they would send me a new one. I am supposed to send only the tank. They didn't agree to reimburse me for shipping but he offered some more of those tiny camoflauge bags they gave out with the purchase of a tank. What on earth am I going to do with more of these bags?? :)

Also, I forgot to mention in my last post that the functional tank goes straight with no problems. My only concern is that it started to make the loud noise for a little bit. Fortunately it stopped soon after but I am worried it will break just like my other tank! It seems that this might be a quality control issue - by Konami, not ToyEast.

xsracer

10-01-2002, 09:23 AM

One of my tanks going slightly to the side. The other goes more to the side and also have problem doing turns on the spot (back + direction). None of them make too much noise. In fact, they make less noise than DigiQ cars do. After reading this I'm considering exchaning second tank but not sure I will.

pitstain

10-08-2002, 09:29 PM

hm... from listening to this i think i'll wait a little longer untill these issues are figured out.... 70 bucks is pretty steep for a toy....(altho the tank has to break every technological barrier...)

enigma101

10-08-2002, 11:23 PM

Go here:

http://tinyrc.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1602

Don't let a little 5 minute lube job keep you from enjoying one of these little beauties. I've been battling my little tanks for several days after doing the minor lube and have been noise free.

MicroVader

10-11-2002, 11:46 PM

Hey guys...
Just got my tanks in: 1 camo and 2 greens.

None of them are loud as some of you have described.
Guess I got lucky there. I did notice they get a little louder
going face first down a ramp. But that is minor strain on the gears
and somewhat expected.

My main gripe is the trim control. Once trimmed to go straight
all 3 tanks do poorly when switching to reverse.
I think due to the semi-loose treads you have to live with
a 'good enough' setting.

My other gripe is turning. The panther (camo) is easier.
But over turning is annoying. I thought Micro-IR was proportional?
The green tanks are faster in a straight but turning and aiming
is a challenge. I should have got 2 panthers instead.
I'll probably order another.

None of this effects the fun of the lazer tag interaction.
Me and My girlfriend have been having a blast.

Also, I order these from Toyeast. My first time ordering from
them. I ordered a Bit Char-G on sale for $10 bucks with my
tanks. What I got was a Bit Char-A clone. Not a huge deal
but now I'm worried about ordering namebrand from them
and getting crap instead :mad:

Cheers...
~Chris

enigma101

10-12-2002, 12:11 AM

Chris, welcome to the tank brigade.:) My tanks were fairly quiet, especially the Russian one, when I first got them but it wasn't long before they both were "grinding away." If the same happens to yours, it's an easy fix. Just do the lube job described by Ply at this site.

My Russian tank turns on a dime and maneuvers like a mother. I suspect there's enough variability in the tanks that each is going to have it's own "personality." Hey, it's just adds to the charm of these little beauties. Mine are a blast. Tank away!:D

pitstain

10-12-2002, 01:02 AM

maneuvers like a mother" -lol anyways can't wait till i buy mine, i'm still waiting for a good deal off ebay(idiots always bid to liek 50bucks when there's still 8 days left) since the coma looks better i'm going to get that....i can't wait for the f1 to come out too... as well as the sub, i'll probably get those when i go to HK for christmas, but i can't wait that long for the tank....anways it's cool you guys are having fun!

MicroVader

10-12-2002, 12:29 PM

Enigma,
Played with them a while last night and I agree they'll need
a lube. Two of them already have one side getting out of sync.
This makes it impossible to trim the steering. Spins fast in one
direction and drags when you reverse direction of the spin.

I watched each bell up in my hand and could see one tread is
faster than the other.

The german seems to hit the russian tanks easier.
The russian's shots seem to have a higher miss rate.
Not quite sure but seems that way.

Also since I have three, some people may not know that
if two tanks are close enough the third tank can hit both
with one shot. Almost like bullet spray :D
This works if the other 2 are within a tank's length proximity
or touching. Good to know in 3 or 4 player ;)

pitstain,
check out Toyeast. They have a few package deals now.

~Chris

pitstain

10-12-2002, 01:01 PM

yea i've been there but don't want to use that much cash, specially when i can get them in Hong KOng cheaper(but i can't wait till christmas) 60 bucks is pretty good, if the ebay prices aren't right, i'll just get it from toyeast, anyways
is that unven steering really bothering?? about that :if two tanks are close enough the third tank can hit both
with one shot" that simulates the "splash" damage like it would in reallity... that's pretty cool...have fun you!

