My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

Well, some more news here.

I think I have already commented it somewhere, but here it goes again, I dont want to use LIPO batteries anymore. I had a couple puffing, and when driving the tanks me or my sons the tanks I am more worried about overdischarging (and exploding) the batteries than actualy enjoying it.

I experimented with Nimhs, but the self discharge rate is too high and it is not too reliable for me. I want to have the radio fully charged and to have it ready to use. No matter if I charged the batteries one day or three months before.

So I jumped into 18650 Li ion batteries, and I did 2 cell packs. When fully charged, those two batteries together give 8.4volts, and the radio needs only 5 volts, so it means it works. I got some chip protected 18650s batteries, so no overcharge or overdischarge is possible.

I cant be happier now. It is ugly, but after testing them for some time I can really say it works, and works very good.

It seems those 18650s are the future. Those are used in laptops, tesla cars, electric bikes, power banks and so on.
I will keep testing them, and if they work well, I will fit 4 of them in my tanks, giving me an oustanding 7.000 mah of battery. About 6 hours of use non stop.

Do I drive my tanks 6 hours non stop? YES, sometimes I do, lol.
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General Jumbo01
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by General Jumbo01 »

I too am using these cells to power my Torro WSN tanks, 3 cells give you around 11.4v nominal, the same sort of voltage as the 8 AA cells recommended and they fit into the small battery compartment. However, l doubt your mah figures are correct. If wired in parallel you will increase the mah but only get the normal voltage 3.7v, not enough. When wired in series (end to end) you gain voltage but do NOT increase mah. In addition, the claimed mah printed on many of these cells is much exaggerated - mine claim 4000mah but its more like 1800. I can understand your apparent confusion as my retailer, Banggood, claims that if you use two cells you double both voltage AND mah! Not very helpful or truthful.

Still worth a look though. I'd recommend reliable retailers who sell genuine branded examples.
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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

General Jumbo01 wrote:I too am using these cells to power my Torro WSN tanks, 3 cells give you around 11.4v nominal, the same sort of voltage as the 8 AA cells recommended and they fit into the small battery compartment. However, l doubt your mah figures are correct. If wired in parallel you will increase the mah but only get the normal voltage 3.7v, not enough. When wired in series (end to end) you gain voltage but do NOT increase mah. In addition, the claimed mah printed on many of these cells is much exaggerated - mine claim 4000mah but its more like 1800. I can understand your apparent confusion as my retailer, Banggood, claims that if you use two cells you double both voltage AND mah! Not very helpful or truthful.

Still worth a look though. I'd recommend reliable retailers who sell genuine branded examples.
Thanks for the usefull input but I have that under control, lol. Rule number one of aliexpress batteries, the ampers are usually exagerated. That why is so important to get official batteries from good brands like samsung, lg, panasonic and so on.

The ones I got, are 3.500. I charged and discharged them and I checked the mah, 3.400ish so it is pretty acurrate to the 3.500 they claim.

In the radio I have two batteries in series, so I double the voltage and I keep the +-3.500 mah (which is eternal for the radio, lol.)

In the tanks I am planning to wire 4 cells, 2 in series and 2 in paralel, and that will give me about 8.4v and 7.000 mah. Size would be like a 2S lipo, or 6s nimh.

But as I said, be sure to get original batteries!
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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

Not sure if somebody will find this interesting, but I programmed the radio to play the 24 user sounds from the elmod.

phpBB [video]


It says in german:
Ahead!
Stop!
Left!
Right!
Go back!
Fire!
There is no other option, attack! attack!
For the motherland!
Hold your fire!
Focus people, look from where the shoots are comming
Better you than us
-Radio chatter.
Horn
Waiting for orders!

And then several music pieces ranging from german marches to classic pieces, or conan the barbarian soundtrack.
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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

When I thought it was not possible to add anything else to my radio, I discovered I can add two potentiometers more!
So I ordered some, and they will be delivered in one week or so. I will have 4 potentiometers.

Do I need them?

YES! I do.
One controls the volume of the tank. Another controls the smoke machine, and the two new will rotate the cuppolas in my T54 tank.
The radio came with three pots, but years ago I had to replace one of them with a 6 pos switch (one of my best mods) but lacking one pot pissed me a bit. Now I will have it back and another extra. I am super happy!


