Re: Welcome Tank Enthusiasts

["John Sullivan" <sullyjon-at-nb.sympatico.ca>]

Hi,
    Although I am in no position to start a huge tank model....YET as I am
in the middle of building DKM Scharnhorst for combat....I would like to
suggest that perhaps a scale should be set, since someone might build a tank
twice as big as someone else's and the scale appearance of the battle field
would be lost. Perhaps 1/4scale or something similar (larger) since that
would give just about all the wepons a good size. The 1/4 scale would also
allow the 12" GI Joe's and their gear to be used and modified easily. There
is also a copy-cat to GI Joe that I saw at "Toy's R Us" called the "Ultimate
Soldier", this line includes kubel wagons, amphibious vehicals, accessories
and yes even tanks although expensive by toy standards, but nice....

sincerly,
           Christopher Osborne.

----- Original Message -----
From: Frank Pittelli <frank-at-pittelli.com>
To: <tanks-at-rctankcombat.com>
Sent: Saturday, January 20, 2001 12:55 PM
Subject: Welcome Tank Enthusiasts


> Welcome one and all to the R/C Tank Combat mailing list.  We hope that
> this hobby will become as interesting and as challenging (if not more)
> as the warship hobby (without all of the politics).
>
> A bunch of us were in the shop last night and a couple of valuable
> tidbits were discussed:
>
> 1) Will has been talking with a speed-control manufacturer in PA,
> Diverse Electronic Services, and as a result, they are now producing a
> circuit that accepts two R/C receiver channel inputs and drives two
> speed controls.  This gives the following behavior if a single joystick
> is used to control both sides of a vehicle (tank, car, or truck):
>
> - stick due north, both sides forward
> - stick due south, both sides reverse
> - stick due east, left side forward, right side reverse
> - stick north east, left side forward, right side off
> - stick north north east, left side forward, right side 1/2
> forward
>
> In short, the circuit provides complete proportional control over both
> sides of the vehicle by moving one joystick.  The circuit kit is $30
> and can be used to drive homemade speed controls or they also sell 30
> amp speed controls for $55. The $140 price tag might sound high at
> first, but a single, reliable, high-amp speed control for a racing car
> runs between $50 and $100.  Also, the price for Vantec's 30 amp dual
> controller is $330!!!!
>
> 2) I was told that cheap, spring loaded paintball guns exist that could
> be used to make hand-held or boxed rocket launchers.  (By definition, a
> rocket launcher is any single-shot weapon).  That means that the
> cheapest entry point into the hobby is an old GI-Joe (or Barbie if you
> prefer), mounted on a board, holding a bazooka that is fired by a long
> string or a simple electric solenoid arrangement.  The total cost
> should be less than $30.
>
> 3) A couple guys were trying to figure out how to make a relatively
> cheap box rocket launcher, capable of firing their tubes in succession.
> There must be something in the world of pneumatic valves that can
> provide the "switching" needed, so a little detective work is probably
> in order.
>
> So, it looks like the technology issues are starting to materialize and
> be tackled and that, as they are, more people are starting to feel that
> this is something fun and not-to-expensive to pursue.  Clearly, the
> more we keep the cost down, the more people will want to play.
>
> All ideas, questions and comments are welcome ... even if you think
> we're crazy.
>
> Frank P.
>
>