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Messages - LukeZ
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691
« on: May 27, 2018, 03:15:02 PM »
The first controller you linked to (H-Bridge) has been mentioned before, I think on RCUniverse. It will not work because it doesn't accept RC inputs. It is an interesting piece of gear and operates very similarly to the Scout, Pololu, Sabertooth, etc... The only thing it lacks is a small processor to convert RC signals to the kind of signal the controller chips require. It wouldn't be hard for the Chinese to add this and then it would be perfect. You could get it to work with a small Arduino Nano in-between the TCB and the controller along with some code taken from the Scout project. But the wiring would be a mess and by the time you get all the little bits and bobs it would not save much money.
The second ESC you list will work just fine but you will need to buy 2 of them. That is the same as with any other ESC. The HobbyKing XCar 45 is probably of higher quality though.
The Sabertooth and Pololu controllers are the best options for performance and simplicity. Yes they cost a bit of money but RC tanks are expensive!
692
« on: May 26, 2018, 05:35:06 PM »
Thanks Jurgen. I've posted the Zip for download on the GitHub here. Navigate to that page then click the Download button.
693
« 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.
694
« on: May 19, 2018, 05:28:22 PM »
There is no standard LED voltage, they are all over the map. That is why you need to ask RCTA what the specs are, then you will know for sure. If they are getting hot that is definitely not good.
Yes, I believe the IR receiver will still work regardless of the LEDs. As I said before, you can confirm using Snoop.
I am not sure I would agree the 5th wire is redundant on the Tiger Ring. Does RCTA say that? Where do the LEDs get their positive voltage signal?
Again, we need more information from RCTA. Until then we're just making wild guesses and burning up electronics.
695
« on: May 19, 2018, 04:45:18 PM »
If you're looking at what's printed on the board as shown on the RCTA page (attached below), the "5V+" label is voltage to the IR receiver which is a different component than the indicator LEDs. Almost all IR receivers operate at 5 volts so that is what we would expect.
Most LEDs however do not operate at 5 volts, and there is nothing on the board that indicates what voltage those LEDs require. All I see is "L-" which would indicate the negative terminal for the LED connection (the unmarked fifth pin is presumably the positive terminal for the LEDs). So we know the LED polarity, but we don't know the LED voltage. The TCB provides 5 volts but almost certainly a limiting resistor is needed to bring the voltage down to probably something like 2-3 volts for those LED. The TCB doesn't include those resistors because it has no idea in advance what kind of LED you might use. If you use the Tamiya apple which most people would, the resistors are already built-in so there again having extra resistors on the TCB board would only make things worse.
Ask the RCTA guy to give you the specifications for those LEDs. He really should have included them with the product and posted them on his product page.
696
« on: May 19, 2018, 03:16:40 PM »
I just noticed on the RCTA Panther ring page there are photos of both the top and the bottom of the ring. I see no resistors anywhere on the board. Unfortunately he provides no specifications for the LEDs he uses, but if they are common types it's quite possible you may have burned them out. This could explain why they worked initially but then quit, an LED can handle over-current for a while but will eventually self-destruct. An email to RCTA is in order I think...
697
« on: May 19, 2018, 03:10:42 PM »
Hi Tom, it's not entirely clear from your description, but are you just having issues with the indicator lights on the Apple ring? In other words, IR sending and receiving work, but the notification LEDs don't? I have not tried the RCTanksAustralia ring with the TCB before, you are probably the first person. The Tamiya Apple comes with current-limiting resistors built-in, but from the description page at RCTA it's unclear whether the Tiger Ring does or not. The TCB provides 5 volts to the indicator LEDs with no current-limiting, so you definitely want to check with RCTA if any resistors need to be added. The pinout on the Tiger ring does seem to be the same as the Tamiya (which is the same as the TCB) so that's good, but it won't hurt to double check your connections. What could be of use to you in troubleshooting is to connect the TCB in your E90 to OP Config in Snoop mode and then fire at it from your other models. Snoop will tell you if you are receiving hits, regardless of whether your indicator LEDs are working or not. If Snoop shows no hits then make sure you have the right IR protocol selected or swap back to the Tamiya Apple and see if that fixes it. Is there anything on the config software that can force the indicator lights on just to test? Yes, you want to check the option "Blink all lights when Radio signal lost" on the Lights tab of OP Config. Then you can just turn your radio off and your apple lights will blink light crazy, so that's a good way to test they're working. I'm sure we can figure out the problem, and from your description it sounds like you had it working at one point, which is promising. We just need to narrow down exactly what is working and what is not, and under what exact conditions.
