Combat Digi-Q Insides

Ply · #1 10-05-2002, 04:16 PM

Has anyone else dissassembled their tank(s) yet?

I got tired of the noisy gearboxes and took my panther apart to see what I could do. 2 squirts of WD40 later (1 to each gearbox) and the tank is MUCH quieter.

Just be careful not to get it on the mainboard (dunno about conductivity of WD40, but I'm pretty sure it does), or the tread drivers (unless you don't want to go anywhere =).

The little screws underneath the treads were a bit of a pain, but I was able to get a little standard screwdriver (inky-dinky one for glasses repair and such) in there and got the screw out. More importantly, I was able to get it back in, using some needlenose and the same little screwdriver (angle is a little funny, but it's pretty easy if you're careful).

If anyone's interested, I can post pix of the insides.

Also noticed something wierd about the underside of the turret. It's actually geared, and there's what looks like kind of a mount point and opening where a geared motor could go at some point? Don't know if this was a "well we tried but it didn't work..why pay extra to re-mold w/o the hole?" or a "maybe in the future we'll motorize the turret" kinda thing. There's no room for a turret motor given the current setup cuz the batteries are in the way.

Ply

Ply · #2 10-05-2002, 04:40 PM

I think I understated MUCH quieter with WD40 in the gearboxes. It's just as quiet as the cars now, if not moreso. There's hardly any gear noise at all anymore. Now I can run it at work w/o people saying "what's that noise!?"

Also, the tank seems to run a lot smoother now. It used to have trouble with one side more so than the other, but not anymore.

Namuna · #3 10-07-2002, 01:27 AM

Excellent work/news Ply!

If you could post pics, that would be great! Also, how is the Tank now, as far as attracting debris?

I, personally, might just give the Baby Powder idea a try.

payaso · #4 10-07-2002, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Namuna
Excellent work/news Ply!

If you could post pics, that would be great! Also, how is the Tank now, as far as attracting debris?

I, personally, might just give the Baby Powder idea a try.

LOL.... I knew you'd come around.... I mean if it's safe enough for a babys butt..LOL I'm going crazy without my little battler

silla

Ply · #5 10-07-2002, 08:36 AM

Attracting debris? You mean because of the WD40? Well, WD40 is not particularly sticky, and the gearboxes are very well shielded from the outside. Unlike the digi-q cars, the tanks were not designed to be taken apart by the end user. So no, it's not attracting carpet fuzzies and lint any more than it used to be. Though it does sorta smell like WD40, but it's gradually fading

I imagine a little bit of grease might work too; maybe baby powder would do the trick as well, but I don't think it would solve the problem for as long because there's nothing keeping it on the gears. You might use a toothpik and some WD40, to keep it from getting everywhere. Put a little on, run the gears a bit, put a little more on, etc.

I have more pics if anyone would like them (and higher res), but they don't really show anything more than this one does. I added arrows to highlight the gearboxes and the strange turret gear hole.

Namuna · #6 10-07-2002, 09:47 AM

Excellent pic Ply!

Hmmm, that turret gear certainly is provocative! I imagine they FULLY intended to make it remote controllable, but probably got hit by cost/time restraints.

Hey, can you post more pictures of the process you went through to take the tank apart? That would be tremendously helpful as well!

Thanks Ply!

Ply · #7 10-07-2002, 11:49 AM

Sure, but It'll have to wait till I get home from work

Ply

Ply · #8 10-07-2002, 08:35 PM

There's only 3 screws holding the top of the tank onto the bottom part. We'll start with the tough ones first. They're 2 philips screws on the bottom of the tank under where the treads are. If you take off the treads you can see 2 aluminum screws, one on each side, slightly forward of the middle of the tank. They're really tough to get at, and only the smallest of my standard type screwdrivers would fit (even though they're phillips screws). So you kinda have to slip the screwdriver behind one of the tread rollers to get the screws out. Be careful and go slow since they're aluminum screws, and thus easily rounded (at least, they look aluminum!). You can see the screws and how I took them out with my screwdriver in the first 2 pics.

Getting these 2 back in is a little tricky. I used a small pair of long-tipped neddlenose pliers to hold the screws in place while I screwed them back in with my other hand. Just be careful that they go in straight! And of course don't overtighten.

The last screw is very visible on the bottom at the back (pic 3). Just use a tiny phillips to take it out (no problem!).

After the 3 screws are out, the top lifts off easily. The wires going to the turret are pretty hefty (not like bit char-g or anything), so you don't have to worry about them too much.