MicroVader

10-12-2002, 05:27 PM

Ok, I did a WD-40 lube job on my pather. Seems smoother now.
Also got better steering now because there had been lint spun
around one axel. I was able to clean it out with an Exacto blade.
It wasn't even alot of lint but enough to bind the axel a tad.
It was between the rear wheel and the body wall.

Also noticed that the trim knob seems to give more power
to the side that's trailing. This is 'ok' but if you find that your trim
is heavily onesided you might want to clean the axel.
Because your turn speed with be way slower in one direction.
At least that's what it looks like IMO.

Looks like 2 bit engines. one per side. Since there's also 2
batteries. Makes me wonder, for instance, if making mainly
doing left turns for a while will drain the left battery faster and
effect steering due to less power that engine is getting until
charged again. Meaning if you drain one battery faster that
engine could slow down and the tank would lean that way.
Have to test this further but this seems to happen and is
more noticeable near the end of a charge.

Still, none of the steering issues get in the way of the fun.
These are tanks not cars so it's not a big deal.

~Chris

gertman

10-13-2002, 12:19 AM

Chris,

I am SURE that the batteries are wired as a pack. This is the only way that makes sense.

MicroVader

10-13-2002, 11:48 AM

Yea, I realize that sounded dumb. But I guess what I was trying
to say is with the trim turned heavily to one side eventually
the slower engine gets overall less power.
It's very common at the end of a charge period one side
still can still push the tank and the other engine can't even
spin the treads.

~Chris

Muzzy

10-15-2002, 02:39 AM

Just started playing with mine today . .

Played for about a half hour total run time and it worked great . . it drifted ever so slightly to the left (about 1/4 inch in a 1-1/2 feet) and I decided to see if the trim adjustment could take that out . .

Now my tank is virtually useless to me . . at dead center trim I get a 1' diameter circle to the left, just to go straight I need full right trim . . Once I set that I never get full power to the left track so left turns are suffering . .

All this happened the instant I started fiddling with the trim control . . I find it highly unlikely that the motors went bad at the exact moment I decided to adjust the trim . .

I wish I could figure out why this happened. I'm wondering if perhaps the trim control is faulty and the remote's circuitry is just too sensitive for it. Yet for $70 I don't want to rip the damn thing apart to figure this out . . then again, it's useless (in my opinion) to me right now so what do I have to lose . .

pitstain

10-15-2002, 08:33 AM

i jsut bought mine for 70 bucsk off ebay an dyou're scaring me

GTR

10-15-2002, 07:17 PM

i didn't buy mine yet...i got fuxored

Ply

10-15-2002, 10:24 PM

Originally posted by Muzzy
Just started playing with mine today . .

Played for about a half hour total run time and it worked great . . it drifted ever so slightly to the left (about 1/4 inch in a 1-1/2 feet) and I decided to see if the trim adjustment could take that out . .

Now my tank is virtually useless to me . . at dead center trim I get a 1' diameter circle to the left, just to go straight I need full right trim . . Once I set that I never get full power to the left track so left turns are suffering . .

All this happened the instant I started fiddling with the trim control . . I find it highly unlikely that the motors went bad at the exact moment I decided to adjust the trim . .

I wish I could figure out why this happened. I'm wondering if perhaps the trim control is faulty and the remote's circuitry is just too sensitive for it. Yet for $70 I don't want to rip the damn thing apart to figure this out . . then again, it's useless (in my opinion) to me right now so what do I have to lose . .

Did you try and see if anything got bunched up in the driving wheel? Don't be afraid of taking the tank apart, just remember that if you pull the drive axel out, don't put it back in w/o making sure the gear hole is lined up. $70 more and 1 new tank later, I've learned my lesson ;) I accidentally tore a tooth off of one of the little gears...oh well, spare parts I guess.

So as long as you dont PUSH when you feel resistance, you're fine! You might try lubing the gears to see if that helps. My first tank made no noise at first, then got really loud after maybe 45mins of total run time. The lube job made it smoother and quieter.

But if your problem is in the electronics somewhere, it's going to be a bit more difficult to fix.

Ply

Muzzy

10-16-2002, 02:56 AM

Yes I did try opening it up and I did lube inside, I even went so far as to lube all of the wheels with graphite (I dont want to use oil on the outside, it attracts dust).

While most may appreciate the convenience of the trim being on the remote this design poses a problem in my opinion. If the trim circuitry is really faulty there may be little that can be done since it will always transmit the incorrect trim to the tank. I would have preferred some other method to correct trim on the tank itself, I'm just not sure if such a thing could be done in that confined space.