I will upload pics when it is working :)
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by jarndice »

I remember the day my brand new Turnigy TGY9X was delivered,
I was thinking what on earth will I do with 3 yes THREE rotary controls :thumbup: :thumbup: ,
Up till then my best Transmitter was a Spectrum Dx6i which of course did not have any rotary controls and I had been fine with that,
I began to realise that there was more to R/C than I had previously been aware.
A decent programmable radio is the doorway to the world of sound and servos,
Now I read up on any newly released radio with a lot more interest than I ever did before the TGY9X came into my workshop.
It is obsolete now but I have learnt a lot from it and I shall keep hold of it for bit longer.
I think I am about to upset someone :haha:
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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

jarndice wrote:I remember the day my brand new Turnigy TGY9X was delivered,
I was thinking what on earth will I do with 3 yes THREE rotary controls :thumbup: :thumbup: ,
Up till then my best Transmitter was a Spectrum Dx6i which of course did not have any rotary controls and I had been fine with that,
I began to realise that there was more to R/C than I had previously been aware.
A decent programmable radio is the doorway to the world of sound and servos,
Now I read up on any newly released radio with a lot more interest than I ever did before the TGY9X came into my workshop.
It is obsolete now but I have learnt a lot from it and I shall keep hold of it for bit longer.
Funny thing you mention this. My first hobby radio was the 9x (Which I flashed with er9x (MUST mod)), and my first board was the RC5HL from rc tanks australia so I was able to control my 27mhz tank with a hobby grade transmitter. I had tons of switches which I was never, ever, going to use. I just needed one for switching the motor on, that was all. Then I started toying with it. One switch went to the main cannon. Another to the machine gun... Then I discovered I can switch two lights, so two switches more were needed....

Then I got an Ibu 2. I needed a pot for the volume, and another switch for the user sounds. After some programming all the IBU functions were trigged with switches with absolutelly no use of sticks at all, very satisfactory. A lot of the switches that I was never ever going to use were half occupied by that day.

Some time later the ASP2 appeared in the market, and after talking with Kevin I learnt that I needed to modify all my switches to have 3 position ones, because the radio just had not enough switches for so many functions! It was mind blowing but well worth it.

After the ASP, I understood I needed even more things, so I ended with I think it was about 50 positions in the switches and 4 pots! And now I am not sure if I might need more in the future. Thanks to God we have the logical switches so the combinations are virtually infinite. This is very advanced programming that I will explain at some point.

Anyway the 9x radio is indeed obsolete and I would not recommend it to anybody else. The amount of mods needed for making a radio like mine is just too expensive and time consuming, not counting unobtainable parts like the 9xtreme board and the 7 positions encoder that it just does not worth it.

Day by day there are more and better radios out there. That Jumper T16 with hall sensors gimbals looks just amazing, but even it has less switches than my radio. You all know that I defend the honour or programmable radios to death, and I really believe if people buys the futaba/tamiya radios is because of deep ignorance or misleading threads along the forums.

With the spectrum I can say more or less the same. Even when better than the futaba radios, they are very expensive for what they are and you are just paying the brand. Any radio working with opentx, er9x or erskxtx is miles ahead.

Just curious, if you were buying a radio today, which one would be?
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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

Well, as I already advised, I installed two extra sliders (side pots) So now I have 5. :D

At this point I think there are no radios with more functions-three pos switches-push buttons-pots than mine in the entire world, unless maybe something very technical and obscure. If somebody know something with more gadgets please let me know! I am always willing to discover new things, and I even might need that radio in the future!

Here is a pic of one of them.
Slider.jpg
Now there is only one last part to call this done, and it is a 7 positions rotary encoder. I am expecting to receive it within one month.
Please include me in your prayers, there will be a lot of risks of destroying the radio when fitting it.
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Rad_Schuhart
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Rad_Schuhart »

Today I wanted to show something I did some time ago and I did not show until now.

A phone holder! So now it is easier to make videos and take pics than before. I can also use it as a PFV Screen if I place a camera on the tank, or even modify the Elmod's parameters with bluetooth.

A very usefull mod!
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Re: My radio mods / Programming tips and ideas.

Post by Von Mooflesaaa »

I have that exact same set up on my tx as well. Except mine hold a mini screen which is synced to a fpv camera I installed. Very useful model indeed.

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