Some general tips please

[Guest]

Hi,

Is there anyone who could possibly give me a list of everything id need to run a robot, just the motors by remote control. I.e. speed controllers, batteries, motors etc. Ill be running two motors, one per side and i need them run kinda independently forward and reverse on both sides.

Thanks in advance to any help.

[blazerbotics]

Some general tips please

HI mark,

What you need depends on design and money available.

Basically you need;

2x Motors
2x Speedcontrollers
1x Interface (you can get all in one units, but can be expensive).
Batteries (type and size will depend on motors, cost and voltage)
1x Receiver
1x Transmitter
Wiring + Link

Try;

http://www.technobots.co.ukwww.technobots.co.uk

and have a look around other teams sites for ideas and see how they did it.

[Guest]

Some general tips please

Thanks alan

Well the budget is very low and i was wondering what sort of motors would be ideal for less than £100 and would u know of any cheap transmitters that have both joysticks as up and down not the one up and down and one left right.

[blazerbotics]

Some general tips please

Probably best with wheelchair motors, as you can get them cheap/free and they already have a gearbox. But you might have to speed them up. A Skysport 4 is probably the best RC setup to go for, cost about £100 new, with TX, RX, NiCad batteries, servos ect. Might be able to get a 2nd hand set.

[Guest]

Some general tips please

Ok thanks. what kind of interface would you recommend. Would the 4QD analogue relay be any good because it has an option for tank steering?
Is there no transmitters cheaper with a similar setup? its just were running on a tight budget

[ewan]

Some general tips please

If you decide to use wheelchair motors, it may be worth looking at some of the bigger featherweight speed controllers, which may be able to handle the current. These come as almost plug in and play boards all ready to run. (see http://www.stupoo2000.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/featherweights/ibc.htmhttp://www.stupoo2000.pwp.blueyonder...eights/ibc.htm)

You can get some heavyweight sized speed controllers like this but then you are looking at serious amounts of money.

Also, 100 pounds is the least youll be able to get a 4 channel transmitter kit (with Rx) new. Try Ebay though.

[Guest]

Some general tips please

Daft question. do i need the servos with the transmitter?

[ewan]

Some general tips please

Depends if you are going to use the servo-coupling versions of the 4QD controllers, but its most likely you wont need em

[blazerbotics]

Some general tips please

but an IBC is £180 and you will be pushing your luck running wheelchair motors with them. Might as well buy a second hand 4QD setup for about £100, at least these can take the current and have the option to use them in a heavyweight if you decide to go up a stage. I personally wouldnt use the analogue interfaces, much better to use a solid state system, even the cheap 4qd RX interfaces.

[Guest]

Some general tips please

what kind of amp rating would my speed controller need to be if running wheelchair motors? Just a quick check what is the weight ranges for featherweight and middleweight robots?

[blazerbotics]

Some general tips please

feathers are 12kilo middles are 50kg. You would probably want a controller with at least 40amps, with some form of current limiting.

[team_ireland]

Some general tips please

I would recomend some External Relay Modified Electronises, They can take more than an IBC and they will cost you around 80pounds for the pair.

[ewan]

Some general tips please

Electronizes more than IBC??? The external relay mod only allows for about 40A I wouldve thought. But yeah, as Alan says, second hand 4QDs may be a cheaper option. Also you might be able to buy the interface with the 4QDs if someones got a whole driving set-up going.

[julian]

Some general tips please

The one everyone missed for those on a budget is to get the original wheelchair speedos and work them with servos. Its a bit rough and ready but the setup would be rock solid. The only thing you miss is running at 36v rather than 24v.

If you went mad and had the weight to play with, you could use a pair of CIM motors at 24v. There would be no shortage of power then. Thats what I use but Im at 36v with Robots R Us controllers.

[typhoon_driver]

Some general tips please

in the original typhoon thats what we did julian, it worked fine and provided a good drive system, we took the gearboxes off and used bike chain and sprockets with 12cm wheels