[分享] 【翻譯】讓你的孩子樂翻天的1/5比例可乘坐薛曼戰車

資料來源：http://www.gizmology.net/tanks.htm

翻譯者文章：http://forum.gamer.com.tw/C.php?bsn=60433&snA=24061
翻譯者：Serventes (star mark)

翻譯原由: 純粹只是在網路上亂亂看結果就看到這一篇亂有趣一把的文. 的確這是玩具啦, 但是這個比我們小時候的那種人力車酷多了. 小戰車耶.... 還可以開炮, 我覺得這不吸引人才奇怪.

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I bought a toy King Tiger for my 5-year old son (the only reason we men have kids is so we can play with their toys) and, well, I just "got to thinking." Could this thing be scaled up and fitted with R/C controls? How big could it be made? Why not - dare I say it? - big enough for ME TO DRIVE AROUND? Well, that was a bit excessive, but one big enough for my son to drive around is well within reason. (Or at least more reasonable than most of the things I do.) Just imagine the looks on your neighbors faces when you rumble into the midst of their barbecue in a Panzer, and paste the beer cooler with your 37mm potato cannon. That'll teach 'em to drink Canadian beer on the 4th of July.

我幫我的五歲大兒子買了台虎王玩具戰車(男人想要小孩的唯一理由是這樣我們就可以玩他們的玩具), 噢, 好吧, 我開始這樣想 " 這東西能夠等比放大到裝下無線控制裝備嗎? 能做成多大的比例? 我說呀, 為什麼不試看看呢? 讓它大到可以把我塞進去然後開來開去? 好好好, 這真的太超過了. 但是要讓我兒子坐進去開來開去算是個很好的理由. 至少這個比我最想做的那件事來得合理多了.想像一下, 當你坐在戰車中隆隆作響地開進鄰居的烤肉派對中他們的臉會怎麼樣, 然後用你的37mm馬鈴薯大炮打中啤酒冰桶, 這應該可以教會他們在七月四日時要喝加拿大啤酒.

Recognize it? It's a WW II era M4 Sherman Tank. It's about 1/5 scale, 28" wide over the tracks (so it will fit through a standard interior door - barely), and about 4 feet long. Except for the drive components, it's made entirely out of wood, even the tracks.

認得出這是什麼嗎? 這是二戰年代的 M4 薛曼坦克車. 大約是五分之一比例, 從履帶開始算是28吋寬(這樣可以通過標準大小的室內門-幾乎啦). 大約四呎長. 除了驅動元件外這完全由木頭打造而成, 就算是履帶也是木製品.

The Sherman was a cool little tank. It was 19'-2" long, 8'-7" wide, 9'-0" tall, weighed 33 tons, carried a crew of five, and had a top speed on a smooth road of 24 mph. The 75 mm gun was replaced late in the war by a more powerful 76 mm gun with a much longer barrel, and some Shermans were equipped with a 105 mm howitzer. The British equipped theirs with 17-pounder (76mm) guns, and called them "Fireflies". The first Shermans had a Continental R974 C4, a 9 cylinder radial aircraft engine! This, in part, is why it was so tall - usually not a desirable characteristic in something people are going to be shooting at. Later versions had other engines, including the unusual "Chrysler Multi-bank", five 6-cylinder engines arranged around a common crank.

薛曼是隻很酷的小坦克, 19呎2吋長, 8呎7吋寬, 9呎高, 重達33噸, 乘員五名. 在平路上極速可達24英哩/小時. 原本的75mm主炮在二戰中更換成更具威力, 炮管更長的76mm炮, 某些薛曼是裝備105mm的榴彈炮. 英軍把他們的17磅炮(76mm)裝上去然後取名為螢火蟲. 第一台薛曼使用Continetal公司的R974 C4型引擎, 這是個9汽缸星形航空引擎! 這就是它為什麼長得這麼高的原因. 在一個註定會被敵人打的目標中這明顯不是個會讓人高興的特點. 後期版的薛曼裝了別種的引擎, 包括了很不尋常的 "克萊斯勒動力盒" , 把五具六汽缸汽車引裝在一起驅動一個曲軸.

Hull 車身

The hull of the model is cut from four quarter-sheets (2' x 4') of ¼" Lauan plywood. The pieces are attached at the edges with ¾" chines cut from scrap 2x4s. It took about two pounds of 1" and 1-¼" sheet rock screws to hold it all together. The resulting hull is very rigid and surprisingly light. The tracks and suspension easily weigh twice what the hull weighs.

