v4 Ultimate 6ch 2.4ghz pistol grip radio

[losikid]

Well i'd like to link to my older threads, but they got cough...mysteriously...cough deleted.

Anyways i'm back at it again.

[losikid]

Heres whats i got as of right now


Ok so i am going to be taking snipetts out of this pdf

https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0Bxp...ut=list&num=50


2. Radio Features

This radio will be completely computer programmable featuring

-3 mixs or 1 if you use channels 5&6
-Trim on all 6 channels, physical trim pots on channels 1&2 for throttle and steering
-Epa's on all 6 channels
-Virtually unlimited model memory
-Channel reversing on all 6 channels
-Dual rates on channel 1, 2 and 4, can be programmed to a switch
-Also this was originally a airplane radio so throttle and pith curves are also programmable but i don't know how to work them.
-Frequency hopping 2.4ghz technology.
-4 aa cell battery compartment to keep weight to a minimum.



Ch1. Is controlled by the steering wheel, ch1 is marked on the rx, this should position is for your steering servo

Ch2. Is Controlled by the throttle trigger, there is a small silver round piece that extrudes from the plastic case this is a potentiometer, it is connected to the trigger please do not apply excessive pressure as it may damage it.

Ch.3 Is Controlled by a momentary 3 position switch located on the far back side of the upper portion of the radio. . Ideal for digs or winches because it will spring back to center after pressure is released

Ch4. Is Controlled by an rtc lever. This lever is used for rear dig, overdriving/underdriveing the rear axle, or possibly a winch.

Ch.5 Is a virtual channel it can either be controlled by the non-momentary 3 position switch located by the steering wheel The use of this channel requires the use of 1 of your 3 mixs. You can also use this Ch as a mix alone and not have it to a switch it can also be used as your rear esc ch for the 4ws steer switch. Ideal for lights, diff lockers, tranny speeds, winches because it has locked positions

Ch.5 Is a virtual channel it can either be controlled by the non-momentary 3 position switch located by the steering wheel The use of this channel requires the use of 1 of your 3 mixs. You can also use this Ch as a mix alone and not have it to a switch it can also be used as your rear esc ch for the 4ws steer switch. Ideal for lights, diff lockers, tranny speeds, winches because it has locked positions

V's are located in the 4ws switch and on the ch 5, 6 switch by the steering wheel


Switchs (A-B) one is located in the 4ws switch and the other is the blue button on the handle





One of the most unique features on this radio not found on others not found on other radios. I have installed a rtc stick which can give you complete rear dig, or tone it down for a low percentage to overdrive or underdrive the rear axle. So this is how it works.

You push the button on the handle and this will mix and un mix the rear esc to the front esc. It will also turn the over/under drive off. The front esc is Ch2 which is the trigger, and the rear esc is ch.4 the rtc stick. So when it is un mixed you have front only with your trigger. And rear only on the rtc lever with full 100% variable rear dig. This will allow complete independent control of both esc’s at the same time. Now if you don't have it pushed in you will be in the mix position The front will mix both front and and rear together with the trigger but still allow you to use the rtc stick to perform its functions, So you can overdrive/underdive your rear axle actively as your driving and set the max percentage for under drive and under drive controlled by the rtc lever. Also in the mix you can adjust the up and down rates if you want a permanent overdrive/underdrive and use the rtc stick to cancel it out or make it greater.

The Overdrive/Underdrive feature on the radio activates and deactivates dual rates. So when it is in the position where dual rates is off you will be able to have full rear digging power from the rtc lever, but if you have it on you can control the percentage of full power to be your maximum amount power available to the rear controlled by the rtc stick. Dual rates don’t affect the mix.

Ok now I have installed a reverse switch for ch4 only. Located in the batt box. This is so you can change the direction of travel that the rtc lever does. If you use the digital mix in the software it will work like crab steer, not good when used on esc’s. So I fixed it with a manual switch. It is hard to explain so you will have to try it for yourself. Make sure the radio is turned off though when you flip this switch, you can when it is on but may ruin the radio on a rare occasion.
There are also two little pots (blue things with a white top) These are passive trim for the 4ws selector switch, basically in the different positions these will trim out your rear esc or front esc (dependent on the pos) so you will have all the same center points in the different position. The reason for this is because the 4ws switch is analog so variances in wire lengths solder joints, quality of switch will all affect center so when changing in different positions will cause the centers to change a little, so these will trim it out. I'm not sure which one does which positions, you will just have to guess and check. You shouldn't have to mess with these that often












More pics can be found here

http://picasaweb.google.com/losikid/...eat=directlink

http://picasaweb.google.com/losikid/...eat=directlink

here is some vid

This version

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jfXD0sXLW8

and the previous version (similiar)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjEO4eMVeRs


Thanks for looking through the whole post if you made it this far, sorry if got bored, mad, confused or fell asleep

[losikid]

Now this is what i got planned for my version 4 radio.

Get ready, if you thought the 4pk, or even the 4pl was top notch, check this guy out.

