Hello Stephen, hello Phil,
I'm using four Beier modules in my tanks, and some collegues asked me to help them with their special requests. Thus I can say a little about this unit. Unfortunately I have no personal experience in Thomas Benedini's modules, therefore I have no opportunity to compare both systems.
Manufacturer Beier (
http://www.beier-electronic.de/modellba ... sprache=gb ; infos and manuals also available in English) offers with his USM-
RC2 a highly universal sound module with various options, but it is absolutely
not a plug and play system! More than 100 pages (!) of the manual give an overview about the possibilities. You may use some of the sounds delivered together with the module, but a better way is to create your own sounds with the enclosed 'Audacity' sound editor or oher files simply in WAV format, which is used for all sounds of the -RC2. I have hours of sounds on the removeable SD-cards of my modules, including military songs for the built-in WAV player, because only the size of the SD-card is the limitation (I use up to 8 GB; with about three hours of sound capability per GB). No kind of tank battery is big enough to fit the possible range for playing background music in a tank show!
The built-in 2 x 20 W amplifier in my opinion is a little too poor for a 1/6 scale tank. I use Thomas Benedini's new 2 x 60 W amplifier which fits both to the -RC2 and to the 24 volts driving batteries. The -RC2 itself unfortunately accepts only from 5 up to 14 volts; therefore I use it with the 5,5 volts of my receiver supply voltage. This low voltage is only useful when
not using its built-in amplifier, because the acoustic result would be miserable. When needing the full amplifier power, you must use 12 volts for the module.
I must confess that I don't have an Armortek control system like the motion packs; I use particular units for ESC (drive motors and turret / gun control), recoil, muzzleflash and sound. Therefore I have no experience in the Armortek solution. But the -RC2 is only controlled by a standard RC receiver and applicated with such like 'servo cables'. So I mean that it should be compatible to any RC system which uses usual servoes with 3-pin plugs as Futaba, Graupner, Hitec and so on.
Here I will stop to advertise the -RC2, 'cause I am
not a member of Beier company!
Just a last word: please feel free to download the free operation manual of the USM-RC2 if you are interested. If you have more questions according to the -RC2 module, I will try to answer.
Armortek offers by far the best quality and range out there !
Our so called mines are totally hazard-free for our models, they only cause some smoke.....
