Acoms "tank" radio

[GPZ1000RX]

Do any tank guys out there know what part is required and where to get the "thingy" to convert the throttle from rachet (a la aircraft)to sprung to centre (a la car) on the 4ch Acoms radio?

I know I'm a slow witted old fool but twice now I've turned on every thing and the Tiger has charged off and tried some blitzing all on its own!

No damage so far but it's only a matter of time!

Any ideas greatly appreciated.

[jacolouw]

There are different ways of getting the stick "sprin loaded/self centring. In most cases its a small spring (or 2 in some radios) that does the work. In some cases the 2 springs counter each other to keep the stick in neutral position, while in oter cases you have a small lever system that centres the stick with the use of one spring only.

The "ratchet" effect is aslo just a plate creating friction agains a ribbed surface in most cases. Try to get a pic of the radio at the back with the cover opened and one can see then what the solution may be.

Another option is to swop the throttle/barrel movement channels (plugs) on you reciever. The at least you have a spring loaded throttle!!!

Hope it helps

Jakes

[Shodog]

what I did on my mountaineer transmitter was open up the case and take the spring mechanism from the steering side sticks and put it over on the the throttle side sticks.

Jim

[GPZ1000RX]

Just spoken to Hobby Co (UK importers) They were very helpful but say that, at the moment, acoms don't supply the necessary bitz but Hobby Co are trying to persuade them to!

Meantime I'm going to see if I can cannibalize an acoms 2ch for the springs etc.

Screwdriver again please nurse!

[fastfordrc]

Ive just done this to my rebadged 'Razor' version of the Acoms transmitter. I swapped the ratchet over to the vertical axis on the left stick (it will eventually be used to work the dozer blade on my Blizzard). For a tank you could use this to control the gun elevation. I haven't checked, but I think the 4 channel and 2 channel gimbals are different designs, so you might not be able to use parts from a 2 channel to do what you require.

If you take the back of the case off (4 screws, 2 different lengths - be careful not get them mixed up when putting them back). Look up into the gimbals of the sticks. The 'ratchet' on vertical axis on the right stick is governed by a silver piece of spring metal held in by a small screw. remove these and keep them to one side. Now look over at the left stick. The 'centering' movement of the stick is controlled by a small black plastic lever which is tensioned against a cam on the stick axle by a tiny tension spring. They are tricky to remove, but it can be done with a pair of needle nose pliers.

Firstly, try to unhook the small spring from the lever or gimbal housing (they are both about as difficult to do) using the pliers. When you eventually get it out, the lever should be easy to move. You now have to rotate the lever up and twist around at the same time to get it out. You can now fit the ratchet spring on this gimbal, remembering to put a bit of ceramic grease on the serrated ratchet.

Now the hard bit: fitting the lever you took from the left gimbal into the right gimbal. You have to use the same twisting movement that you used to take it out, but in reverse. Once you have persuaded it back in, you then have to fit the tension spring. I found it easier to attach it to the gimbal and then try and lift it onto the lever (again using the needlenose pliers). Once you have got it on, it should be good to go, so you can refit the back of the case.

You can do a bit more disassembly of the gimbals themselves and it would make the job less fiddly, but it requires some of the wires to be detached and resoldered.

Hope this helps,

Andy