What you do once you're in is your own business

enigma101 · #9 10-07-2002, 10:07 PM

Thanks for the great tip for quieting the noisy Panther. It works great! One thing I found, quite by accident, is that you can easily pop-off the wheel above the screws under the track. Just use your jewelers screwdriver to carefully pry off the wheel. The wheel is held in place by a tiny friction fit pin which will come off with the wheel. It makes removing the tiny side screws much easier since you can get direct access with the screwdriver. After you've done the lube job and put the screws back in, the wheel slides back on easily and you just push in the pin to hold it in place. Also, I noticed a lot of the noise on my Panther seemed to be coming from the helix-type gear, just to the front of the "gear box." A little lube in there really helped. A little lube goes a long way and make sure you blot-up any excess with some cloth or tissue. Happy tanking!

pitstain · #10 10-08-2002, 10:43 PM

when i get mine, do you thin k my nitro rc car grease would work?(diff grease) that would be easier to apply with a toothpick than wd40...

Ply · #11 10-08-2002, 10:49 PM

I imagine that nitro car grease would work as well or better than WD40, as long as you apply it lightly.

And yah, WD40 with a toothpick probably wouldn't work...but a q-tip maybe

korosu · #12 10-09-2002, 07:50 PM

hey Ply/everyone,

I don't have my tank yet, but i think my g/f is ordering me a pair for my b-day

!!!

anyway, i thought about what you said having the turret able to turn. staring at the pic of the insides, and i may definitely be wrong about this, but it looks like between the 2 gearboxes there's an indentation about the size of a bit motor, with the bell end facing the rear of the tank and the shaft facing forward. there's a small bump with a hole in it and that looks like it would connect to that small hole up by the turret. it would be possible to make the turret turn by somehow getting the gears in the right position and the right type of gears. the other thing i'd have to wonder is if the controller could do another set of input instructions.

anyway, just my .02

Ply · #13 10-09-2002, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by korosu

anyway, i thought about what you said having the turret able to turn. staring at the pic of the insides, and i may definitely be wrong about this, but it looks like between the 2 gearboxes there's an indentation about the size of a bit motor, with the bell end facing the rear of the tank and the shaft facing forward. there's a small bump with a hole in it and that looks like it would connect to that small hole up by the turret. it would be possible to make the turret turn by somehow getting the gears in the right position and the right type of gears. the other thing i'd have to wonder is if the controller could do another set of input instructions.

Unfortunately, if you line up the turret gear hole and the screw holes in the upper half, you'll see that the hole is right over the battery pack. There's no room to put a motor or gearing in w/o relocating the battery pack, which would be a chore because of all the plastic molding on the lower half. The first picture I posted is slightly misleading because it looks like the tank folds back together just like a sandwich. You actually have to flip the top half back around before attaching it back to the lower half. The gun barrel points away from the rear of the tank where the gear boxes are located.

I guess it'd be doable if you were able to move the battery pack and hack some gears and a motor together. Then of course you'd have to jimmy up IR control.

Anyone know how they communicate? I'm guessing it must be some sort of serial data stream (as opposed to multiple channels a la bits). That would certainly explain the control lag.

Ply

korosu · #14 10-09-2002, 09:47 PM

hmm...i did look over your pic, and notice in your pic to the right of the batter, it looks like a motor would fit right into that gap, it even looks like an indentation was made specifically for a motor there.

and looking at the turret...that indentation where the gear is, looks like a gear similar to the transfer gear on a bit would fit there, and another spur gear would be centered on that tiny hole just to the right of the hole (well, to the right according to the pic, actual position would be a bit back and to the right?) a shaft sits in that top hole and connects to the other hole in the bottom. only problem is trying to transfer power from the motor, which would run lengthwise of the tank, maybe a couple bevel gears could solve that.

but you're right, it does look like a scrapped feature or a future add on.

ahh well, maybe it'll be easier if i could highlight those areas on the tank in your pic (gotta get me photo editing software other than stupid MS paint

)

Ply · #15 10-09-2002, 11:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by korosu
hmm...i did look over your pic, and notice in your pic to the right of the batter, it looks like a motor would fit right into that gap, it even looks like an indentation was made specifically for a motor there.

and looking at the turret...that indentation where the gear is, looks like a gear similar to the transfer gear on a bit would fit there, and another spur gear would be centered on that tiny hole just to the right of the hole (well, to the right according to the pic, actual position would be a bit back and to the right?) a shaft sits in that top hole and connects to the other hole in the bottom. only problem is trying to transfer power from the motor, which would run lengthwise of the tank, maybe a couple bevel gears could solve that.

I agree, you could fit a motor in the space to the right of the battery pack. And you could setup gears in the way you described with the turret gear hole. But yah, transfering the power from the motor to the turret gears would be the problem, and would be difficult given battery placement.

How they tease us!

Ply