Take the v3 platform (see above) and add the following

-Single cell lipo operation
-Built in charging circuit
-Built in Overcharge, low voltage, and over current protection
-and........the best if all
-a color touch screen, which will do the following
-1000's of model memory
-EPA's on all 6 channels
-Digital trim on all 6 channels
-3 programmable mixes
-Ch. Reverse on all 6 channels
-Dual rates on ch 1,2,4
-Throttle and pitch curves (unsure on what ch's they affect yet, this was a airplane radio
-Oh, and it will be running a pocket pc OS, so you'll have all sorts of neat gadgets (calenders, alarms, timers, Microsoft office, etc.)

My budget for this is going to be $200 but i should be able to get it done for around $150 Just imagine how much money radio companies are making, if i was to manufacture these, the price tag would be closer to $50



And i'm proud to say the only con this next radio should have is no expo, sadly. But i'm working on it for my v5, and my top secret classified 8 ch project.

[sabohead]

Very nice. Very well thought out. Videos were well do. I have 2 ?'s for you. 1. is there a shortened life to radio by doing what you did? Longevity wise any thoughts? 2. what would it take/can you do the same thing to a MX Sport 2 3ch system, and if so for how much?

[Aussie Nerd]

All I can say is please NO TOUCH SCREEN. Colour screen all cool, but fat fingers and touch screens don't mix Looks like a good plan though. If you can get all that in a nice looking comfortable case, my hat goes off to you!

Kieren

[losikid]

Originally Posted by sabohead

Very nice. Very well thought out. Videos were well do. I have 2 ?'s for you. 1. is there a shortened life to radio by doing what you did? Longevity wise any thoughts? 2. what would it take/can you do the same thing to a MX Sport 2 3ch system, and if so for how much?

Lifespan I am unsure. So to kinda answer both your ?'s I replace all the guts of the tx, with guts from a different radio. All the extra parts I used is quality, long lifespan parts. So the first thing to go would be the main guts, which can be replace ed for 30-50 dollars. But I wouldn't think it would die any time soon. And yes as long as there is enough space in the donor radio housing this can be done to it for around 150 parts

[losikid]

Originally Posted by sabohead

Very nice. Very well thought out. Videos were well do. I have 2 ?'s for you. 1. is there a shortened life to radio by doing what you did? Longevity wise any thoughts? 2. what would it take/can you do the same thing to a MX Sport 2 3ch system, and if so for how much?

Originally Posted by Aussie Nerd

All I can say is please NO TOUCH SCREEN. Colour screen all cool, but fat fingers and touch screens don't mix Looks like a good plan though. If you can get all that in a nice looking comfortable case, my hat goes off to you!

Kieren

Be basing all my on-board programming with a ipaq 3600 or 3700 seires. So touch screen is required. But my 8 ch radio will be back to a mono backlight screen, for my v1, v2 will probabably be a color screen, dependant how high tech the updated encoder board is it may be a high res touch screen, there's even been talk of running a android OS so i'm pretty psych'd about this new encoder board.

What is the tq not comfortable??? What housing do you suggest

[Aussie Nerd]

Never actually handled a tq3 so can't comment on comfort, but it more relates to the nice looking side of things However for proto there is no reason not to use a tq3.

Kieren

[losikid]

Yea one of my goals for last radio, which will hold true for my next. Is to have as close of a factory look as i can. So yes it should look nice. Hopefully my top secret 8ch radio will have a custom made radio housing, but that may have to wait for the v2 8ch.

[rockhugger]

this is exciting.

Touchscreen sounds killer
I hope you can get your own molded case done successfully

I personally like the feel of the speky DX3 radios for the feel and lightweight ( I have a dx3e )

[discgolferlee]

Sooooo.... you are taking the guts out of cheap chinese 6 or 8 channel radios and putting them in a traxxas pistol grip casing. Not a bad idea. My expierence with those radios is that they work pretty good and rx's are like 8 bucks. Nicely done!

[diby_2000]

Hi Losikid, me again.

First off let me say that I think what you are doing is excelent! I have only been in RC for about a year and have had similar thoughts for at least half that time, but lack the knowlege and experiance to do anything about it yet.
Secondly I need to be treeted as a complete NOOB as I only have a Walkera 60B chopper and a Traxxas summit, no proper crawler yet.

[QUOTE=losikid;2857984]You push the button on the handle and this will mix and un mix the rear esc to the front esc. It will also turn the over/under drive off. The front esc is Ch2 which is the trigger, and the rear esc is ch.4 the rtc stick. So when it is un mixed you have front only with your trigger. And rear only on the rtc lever with full 100% variable rear dig. This will allow complete independent control of both esc’s at the same time. Now if you don't have it pushed in you will be in the mix position The front will mix both front and and rear together with the trigger but still allow you to use the rtc stick to perform its functions, So you can overdrive/underdive your rear axle actively as your driving and set the max percentage for under drive and under drive controlled by the rtc lever. Also in the mix you can adjust the up and down rates if you want a permanent overdrive/underdrive and use the rtc stick to cancel it out or make it greater.

