Intro to the Open Panzer Project - and a new Control Board

[Mat]

pre-building card what do you mean? they cost a lot I wanted to build it myself… but I can't find the files anywhere.. do you have the card in case? and how much would it cost? the pre-building? Thanks

[Son of a gun-ner]

Luke is the the original designer of the main board and as I said above, he doesn't post on this forum that often.

Another thing about Luke. He will not answer questions about the board off of the forum. He prefers to do it public to keep a record for others to see.

Oh, and I quite often notice Luke browsing the forum. Therefore he is about.

[jhamm]

The Files:
https://openpanzer.org/forum/index.php?page=download

[Mat]

I hope you will answer, because I would like to create it myself also because it would definitely cost less

[LukeZ]

Hi Mat,

I am not familiar with EasyEDA and I don't have an account with them to test anything. However Google tells me the issue might be because the posted Gerbers from 2016 were from an older version of Eagle, and those might not import into EasyEDA. I have posted a new version of the Eagle Gerbers generated from Eagle v9 and you can try those and see if you get a different result. You can download them from the Downloads page that JHamm linked above. The file you are looking for is "Eagle Board and Schematic (zip)" under the heading of TCB Mk1 Hardware.

That being said, I don't know why you'd need to open them in EasyEDA. As far as I can tell, that is simply a board development tool, but you don't need to change the board. If you want to order PCBs you can use the links provided on the same Downloads page to order them from OSH Park or SEEED Studios. I believe the OSH Park Gerbers will also work at JLPCB and possibly other fab houses as well.

Finally - if your motivation to build a board is to save money, I can assure you from experience that you will be saving no money at all as opposed to just buying the board from Torro, even at their current price. The assembly process is also by no means trivial, you will need the means and ability to reflow, and then further equipment in order to get the bootloader onto the empty processor, etc... You will spend a very great amount of time at this task and even I who have done it many times was never certain to get a functional board after all that effort, there are many things that can (and will) go wrong along the way.

Torro has had their boards assembled in Germany, which is reflected in the cost, but then again, things made in a German factory are guaranteed to be of the highest quality! I would seriously recomend just buying from them.

Here is the link to Torro: https://www.torro-shop.de/OPEN-PANZER-Tank-Control-Board_1

Luke

[Art Hogus]

Hi Luke,
I'm wondering if you could help me understand how DasMicro communicates with the OP board.
I uploaded the standard OP config to DasMicro, and it seems to be working as I want, but I don't understand how I can assign Prop 2 & 3 outputs.
and Prop3 to
When I'm reading Prop settings on the Mini, Prop 2 is linked to the Aux1 channel, and Prop 3 to the Stik channels 1 & 2 (turret rotation and gun elevation).
Is this setup fixed, or is there a way to change it?

[Art Hogus]

Also, I assigned canon fire to Aux 5 (momentary switch) via the Functions tab, and it's working with DasMicro, but I don't understand how.
In the Mini Parameters tab, Prop 2 is assigned to 2d encoder functions 1/2 (engine start/repairs (sound9)), Prop3 to 1st Coder 12-Key - turret rotation (sound 1)/gun elevation (sound 2).
Sound 3 (canon fire) to sound function RC1 Gun recoil, but I'm not sure what it means.
Can it be modified/adjusted as well, if I want to add machine guns, for example?

[LukeZ]

Hi Luke,
I'm wondering if you could help me understand how DasMicro communicates with the OP board.
I uploaded the standard OP config to DasMicro, and it seems to be working as I want, but I don't understand how I can assign Prop 2 & 3 outputs.
and Prop3 to
When I'm reading Prop settings on the Mini, Prop 2 is linked to the Aux1 channel, and Prop 3 to the Stik channels 1 & 2 (turret rotation and gun elevation).
Is this setup fixed, or is there a way to change it?

Hi Art, I'm not sure I understand the question exactly. But the Mini has three "Prop" inputs (proportional inputs). These are connected to the three Prop outputs on the TCB. The TCB doesn't give you direct control over those outputs - Prop 2 is not linked to an Aux channel, nor is Prop 3 linked to the sticks. You do not control the Prop outputs directly, the TCB controls them.

On the Mini, Prop 1 is the signal that plays the engine sound. Prop 2 plays two additional sounds, which we've assigned to engine start and repair. Prop 3 can play 16 sounds (or in our case 14, and the other 2 slots are reserved for volume up/down).

