Virtual gears in RC tanks.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Hi everyone. Im sure most of you have read me talking about the wonders of having a programable radio and not wasting a penny in things like the futaba attack or things like that with very few channels, even less switches (if any) and with no screen.

I cant stop surprising me about a radio with a nice sofware how important and funny for the hobby is. So far I have seen and tried myself a lot of things like having inertia in the tanks (I mean, it takes more time to achieve full speed and more meters to full brake) programming realistic recoils (fast movement rearwards and slow back to original position) or even programming the radio to have a realistic turret Tiger 1 movement. (that means the turret will move faster when the main engine is full throtte, slower when driving at lower speeds, and slower when the main motor is off. (Thanks Kevin at RC tanks australia for the tutorial)

Sometime ago I had a raw idea of using the throttle stick just for going forwards instead of how it works as stock. Smaily at the open panzer forum had the clever idea of using a three positions switch to select the gear... And I thought about that and I had the idea of adding speeds to the gears. Due to my radio programming skills are only at rookie level, I asked the clever guys at the openrcforums (I cant thank you enough for all the help and knowledge provided in the last years), and they knew how to do it and helped me.

So, how does it work? Well, imagine an automatic car, with P (Parking) N (Neutral) D (Drive) and R (Reverse) P and N will be the same in the RC vehicle, so lets call it STOP.
WIth some mixings on the radio, with a three position switch in STOP, the tank wont move forwards or backwards no mater how hard you move the thottle. With that 3 position switch in Drive position, the tank will be able to drive only forwards, and with the switch in Reverse, will drive only in reverse.

But thats not all!. Now we have the speeds. When in drive you can select three speeds, and only one in reverse. It has sense to be allowed to drive slower backwards than frontwards, doesnt it?)

About how to change speeds? Well, in my case I am going to install some push buttons (momentary switches) at the back of my radio and i will be pushing them like the gears in the steering wheel of an automatic car, but you can use any switch from your radio.

The good think of this, is it can be done in any rc vehicle. For testing I am using old tamiya king tiger electronics, but it works exactly the same in any rc vehicle.

Here a small video of the first test, with my baby criying at the background and the other two messing too, lol.

phpBB [video]

If somebody wants it, I will attach the file to the forum once is fully working.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Also I must say I am enjoying the new controls A LOT. I really would LOVE to have somewhere to battle like the guys at the US with Danvile or the many tank meetings there in the UK, but I really dislike the way of the people batling. I mean, in most of the videos you can see king tigers jackrabitting front and backwards... To my eye it makes the battles too toylike and unrealistic... Whis this gear system the battle IMHO would be way more realistic.

[Rad_Schuhart]

I installed 4 push switches at the back of the radio, and the idea is to use the top righ hand to change one speed up, and top left hand one speed less

The other two I still dont know, maybe to trigger the second and third machine gun, or to make the transmission system a bit more complicated adding a virtual clutch to it... We will see...

[43rdRecceReg]

What I enjoy, Rad, is your absolute commitment to the hobby If anybody here can come up with a tank that plays ones favourite music (or even matching tunes on command, with VOICE activated software; massage ones aching feet after a hard day at work (with its tracks, of course ); or answer the 'phone and door; or maybe provide the daily weather forecast: it will be you!. I could do with one, by the way, that would help me with the Times Jumbo Crossword on Saturdays (cryptic, of course!). Any chance of going through those cognitive gears?
Your enthusiasm is infectious. Don't change

[Rad_Schuhart]

What I enjoy, Rad, is your absolute commitment to the hobby If anybody here can come up with a tank that plays ones favourite music (or even matching tunes on command, with VOICE activated software; massage ones aching feet after a hard day at work (with its tracks, of course ); or answer the 'phone and door; or maybe provide the daily weather forecast: it will be you!. I could do with one, by the way, that would help me with the Times Jumbo Crossword on Saturdays (cryptic, of course!). Any chance of going through those cognitive gears?
Your enthusiasm is infectious. Don't change

Thanks for your kind words, mate I think most people here is not interested in the crazy gadjets and functions I install in the tank... In most of my threads I am almost the only one who writes... But I keep posting just because somebody might be interested on it.

