Re: 8 Questions and 1 Proposal [TANKS]

[Frank Pittelli <frank-at-rctankcombat.com>]

Michael Charles Gross wrote:
> 1  Is that cork on the Cromwell's road wheels?  If not, what is it?

Yes. it is cork.  TyngTech only uses bio-degradable materials :-)

> 2  Is the Leopard built to a smaller scale, like 1/8?

The Leopard is built to the 36" rule (which was the first construction 
rule and the only one in effect when Rick built the hull over 15 years ago.

> 3  If I'm planning to build out of sheet aluminum, what thickness would 
> you recommend for areas that will be hit directly by paintballs?  What 
> about areas that won’t be hit directly?

Not sure what Rick used for the Leopard.  But, if it's rigid enough to 
hold the weight of the vehicle, it won't have any problem holding up to 
paintballs.

> 4  I don't know anything about paintball.  Can anyone suggest a good 
> marker that is fired electronically, so I can use the Anvilus trigger?

I recently purchased some refurbed Spyder Imagine markers from Action 
Village for $62 each.  They have electronic triggers and all metal 
parts.  One of them has been used in the Navarone Gun as part of a 
recent overhaul.  You can see it at the upcoming battle.

> 5  As I said, I’m entirely ignorant of paintball.  What is an 
> anti-siphon tube, and what does it do for one?

You never want liquid CO2 getting into the marker, so you normally mount 
the tank at a slight upwards incline (so that gas is drawn off the top). 
   But, if that's not possible, you can have a tube installed inside the 
tank so that it draws off the bottom instead.  Siphon tubes are 
routinely used in large 20+ pound tanks used for refilling so that you 
can draw liquid from the bottom of the tank instead of tipping the tank 
upside down.

> 6  Anyone know a good resource for information on obscure modern tanks?  
> I can’t find much in the way of text, photos, or drawings on the web or 
> in my one tank encyclopedia, on the vehicle I’m considering.

Sorry. The only source of info I know is the Internet :-)

> 7  I’m quite intrigued by the Anvilus C6C.  It’s not on the Anvilus 
> page, does that mean it’s not available?  If it is, is the 
> “next-generation” version mentioned on the Tank Expo page available 
> yet?  Does the C6C spit out standard RC signals?

The C6C is a joint Anvilus/Tri-Pact project and recently completed all 
of our tests, including the "let someone without any soldering skills 
put it together" test.  Everything is good to go and it will be offered 
for sale after the upcoming battle.  At that time, we'll announce the 
new website and will be ready to take orders.

The C6C currently allows you to control up to 6 standard servos from a 
PS2 gamepad, either wired or wireless.  It also has an optional 
shot-counter that can be used with the PS2 rumble feature to remind you 
when you've fired 35+ shots.

Over the winter, when Joe and I have more time to devote to building 
things, we will be working on a complete tank controller that will be 
able to control all tank subsystems directly (or at least that's the plan).

> 8 Does the next battle still start at 10:00 AM?

Battles start at 10'ish and 2'ish, depending on how many vehicles need 
special attention.  If you want to chat and look at things, you can show 
up as early as 9am when we start setting up everything.

> Lastly here’s a proposal:
>  
> 9  The rules (III-3) divide the offensive rating of a vehicle based on 
> the main-gun bore, with only one cut-point at 70 mm.  Many modern tanks 
> have 105- or 120-mm guns.  120-mm rounds are 1.71 times as big in 
> diameter and, importantly, 2.93 times as big in cross-sectional area, as 
> 70-mm rounds.   It seems to me that there should be another cut point at 
> 105 or 120 mm, with those tanks getting something like 45 or 50 
> paintballs.  Would that alter the dynamic of the battles too much to 
> consider? 

We consider all proposals that are officially submitted.  Once we've 
received your $100 proposal fee, a committee of veteran battlers will be 
formed to consider the merits of the proposal.  If they deem it worthy, 
the change will be accepted and the $100 will be returned to you.  If 
they deem it unworthy, the committee will keep your $100 and split it 
equally amongst themselves :-)

Seriously, that is something we can consider.  The most critical issue 
is whether or not the extra 10 shots will cause too many modern tanks to 
be built.  Based on the tanks currently built, it is clear that 40-shot 
tanks are heavily preferred over 30-shot tanks for that very reason. 
Fortunately, there are many, many 40-shot tanks to choose from, so we 
still have a lot of diversity on the field.  So, one question is:  How 
many 50-shot tanks would exist if the rule was changed?  If only a 
couple different models could be built, do we really want a battlefield 
with only modern tanks on it?

        Frank P.