模型的車身是由四片1/4吋厚的柳安木夾板(2呎X4呎)切割組成. 這些部件由切剩的木料中取得的料件組合而成, 鎖好後大概用了2磅重的1吋跟1.25吋螺絲釘. 完成的車殼非常粗勇而且出乎意料的輕. 履帶跟懸吊系統的重量很輕易地超過車體的兩倍.

Drive Train 變速裝置
The power source in this model is two 12v 75Ah deep-cycle Autocraft batteries driving two 24v 1/5 hp electric gear motors (see the bottom of this page for more on these motors). The batteries sit in the back, side by side, while the motors sit in front in the "sponsons" above the tracks, driving the front axles via a #25 chain and sprockets (I've since switched to #35 chain and sprockets - see below). There will eventually be a built in 24v battery charger and fan to ventilate the battery compartment.
Scale speed was designed to be 2 mph, or 3 fps, so the sprocket should have turned at around 150 rpm. As it turns out, the motors (described in the catalog alternately as 30 rpm and 45 rpm) actually turn at 67 rpm under no load. The gears I have available are all 40 teeth, so the final drive ration is 1:1. Assuming the motors turn ¾ of their free rpm under a normal load, speed will be 50 rpm, or 1.28 fps. Under 1 mph. That's fine - remember, this is going to be controlled by a child.

這台模型車的動力源是兩個12伏特75安培航空用深循環電池, 用來驅動兩個24伏特1/5馬力的電動馬達(關於馬達的細節請參閱本頁最底下的說明). 電池併排地放在後面, 馬達則置於履帶上部車身舷側的最前面.經由25號鍊條跟鍊輪齒輪組來驅動前起動輪.(我後來換成35號鍊條跟齒輪組, 看底下說明). 最後會內建24伏特電池充電器及加上用來幫電池室流通空氣的風扇.
預定速度是時速兩英哩, 或者是說秒速三呎. 所以鏈齒輪應該調成每分鐘150轉. 結果呢, 照目錄上規格書說是30轉到45轉的馬達在無負載時的轉速可達67轉. 我手上有的齒輪都是40齒的, 所以最後的驅動比是一比一. 假設馬達在正常負載下可達到它四分之三的額定轉速, 那轉速就會是50轉, 或者說是每秒速度為1.28呎. 低於時速一英哩. 這樣很好, 要記得這玩意兒是要給小孩子來控制的.

Control 操控系統

It is be controlled by an X-Arcade joystick, modified to make it shorter, mounted in the left (my son is a lefty) sponson. It is turned 45° so that pushing the stick forward triggers what is usually the upper and right (or left) switches, which control the left and right tracks. Pushing it 45° to the left will only turn on the right track, and 45° to the right turns on only the left track. Pushing the stick sideways turns on both tracks, but running in opposite directions, so the tank will "pirouette" on the spot. The joystick controls a set of 30A 24v relays to control the motors - I hope to eventually refit it with PWM control with a "momentum simulator" circuit like model trains use.

控制方面由 X-Arcade 搖桿來操作, 先切短一些然後裝進車體左舷(我兒子是左撇子). 轉45度安裝這樣當搖桿向前時能夠同時啟動左右兩邊的開關(分別控制左邊跟右邊的履帶).如果以45度左推這樣只會啟動右邊的履帶, 把搖桿切往左邊或右邊則會啟動雙邊的履帶, 不過其轉動方向剛好相反, 所以這台坦克車可以原地迴旋. 這搖桿控制器以一組30安培 24伏特的繼電器來控制兩個馬達. 我希望最終可以達到像是模型火車用的那種脈衝調變(PWM)的類比控制回路來控制車輛.

Suspension 懸吊系統

The bogies are modeled after the Horizontal Volute Suspension System (HVSS) used on the M4A3 version of the Sherman - mostly because it was easier to model than the original Vertical Volute Suspension System design. The bogie arms were cut from 2x4, and drilled 1/2" for the axles. There are no bushings, though I may go back and install some. The wheels are made out of 4-3/8" diameter circles cut from 3/4" plywood, drilled out 7/16" and pressed onto 1/2" shafts. The springs are valve springs off a Chevy 350. The drive sprocket was designed in AutoCAD, printed to scale, and glued to a piece of 1/2" plywood. I cut it out on my band saw and used the first one as a template to cut three more. Two sprockets were then glued and screwed to a hub of five 2" circles cut from 3/4" plywood, and the whole thing was bored out 5/8". A 1/4" steel rod passes through the sprocket assembly and the axle. The axle is mounted on ball bearings.

