Building a Dig Controller for you MOA guys.

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by EeePee

But there are probably hundreds or more happy people with them. Always a few to complain, never many to compliment.

You are correct there Mr. EeePee.

I've got a PunkRC dig unit, it does work very well, no complaints. My only complaint is that I bought another, it tore up, sent it in for repair oh say, bout 8 months ago...just guessing. Still nothing. The guy has been through some rough times, understandable. I think now is the time to stop with all the talk about the Punk RC stuff and let heyok continue with his thread.

If someone else is gonna bring another dig unit out, sign me up. If it's good, I'll buy 3 or 4 of them.

[rock hard]

What you have looks like a good start,I myself would prefer no lights,and no wires.(except rx wire)
Unless your gonna make them to order,but not everyone uses the same guage wire,or the same plugs,and some guys wont want any plugs at all.

No wire,no lights will help keep your cost/time down per part.
And you would still have competition to keep in mind other than what has already been mentioned.

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by rock hard

What you have looks like a good start,I myself would prefer no lights,and no wires.(except rx wire)
Unless your gonna make them to order,but not everyone uses the same guage wire,or the same plugs,and some guys wont want any plugs at all.

I'd be good with no lights and no wires. Just a receiver plug and tabs to solider the motor wires to.

[Krakker]

Glad you did this. Thanks for listening.
I would prefer to not have any connector attached, let the mass's chose thier own poison. I like the idea of the lights tho. a lot of people like being able to see what's engaged through the body or panel.
You could cover the top with liquid electrical tape, it would dry decent and protect it pretty good.

[crashmurray]

Quote:
Originally Posted by rock hard
What you have looks like a good start,I myself would prefer no lights,and no wires.(except rx wire)
Unless your gonna make them to order,but not everyone uses the same guage wire,or the same plugs,and some guys wont want any plugs at all.



I'd be good with no lights and no wires. Just a receiver plug and tabs to solider the motor wires to.




I agree with both of the last posts! Most of us on here like different set up on our stuff! If it works out though ill damn sure try it out!

[RickM]

Regardless of what other think of punk rc or not one of the coolest things about the RC Crawler scene is the DIY efforts by many out there. It makes the go fast racing crowd boring. As the bike company Specialized used to say "Innovate or Die" Keep up the good work. Competition is always good for the end user.

[rock hard]

[QUOTE=RickM;2919739]Regardless of what other think of punk rc or not one of the coolest things about the RC Crawler scene is the DIY efforts by many out there. It makes the go fast racing crowd boring. As the bike company Specialized used to say "Innovate or Die" Keep up the good work. Competition is always good for the end user.[/QUOTE]

I used to agree with that 100%,but now things are being made to be cheap,instead of made to last.
(edit,not really talking about rc)

[rmdesignworks]

Originally Posted by heyok

The amp issue is an interesting one. A higher current relay takes up more space than a lower current one. If someone has a dig unit already, it would be interesting if they could post the model number of the relay being used so we can see if there is something more suitable.

The relay you see in my pictures is a Schrack RTD14005 with contacts rated at 16 amps.

I have some 20 amp relays but just one of them is larger than two of the Schrack RTD14005

What wears out the relays the fastest is switching them when they are under load. That is probably not how most people would drive.

The large relay issue was exactly what slowed my progress on the dig unit design Ive been working on,,,I fiannly started looking at mosfet's.

[TEDROCKZ]

Just looked at my no longer used Punk. It was one from the very first batch and it has 14amp relays. Any other info needed?

Originally Posted by heyok

If someone has a dig unit already, it would be interesting if they could post the model number of the relay being used so we can see if there is something more suitable.

[paintballer9876]

Originally Posted by heyok

The amp issue is an interesting one. A higher current relay takes up more space than a lower current one. If someone has a dig unit already, it would be interesting if they could post the model number of the relay being used so we can see if there is something more suitable.

The relay you see in my pictures is a Schrack RTD14005 with contacts rated at 16 amps.

I have some 20 amp relays but just one of them is larger than two of the Schrack RTD14005

What wears out the relays the fastest is switching them when they are under load. That is probably not how most people would drive.

16amp should be fine, the punk dig i have is 12 amps at 5 VDC

[RickM]

Rock Hard. I agree with you as I was only thinking RC as well. My list of crap I have had to put up with on house stuff is getting a little to long.

