I have almost no experience in the area of electronics or radio control but I have a project that will require the remote control of a full size vehicle. I understand the mechanics imvolved but need to know what hardware I need to remotely control two linear actuators for the pedals and a two direction DC motor for the steering. Everything will need to be able to run on 12v DC and any suggestions of what motor and actuators would also be appreciated. Again I have very little experience in this area so the more specific the better. Thanks in advance for the help.
Steering servo: robotshop.com/en/invenscience-en.html
Ex: robotshop.com/en/invenscienc … =RB-Ins-02
This plugs right into an RC receiver, but is powered separately at 12V.
Gas / brake / shifting linear actuator:
You’ll need a linear actuator which has a built-in potentiometer, such as:
35lbs, potentiometer feedback and up to 2"/s: robotshop.com/en/2-stroke-fi … =RB-Fra-77
150lbs, potentiometer feedback and up to 1/2"/s: robotshop.com/en/4-stroke-15 … RB-Fra-111
To make it controllable via R/C, use this:
robotshop.com/en/firgelli-te … RB-Fir-121
You can therefore use a normal RC radio remote and the 12V battery.
Hi, I was reading this post, and was very impressed with the information given!
I have a GMC quadrasteer truck, with a broken rear position sensor (no longer made).
All the rear steering equipment is still there. Would it be possible to convert it to a joystick setup?
Maybe rig a servo to the current steering gear? not very familiar with this type of thing.
Thanks!
robotshop.com/en/servo-controller-mx-04.html
robotshop.com/en/torxis-i018 … motor.html
That controller would be fairly ideal if possible?
This is the setup, with the steering gear at the top,
blog.briangallimore.com/wp-conte … 80x360.jpg
pickuptrucks.com/trucks/IMAG … qs4202.gif
The two products you linked to can be used together (however the servo needs to be powered separately).
It’s difficult to know if the servo will be powerful enough, but you can certainly try.
Colman,
These post seem to be older but I thought I would try. I need to remote control a adult gokart. I am wondering if the same parts apply?
Is there a smaller alternative to the rub-Ins-02 servo ?
Will the L16 linear actuator (rb Fir 121) work as well as the rb Fra 111 ?
Do you offer a simple controller that will work with these products ?
Thank you
JS
Yes, the same approach would apply.
You need relatively high torque, and ideally 12V operation. There are high torque servo options from Hitec, but they are still quite expensive:
robotshop.com/en/hitec-servo-en.html
Ex: robotshop.com/en/hs-1005sgt- … servo.html
The L16 is incredibly small compared to a standard actuator and normally offers far less force.
I suspect the force needed to press the gas pedal and brake pedal on a go cart is not much less than on a real car.
The whole setup can be RC controlled - no programming needed.
Thank you for the reply.
I will assemble my order from the parts you have suggested. Including the RB-Fir-121 control board.
I know nothing about RC . i can fabricate everything I need for the conversion including machine work but fall short on the RC . Any further input will be greatly appreciated.
JS
RC gear involves a wireless handheld transmitter (normally with between 2 to 12 channels which are tied to joysticks, knobs and switches) and a corresponding small wireless receiver.
robotshop.com/en/wireless-rc … llers.html
Ex: robotshop.com/en/radiolink-a … eiver.html
The receiver has rows of three pins which correspond to each channel. One column of pins is GND, the middle is Voltage (input voltage) and the last is the signal.
You can plug in RC servo motors directly to the receiver, as well as DC motor controller which accept RC input, and any other electrical device which accepts RC PWM as input.
RB-Fra-111 cannot plug into a receiver since it does not directly use RC PWM input. You would plug the actuator to the LAC controller (which can control linear actuators which have potentiometer feedback) and teh LAC can accept RC PWM input (you’ll need a standard 3-pin servo cable.
There is way too much information online about RC to go into much detail here.
Thank you for your patience. I am building my order. The rb-ins-02 high torque servo is not in stock . can I substitute with the rb-ins-01 for bu purpose ?
JS
RB-Ins-01 has twice the torque but half the speed of RB-Ins-02 (90 degrees of rotation takes 1.5 seconds).
Coleman,
The components that you recommended for the project are working fine. I do have one problem. I cannot get the rc controller to talk to the linear actuators (RB-Far-111) through LAC control board (RB-Fir-121) . The actuators will extend once but do nothing else. We have tried every combination we can think of, watched the manu. videos and check some forums with no success.
, Any ideas?
Thanks
Joe
Be sure to have connected the wires to the X4 terminal explained on page 2 in the quick reference: robotshop.com/media/files/pd … asheet.pdf
There is a note which seems relevant to your experience: " If the actuator moves to one end then stops, swap pins 3 and 4 to change the motor direction. "