這個路輪架模仿的是用在 M4A3 的薛曼上的水平對臥懸吊系統(HVSS), 因為這個比原版的垂直螺旋彈簧懸吊系統簡單. 路輪架懸臂是由 2X4 的木板切下, 然後在中心鑽孔. 沒有裝軸襯, 後來我才想到要裝上這些東西. 車輪是由4個從四分之三吋厚的夾板切下的直徑八分之三吋的圓組成. 鑽孔後各自安裝到路輪架兩邊的懸臂上. 上面用的彈簧是從雪佛蘭350上拆下的閥門彈簧. 起動輪是先用AutoCAD畫好設計圖, 等比例印出然後貼在半吋厚的夾板上. 我先用帶鋸機切出第一個然後當成型板切出其它三個. 然後把從四分之三吋厚夾板鋸下的五個兩吋圓形跟兩個起動輪呈夾心狀上膠黏好並上好螺釘. 完成後的起動輪鑽出一個八分之五吋的洞, 用根四分之一吋鋼棒穿過並安裝到車軸上, 車軸則裝在滾珠培林軸承上.

Track 履帶

The track is modeled after the T-41 track used on the Shermans late in the war. (Okay, it's actually modeled after my watch band, but don't tell anyone.) Each track link consists of a pad, two links, four screws, and a bell (the thing on the inside of the track that keeps the bogies "on track".) Building the track is tedious as hell, as each link requires:

履帶模仿用在戰爭後期用在薛曼上的 T-41 型履帶 (好吧, 這其實是拿我的錶帶當樣本, 不要跟別人講). 每個履帶節含有一個履帶墊片, 兩個鍊接環, 四個螺釘以及一個履帶鉤(就是在履帶內面讓履帶可以保持每個轉向架上的輪子 "順軌" 到履帶上的東西). 做這些履帶真是個無聊到了極點的差事, 每個履帶片包含:

three cuts on the table saw, 在桌鋸上切三次
five cuts on the band saw, 在帶鋸機上切五次
eight holes drilled on the drill press, 在鑽床上鑽八個洞
four corners rounded on my home-made disk sander, 在我的手工沙輪機上磨出四個圓角
four 2" wallboard screws driven, and 裝上四個兩吋螺釘
one glued surface. 黏上履帶鉤的一個面
It takes about ten minutes per link, even though I'm doing them in batches - all the drill press work at once, for example - to make it go faster! I need 70 links, plus a few extras. And worst of all, I'm not entirely sure a wooden track will be strong enough - I may end up having to start over again with something stronger.

每個履帶片大概要花十分鐘, 就算我用批次大量做的方法 - 比方說一次做好要用到鑽床的部份 - 來加速製做速度. 我需要70片履帶片, 可能還要多一些. 最糟的是我甚至不確定木製履帶強度夠不夠, 有可能我得用更強的材料這樣再來一遍.

Turret 炮塔
The turret ring posed some real challenges - after a great deal of fiddling, I settled on a simple "bushing" style turret ring, although this required me to bend ¼" plywood to a diameter of 13.5" or so.

炮塔環看起來是個真正的挑戰, 在白忙了很久之後我決定用個簡單的 "襯套" 式構型的炮塔環. 即使這樣我得去把四分之一吋厚的夾板彎成一個直徑13.5吋的東西.

I was lucky in that I found a piece of 1/8" plywood in the corner of the basement, left by the previous owner of the house. This was perfect, as it bent easily and - even better - cost me nothing. I cut this piece into four 1-½" by 36" pieces and used the base of the turret as a form to bend, glue, and clamp two of them into a ring. They weren't quite long enough to go all the way around, so I spaced the gaps 180° apart and cut one of the remaining pieces to fill them in.

幸運的是在地下室我找到個前任屋主遺留下來的八分之一吋厚的夾板. 這太完美了, 這很容易彎成形狀而且不用花我一毛錢. 我把這夾板切成四塊1.5吋寬36吋長然後用炮塔底部彎曲成形, 上膠並把這兩部件鉗緊成環. 結果長度不夠組成一個圓所以我又換成分開做成180度的部件然後用剩下的材料來補完.

