| Clark Board Status Report | |
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dgsselkirk Field Marshal
Posts : 3175 Join date : 2013-02-12 Age : 64 Location : Kitchener ON
| Subject: Clark Board Status Report Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:20 pm | |
| Hi Guys,
I am sad to report we have had some issues with the new run of boards. It seems on some of the M41 and Leo boards (not all of them), that the 4th channel is giving us issues so once everyone else gets theirs make sure you install carefully and test all the functions and if you get a defective one, we can maybe lump a bunch together and return them to get repaired or replaced. We will certainly express our disappointment to Mr. Clark and insist that any future boards be individually checked before shipment.
Michael the good man that he is, is contacting Clark to see if there is something we can do over here first...
If you all remember poor Curtis went through this too. He got a bad batch of boards and had to recall them from all over the place and replace them.
Stay tuned! _____________________________________________ "There are things in Russia which are not as they seem..." Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Too many tanks, not enough time....
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Airbrushler Retired
Posts : 2567 Join date : 2012-04-27 Age : 60 Location : Windsor, ON
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Jul 30, 2015 11:49 pm | |
| Clark is a good guy he will fix things for sure _____________________________________________ |
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Jul 31, 2015 12:27 am | |
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Jul 31, 2015 1:43 am | |
| Latest update. Clark got back to me and advice me to check the receiver wiring and lo and behold, the signal lead for channel 4 has work itself loose. Once I re-seated the lead everything is good.
It would be rather strange that the other M41 channel 4 problem is also due to loose wiring (I guess there is a one in 4 chance) but I asked Hach to check the wiring now.
I don't think this is causing the M1 board problem that he is having but I asked him to check the receiver wiring on those also just in case. |
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Strato50 General
Posts : 2188 Join date : 2012-03-28 Age : 38 Location : Hamilton, On
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Jul 31, 2015 6:23 am | |
| So far so good here, thanks for the heads up. If anything, one of my boards has crap volume on identical HL speakers.. but that I can deal with _____________________________________________ Tiger I - Panzer II - Panzer III - Panzer IV - Chi Nu Kai - Panther G - KV-1b 756(r) M4A3(76) Sherman - T-34/85 - M3 Grant - SECRET PROJECT
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hachleopard2 Captain
Posts : 843 Join date : 2014-09-14 Location : Brampton
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Wed Aug 05, 2015 7:56 pm | |
| Most of my boards are defected!? All tanks are down now. |
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Wed Aug 05, 2015 9:02 pm | |
| Well, its not defective if they were working before. When you left my place only the one M41 and both of the M1s are not working and the rest were fine.
Don't think there is any warranty on the Clark boards. |
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 2:25 am | |
| I only ever bought two and they both cratered, and since I am invested in something else I just tossed them and moved on. What kind of failure rates are you seeing? |
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dgsselkirk Field Marshal
Posts : 3175 Join date : 2013-02-12 Age : 64 Location : Kitchener ON
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 7:34 am | |
| 0 ... I have had 4 for 3 years now no issues and these battle regularly. I had one board that I goofed and crossed the amp connections and shorted out the sound module which I sent back to Clark and got repaired for $15.00.
See that is the thing we really have no failure rate because we can return the boards and get them fixed for minimal cost....
I know there have been some bad batches before for sure. It happens with boards from time to time... I tested the 2 new boards I got and they are fine. _____________________________________________ "There are things in Russia which are not as they seem..." Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Too many tanks, not enough time....
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:12 am | |
| To me, whether it is fixed or not, a board that has to be returned, failed.
At this point it becomes a customer service issue. Ie you are counting on someone to make it right.
Now crossed wires during installation is not the boards fault, and electronics are not very forgiving about this. So I would not consider that a failure. |
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dgsselkirk Field Marshal
Posts : 3175 Join date : 2013-02-12 Age : 64 Location : Kitchener ON
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:32 am | |
| We differ on definitions, See to me, failed means loss beyond repair. I refer to problems as boards being down. Once these boards are in our little tanks bouncing around exposed to all kinds of issues from heat to the odd bare wire rattling around, to resistance issues in drives, turrets, etc... It's a wonder they last as long as they do! By all means let me know when you find a system that works sets up and works perfectly 100% of the time for everyone, even a dummy like me! LOL! _____________________________________________ "There are things in Russia which are not as they seem..." Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Too many tanks, not enough time....
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:43 am | |
| If my memory serves me right, I did remember Curtis mentioning something about a 10% fail rate initially (early days) but that's out of the box, and he is a distributor so in theory that should not reach the end user. I have come across and installed about 30-40 Clark boards myself and have not had one that is defective (my definition being that it does not work out of the box).
I know there is no warranty per sa, but Clark will fix them at cost basically so I consider that a warranty and he has been very good about it.
I have personally toasted about 5 Clark boards, and at times did wish that there is some kind of fuse built in. However, I have noticed that there is a voltage regulator that will last about 5-10 seconds before the board is fried. It is important that you keep the speaker and volume control hooked up when you are testing, and if something is wrong, you will hear this clicking sound form the speaker and at that point you have about 5 seconds to get out of Dodge. |
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 10:01 am | |
| At the price point of a Clark a guy can live with some failures, and you would think that tweaks on each run would improve known issues so they should be getting better.