The TCB handles the sending of those prop signals to the Mini when those events are needed. It sends the engine speed signal to Prop 1 automatically whenever the engine is running. When you start the engine, it sends the appropriate signal through Prop 2 to play the engine start sound, likewise if you receive a "repair" hit. The appropriate commands on Prop 3 are sent when those events happen. When you fire the cannon on the TCB, the TCB then performs all the actions related to cannon fire, which are numerous: flash, barrel recoil, tank recoil, IR, etc... but also in that list is the necessity of sending a special signal out Prop 3 to the TBS Mini so that the Mini will play the cannon fire sound, which the TCB takes care of for you.

In this way the TCB controls the Mini, you are not controlling it directly from your radio. Your Aux 5 switch doesn't do anything to the Mini, it just tells the TCB to "fire the cannon." The TCB then knows what to do for that event, and will send any signals required to the Mini.

If you want a second machine gun, just add that sound to slot 11 in TBS flash as it shows in the Wiki, then assign some trigger to the 2nd Machine Gun function in OP Config, and the TCB will take care of linking them. If you want a 3rd machine gun, you'll have to use some of the User Sounds and setting up functions in OP Config to play and stop those. For the light for a 3rd machine gun you'd have to use the Aux output or one of the General Purpose I/O outputs, if any of those aren't already being used for other things. There is no built-in function for a 3rd machine gun, so you'll have to assign multiple functions to a single trigger to handle the light and sound.

I hope that helps, but if you still have a question maybe you can rephrase it or describe exactly what you're trying to accomplish.

[Art Hogus]

Thanks a lot, Luke, for your help. It is much clearer for me now.

Hi Art, I'm not sure I understand the question exactly. But the Mini has three "Prop" inputs (proportional inputs). These are connected to the three Prop outputs on the TCB. The TCB doesn't give you direct control over those outputs - Prop 2 is not linked to an Aux channel, nor is Prop 3 linked to the sticks. You do not control the Prop outputs directly, the TCB controls them.

Sorry, I wasn't sure what 'Prop' stands for. For some reason, I thought it was direct output.

Prop 2 plays two additional sounds, which we've assigned to engine start and repair. it sends the appropriate signal through Prop 2 to play the engine start sound, likewise if you receive a "repair" hit.

Regarding the engine start sound, I assigned 'Engine -Toggle On/Off' to a 2-position switch as you recommended. So for now, it plays only the engine start sound, and I can't switch between engine start and repair sounds manually.
I'm not quite sure how '2d function 1/2' works on the Mini.
Do I need to use a 3-position switch to assign repair sound to Pos 3 (of 3)? Can it be played automatically after some event like 'Canon hit"? Can both Canon hit and repair sounds be played automatically as the sequence?

Prop 3 can play 16 sounds (or in our case 14, and the other 2 slots are reserved for volume up/down).
The TCB handles the sending of those prop signals to the Mini when those events are needed.The appropriate commands on Prop 3 are sent when those events happen. When you fire the cannon on the TCB, the TCB then performs all the actions related to cannon fire, which are numerous: flash, barrel recoil, tank recoil, IR, etc... but also in that list is the necessity of sending a special signal out Prop 3 to the TBS Mini so that the Mini will play the cannon fire sound, which the TCB takes care of for you....

The TCB then knows what to do for that event, and will send any signals required to the Mini...

If you want a second machine gun, just add that sound to slot 11 in TBS flash as it shows in the Wiki, then assign some trigger to the 2nd Machine Gun function in OP Config, and the TCB will take care of linking them. If you want a 3rd machine gun, you'll have to use some of the User Sounds and set up functions in OP Config to play and stop those.

Thanks a lot again! I wasn't quite sure what the '1st coder 12-Key' means and how it works. Basically, any function/event associated with relative sound will be played once triggered. Is it right?

For the light for a 3rd machine gun you'd have to use the Aux output or one of the General Purpose I/O outputs, if any of those aren't already being used for other things. There is no built-in function for a 3rd machine gun, so you'll have to assign multiple functions to a single trigger to handle the light and sound.