After letting it dry overnight, I sanded it carefully and glued it into place in the turret base, filling the inevitable gaps here and there with home-made wood filler (wood glue and sawdust). The turret sits nicely in the hole in the hull and turns easily, but I still added some wheels swiped from some Burger King toys (BK toys are full of all kinds of neat little bits) so it rolls, rather than slides, and sits about ¾" above the hull. A couple of 3/16" bolts though the ring below the hull keep it in place; two of the bolts are mounted on springs so they can be pulled easily to take the turret off.

讓它乾燥一晚之後我小心地打磨好再黏上炮塔底部, 然後用自製的木材填充劑(用鋸末加上木工膠)來填補到處都有的未密合裂縫. 炮塔裝上車身上的環而且可以輕鬆轉動, 但是我還是加上了一些從漢堡王玩具上幹來的輪子(漢堡王玩具上到處都有這些小東西), 所以這炮塔環是用滾動的而不是滑動的, 大概浮在車身上約高四分之三吋的地方. 兩根約十六分之三吋的螺絲穿過炮塔環突出到車身底下以確保炮塔的位置 ; 這兩根螺絲裝有彈簧所以可以輕易地壓下然後把炮塔取下.

The gun is simply a piece of 1" schedule 40 PVC pipe stuck through a piece of 4" DWV PVC pipe. This gun is a mock up of a pneumatic cannon I've designed (but not yet finished testing) specifically for this tank. It will be supplied by pressurized air stored in a 60 cubic inch air tank stowed in the rear of the left sponson. Tank pressure will be about 100 psi, regulated down to a much lower pressure for the gun.

炮管本身只不過是把一吋的40 PVC管穿過一根四吋的DWV PVC排水管. 這主炮是特別為這戰車設計, 根據我之前設計過的氣壓炮(但是未完成測試)仿製而成. 將由一個安裝在戰車左舷後側的容量60立方吋的氣壓缸提供加壓空氣, 氣缸壓約100 psi, 然後會調整到適合這主炮的低壓.

The sides of the turret were cut from corrugated cardboard and glued in place - I had to take a box cutter and slice up the inside to make it bend smoothly, but it worked quite well and is surprisingly strong. I almost used papier-mâché (French for "chewed paper" - how romantic) to replicate the rounded shape of the original cast Sherman turret.
It took three cans of grey Krylon primer and two of Krylon Hunter Green to paint the tank. The stars were painted with Krylon White using a stencil cut from the back of a pad of paper.

炮塔的側面是由瓦愣紙箱切下來上膠而成的 - 我本來要拿把切割刀削除紙另一面以便容易成形, 但是看起來不先削掉也彎得很漂亮, 而且頗令人意外的強度不錯. 我幾乎可以完美複製原版薛曼的鑄造炮塔的圓圓外型. 我用掉三罐Krylon底漆跟兩罐Krylon獵者綠色漆來為這坦克上色. 星型標記則是用個從紙墊上切出來的模板再用Krylon白色漆塗上.

Success! 成功了!
On November 16th, I installed the batteries and gave it a try! Frankly, it worked great. It was surprisingly powerful and easy to control, even when I was crawling rapidly along side it with one arm over the side holding the joystick. (I've since hooked up a remote control.) The tracks made a lot of noise, but didn't give me any problems. The motors didn't drop too far below their free-rpm of 66 rpm, and the lights didn't dim so I know the motors weren't drawing excessive power. I drove it across the basement to the furnace, pirouetted, and drove it back, a grand total of about 20 feet...

在11月16號我裝上電池然後進行試車, 坦白說還不錯. 動力強勁而且容易控制, 即使我得在旁邊快步邊走邊用一隻手來操作搖桿. (從那時我就想上個遙控裝置了). 履帶噪音很大但沒有發生什麼問題. 馬達也沒有比額定轉速 66 rpm 掉速太多, 從燈光沒有黯淡所以得知馬達並未用掉太多電力. 我從地下室開到火爐那邊然後原地旋轉開回來, 走了大約20呎....
... and failure.
... 然後就不動了.

...and it suddenly stopped moving and starting making an awful grinding noise.
...它突然停止不動並發出可怕的研磨噪音.

Investigation revealed that the geniuses who designed the motors used a plastic worm gear in the gearbox. Naturally, the gears stripped. The motors weren't heavily loaded, as they didn't slow down, draw excessive current, or even get warm... so why did the gears strip? Shouldn't a transmission be at least as strong as the motor it is attached to? Is there ever an excuse to put a wussy little transmission on a big hefty motor? Am I missing something here?
So now I trying to figure out what to do: cut new steel gears or buy new motors. I'll keep you posted...