Certainly though, having a trim adjustment for each motor would be easier than the remote trim. Besides, with these remotes being able to support multiple tanks, adjusting the trim nob for one tank may mean the trim will be off for another tank. Having the trim adjustable on the tanks themselves would eliminate this problem.

I'm going to have my brother check out the remote and see what he can do (he's an electrical technician and has the tools to do it).

GTR

10-16-2002, 08:04 PM

we use graphite on the bridges of our instruments!! (violins, cellos, etc)

BillyBonz

10-16-2002, 10:56 PM

Originally posted by Muzzy
Yes I did try opening it up and I did lube inside, I even went so far as to lube all of the wheels with graphite (I dont want to use oil on the outside, it attracts dust).

Is there any chance that some of the graphite could have found it's way to the circuit board? Graphite is a conductor and could cause a short on the board, but it would take quite a bit. Just a thought.

Muzzy

10-17-2002, 04:57 PM

Graphite came after the tank was acting up. Again, the tank worked fairly well until the pot on the remote was adjusted. Pointing it back to the place it was does not make it perform the way it's used to. My guess is the pot is probably faulty.

Besides, the design of the tank would not allow the graphite applied to the wheel stems on the bottom of the tank to migrate into the inards of the tank, there are no openings to allow this.

BillyBonz

10-17-2002, 07:23 PM

Muzzy,

Keeps us posted when you find the cure. I know I'll be taking mine apart soon after it arrives, but I'll make sure everything is working good first. After reading your post I'll be thinking twice before I play with that trim knob. YIKES!

hendrix

12-26-2002, 05:29 PM

Originally posted by MicroVader
Hey guys...
Just got my tanks in: 1 camo and 2 greens.

None of them are loud as some of you have described.
Guess I got lucky there. I did notice they get a little louder
going face first down a ramp. But that is minor strain on the gears
and somewhat expected.

My main gripe is the trim control. Once trimmed to go straight
all 3 tanks do poorly when switching to reverse.
I think due to the semi-loose treads you have to live with
a 'good enough' setting.

My other gripe is turning. The panther (camo) is easier.
But over turning is annoying. I thought Micro-IR was proportional?
The green tanks are faster in a straight but turning and aiming
is a challenge. I should have got 2 panthers instead.
I'll probably order another.

None of this effects the fun of the lazer tag interaction.
Me and My girlfriend have been having a blast.

Also, I order these from Toyeast. My first time ordering from
them. I ordered a Bit Char-G on sale for $10 bucks with my
tanks. What I got was a Bit Char-A clone. Not a huge deal
but now I'm worried about ordering namebrand from them
and getting crap instead :mad:

Cheers...
~Chris
The tanks are ment to be like real life tanks. Each one has different attributes. Like you said "The green tanks are a faster tank but they aren't able turn as well" = an advantage and a disadvantage. It all works out on the battlefield. If your still not happy, you could probably open up the tank and change out the motors (to make the turret turn faster) and the gears. Just an idea.

Jordan_person

12-26-2002, 08:40 PM

use wd 40 or high performince greece to fix the sounds. you spray it into the 4 holes in the back of the tank when you open it up.

ps you all are gettign ripped off from toyeast here in hawaii i sell them for about $60 will a 1 year warrenty

Trackman

12-31-2002, 05:01 AM

Ok here is the deal it goes much deeper

On mine all the same problems were there

And on mine i took the gear box out(2 snap tabs on the left and right sides of the gear box)

And sure enuff there is paint down in there on one or both sides
it seems that the small holes on the bottom allow paint to get in under the main gear during painting.

So i scraped the paint off it scratches the plastic but then i put a small amount of oil on it and welllahhh

the ballance is there
problem fixed goes straight and the track strengh is equal fixing the trim win win win
btw they are the coolest things ever
Hope this helps
good bye

Panzer

01-05-2003, 03:24 PM

I read some posts on the TinyRC forum but about mini-z's and other cars and they were discussing breaking in new motors so the brushes dont develop pits and reduce the potential power of the motor. This made me think becasue when I first got my combat digi-q's the ran pretty much straight without having to adjust the trim much but after about the 2nd or 3rd charge each one started veering drastically to one side or the other and it's very hard to get the trim to fix it. Im wondering is this a problem of not properly breaking in the motors. If it is why don't the instructions mention it?

Oh, and before anyone responds telling me to clean the axles and gears, I've taken them apart and even the gearbox and there was nothing binding anything down. I've put in some graphite and they just run the same. Is anyone an electric motor expert?