THE BARC( different animal) is built in Ontario and I have had zero failures. However my cost of manufacturing is probably 5 times that of a Clark. |
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 1:48 pm | |
| There has been couple of popped capacitors, but I managed to replace them and they are good as new. At this point of the production, the only thing that can go wrong is using inferior parts. I noticed that the new ones are all on plastic FETs rather than the ones with the metal backs. |
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Strato50 General
Posts : 2188 Join date : 2012-03-28 Age : 38 Location : Hamilton, On
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 11:10 pm | |
| I've had a couple 'go hot' after running fine for awhile, I don't know what does this. Basically when you apply power, wires start melting like a straight battery short. Only one on delivery had a faulted, I forget what it was I think it was on my Chi Nu Kai.. ..oh and also the left-track reverse only failed on my KV 2 years ago. Thinks just wear out. Still, I have 10 now.. running well _____________________________________________ Tiger I - Panzer II - Panzer III - Panzer IV - Chi Nu Kai - Panther G - KV-1b 756(r) M4A3(76) Sherman - T-34/85 - M3 Grant - SECRET PROJECT
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Thu Aug 06, 2015 11:19 pm | |
| - Strato50 wrote:
- I've had a couple 'go hot' after running fine for awhile, I don't know what does this. Basically when you apply power, wires start melting like a straight battery short.
Only one on delivery had a faulted, I forget what it was I think it was on my Chi Nu Kai..
..oh and also the left-track reverse only failed on my KV 2 years ago. Thinks just wear out.
Still, I have 10 now.. running well There might be a short somewhere like a faulty switch or wires bare wiring touching. What did you do when the wires start melting ? |
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Strato50 General
Posts : 2188 Join date : 2012-03-28 Age : 38 Location : Hamilton, On
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:27 am | |
| Heh well the T-34 i saved by ripping the battery out...that WAS a bad switch. The other 2 were very much the Clark's problem, I still have my halftrack board that is making heat & not working and it's been sitting in a cabinet since I last drove it around. I took it out to drive... almost a fire. It just happened, in my mind, 'for no reason'. Lucky the battery was mostly dead or it'd be worse. _____________________________________________ Tiger I - Panzer II - Panzer III - Panzer IV - Chi Nu Kai - Panther G - KV-1b 756(r) M4A3(76) Sherman - T-34/85 - M3 Grant - SECRET PROJECT
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dgsselkirk Field Marshal
Posts : 3175 Join date : 2013-02-12 Age : 64 Location : Kitchener ON
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 9:47 am | |
| Maybe like my 1/2 track the capacitor blew but not as dramatically! LOL! _____________________________________________ "There are things in Russia which are not as they seem..." Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov
Too many tanks, not enough time....
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 11:00 am | |
| Thanks for the feedback. It falls in line with what I have been hearing elsewhere.
For the price point you can tolerate some failures, especially if the customer service gets it back running. |
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Strato50 General
Posts : 2188 Join date : 2012-03-28 Age : 38 Location : Hamilton, On
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 1:40 pm | |
| - BattleArmorRC wrote:
- Thanks for the feedback. It falls in line with what I have been hearing elsewhere.
For the price point you can tolerate some failures, especially if the customer service gets it back running. Exactly; so far any issues have been dealt with promptly and service has been good to excellent getting out replacements or repairs done. This has been talked about since forever & I'm still happy _____________________________________________ Tiger I - Panzer II - Panzer III - Panzer IV - Chi Nu Kai - Panther G - KV-1b 756(r) M4A3(76) Sherman - T-34/85 - M3 Grant - SECRET PROJECT
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 2:03 pm | |
| I just remember the SLU and what happened there. If I was looking for a system, the Clark would certainly be on the list. It Plays well with the TBS to improve the engine sounds and it is the most adaptive IR system available. That is why I purchased two, but when both failed I just moved away from recommending it. I really hope he goes to the TK60. That is sounding like it will be a really good unit. |
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:22 pm | |
| Dan, Clark has been repairing most boards no questions asked (including burnt ones from accidental wiring problem) for $10 USD and that includes shipping back to you. (You do have to pay shipping to him but it is like $5 CAD).
Its worthwhile for you to get it repaired and have two working boards, or sell it after you get it back if you don't need them anymore.
BTW, Tranh came over this afternoon and I fixed all of his problems and it is all radio related, nothing to do with Clark board. He left me Hach's two M1 and one M41 and I am going to get to the bottom of it to see if it is indeed a Clark problem. |
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Strato50 General
Posts : 2188 Join date : 2012-03-28 Age : 38 Location : Hamilton, On
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 4:47 pm | |
| - MikeC wrote:
- Dan, Clark has been repairing most boards no questions asked (including burnt ones from accidental wiring problem) for $10 USD and that includes shipping back to you. (You do have to pay shipping to him but it is like $5 CAD).
Its worthwhile for you to get it repaired and have two working boards, or sell it after you get it back if you don't need them anymore.
BTW, Tranh came over this afternoon and I fixed all of his problems and it is all radio related, nothing to do with Clark board. He left me Hach's two M1 and one M41 and I am going to get to the bottom of it to see if it is indeed a Clark problem. Been wondering about that. Silly radios! _____________________________________________ Tiger I - Panzer II - Panzer III - Panzer IV - Chi Nu Kai - Panther G - KV-1b 756(r) M4A3(76) Sherman - T-34/85 - M3 Grant - SECRET PROJECT
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BattleArmorRC Private
Posts : 54 Join date : 2014-12-09 Location : Grande Prairie
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Fri Aug 07, 2015 5:28 pm | |
| Yes digital radios with all the user definable functionality can be a real bear when trouble shooting a new board. One of the reasons I like the T6a is I can download files to other peoples radio's so I know the radio is configured correctly before I start trouble shooting. |
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MikeC Field Marshal
Posts : 3025 Join date : 2013-08-25 Location : Toronto, Ontario
| Subject: Re: Clark Board Status Report Sat Aug 08, 2015 6:45 pm | |
| So went thru everything and it is all radio problem. No defective Clark board found from Hach's batch and nothing so far from everybody else. I had a faulty receiver wire but since it comes with Clark I suppose you can call that a Clark defect but not really. |
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