Want to use your third channel too turn lights on and off?

[atrain20210]

For all of you who have bought a three channel radio and plugged your lights in and presto... no on/off for your lights.

I know pics would be easier to follow but my desktop is down so I'm doing this from a tablet so no pics sorry but I will do my best to explain.

What you'll need:
Soldering iron and solder
Old servo
Light controller ( I used an axial light controller )
Lights ( axial lights that came with controller )
Two resistors ( I used two 2.2 m ohm resistors don't know why but it felt right, if your better with electronics you can figure out something better and comment

Why can't you just plug lights into your rx and turn them on and off? Leds have no signal wire just a positive and negative wire. So you need a "switch" that can receive a signal. That's where the old servo comes into play.

Now you could pay ten to twenty dollars on a turnigy or heyok receive light switch or you canmake your own.

Alright first you need to disassemble your servo. Take the electronics board out and cut the wires off the motor. There should be a red black and white wire. You can completely remove the white wire. Take your light controller and cut off the servo plug. Now solder the black andred wire from the light controller to the old motor wires. Black to black red to red.

Next, cut off the "pot" on the servo circuit board. This is a part that has three stiff wires hanging off of it. ( should be the only other noticeable part on the circuit board other than the motor). Now take your resistor and solder one end to one of the outside stiff wires, and the other end to the middle stiff wire. Now take your second resistor and solder one end to the middle stiff wire and the other end to the last stiff wire. Now I'm not sure if it matters but I made sir the color bands on the resistors lined up. For example from left to right the color band should read: first resistor, gold, brown, red. Second resistor: gold brown red. Just an example but you should get my point.

Finally you should be left with the servo lead from the old servo. This gets plugged into the third channel of your rx and your leds get plugged into your light controller.

Now you have a functional on off switch for your lights on your nice expensive three channel transmitter.

Hope that this tutorial is easy enough to follow without pics. I am an electrical dunce and I was able to do it so don't feel like you can't.

Good luck hope this is helpfull

[tdevilman2009]

now i have a dumb question is not the white wire a singnal wire so there for how would that work if u cut the white wire out of the old servo would love to do this for my wraith as i have a few old servos kickin round. yea im a newb to some eletrionics thanks

[rm25x]

I had to read it a few times, but it sounds like he is saying to remove the white wire going to the motor not from the connector that plugs into the receiver.

[tdevilman2009]

yea but he is talking about a red/black/white wire to completly remove the white on all my servos the motor has just a black an red. the input is the olny wire with red/black/white

[atrain20210]

Yeah I'm talking about the wires from circuit board to the motors. If there is no white wire your a step ahead. Remember the two motor wires power the lights directly. The signal from your radio comes from the servo lead.

[arthurc10]

Or just use an old micro ESC.

[heyok]

Since we are talking about this, you can actually use the servo board to turn on two different light circuits. Because LEDs are polarity sensitive and the servo circuit output can reverse its polarity (it can drive a dc motor one direction or the other), so connect two leds in opposite polarity and you can light up one or the other depending which direction you throw the servo signal.

[Super]

Originally Posted by heyok

Since we are talking about this, you can actually use the servo board to turn on two different light circuits. Because LEDs are polarity sensitive and the servo circuit output can reverse its polarity (it can drive a dc motor one direction or the other), so connect two leds in opposite polarity and you can light up one or the other depending which direction you throw the servo signal.

Heyok, do you make anything like that?

[heyok]

Originally Posted by Super

Heyok, do you make anything like that?

I do make something that will turn on two lighting circuits but you can chose to have one, the other or both on at the same time.
It's not free though
Dual RC Switch for LED lighting or ?

There's also the park/head light switch
Park Lights, Head Lights switch

[Super]

Originally Posted by heyok

I do make something that will turn on two lighting circuits but you can chose to have one, the other or both on at the same time.
It's not free though
Dual RC Switch for LED lighting or ?

There's also the park/head light switch
Park Lights, Head Lights switch

[RusT808]

Originally Posted by heyok

Since we are talking about this, you can actually use the servo board to turn on two different light circuits. Because LEDs are polarity sensitive and the servo circuit output can reverse its polarity (it can drive a dc motor one direction or the other), so connect two leds in opposite polarity and you can light up one or the other depending which direction you throw the servo signal.

Quick question: If I wire two light strips to the servo motor lead, one strip has red on "right" terminal and black on "left" terminal, can the second strip be wired opposite(red on "left" and black on "right") without blowing the other light strip?

I hope that made sense.

Thanks in advance.

*edit* I meant the servo board, not the servo motor lead. (might be considered the same)

[heyok]

I think I understand you.

Just have to put it in my words...

The servo board output wires will feed the two sets of lights. The lights each have a red and black. Connect red from light one light to black of light two. Connect black from light one to red of light two. Now connect these to the servo board output wires.

[RusT808]

Thanks you, that answers my question.

[arthurc10]

I have a HeyOK controller in my EXO, and I think its just downright badass to do the lights via the transmitter.

He makes some very awesome products and he is affordable. Not as cheap as a busted servo, but much smaller and easier to conceal.

[atrain20210]

Actually I used an old stock axial servo and its only just a bit bigger than your thumb nail. Not trying to step on heyoks toes heard great things. Considered buying a few of his things. But there is nothing like the satisfaction of making something yourself

[discgolferlee]

This thread desperately needs pictures

[atrain20210]

I know sorry my computer is broken and I don't know how to upload photos on a tablet