698
« on: May 18, 2018, 09:10:36 PM »
In addition to the OP Config program which I see you have running ok, you also need to install drivers for the device. Make sure you go through the instructions on this page. After the drivers have been installed it's always a good idea to reboot your computer. See if that helps.
699
« on: May 14, 2018, 11:43:38 AM »
Johnny most likely refers to building some prototype versions of the OP Sound Card himself. All the schematics and specifications are posted so anyone with the know-how can do this, though I do not recommend it unless you are experienced with assembling PCBs.
I also do not recommend it presently because the sound card hardware is still undergoing changes and the version posted now is not going to be the final version.
Money for production is definitely an issue but only when we get to the production stage. Right now the issue is my time to work on development. Many additional features have been requested and it needs a lot of work but my free time is limited, often what free time I do have is spent maintaining the TCB firmware. So I really can't predict when or if the OP sound card is going to become a viable option for the masses.
Although we've made a lot of progress, the OP project is still in its early stages. People who aren't very experienced with tanks and model electronics, and those looking for plug-and-play solutions, really will do best to look to other products. Also not every model needs the capabilities of the TCB, in which case the complexity just becomes a drawback. I have seen a few cases where someone bought the TCB and became frustrated, and I think they would have been better off installing something like Taigen's new electronics which if you don't need IR battle are nearly just as good with a lot less hassle.
700
« on: May 11, 2018, 11:46:11 AM »
Did you order the programming cable for the Mini at the same time? If you have the programming cable then it doesn't matter how the Mini is originally configured, you can change the configuration to anything you like including to work with the Open Panzer TCB. The programming cable is also necessary if you ever plan to change the sounds.
If you are having Thomas do all the configuration for you then it will be more expensive and there will be room for miscommunication, etc... I do not recommend anyone take this approach. When you buy the Mini, buy the cable too then set it up as shown in the Wiki and you will be fine.
701
« on: May 04, 2018, 06:04:17 PM »
Wow, looking very good, driving is smooth and the sound is synchronized very well. Are your printed gearboxes the same ones discussed here on RCU? I have been skeptical of brushless motors in tanks but yours seem to be geared appropriately. If the gearbox can be worked out I can see the brushless motors may offer more torque in a comparable amount of space than brushed. Please keep us posted on your gimbal experiments. It would be great to find some off-the-shelf components to utilize for this purpose.
702
« on: May 04, 2018, 05:47:38 PM »
Thanks for doing that Johnny! It's been great having your involvement here, you've identified several bugs and have helped make the TCB better, and this kind of sharing is just the thing we hope to encourage. I appreciate it very much.
703
« on: May 02, 2018, 09:53:27 PM »
Looks great! And congrats on being the first person to my knowledge to use the TCB in a halftrack. I'm still hoping someday to see someone use it in a boat.
704
« on: May 01, 2018, 10:42:05 PM »
Ok, I've added another special menu specifically for the steering servo. Enter the menu on the TCB by setting dipswitch 3 ON and 4 OFF then holding the INPUT button for 2 seconds. Then end-point adjustment is the same as for the other servo setups. This will restrict the movement of the servo but will have no effect on the turning percentage for the treads in halftrack mode. You can also reverse the servo direction in this menu without reversing your radio channel, if that is necessary for coordinating the steering servo with the treads.
You will have to update both TCB and OP Config software. Unfortunately this is yet another one of those times when the changes require an erase of all your saved settings, so save an OPZ file in your existing OP Config first, then update the firmware, re-import this OPZ and write it to the TCB.
705
« on: May 01, 2018, 02:48:58 PM »
Presently there is no way to set custom end-points for the steering servo (apart from doing it in your transmitter, which as you point out has unintended consequences in the case of halftracks). This was an oversight on my part.
The steering servo is not the same thing as the barrel elevation servo, they are unique objects in code. It's true the steering servo is routed to output 4 in some cases but it doesn't have to be (it will be output 2 if you have a car or halftrack with single rear wheel drive). Setting the end points on the barrel elevation servo is not the same as setting them for the steering servo.
I will work on adding a servo-setup menu for the steering servo to give the user the ability to set custom end-points on the servo object specifically.
In the meantime, the best thing you can do is what RCers have been doing for decades - move the steering pushrod closer to the center of the servo control horn, and farther out on the steering control horn. I will recommended this no matter what firmware changes I make. Full steering movement with only 35% stick movement is a little silly. Even when I create a way for you to adjust the end points to compensate, doing so will come at the sacrifice of resolution (ie, fine control). Setting up the mechanical control to utilize as much of the servo travel as possible is the first priority, afterwards we use end points and other gimmicks only to fine-tune.
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