WCP Jeep-questions and simple build

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Thank you, Model Builder. I had guessed correctly! Now I just need to fiddle with the FlySky to set the limits.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Will,

Don't sweat the refund. The little 9g servos are inexpensive and the learning is priceless. Beside, I still have an 88 and a 251 coming and to pay for. That's why I am trying to learn as fast as I can (i.e. about the speed of my tortoises).

I know the threaded ball joint connection from the servo arm to the tie rod is quite far over to the right (passenger side here in the US ), even with the servo "centered." At this point, the steering is canted off to the side, so centering the new servo may have been an error. Yes, if you have close-up photos of yours, it might help me get the servo arm positioned just right.

I like the tiny hex head hardware. (I already had a set of hex head drivers for work on Taigen and HengLong tanks, so I could dive right in with them.) I would like to pick up a stock of various small sizes. What, exactly, is the correct term for them so I can search online?

I am having fun, even if it is one slow step at a time.

[jarndice]

NUTSPINNERS, I get mine from www.prime-miniatures.co.uk/

[Will01Capri]

Will,

Don't sweat the refund. The little 9g servos are inexpensive and the learning is priceless. Beside, I still have an 88 and a 251 coming and to pay for. That's why I am trying to learn as fast as I can (i.e. about the speed of my tortoises).

I know the threaded ball joint connection from the servo arm to the tie rod is quite far over to the right (passenger side here in the US ), even with the servo "centered." At this point, the steering is canted off to the side, so centering the new servo may have been an error. Yes, if you have close-up photos of yours, it might help me get the servo arm positioned just right.

I like the tiny hex head hardware. (I already had a set of hex head drivers for work on Taigen and HengLong tanks, so I could dive right in with them.) I would like to pick up a stock of various small sizes. What, exactly, is the correct term for them so I can search online?

I am having fun, even if it is one slow step at a time.

Red-Footed-Tortoise-Photos.jpg

We get you sorted out
Photos will send ASAP once I find where our model is. Space has got a bit crazy in our little house.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Thanks, Jarndice! I will go to the web site in the UK, even if only to find similar in the US. As to the term, "Nutspinners" , I ain't goin' there.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Woo Hoo: it is a minor success, but I take it gladly. I have the steering better centered by using the "subtrim" function available through the FlySky iA6 transmitter. I also set the "ends" so the ball-joint connector does not contact the frame, but comes oh-so-close.
I then tested the motors by clamping the tinned ends of the connectors together. In defiance of my adage, "Given 50 - 50 odds, I get it wrong 90% of the time," I had the connections right on the first try and the axles turned happily!

[Will01Capri]

Excellent. Great work. Enjoy

[Herr Dr. Professor]

I'm ba-a-ck! (I am slow because I am patient and juggling three projects.)

This little 4X4 now insists that it have working headlights and taillights. It's so demanding

I have a handful of LEDs that I have scavenged over the years from model railroad and other electronics that fail. Some are 3 volt, some 5 volt, most are unidentified. I also have extras of those flat, 3-pin connectors that fit into the receivers (what, exactly, is the term for these connectors? I have done a number of searchers here on RCTW, but am not sure I have found the correct term.)

Of course, I would be delighted to find some correct voltage LEDs already correctly attached to those flat connectors so I can just plug 'em in and see which switch, lever, button or dial on the FlySky turns them on and off. Am I assuming too much and/or asking too much?

[Model Builder 4]

Hello professor,

I'll try and answer your lighting question best I can Yes you can have working head and taillights on your Jeep but no you won't be able to turn them on and off at will with your current setup. To explain a little better, you can run the lights by plugging them into a spare channel on the receiver but you will need resistors to be placed somewhere along the cable between the receiver and led as otherwise it will give too much power to the led and burn it out so to speak. The reason why you can't turn them on/off using this method is that the receiver has 3 output pins, one for positive one for negative and one for signal, the led wires only has two of these ( positive and negative ) so therefore can't receive a signal telling it to perform the function that you are asking it to do
There are a couple of solutions to this problem though, firstly you can buy what I call a servo switch ( not sure of it's actual name ) it's a fairly small gizmo that has a lead at one end with the three cables that you require to plug into the three receiver pins and at the other side it has just two pins which you can plug the positive and negative cable's from your led into, it's a nifty little device that will then allow you to assign a switch etc on your radio to operate the on/off function for your lights. The only drawback being although this unit is quite small I fear that it may still be a problem for you to hide somewhere within your Jeep because of the cables an all and the limited amount of space that you have, I used this method but as I mentioned in an earlier post the majority of my cables etc are hidden within the accompanying trailer.
The second option you have is to use a dasmikro tbs unit which has the options of running sounds and lights, that would require soldering the led cable's to the unit itself though which is very small and not for the faint of heart Rad used this method on his VW kafer build but as we all know he is a genius when it comes to things like that
I hope this may be of some help to you professor and not confused it further perhaps someone else may know of an alternative idea but hopefully what I have tried to explain will give you something to work from

Cheers,Lee.

[Herr Dr. Professor]

Thank you, Lee. Your explanation is certainly clear to me. I expected the resistor to be necessary, as I have seen resistors in line to almost every LED I have encountered. And, indeed, I figured there would have to be some way to accomodate the third wire. (Thanks to you, I now know that it's called the "signal pin.")

I am aware of how useful it is to have the trailer behind the little 4X4. However, I may choose the KISS route this time, as--obviously--I am still learning, and a running and steering daytime 1/4 ton 4X4 might be an accomplishment for me (at least initially). In fact, I wish all the lights on tanks came with on/off switches, as it is so difficult for a tank crew to be stealthy when the lights are on if the engine is running. . What is more, I am somewhat interested in the challenge of fitting all the electronics into the vehicle itself, and I have some radio castings that I can use to hide electronics in the rear area if necessary, as well as give the vehicle a purpose. I might be able to find some suitable large scale (i.e. 1/16) headlight lenses through some model car supplier or make some lenses for the head and taillights, as these are familiar modeling matters to me.