I got the main components for the basic IR Tank Battle System conversion project yesterday. Basically, its a Lazer Tag system with an IR transmitter and receiver. To my suprise, the quality of this toy is very good, from the workmanship to the material used, all are well done. Both units have special sound effects built into the system, however i don't think its appropriate to use on the tank as the firing effect sounds more like a pistol rather than a cannon. There are 2 modes of gameplay preconfigured for the unit.
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the complete package.
First is duel match, the receiver will accept 10 shots from the transmitter before it shut itself down. The second is target mode, with predetermined 'target ready' duration in interval of seconds. It means you can only shoot it when the indicator light on the receiver unit blinks to show its 'ready', and an accurate burst of shot to the receiver unit will be counted as a hit. There are no limit of firing rounds in this mode, thus its really suitable as target practice for the tank.
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receiver unit
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Currently, i'm still thinking how or what should be integrated into the Tank's turret. Should I combine both airsoft and IR together or should I separate it as 2 different system? I guessed the better deal would be to have all in one. But there will be foreseeable engineering constraint as apart from these 2, the recoil mechanism, turret tilt system, laser targetting (pointer) unit will also be mounted in the same turret. Luckily, there are plenty of spaces in turret for this purpose, that's the good thing about 1:12 scale, big and spacy.
For now, I'll try to think of a design for the turret mainframe which will house other components in the future. Without this, I guessed not much features can be added in for now. Till then.
