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Offline SquidgyB

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Airsoft ESC control
« on: May 22, 2018, 02:32:22 PM »
Hi all.

I'm currently building a Tiger with an airsoft mechbox (MP7/Well R4 type) which I strongly suspect requires more ampage for the motor than the TCB can supply over the built in motor control connectors or the recoil conenctors on the board.

I have a small ESC which can fire up the motor, so I'm wondering if I can re-route the cannon control over to one of the free outputs (I'm currently not using sound or a smoker), but I will still need to feed back the switch from the airsoft mechanism for single fire mode.

I would also like to manage the throttle for the motor, as the full rate of fire from the mechbox overwhelms the gravity fed loading system - having tested with the mechbox conencted via the ESC and controlled directly from a receiver, I can slow down the motor using the ESC to the point that BBs have time to fall into the breach before the nozzle moves back to fire.

So, can I manage the airsoft cannon using a ESC from the TCB, and can I limit the maximum throttle range for this output to slow down the mechbox firing rate?

e; as a quick thought, maybe I can change the positive recoil/airsoft output to PPM to control the ESC?
« Last Edit: May 22, 2018, 04:59:24 PM by SquidgyB »

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #1 on: May 23, 2018, 06:16:22 PM »
Unfortunately there isn't a good way to accomplish what you need. Yes, the TCB can have unused RC outputs depending on your setup, but those are not internally connected in any way to the airsoft function.

As for the other way around,
e; as a quick thought, maybe I can change the positive recoil/airsoft output to PPM to control the ESC?
...this is also not possible because once again, the airsoft control knows nothing about PWM (I think you mean PWM, not PPM) and is incapable of controlling an ESC.

With major software changes some solution would be possible but this is one of those cases where the juice is not worth the squeeze.

I think you are left to control this the way you would in any other tank - directly and manually from your radio. You can use one of the RC outputs on the TCB to pass-through a channel signal from your radio if you don't have extra PWM outputs on your receiver, but nevertheless nothing about this will be tied to the TCB's cannon fire function. You will need to manually manipulate whatever control on your radio you have assigned to that channel in order to fire the airsoft. If you need a slower speed on your ESC, you can set that on your radio using end-point adjustment.

Hope that makes sense.
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Offline SquidgyB

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2018, 07:01:52 AM »
No worries.

Thanks for the thoughts - I was thinking myself it might be a bit too much to implement.

I think I have a solution though - I'm going to try running a relay which actuates from the Recoil/Airsoft TCB output, and use the relay as the trigger plate for an electronic airsoft controller (Gate Merf 3.2), which should give me the functionality I need, while still using the TCB as the main controller for the gun firing timing/mechinism.

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2018, 05:23:31 PM »
Looking at the Merf 3.2 it may be possible to connect the trigger wire directly to the TCB without using a relay so long as they share a ground, but without further detailed specifications it is hard to be absolutely certain, but it expects a 5v trigger then I don't see a problem.

You could also perhaps more directly use one of the General Purpose I/O ports instead of trying to hack into the Airsoft output. You just need to assign the output to whatever radio channel you also assign the cannon fire function to. If a relay is needed there are instructions for connecting one in the Wiki along with recommendations of inexpensive ones that are plug-and-play, such as this Keyestudio.
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Offline SquidgyB

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #4 on: May 30, 2018, 06:59:45 AM »
Hmmm. I think the major requirement here is the ability to shut off the "trigger" once the firing cycle has completed - hence hacking the airsoft output. Having a plain RC output mapped to a motor wouldn't work properly (in my mind, unless I'm missing something) as there's no way to kill the motor output once the selector nub hits the switch.

I assumed that the airsoft output from the TCB is running at whatever voltage the battery is running at, or am I incorrect with that assumption? Is the Airsoft output limited/set to 5v? If so, that does help quite a bit with relay selection, and I'll have a look at the ones you suggest as well.

Thanks for your time and input with this, it's really helpful (and the TCB is a great little product, I must say!).

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #5 on: May 30, 2018, 10:05:16 AM »
I'm operating under the assumption that when given a momentary signal the MERF fires a paintball. Perhaps that is not correct, if so, ignore my ramblings.

The General Purpose I/O ports are not RC outputs - they can be set to on or off, that's it. You can also set them to momentarily turn on then off using the Pulse function, this is what I theorized might be possible to control the MERF assuming it uses a 5 volt logic-level input. The pulse is very brief (1/3 of a second). If you want a custom length of time you could use the Aux output which allows you to define the pulse time as anything from 1/100th of a second to 5 seconds (the Aux output momentary function is called "Flash" instead of pulse), and yes the Aux output is also 5 volts. You can read more about these things in the Wiki.

But maybe I don't understand how the paintball controller works. If instead of a momentary signal it requires feedback from some kind of "selector nub" as you call it, then the above ideas might not work (unless the selector nub can be fed into the MERF directly - I don't know enough to speak intelligently on this topic).

You are correct, the Airsoft output on the TCB is equal to TCB battery voltage. It seems as if you are planning to feed the "selector nub" back into the TCB's Airsoft plug as the trigger connection. Maybe this would work, maybe not. Examine the schematic on the airsoft page closely, your paintball circuit will need to operate exactly the same way and at the same voltages otherwise you could have issues.

My impression is that neither of us actually know enough about what is required to say whether any of this will work. You'll have to do some experimenting or researching about the products you have. Good luck, and don't fry anything! :)



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Offline SquidgyB

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #6 on: June 01, 2018, 05:31:36 AM »
I got this working last night!

So after some testing, it seems that I couldn't get the MERF to detect the Airsoft output from the TCB as a signal to fire, no matter how I connected it. The relay worked to start the firing process, but the response was too slow to control a single shot.

Having looked at the options for the GPIOs as you suggested, I realised that the full functionality of the default Airsoft set up can be emulated there, so I decided to give that a try.

GPIO "A" is set up as an input. This is connected to the switch located at the "selector nub" as I call it. The switch is closed when the firing cycle completes.

GPIO "B" is set to output. This is a single wire connection to the MERF, which detects a high logic signal and initiates the firing cycle at this point.

In the Functions section I've set GPIO B to be turned on by Aux 1 from my radio, and to be turned off by GPIO A detected as being "high".

My idea with the relay did work, but I think the delay in firing the relay caused 2-3 shots to be fired rather than a single shot. Now, using the GPIO directly into the MERF, I get a single shot, every time, working exactly as intended.
« Last Edit: June 01, 2018, 06:45:35 AM by SquidgyB »

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: Airsoft ESC control
« Reply #7 on: June 01, 2018, 11:37:35 AM »
Good job! It is satisfying to observe someone comprehend the possibilities and then put together a new combination of effects no one had thought of before. As soon as you described what you did it made perfect sense even though it had not occurred to me initially.

My goal was to make the TCB as flexible and adaptable as possible, and then sit back and watch what people came up with. This is a great example of a unique and interesting application. Thanks for sharing.
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