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Messages - LukeZ
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1111
« on: February 25, 2017, 04:25:11 PM »
Neil, I received your attachment. The original FTDI chip your group used was a FT245R, which is not a USB-to-serial converter, it was a USB to parallel interface. The chip they replaced it with (PIC 18F14K50) served the same purpose.
What we need on the TCB and what almost all USB-enabled microcontroller devices today use, is a USB to serial device. So yeah, the two are completely different and this wouldn't be of use in our application even if we were still in the hardware design stage.
Thanks for the thought though!
1112
« on: February 25, 2017, 11:06:14 AM »
You can attach a PDF to any post, see the "Attachments and other options" section when you submit a reply. But of course then it will be visible also to the public.
Otherwise you can email it to me, I will send you a PM with my address.
1113
« 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.
1114
« on: February 23, 2017, 08:05:46 PM »
Marc, just wanted to let you know I've updated the TCB project to work with the new process the Arduino IDE uses for custom boards. Previously one needed to edit Arduino's boards.txt file and this is what the instructions on the TCB GitHub page said at the time you got set up. The new method involves giving the Arduino IDE a link and then letting it install the board using Tools->Board->Boards Manager. There are updated instructions (with photos!) in the TCB GitHub repository readme. You can delete the old entry in your boards.txt file if you want. New developers hopefully will read the new instructions and be set from the get-go. The new system was a lot of work to set up, but it's easier for the end-user (coders in this case), and also gives us better control of how the code is compiled, and makes maintaining future changes, or even adding new boards later, much easier.
1115
« on: February 23, 2017, 07:02:20 PM »
Hi Neil, welcome to the forum. Our board is too close to production for any hardware changes at this point, and even seemingly small changes do require a great deal of time to fully implement, so the hardware is definitely fixed for this generation. However if this one is successful there could be a Mk II someday, but not for several years.
All the same I'd be interested to hear what chip your group went with. If it is the MCP2220/MCP2221 then I did consider those, one thing they did not have is the ability to pass the DTR signal. This is not needed for pure USB communications but the Arduino environment is unique in that it uses DTR to reset the device for flashing.
But you are right the PICs are certainly less expensive and that is one of the drawbacks of the FTDI. On our board the FTDI is the 3rd most expensive component, after the processor and the L298 dual motor driver.
1116
« on: February 23, 2017, 11:06:16 AM »
OP Config is developed using Qt, an open source, cross-platform compatible software development environment. It is certainly possible to compile OP Config for Mac, but we need a volunteer to do it. I don't even have a Mac to test with nor have I ever used one in my life, or plan to. But the source is freely available. If someone is familiar with Qt and would like to compile for Mac that would be a wonderful contribution to this project. If you look at the TCB To-Do list, this item is already on there.
1117
« on: February 22, 2017, 12:21:46 PM »
It is certainly possible to program such a thing if someone wants to develop that, but a gear change effect is not presently implemented on the TCB.
I have not tried the Elmod but in my own experimentation the effect usually came off as gimicky if not annoying in the sense that it robs control from the user. I did not want to implement something unless I could do it well. Gear changes in forward movement would seem to look best only if the user accelerates slowly and continuously from stopped to full speed in a straight line but when you are driving around randomly that is never actually the case, the speed is constantly changing especially in turns, and having the model jerk around for no reason gets to be old.
But as I say the project is open to anyone to add these sorts of features if they like. It's not a bad idea, it just needs to be done well and that is not simple.
1118
« on: February 20, 2017, 05:49:47 PM »
Yes, that would work just fine.
1119
« on: February 20, 2017, 03:12:08 PM »
I guess I had never thought of people using the R/C only versions of the Sabertooth controllers, so the documentation had never addressed them. I've update the Wiki to include a section on these. For those who may read this thread later, note that Dimension Engineering sells two types of Sabertooth controllers. The 2x5 R/C and 2x12 R/C can only be controlled by R/C signals, not via serial! Observe that those have "R/C" in the product name. The entire rest of the Sabertooth range including the full featured 2x5 and 2x12 ( without R/C in the product name) can be controlled in multiple ways including RC but also via Serial which is the best option. If you already own one of the limited R/C versions, it can still be used with the TCB. But if you are looking to buy a new Sabertooth, I highly recommend you get the full-featured version. If you want to use it later in a regular RC model you still can, but when combined with the TCB it can be controlled via serial. In the case of the 2x5 the price is even the exact same so there's absolutely no point in getting the R/C version.
1120
« on: February 20, 2017, 10:34:27 AM »
Tom, on closer inspection it appears you may have the Sabertooth 2x12 RC, not the regular Sabertooth 2x12. I recommend everyone buy the full version of the Sabertooth, no the RC versions - the full version will do RC, but also serial. The RC versions only accept RC control. But you can still use an RC version Sabertooth with the TCB. Set the Drive Motor Type to RC Output in OP Config, then plug in the servo cables into the TCB's RC outputs 1 & 2. The dipswitch settings will not be as shown in the Wiki. You will want to turn off all mixing, exponential, and ramping on the Sabertooth and let the TCB handle those instead.
1121
« on: February 20, 2017, 10:26:22 AM »
Tom, have you read through the Wiki? There are detailed instructions there. Here is the page on serial motor controllers, there are even photos showing how to connect. The Sabertooth connects to the TCB with a serial cable (included with the TCB). That's it, that's all you need to do. No splicing.
1122
« 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.
1123
« 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.
1124
« on: February 19, 2017, 01:17:51 PM »
Torben I agree with you a box is very important for good low frequency sound. If you design any 3D printed boxes for specific models, perhaps you will be willing to share the files with the community. More and more people are acquiring now 3D printers so they could print these in their own homes.
1125
« on: February 19, 2017, 12:58:47 PM »
I forgot about Q8 for the mechanical recoil/airsoft drive. A BC337 may work here as well, barely. The bigger problem is that the TCB uses an external interrupt pin (Port E6) that is not available on the stock Mega (I mean the pin is there but the Mega board does not bring it out to a header). So these will not work anyway, and there is not a good way to use a different pin for that function. But you can always use a servo recoil instead.
As you can see, there are definitely some limitations when using a stock Mega board over the TCB.
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