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basspro30
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I have a quick question on the R/C transmitter. What did you do for the left joystick to make it work for the forward and reverse for the left motor? I hooked up servos on each channel and got no response from left stick going forward and reverse. Wondering if you had same issue. I have a Fly Sky FS-CT6B from hobbypartz.com
johndavid400
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what channel do you have it connected to? I believe the left joystick on that system should output to channel 3 on your receiver (right joystick = channel 2).
basspro30
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That is correct. I took it apart at school and switched the spring for the forward and reverse and hooked up servo to it again and got a response. Not sure what i did wrong the first time. I did notice though that the servo only turns 1/4 way in each direction. Isnt it suppose to turn all the way around like a motor?
johndavid400
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cool, glad it is working. Well the servo motors max turn is only about 180 degrees or so if you give it a servo pulse between 600 and 2400 microseconds. The Lawnbot code only tries to send pulses between 1000 and 2000 microseconds, so it is likely to have a shorter range if used on a servo motor. On a sidenote, Servo motors are used for precision positioning, not usually for continuous rotation... though continuous rotation servos can be handy for small projects.
basspro30
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I am having issues with my Fly Sky FS-CT6B rc controller. I hooked it up to the trainer and noticed that the 2 switches are sharing Channel 3 that I need for left motor control. When I hit the switch it makes the wheel go in reverse. I took the controller apart and unsoldered 3 (red, blue, black) wires going to a pot labeled VR(A) and tried soldering 2 of them (black, red) to switch and it would short out controller. I then the blue wire with red and it didnt short out controller but it didnt show a full on off signal in trainer. Same result with black and blue wire. I am sure you had this problem with past remotes thats why you now use the Spektrum DX5e, which I am about to buy if I cant get this controller to work.

Here is the pic of the inside of controller. the 2 red wires were to the switch and the red,blue, black wires were to the pot. I had a idea of taking wires from a pot on another control stick and putting them on the control stick that is on channel 3. That way it will then be on another channel than 3 and the switches will then be on channel 3. But then that poses another problem. Both the switches are on channel 3 and I need them both on seperate channels.

johndavid400
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This remote is reprogrammable to be used with an airplane or helicopter. I think it comes programmed to fly a helicopter by default which incorporates channel mixing into the outputs... you have to upload different settings to the remote in order to use each channel separately. This is fairly easy to do, you just need the program that is used for the CT6B and the cable that came with it. Once you have the software downloaded, upload this file to your remote and it should work like you want.

here is the file to upload:

https://sites.google.com/site/arduinorobotics/home/chapter12_files/Arduino_Robotics_T6?attredirects=0&d=1

Let me know if you still have issues.

 

basspro30
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Thanks for getting back to me and letting me know about the file. Still not working the way I think it should. I could be wrong though. Here is what I am experiencing. Switch B works on channel 5 but it is partially off then goes fully on when switch is thrown. I can also adjust Switch B with VR(A) knob. Switch A doesnt do anything. I tried messing with some of the settings and at one point I got Switch B to go full on or full off. But still cant get switch A to work the same way.

basspro30
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I uploaded program to RC controller and did some adjusting and got the switches each set to channel 5 and 6. When I flip the switch it shows a bar go all the way up and hit the switch again and bar goes back to middle. But when I run serial monitor on arduino it shows a steady 1500. No change when hitting the switch. I up loaded your chapter 10 code /ckeditor_assets/attachments/40/lawnbot400_failsafe_accessories.ino?1366078126 I changed the bump bucket code to comments cause I dont have that feature on mine yet. Is there something I am missing?

johndavid400
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you must not have the correct channel plugged into the right pin on Arduino... can you get any channels to respond? if so, try switching them around until you see the switch respond on the serial monitor.

What channels do you have plugged into your Arduino and in what ports?

basspro30
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From reciever to arduino ports 2 and 4.  output to mosfet 6 and 8.

johndavid400
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what channels are you connecting to on the receiver... one or two of them do not output a signal.

If I am not mistaken, you should be using channel 4 or 5.

basspro30
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On the receiver I am using 5 and 6.

johndavid400
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I am not sure that channel 6 does anything no that receiver in airplane mode, but channel 5 should definitely be the toggle switch. Do you get any readings out of channel 5?

If not, then I am assuming you also cannot get any readings from any channel, which would imply that your Arduino code is not reading the signals at all... can you confirm this? I will write you some different code if this is the case.

basspro30
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Well I got a major problem....when I was hooking up relay fail safes I tested my set up using 15V dc power supply. The relays chattered really quick and the motor controler status lights flickered indicating a problem. Then everything settled and and got a green status light. Thought all was good made some changes to the way the arduino was hooked up and made the connections to lawn mower batteries. Nothing worked. Could not drive it. So I bypassed relay setup and hooked up directly from batteries to motor controller. Green status light but no voltage going to the motors. I had it working without arduino and just motor controller. So I guess I fried my $200 motor controller. Do you have any suggestions? I pulled the heat sink off and looked at the transistors that are surface mounted to board through a microscope and could not find any indication which transistor is burned up if they are burned up.

johndavid400
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So to help me understand fully, are you using the Sabertooth directly connected to the R/C and using the Arduino to control the relays only, or are you using Arduino to decode all R/C signals?

1. are you using the Sabertooth 2x60?

2. what type of power supply did you use... battery or wall-wart?

3. are you using R/C mode on sabertooth?

4. there was no reversed polarity when connecting? I assume not, but just asking.

5. I'm guessing you tried to connect it back to the R/C only setup and it sitll didn't work, is that right?

6. You say the green light is on when you test, but no voltage to motors? any smoke or smell coming form board? And to verify, the board does come back on when you give it power - are you trying this with batteries or a wall-wart supply?

I have thought I fried my sabertooth several times in the past, but never the case for me.... so hopefully not for you either. But I recall the manual saying something about not using a wall-wart to test motors with through the sabertooth as it will cause the power supply to fail and may cause problems with the sabertooth. But I am not sure if that would blow it up.

fwiw, I have heard that the guys over at Dimension Engineering are quite helpful, so if there is a problem, don't lose hope before contacting them about repair... as they might do it for free.

Before any further testing, I suggest adding a fuse inline with the positive voltage supply (10amp -30 amp for testing... 60-100amp once you verify that everything is working), if you don't already have one in place. This way if there is a problem, it will just blow the fuse.

 

basspro30
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1) I am using the Sabertooth 2x60 directly connected to the R/C and using the Arduino to control the relays only.

2) I used a power supply we made in school. On of the fancy ones with variable AC/DC. up to 15V DC.

3) the motor controller was driving my mower around in R/C mode until I tried hooking the fail safes up and something bad happened.

4) No smell or smoke coming from 2x60.

5) sent a email to dimension engineering waiting to hear back.

6) I did try to hook it up with out relays and it does not work. It is definately fried.

I had a heck of a time hooking up these fail safes and not even sure I did it right. Shame you dont live near by....lol.( I sent you a email with me contact info. Did you get that email by chance?)

johndavid400
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Did you get a chance to talk to Dimension Engineering about your sabertooth? if so, were they willing to help you?