My First Project

Community General Discussions
1

Hello,

I am working on my first robot and could use a little instruction and advice to get going. I have the mechanics worked out, but I don’t know a thing about the required electronics. First let me start by explaining my idea.

I want it to be an R/C rover mounted with a modified paintball gun to use in actual games. I plan to use a Dagu Wild Thumper 6WD and a Lynxmotion Pan & Tilt system. I will also use some paintball gun ( w/ linear actuator to pull trigger) and camera system that I will modify to fit.

My problem is I keep reading about things like microcontrollers and motor shields, but I haven’t seen anything that explains what they are and when or how to use them. What electronics are required to operate this as an R/C? Any help I can get with this question or any advice you have on other aspects of the project would be greatly appreciated.

esmith43

2

Interesting project. Before you place an order, it’s important to know that the Lynxmotion pan/tilt system is for smaller sized objects, and a full paintball gun may be too much for it to handle. If you plan to use normal R/C, you don’t need a microcontroller, though you will need an R/C compatible motor controller. Some of the components you would need include:

]Chassis / base/:m]
]pan/tilt/:m]
]paintball gun (gutted to its bare minimum)/:m]
]dual motor controller (see this tutorial for choosing the right one)/*:m]
]R/C system (at least five channels)/:m]
]Battery for chassis/:m]
]Battery for pan/tilt (if they don’t operate at the same voltage)/:m]
]Charger(s) /:m]

  • Note that the three motors on the left will operate all together, as will the three motors on the right; you don’t need to control each motor separately.