Regarding AUX output, I'm using a separate heat and fan smoker, so the air pump is connected to AUX.
I'm using the General Purpose I/O B port for the standard LED as a cannon flashlight. I'm planning to use I/O port A for the barrel smoker (as per OP wiki)
So, what would be the best way to set up a second machine gun light? Should I use Mini for it?

And there is a bit irrelevant question regarding OP sound card. Is it compatible with PJRC Teensy 4.0, and if not, are you planning to make it compatible? I would rather use OP sound card than the Mini.

[LukeZ]

Regarding the engine start sound, I assigned 'Engine -Toggle On/Off' to a 2-position switch as you recommended. So for now, it plays only the engine start sound, and I can't switch between engine start and repair sounds manually.
I'm not quite sure how '2d function 1/2' works on the Mini.
Do I need to use a 3-position switch to assign repair sound to Pos 3 (of 3)? Can it be played automatically after some event like 'Canon hit"? Can both Canon hit and repair sounds be played automatically as the sequence?

You don't need to assign anything to the repair sound, you only need to load the repair sound into TBS Flash and make sure whatever sound number it is, shows up in the 2d coder column as shown in the Wiki. The TCB will tell the Mini to play the repair sound, whenever it detects that you have received a repair IR signal. So it is not you that trigger the repair sound from your transmitter, it is the fact that the TCB has detected a repair IR signal. Likewise the cannon hit sound will be played automatically when you are "hit" with an IR battle signal - this is not something you control from your transmitter, nor do you need to assign any functions to it in OP Config.

Basically, don't concern yourself with trying to trigger the sounds on the Mini. Load the sounds into the Mini, yes; arrange them in TBS Flash as shown in the Wiki, yes. But let the TCB take care of telling the Mini when to play them. If your battle opponent shoots you with his IR transmitter, the TCB will tell the Mini to play the cannon hit sound. If someone sends you the repair IR signal, the TCB will tell the Mini to play the repair sound. If you tell the TCB to start the engine, the TCB will tell the Mini to play the engine start sound. You are not controlling the Mini, you just need to control the TCB. If the sounds are in the right places on the Mini, the TCB will take care of playing them when needed, you don't have to do anything extra for that.

Thanks a lot again! I wasn't quite sure what the '1st coder 12-Key' means and how it works. Basically, any function/event associated with relative sound will be played once triggered. Is it right?

Yes. I believe Thomas called this "12-Key" because in older versions it only supported 12 positions (sounds), but later was expanded to 16. If you were using a Mini with your radio, you were supposed to install a 12/16 position switch on your transmitter, then turn the knob to whatever position you wanted to play the sound in the slot. Not only does that require modifying your transmitter, a 12/16 position switch is pretty impractical to use manually. But the TCB can easily create a 16 position switch in software, and knows to send the correct position to the Mini when a given event occurs.

Regarding AUX output, I'm using a separate heat and fan smoker, so the air pump is connected to AUX.
I'm using the General Purpose I/O B port for the standard LED as a cannon flashlight. I'm planning to use I/O port A for the barrel smoker (as per OP wiki)
So, what would be the best way to set up a second machine gun light? Should I use Mini for it?

If you are only trying to set up a 2nd machine gun (not a third as I had assumed), then it is very easy since the TCB supports 2 distinct machine guns already. The light output for the 2nd Machine Gun is labelled L2 on the TCB board, just plug your light into that. Use the "2nd Machine Gun - Fire" and " - Stop" functions in OP Config to assign it to whatever switch you want. Place your second machine gun sound in the correct slot in TBS Flash (1st coder slot 11, also called User Sound 3). That's all you have to do. This is all in the Wiki!

And there is a bit irrelevant question regarding OP sound card. Is it compatible with PJRC Teensy 4.0, and if not, are you planning to make it compatible? I would rather use OP sound card than the Mini.

Unfortunately the later versions of the Teensy do not have the sound capabilities that the 3.2 did, or else I would have been happy to port the firmware over to the new Teensy designs. So for all intents and purposes, the OP Sound Card is now a dead project, except for those who still have a Teensy 3.2 left over from the old days. It's a sad outcome, and for more projects than just this one. PJRC invested a lot of time and energy into the audio capabilities of their Teensy 3.x hardware, and countless other developers made some great applications using it, but the chips on those boards were one of the casualties of the Covid debacle, and the supplier did not choose to or was unable to resurrect them afterwards.