調查結果出來了, 到底是哪個天才會在馬達變速箱中設計使用塑膠螺桿? 它就這樣壞掉了. 馬達甚至還沒達到高負載呢, 所以還沒降速, 沒有消耗大電流, 甚至沒溫升... 為什麼這零件會壞掉? 傳動軸難道不應該要強度足夠負擔馬達所施給它的力嗎? 還有沒有什麼藉口可為這軟弱的小傳動軸無法負擔強力的馬達開脫? 我是不是弄錯了什麼?
所以我現在得弄清楚該怎麼做: 換上新的鋼製零件還是去買個新馬達, 我會持續更新...

Update 11/26/2002 - I think I've identified the manufacturer of these motors: AM Equipment. These motors appear to be their model 224-1103. If it weren't for the plastic gears, I'd say these were very nice, inexpensive, powerful motors.

11/26/2001 更新 - 我想我找到這些馬達的製造商了: AM Equipment. 看來這些馬達屬於該公司的224-1103 型. 假如沒有使用那塑膠零件我會說是個不錯的強力馬達, 也不貴.
Update 12/21/2002 - After wasting two weeks trying to get replacement metal gears cut for less than $300 each, I gave up and ordered some MONSTEROUS motors from botparts.com. Brock Schippers, who runs the show over there, was very helpful in recommending AM Equipment 265-1002 motors: 48 ft-lbs of torque at stall, and 82 free rpm! That's a scary amount of torque.

12/21/2002 更新 - 在浪費兩周嘗試以低於每個要價300美元的代價取得替換的金屬零件後, 我放棄並轉向 botparts.com 訂購一些怪物級的馬達. 該網站站長 Brock Schippers 推薦使用AM Equipment 265-1002 號馬達: 48 呎-磅的扭力以及 82 rpm的額定轉速 ! 真是嚇死人的高扭力.

They arrived on the 19th, and the first thing I did was pop the cover and see what kind of gears were inside. I suspected they'd be metal, as the covers were held on with screws, and not rivets as they had been with the original motors (as if the engineers were too ashamed to let anyone look inside...). I was right, the gears are metal! Woohooo!! I have begun installing them - which will take some rebuilding, as they're frickin' HUGE - and will post pictures soon!

在19號時馬達送到, 我首先做的事是打開蓋子看看它是使用什麼樣的零件. 我預期是金屬製品, 因為蓋子是用螺絲固定的. 而且跟我原來那馬達是用鉚釘固定不同(是不是工程師怕人家看到裡面...). 我猜對了, 零件是金屬的! 太棒了! 所以我開始安裝- 看來得要重建一下, 因為這新馬達他媽的大隻- 我很快會把照片po上來!

Update 12/24/2002 - IT IS ALIVE! (Maniacal laughter.)
The new motors are installed, though it took a major rebuilding effort. They are MUCH more powerful than the old motors, and can pirouette the tank with ease. They're quiet, too.

12/24/2002 更新- 復活了! (狂笑中)
新馬達安裝完成, 雖然需要重新建構一下, 這新馬達比舊有的更為強力, 能夠輕易地原地迴旋. 也很安靜.

New motors in place.新馬達安裝完成.

I spent the time waiting for the motors to arrive building headlights - two 50 watt MR-16 halogen bulbs. They're not very realistic looking, but they're incredibly bright. Finally being able to test the tank, I've found a small problem - the road wheels keep falling off the axles. I had thought that a friction fit would be sufficient to keep them in place, but alas, I was wrong. I am working on a fix using e-style retaining rings.
Merry Christmas/Hanukah/Solstice, etc!

在等待新馬達送到的時間我做了車頭燈 - 兩個50瓦的 MR-16 鹵素燈. 看起來不太逼真不過真的很亮. 終於能夠測試坦克了, 我發現了個小小的問題 - 路輪不斷地從輪軸上掉下來, 我以為摩擦力足夠固定它們, 但是.. 我錯了. 現在我試著用e型環固定它們.
喔, 對了, 聖誕快樂!