The Overdrive/Underdrive feature on the radio activates and deactivates dual rates. So when it is in the position where dual rates is off you will be able to have full rear digging power from the rtc lever, but if you have it on you can control the percentage of full power to be your maximum amount power available to the rear controlled by the rtc stick. Dual rates don’t affect the mix.

QUOTE]

By this do you mean you can hold the RTC lever down at its lowest point and have 100% front dig (I think, when the rear wheels are braked and the front spin), then slowly release the RTC and slowly introduce some rear drive back to 100% front/rear drive at the centre position? And vice versa with RTC at the top with rear dig?
Is this even desirable or a waste of time for a MOA crawler?

[losikid]

[QUOTE=diby_2000;2886546]Hi Losikid, me again.

First off let me say that I think what you are doing is excelent! I have only been in RC for about a year and have had similar thoughts for at least half that time, but lack the knowlege and experiance to do anything about it yet.
Secondly I need to be treeted as a complete NOOB as I only have a Walkera 60B chopper and a Traxxas summit, no proper crawler yet.

Originally Posted by losikid

You push the button on the handle and this will mix and un mix the rear esc to the front esc. It will also turn the over/under drive off. The front esc is Ch2 which is the trigger, and the rear esc is ch.4 the rtc stick. So when it is un mixed you have front only with your trigger. And rear only on the rtc lever with full 100% variable rear dig. This will allow complete independent control of both esc’s at the same time. Now if you don't have it pushed in you will be in the mix position The front will mix both front and and rear together with the trigger but still allow you to use the rtc stick to perform its functions, So you can overdrive/underdive your rear axle actively as your driving and set the max percentage for under drive and under drive controlled by the rtc lever. Also in the mix you can adjust the up and down rates if you want a permanent overdrive/underdrive and use the rtc stick to cancel it out or make it greater.

The Overdrive/Underdrive feature on the radio activates and deactivates dual rates. So when it is in the position where dual rates is off you will be able to have full rear digging power from the rtc lever, but if you have it on you can control the percentage of full power to be your maximum amount power available to the rear controlled by the rtc stick. Dual rates don’t affect the mix.

QUOTE]

By this do you mean you can hold the RTC lever down at its lowest point and have 100% front dig (I think, when the rear wheels are braked and the front spin), then slowly release the RTC and slowly introduce some rear drive back to 100% front/rear drive at the centre position? And vice versa with RTC at the top with rear dig?
Is this even desirable or a waste of time for a MOA crawler?

First off sorry i haven't replied, i thought i was subscribed to this thread...


Well to best answer your question please look at this video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jfXD0sXLW8


In words what the rtc stick does is when mixed it will vary the rear +/- a range between set percentage, i have it at +/-30%. So when the lever is centered the rear is mixed with the front 100%, when it is all the way up (or down) it will be 130% mix of the front, if it is all the way down (or up) it is 70% mix of the front. and mid way between full up and full down you get different percentages

Now when you push in that little blue button on the handle the trigger will only control the front, and the lever will only control the rear (I have it set at +/-100%, but can be adjusted), so you can have fully independent control of both the front and rear. So you can spin the front tires forward, and the back ones backwards at the same time and cause the judges to freak out.

[losikid]

Ok, so by the looks of it I will be doing my v4 mods to my v2 radio (just basic 3 3pos switches a pot, and throttle and steering). this will be to prove concept, then my v5 will be based off my v3 radio

[ZeeCrawler]

When will this be available? Thnx

[losikid]

Well i can build you right now if you want.

But as of now i can't add the screen or 1 cell lipo operation, well i can but i don't want to experiment on a customers radio.

Only dowfall to this is you can't program the radio on the spot, it will require a laptop or computer (even some pda's can work). BUT if you are using this on more than 1 rc, the money you would save on 1 additional rx will pay for a cheap laptop on ebay. Additional rx's are $15

Here check out my thread for custom built radios

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/showt...95#post2887895

[losikid]

Ok well been reviving this project. getting plans complete and parts list built.

But i don't think i'll be doings a tq on this build...I think a Spektrum DX3E will be my donor. And probably keep my dual esc setup.

[holycaveman]

Originally Posted by discgolferlee

Sooooo.... you are taking the guts out of cheap chinese 6 or 8 channel radios and putting them in a traxxas pistol grip casing. Not a bad idea. My expierence with those radios is that they work pretty good and rx's are like 8 bucks. Nicely done!

Ha, ha i wish what he was doing was as simple as that!

[losikid]

Originally Posted by holycaveman

Ha, ha i wish what he was doing was as simple as that!

It is as simple as that, well up untill the screen part, then it gets complicated

[GreeceRC]

Hello,
I would like a true 6ch pistol grip radio with 4x 3-position switches.
Do you do custom radios and how much would that cost me?