I’m looking to build a Crawler with my grandson. Looking for something we can play with in the yard and all terrain in the park. Slow and durable. Remote control for now. As he gets older we may migrate to some automation via Raspberry Pi or similar.
I have some experience with electronics, soldering, building and general technology. We already have a DJI Action Cam (weight 4oz / 120 grams) and would like to mount it to the unit. Here are the parts I’ve picked to start with. My budget is $700 to $800.
Lynxmotion Aluminum Chassis A4WD1 or Dagu Wild Thumper 6WD
Remote - Radio Link AT10ii
Sabertooth Dual 12A 6v-12v Motor Driver
Receiver - Radio Link R12DS
Lynxmotion Pan / Tilt Kit
Questions
Battery? - I would like to have 45 to 60 minute runtime and replaceable if practical.
Is it easy to get replacement parts easy for both the Lyncmotion and Dagu Wild Thumper?
What do I need so that my controller can turn on / off lights?
What do I need so that I can manipulate the pan / tilt via the controller?
What am I missing?
Thanks.
Newby Steve
Hi @smurphy0620 welcome to the RobotShop Community. Cool project!
Q1) Battery? - I would like to have 45 to 60 minute runtime and replaceable if practical.
A1) That’s actually quite a long runtime for a skid steer robot. The higher the battery capacity, the longer it will run, but the more it will weigh (consuming more current). The lighest batteries you might consider are Lithium based, and since the motors on the A4WD1 are 12V nominal, a 3S (11.1V) Lithium pack is best, so it’s just a question of the capacity. Two of these might be OK (for a total of 8Ah):
Q2) Is it easy to get replacement parts easy for both the Lynxmotion and Dagu Wild Thumper?
A2) Lynxmotion - yes (under warranty and outside of warranty). Dagu - within warranty, but less so outside of the wararnty.
Q3) What do I need so that my controller can turn on / off lights?
A3) An RC-controlled relay such as:
Q4) What do I need so that I can manipulate the pan / tilt via the controller?
A4 The Lynxmotion pan/tilt includes RC servos which plug into a normal RC receiver:
Q5) What am I missing?
Battery charger, and likely the appropriate battery wiring harness (depending on the type of connector your battery has). RobotShop currently doesn’t offer an XT60 to bare wire harness.
Note that the Sabertooth PROVIDES 5V so you don’t need to have a separate battery for the RC receiver.
Thank you. Time to break out the debit card!
Steve