Update 2/11/2003 - Further testing
I fixed the road wheel problem using e-clips. I chucked each axle in the drill press and used a hack saw to cut a small grove in each end for the clips - works great!
Further testing revealed yet another problem, however - the chains refused to stay on the sprockets for very long. Turns out I was over-optimistic when I hoped that I wouldn't need a way to tension the chains. The fix was pretty easy, though - I just modified the motor mounts to allow the motors to shift slightly backwards to tighten the chain.
I've also started work on the gun. The trick will be to fit all the necessary components into the available space between my son's nose and the front of the turret! The current incarnation uses a 3/4" copper pipe as a barrel, and a specially modified ball valve for a breech.

2/11/2003 - 更多測試
我用e形固定片修好了路輪的問題, 在每個輪軸都用鑽子加壓然後鋸掉加裝固定片多餘的部份之後 - 有效!
然而接下來的測試冒出另一個問題 - 鍊條無法固定在齒輪上很久. 我當初太樂觀了了才會以為不需要保持鍊條張力的法子. 不過修正的方法很簡單 - 我只需要修改一下馬達的安裝位置, 稍為向後些來張緊鍊條.
我也開始加工火炮. 必需在炮塔前面到我兒子鼻子前的這空間裝進所要的零件! 目前的方案是使用一根四分之三吋銅管當炮管, 然候在後膛加裝個球型閥門.

Update 3/10/2003 - Plans and Instructions!
3/10/2003 - 設計圖與建造步驟

Several people have urged me to write up a set of plans and instructions and offer them for sale. So - I am writing "Building a 1/5 Scale M-4 Sherman Tank Riding Toy", 56 pages and 81 illustrations and photos. It will be in PDF format, and I think I will charge $10 for it delivered over the web, or $15 on CD by snail mail. I am hoping to get it all up and running in a week. I still working on the pneumatic gun - free time has been in short supply lately. I've got it mounted in the turret, but no air supply hooked up yet. Boy, I can't wait for warm weather so I can take the tank outside and get some decent pictures. I've been very lucky in that my son hasn't grown an inch since I started this project!

有些人敦促我寫下設計圖跟建造步驟, 他們想買. 所以我正在寫 " 建造五分之一比例的可乘坐薛曼坦克玩具車 ", 有56頁跟81個圖解跟照片. 是PDF格式稿件, 我在網路上只收10美元或者用蝸速的郵局寄送CD. 我希望能在一個星期內完成這工作. 目前我還在加工氣壓炮 - 最近一直沒什麼空閒時間可以做. 已經將炮管安上炮塔了, 但還沒加掛氣壓設備. 我真等不及溫暖的季節到來這樣我就可以把坦克開出去並照些照片. 真是幸運, 打從我開始做這戰車到現在我兒子沒有長高一吋.

Update 3/21/2003 - Beware the Ides of March
3/21/2003 - 三月份的風起雲湧

On March 15, this site received one million hits. (One million hits isn't quite as impressive as it sounds - a mere 84,000 visitors.) Turns out that this site was featured on Fark.com, and from there news of it spread to some other sites.

在三月15日本站收到一百萬的點擊率. (百萬點擊率其實沒有表面上聽起來那麼讓人感動, 因為只有84000位訪客). 本站在 Fark.com 上得到專訪並散播到其它的網站上.

Fark - lots of visitor commentary 一大堆訪客留言
Slashdot - lots of visitor commentary (some of it WAY stupid) 一大堆留言(有些真的很蠢)
b3ta (which gave me "The prestigious B3ta Best Dad In The World Award", heh heh) (該站頒給我頗負聲望的B3ta世界上最棒老爸獎, 哼哼)
Userfriendly
Blue's News
Plus a bunch in Japanese that I won't list here because I can't read Japanese and don't know what they say. 還有一大堆我沒列上來的日文信因為我不懂日文所以不知道他們在講什麼.
It even spread to Radio - I am to be interviewed for "The Other News", a one-minute blurb put out by the Associated Press Radio Network! I'm really quite amazed at all this attention.

甚至傳到廣播網上了 - " The Other News "跑來訪問我, 在美聯社廣播網上放送一分鐘的內容! 受到這麼多關注後我還真的有點吃驚.

Update 4/5/2003 - Plans are now available
4/5/2003 更新: 藍圖已備妥

Well, I finally reached a point where I think the plans are fit for human consumption. I haven't started offering CDs yet, but the plans are available for downloadhere. Too bad I didn't have it ready before I got slashdotted.
Also, I've made a lot of interesting progress on the pneumantic canon. I've managed to fire a 2.6 gram foam-and-penny projectile sixty feet straight up. I'm working on a web page for just the gun, and hope to have it in place later this weekend.