[TruckerBrad]

Originally Posted by Reflection

I'd be good with no lights and no wires. Just a receiver plug and tabs to solider the motor wires to.

x2

I'm running a Punk now and it wouldn't mess me up one bit if the lights quit working. I'd vote for some solder tabs since people are running different gauges of wire it would save you some work I would think.

[heyok]

Man, I left the computer alone for part of a day and things sure picked up!
Thanks for all the replies!

Originally Posted by bob1961

i used to run a shafty and most likely going MOA soon....i found the rear free wheel more useful then rear wheel locked....watching other guys running MOA rigs i seen them having trouble when the rear or front tires was locked up solid and could see the benifit of free wheel front and rear on MOA rigs....that is why i haven't gone MOA yet i just don't like dig without free wheel abilities....i also haven't read and fiddled with my DX3R controls, mixing and such yet as there was no need with a shafty....so unless i'm missing something does your product have or will it have free wheeling mode....i gotz lotz to read up before going MOA , thx........bob

....

Hi Bob, I hear you.

Originally Posted by paintballer9876

The hardest part would be you would have to sacrifice one of your digs to do this or have a radio with 4+ channels. The issue is the motor even with no power will lock itself just a little bit making so its not a true free wheel. True free wheel is not possible with moa unless you can have a mechanism that moves some gear in the transmission so it is no longer in interaction with the motor. This would cause all sorts of durability issues since if it gets stuck and is only partially engaged it will result in stripped gears.

... so I might see about leaving an option: a wire you can cut for front and / or back that will disable the braking and give you freewheel type dig. As mentioned you will still have the drag of a turning motor, but it would be unloaded (not shorted motor terminals, so less braking action).

Originally Posted by forbid89

Out of curiosity what model PIC are you using?

I'm using a 12F675. Are you a PIC programmer too?

Originally Posted by TEDROCKZ

Just looked at my no longer used Punk. It was one from the very first batch and it has 14amp relays. Any other info needed?

Originally Posted by paintballer9876

16amp should be fine, the punk dig i have is 12 amps at 5 VDC

Thanks you guys! I think the relays I have chosen for this build are just a little larger physically than those, and rated a couple amps higher.

Originally Posted by TruckerBrad

x2

I'm running a Punk now and it wouldn't mess me up one bit if the lights quit working. I'd vote for some solder tabs since people are running different gauges of wire it would save you some work I would think.

Thanks for all the info about what connector options are preferred.

I have some other stuff to do today, but will get back to the Dig Controller as soon as I can.

Al

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by heyok

I think the relays I have chosen for this build are just a little larger physically than those, and rated a couple amps higher.

Allot of concern will be had for size, smaller is better in most cases. I've always been a sucker for adding beef though. If only adding a few millimeters overall adds considerable amount of beef and reliability..... Personally, I'd add it.

[heyok]

Did a little more work on it this morning.
I have remoted the electronic driver part of the circuit so that it will be easier to mount the relays in your rig.
The connections for your motors and ESC are shown.

I'm not really happy with how I have made the relay connections with the heavy bus wire.
I think I will end up cutting up some heavy copper strap and use that instead. Probably will put tabs on the copper bar for you to solder your motor and ESC wires in place.



The thin gauge red and black wires are just on there to show where your connections would be made. In real life you would use 16 gauge to 12 gauge motor wire or something.

[sabohead]

Man that looks real sweet!! I give it 2

[heyok]

Thanks sabohead!

[sabohead]

No..... Tysir!!! I bow to thee

[heyok]

Almost got this ready to go!

No LEDs because as you guys have pointed out, you don't really need them.

Instead of the bus wire across the relay terminals, I have put down some copper strap. This will give you something solid to solder the ESC and motor wires on to. They aren't so solid that you can't bend them, just a careful tweak with some needle nose pliers will let you shape them to where they make the most sense for your install.



I still have to squirt some silicone into the control circuit (blob covered by heat shrink) to waterproof it. I'm also considering a layer of silicone over the top of the relays and covering part of the copper bars.


Here it is next to the previous version.


Tell me what you like or don't like about this. Is this the dig controller you are looking for?

[Charlie-III]

Looking good heyok.....I would probably add the LED's if they shipped w/o. It would help with set-up & troubleshooting.