Theatre gondola project

Help & Support
1

Hi guys. I’m researching all the hardware I need to make a RC ‘gondola’ or boat for a ‘Phantom of the opera’ - a show for our local theatre next year. Being new to robot building, and my childhood RC plane experiences being years behind me, I thought it best consult some of the experts by joining this forum.
My brief is to build a boat than breaks in two halves during the scene, allowing the two halves to be independently controlled by radio. (There is a comic undertone to the show) The boat will carry 2 adults at the start then after the break - manual release within the boat - each half of the chassis moves with one passenger independantly.

From my research so far, it appears I could control 2 geared down 150-200watt permanent magnet DC motors using a dual motor controller capable of running the high currents like the Sabertooth 2x32 and with a controller and a couple of deep cycle batteries I have one half of a boat. If I then get two of these made with a well designed frame and chassis I’m there.
So to the questions; 1. Is there a radio transmitter that could allow both boats to be controlled from the same handset? Spektrum DX6 or 8 for example?
2. Can I disengage drive of the trailing half of the boat before separation, allowing the rear half of the chassis in effect to be towed by the front half without the wheels locking due to no signal?
Many thanks for any help.
Dom306

2

Hello there!

If you want to make sure that you choose the right motor, I suggest that you fill our tool by following this link:https://community.robotshop.com/tutorials/show/drive-motor-sizing-tool
Two different 200 watt motors won’t have the same torque so it is essential that you choose the right one.

Now, let’s get to your questions:
1-It is indeed possible! Here is a video how how to do it for a DX 8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5tOXPETWH8

2-For motors that powerful with geared down output, it won’t work. It is going to take too much energy to make the motor spin from the other side of the gearbox. For example, for a 100:1 gearbox, it takes the motor 100x less energy to move the wheel but it takes 100x more energy to move the axle of the motor if you try so spin the wheel with your hands. You could try adding a free wheel, like on bicycles, but you would also need to add brakes. I recommend that you implement a system which drives both half a the same time while they are connected.

Good luck!