好的, 我終於完成足以滿足人們要求的藍圖. 我還沒開始提供CD版, 但是藍圖可以在這邊下載. 最糟的是在我的網站因被介紹而暴紅後我還沒準備好. 此外在氣壓炮方面我得到了一些有趣的進展. 我計畫用它發射一個重2.6公克的由一便士硬幣組成的炮彈, 射程60呎. 我正在製做關於這個火炮的網頁, 希望在本周末能做好網頁.

Update 4/23/2003 - Sprocket troubles
4/23/2003 更新: 齒輪出問題了

It was such a nice, warm, sunny day that my son and I tried to take the tank on an outing to photograph it. Alas, it promptly threw a drive chain, which got jammed between the sprocket and the side of the hull so hard that I had to take it all apart to get it out again.
I also discovered cracks in the 3/4" plate at the back which tension the track, so I replaced it with a thicker piece.
We'll try again soon.

在一個天氣這麼好, 充滿陽光又溫暖的日子我跟我兒子試著把坦克帶出去拍拍照. 結果, 它把起動輪的鍊條給噴了出來, 在齒輪跟車身間卡得死死, 害我得把東西拆開才拿得出來. 我也發覺後部維持履帶張力的那四分之三吋板子有裂痕, 所以我用更厚的板材代替. 我們會儘快再試一次.

Update 5/3/2003 - KAPOW!
5/3/2003 更新: 卡碰 !

I finished the gun and have it installed in the tank! See the gun page for more info on the gun.
I also jacked up the tank 3/4" by adding shims between the axles and the hull. Why? Because I was fiddling around with some photos I took of the tank and figured I'd overlay a line drawing of The Real Thing - the line drawing was taller! Can't have that, can we? It's amazing the difference 3/4" (less than 4 scale inches) makes in the way it looks.
I also made a non-very-accurate 1/6thish scale model of an M3 37mm anti-tank gun to tow behind the tank. Don't ask me why, I don't know.

火炮完工並裝上坦克了! 可參閱火炮網頁取得更詳細的細節. 我也在車身跟車軸間用墊片提高車身四分之三吋. 為什麼這樣做? 因為無聊審視我之前拍的這坦克照片時我把真戰車的線稿拿來重疊比對, 線稿的真戰車比較高! 可以這樣嗎? 不行吧? 這令人訝異的差距是四分之三吋 ( 不到4比例吋) 造成它看起來變這樣. 我還做了一個不是很精準的六分之一比例的 M3 37 mm 反戰車炮的模形放在坦克車後面拖著, 不要問我為什麼, 我不知道.

Update 5/4/2003 - More sprocket troubles.
5/4/2003 更新: 更多的鍊齒輪問題

I give up on this damn #25 chain. It just WILL NOT stay on the sprockets! I've aquired some #35 chain and sprockets to match, and have started installing them. I had some 35B15 sprockets with a 5/8" bore, which I used on the drive axles, but I had to order sprockets for the motors. They have 12mm shafts - ever try to get a #35 sprocket with a metric bore? (I need something called "ISO 06C-1" sprockets - ISO 06C being the metric version of ANSI #35 chain. Just try and find any!) I ordered sprockets with a 1/2" bore, and I'll install sleeves to make them fit.

我放棄使用這該死的25號鍊條了, 它就是無法卡在鍊齒輪上! 我已經拿到一些35號鍊條跟鍊齒輪組來試合, 並開始安裝上去. 我有一些35B15 鍊齒輪, 軸孔是八分之五吋, 這樣我可以拿來用在啟動輪軸上. 不過我得為這些馬達訂購鍊齒輪(馬達軸桿尺寸是12mm), 需要去找到有公制尺寸的軸孔的35號齒輪? 我需要那個叫作 " ISO 06C-1 "的齒輪 - 公制版本ISO 06C 的鍊齒輪然後可以裝得上 ANSI 35號的鍊條. 這東西找得到嗎? 我訂購了些半吋輪軸的鍊齒輪然後裝上套管以符合尺寸.

Update 5/15/2003 - SUCCESS!!
5/15/2003 更新: 成功了!

Last weekend I installed the #35 chain and sprockets, and while I was at it I added a better, stronger chain tensioning mechanism.
To test the new setup, my son and I drove it around the block! It took a good fifteen minutes of squeaking and rumbling, and by the time we got back we had an entourage of about fifteen kids following us. Everything worked!

