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Offline Tom

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On / off switch
« on: February 19, 2017, 07:56:40 PM »
Right now I have a on/off switch for my smoke unit plugged into the aux channel on my Dxi and assigned to the gear toggle.. with the TCB could I just keep that servo cable plugged in the receiver or could I plug it into the TCB and assign that function? Thanks :)

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2017, 08:03:44 PM »
The TCB has a smoker on/off function that you can assign to any channel on your radio, that would be the easiest way to do it. See here for a complete list of functions that you can assign to any trigger such as switches on your radio, but triggers can be other things as well, for example you could assign it to "turret stick top left corner." This could be useful if your transmitter did not have a lot of extra switches.

You could also still do it the way you are now but that would not be efficient as it involves a whole other piece of hardware (the physical switching device) not to mention extra wiring to do what the TCB can already do internally.
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Offline Tom

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2017, 08:08:16 PM »
Okay good to know thanks Luke. I have an acoustic smoker and a step up that is increasing the voltage to the resistor to about 9 volts or so. I don't always need to run the smoke unit so the cut off.. But good to know it will work either way etc.

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #3 on: February 19, 2017, 08:23:39 PM »
On the TCB the smoker will be fed whatever voltage your source battery is, and the TCB can be run at up to 15 volts. So it's possible you may not need a step-up circuit at all.
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Offline Tom

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #4 on: February 20, 2017, 05:23:33 PM »
Thanks! And.. I could simply add the little step up after the output from the TCB so the on/off would be controlled via TCB eliminating the switch via receiver and I could adjust the voltage up or down.

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #5 on: February 20, 2017, 05:49:47 PM »
Yes, that would work just fine.
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Offline Tom

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #6 on: February 24, 2017, 08:19:24 AM »
Looking at the many TBC functions and options..if the turret rotation pass through is empty, it looks like that slot
could also be assigned to activate the servo on/off switch currently plugged into the gear position on my receiver.
Trying to get familiar with the options.. as the more I used the TBS the more tricks I discovered :)

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Offline LukeZ

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #7 on: February 24, 2017, 12:13:21 PM »
To be clear about the nomenclature, yes if you are not using an ESC or servo to control turret rotation (for example you are just driving the turret rotation motor directly from the TCB as most people would), then the turret rotation RC output (output #3 on the board) becomes available as a pass-through signal from your radio. And then yes you can assign any channel on your radio to that output and you can hook any RC device to that output you want, including an RC switch.

The same holds true for most other RC outputs. RC output #5 is the exception, it is always reserved for a recoil servo whether you use one or not. But the other outputs may be free depending on how you control other motors (outputs 1-4) or what sound card you are using (outputs 6-8). Most people will find themselves with several RC outputs free for general use, or "pass-through" from their receiver. Of course if your receiver has PWM channel outputs you can just use those directly, but many small SBus/iBus receivers only have the serial connection and no individual servo outputs, so the "pass-through" feature of the TCB can be useful in those cases.

Now - if all you need to do is turn something on or off, it may be more simple just to use one of the various switched outputs on the TCB rather than a receiver controlled switch. We already mentioned the smoker output (if you are not using a smoker), but there is the general purpose Aux output as well as the four light outputs Light 1, Light 2, Brake, and MG. Although they are called "light" outputs you can switch anything you want from them so long as what you're switching accepts 5 volts and doesn't draw too much current.

If you need to switch something on/off that requires a higher voltage or current, you can also connect a relay to the Aux output or either one of the two general purpose I/O ports. You can buy cheap relay modules on eBay that are plug-and-play with the I/O ports as described on that page.

TLDR; yes a receiver controlled switch is no problem! But you have lots of options.
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Offline Tom

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Re: On / off switch
« Reply #8 on: February 24, 2017, 01:38:38 PM »
Very nice thanks for all the additional information Luke! I figure I can move gradually into getting it set up the way I have it and then begin
to add or eliminate as I go along. Start with my Dxi then move to a radio with more channels etc.
Currently I am using the BARC /TBS and the left stick to trigger: recoil, elevation, turret along with engine start/stop , a track sound, cold cranking sound. It certainly looks like I can continue to do all of this the with TBC and then add or assign these things and more to other trigger switches etc when I move to a radio beyond the 6 channels! Very exciting on a lot of levels.
BARC SET UP WITH TBS.jpg
On / off switch BARC SET UP WITH TBS.jpg
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