Thetopcat's build log

All things small and scratchy.

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joey_picus
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Re: Thetopcat's build log

Post by joey_picus »

thetopcat84 wrote:1) for keeping things cheap and cheerful for the time being, I assume I can recover the ESCs from the tower-pro SG90s and re-use them, but bypass the old potentiometer by simply wiring up the gap on board? Or would a couple of resistors be needed to keep it functioning?
You will need a couple of resistors (I've heard 2.2k quoted, but obviously it'll depend on the precise servo), *or* what you can do is keep the pot but just glue it in place to provide enough resistance to keep the motor still. I'd use hot glue so you're not locked into one position forever...
2) Channel mixers, would I be right in thinking that a channel mixer would help me off tank steering and onto single stick steering? Leaving the other stick free for a weapon (eventually, walk before you can run, TC)
You are correct in thinking that! (You can simulate single stick steering by having one servo/motor on aileron and one on elevator, and everything makes sense if you turn the transmitter 45 degrees, but I wouldn't reccommend it...) Depending on your transmitter you may be able to use a mixing function on that, and a lot of dual channel controllers now have mixing built in, so you don't necessarily have to do it with an in-robot mixer (which tend to be a little cheap and nasty in my experience).
3) Is it absolutely necessary to stick capacitors onto geared brushed motors? From what I've read, apparently things can get sparky?
It's not as necessary as it used to be - back in the 40mhz days, you sometimes had to do literally anything and everything to cut down on RF noise, but in the Spektrum era it's not as much of a concern. There's no reason not to, but then there's also no reason, erm, yes to, any more!
Joey McConnell-Farber - Team Picus Telerobotics - http://picus.org.uk/ - @joey_picus
"These dreams go on when I close my eyes...every second of the night, I live another life"
thetopcat84
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Thetopcat's build log

Post by thetopcat84 »

Thanks, Joey!

Will have a look for more info on the ESCs then, for now your idea of keeping the pot is a good shout, but will probably look into what resistors are required to make things neater/lighter...

On the steering front, I was turning the Tx 45 degrees and felt not only silly, but also found it hard to drive in a straight line too! The Txs I have are cheapy EFlite MLP4DSMs, so no luxury of mixing... same goes for the couple of old Orange Rxs I'm using too... so for a few extra grams I'm prepared to chuck a mixer onboard...
Rapidrory
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Re: Thetopcat's build log

Post by Rapidrory »

If you wanted a bit of an upgrade... http://robotwars101.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2187
Rory Mangles - Team Nuts

Robots: Nuts 2 and many more...

NanoTwo Motor Controllers: https://nutsandbots.co.uk/product/nanotwodualesc
thetopcat84
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Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Thetopcat's build log

Post by thetopcat84 »

They look pretty damned good! How much are the full flea kits, Rory? I'm assuming the Lemon Rx is DSM2/X compatible?

Any multi-buy discount?
Rapidrory
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Joined: Sun Nov 24, 2013 9:54 pm

Re: Thetopcat's build log

Post by Rapidrory »

The lemon RX is only DSM2 compatible; worth double checking these days as things are moving over to DSMX and the like which aren't backwards compatible.
I should probably also update the page as I don't do the fleaweight version any more; the new wheels I use can't be cut down easily.

No multi buy discount I'm afraid, but it is only £40 for the full kit which is about the same as it would cost to buy similar parts separately, just it's smaller and already put together.

Just to say, I've sold out of current stock, and have exams imminently so likely won't have any more till late May
Rory Mangles - Team Nuts

Robots: Nuts 2 and many more...

NanoTwo Motor Controllers: https://nutsandbots.co.uk/product/nanotwodualesc
thetopcat84
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 9:46 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Re: Thetopcat's build log

Post by thetopcat84 »

Cheers, Rory, will probably look to some of those at some point in the future... in the meantime I've ordered enough bits and pieces to get a couple of bits built... just gotta hurry up and wait for now!
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