上周末我裝好那35號鍊條跟鍊齒輪, 此時我加上了個更棒更強的鍊條張力維持器. 為了測試新裝備我跟我兒子沿著街廓開了一圈! 發出嘎吱嘎吱轟隆隆的聲音開了約15分鐘, 同時夾帶了約15個過來圍觀的小朋友跟著我們. 所有機件運作無誤!

The track held up very well - it even withstood the full tension of the motors at stall (when they produce their peak torque) when I climbed it over some rough ground. The surface is all scuffed up now, but there are no cracks or splits. One of the screws wanted to unscrew itself, but that was the only problem.

履帶撐得住 - 它甚至承受得住在爬上一些不整地時引擎怠速時的全部張力( 當發出峰值扭力時). 履帶表面現在全都磨損了但是沒有裂開或者破損. 某根螺絲釘有鬆脫傾向, 但是只有這個問題.

The rest of the suspension held up well, too. It was quite a blast watching the road wheels follow the terrain over rough ground.
懸吊系統也工作得很好, 在越過不整地時路輪跟著地形高低起伏.

One effect I noticed - when my son isn't in the tank and it's being operated remotely (by a long wire plugged into the back), the center of gravity is WAY aft, causing it to do some pretty spectacular tailstands over relatively small obstructions. I may add a second battery tray in the middle to move the CG forward when the driver is out.

我注意到一個現象, 當我兒子沒坐在坦克中控制, 以接在車後的長電線進行遙控時重心落在車子的後部. 這樣會造成在越過些小障礙物時來個華麗的向後翻車. 也許我該在車子中間加上第二個電池格位以免駕駛員不在時可移動重心.

Now I just need to take some video and get it converted to mpeg or avi format for the website!
The chains did skip a few times during the trip, mostly when climbing over obstructions (once I began to think it was going to make it all the way around the block, I started hitting every obstruction I could find). As a result I RE-re-designed the chain tensioner. This one is REALLY robust.

現在我只需要拍些影片然後轉成mpeg或者avi格式然後放在網站上! 行進間鍊條有幾次脫離, 大部份發生在越過障礙物(我開始在想在繞著街廓走的時候我是不是開始壓過看得到的所有障礙物). 後來我重新設計了鍊條張力器, 這個東西真的很可靠.

By the way, anyone who bought the Plans and Instructions will be receiving an updated version incorporating all these changes.
順道一提, 任何買過藍圖的人都會收到更新版的以因應所有的改進.
Update 5/24/2003 - An Idea
I had an idea to improve the support of the half-shafts. (Refer to the 12/24 update above for a pic of the original design.) The function of the center support was just to hold the two half-shafts in a straight line, but the plywood would bend slighly under load and misalign everything. This, in fact, was probably a large part of the problem with the #25 chains. My solution was to eliminate the center bearing entirely!

5/24/2003 更新: 一個想法

我想到個方法來改善那兩個前起動輪軸(參考上面12/24更新版的原始設計圖). 原本的中間那板子只不過是為了把這兩個輪軸軸心對在同一條線上, 但是夾板在負載之下會有點彎曲, 事實上這個可能就是那個25號鍊條出問題的原因. 我的解決方案是把中心軸承完全取消掉.

Improved drive axle arrangement. 改良版的起動輪軸設置

I replaced it with a piece of pipe with bearings in it. This arrangement requires two more bearings than the old arrangement, and a piece of pipe with the proper inner diameter, but it places all the forces on the outer axle bearings so everything remains in line.

我用了一根兩端有軸承的管子來代替原本的板子, 這樣設置比原本的設計多兩個軸承, 以及一個有合適內徑的管子, 但是這樣可以把所有力分配到外部輪軸所以全部可以維持在一條線上.

Experiments with a 12v wireless B/W video camera are under way - I borrowed a security camera and monitor from my folks, who run the Coxsackie Antique Center. In the long run, I want the tank to be radio controlled, and a camera will allow the driver to better see where he's going. In the mean time, it will just be neat.

已著手實驗裝上12伏特的無線影像黑白攝像頭, 我跟朋友 (他經營 Coxackie 古董店) 借了個保全用的攝影機跟監視器, 長遠來說我希望至坦克可以無線遙控, 攝影機可以讓駕駛者較清楚地知道他往哪兒去. 而且這樣就是很酷.

Those LEDs are invisible, but my camera can see them. Cool!
這些LED光人眼看不到, 但是我的攝影機可以看得到, 太酷了!