Solving the radio problem

Questions, Tips and Tricks about the transmitter, the electronics in the car etc.
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WesR
Posts: 371
Joined: Fri 21. Dec 2012 17:37

Solving the radio problem

Post by WesR »

A happy new year to Keld and all. Having finished my latest hobby project, I thought I would have a look at the Magracing scene again. Judging from the many people viewing my video channel, there is still plenty of interest out there.
I know that Martin is working hard on the radio problem but it seems to me that, if a temporary solution, probably in the form of
using 2.4gh proprietary radio could be found, then at least some system could be offered to new enthusiasts.
I have looked at this before but, Googling the radio scene now, it would seem that there have perhaps been some improvements.
Certainly the prices are low. I have not studied all the makes but the Flysky FS-GT2b, which I have ordered, will cost around 19/20 £/euro with receiver and Li battery. I believe that this has recently been changed from 6v dry batteries to 4.2v Li so this would be a good move. The rx also operated on 4.2v. The rx is not small but perhaps, with the case removed and wires hard wired, it could be used. Certainly would be ok for 1/24 scale.
There is a mass of gear available now, particularly for lightweight indoor model aircraft, drones, etc., The problem is finding
small receivers, servos, speed controllers, etc. which are compatible with each other and operate on the correct 4.2 voltage.
Also most mini speed controllers are for brushless motors so not suitable.
Servos are very small and low cost and I am looking at these for steering in lieu of a coil. Speed control is difficult. I may even try a 2/3 speed resistor board on a servo. We used these for 20 years on our r/c cars.
My knowledge of electronics/radio is very basic so I will be looking for advice when I get further into it.
Regards Wes R
WesR
Posts: 371
Joined: Fri 21. Dec 2012 17:37

Re: Solving the radio problem

Post by WesR »

My apologies to Martin and others as I now see that much of this has been covered before. When I get stuck, I know who to ask!
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HeliumFrog
Posts: 82
Joined: Tue 7. Oct 2014 22:28
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Re: Solving the radio problem

Post by HeliumFrog »

Hello Wes its nice to hear from you.

I have made great steps on the radio front and now have a good board which works well. It is setup to control one motor and one servo so isn't suitable for a coil setup however i have sent one to Magracer and he is doing some trials on his chassis to see if he can get it to run with a coil. I only have about 20 of these boards at the moment and am getting a quote for a larger batch from China. Once that is done It will be easier to use this board as its a custom solution.

Your choice of the Flysky controllers is a good one and about the best out there. It's actually becoming the choice of hackers as the protocol is well documented. The new electronics I have developed uses these controllers (GT2 and GT3 etc). Incidentally there is also a chinese company that hacks the GT3 for 6 or 8 channel which may be of use if you want to add lights or other features to your cars. The new electronics has an arduino processor on it, so i can program it to do anything we want. Initially I am hoping to have a simple cruise control on the channel 3 button so a car can be set to run at a constant speed (Ghost cars here we come!) The GT3 controller allows up to 20 models on one controller, so you could in theory get 19 cars going round the track and then just switch the controller and go racing.

Also remember that you can take the reciever out of the case to save a little space in the car.

One difficulty as you have said is the speed controller for your separate radio / controller setup. The best one I found was

https://www.banggood.com/10A-ESC-Brushe ... rehouse=CN[/url]

It's sometimes called the "Lansu 10 Amp". But make sure you get the one WITHOUT brake otherwise reverse doesn't work properly. You are supposed to be able to disable this feature, but I haven't been able to do this on the "braked" type.

I wasn't however able to get that electronic setup neatly in a GT car, but it would probably go OK in a saloon body. You can also hard solder the connections to eliminate the plugs between the boards.
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