I started in the hobby with a heng long RX18 with chystals... One day my son broke the antenna, and I was going to buy another but thanks to a crazy guy like me in a spanish forum, I discovered the amazing world of programmable radios. If it wasnt for him, I might be sticked with heng long stuff... So I cant thank him enough for posting what he discovered and shared with us. And thats what makes me to post my experiments. It might change somebody´s life.

Also I must say I did not reinvent the wheel, and a big part of what I post has been gathered through hundreds of different threads in all types of forums around the world. And when I have an idea that I cannot do myself or find in internet, I ask for help. So most of the merit is not mine.

But yeah, definitelly I like experimenting with all kinds of gadjets, crazy radio mixes and so on, and I think there is just never enough functions for a tank. What can I do? Lol


Regarding this virtual gears setup, yup, dont worry, I am going to upload here or in the downloads section my radio file, so everybody could put that file in their programmable radios and play with it. I just have to polish the speeds a little bit and done.

[wibblywobbly]

The ingenuity of some people never ceases to amaze me.

When you say 'programmable tx' do you mean the later ones with the clip in modules etc, or a standard one with an lcd screen. Eg I assume that the programming file is tx specific?

Excellent project,

[Rad_Schuhart]

The ingenuity of some people never ceases to amaze me.

When you say 'programmable tx' do you mean the later ones with the clip in modules etc, or a standard one with an lcd screen. Eg I assume that the programming file is tx specific?

Excellent project,

Well, when I say a programmable radio I mean something with a screen, and a software that lets you do whatever you want. Of course there are radios with a screen but due to a poor software is just not possible to do anything with it. There are even radios with hi-res color screens but again, without the propper software you can not go too far.

Example of a nice radio with LCD with poor software: The Turnigy 9x / Flysky TH9xb. But the good point here is you can flash a very powerfull sofware here and do many mods. Ill try to open a thread soon.

Example of a radio with LCD and good stock sofware: Turnigy 9xr pro. You can buy it at hobbyking from 25 to 60 euros. Excelent radio wich only has one problem... It is ugly.

If the Turnigy 9xr pro is too ugly for your eye and you have a bit more cash, you can buy a Frsky Q X7.

If you are more on the wealthy side, a Frsky Taranis. (But it wont have more functions than a easily modded turnigy 9sr pro)

I am using ersky 9x sofware, wich is an amazing software that updates every 3-4 days (Thanks open rc guys for your hard work!) The Frsky stuff uses open TX software, which is similar in a 98% to the ersky sofware.

The file that I am going to upload, as far as I know, is only compatible with a modded 9x, and with a 9xr pro. It might be compatible with the frsky radios mentioned above, but I can not test it because I dont have those radios.

But the thing is, really, the ersky/opentx sofware is really a piece of art, it lets you do more things that some radios that worth hundreds of euros cant just dream of.

[wibblywobbly]

Many thanks for the detailed explanation. If I can find a tx that is programmable and that works with my current Flysky rx's, I might make the switch at some point.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Many thanks for the detailed explanation. If I can find a tx that is programmable and that works with my current Flysky rx's, I might make the switch at some point.

There is where the world of multiprotocol modules starts... In the radio I am using in the video, I am using a multiprotocol module which allowes me to use:

All flyky, turnigy, FRSKY, spectrum, futaba, and about 200 brands more receivers. So that means my radio is compatible with almost everything outhere. From hobby grade to a lot of chinesse toys.

I paid about 25 bucks for that module. Free shipping.

Dont worry, I will create at thread explaining everything. I hope to have some time tonight.

[Rad_Schuhart]

Hi everyone, I uploaded a new video of the final setup. Sorry if it is a bit confusing, and sorry about my dirty nails, but that is just some kubelwagen dunkelgelb and dunkelgrún paint, lol.

For triggering the speeds I am pressing some push buttons at the back of my radio. I will try to do a video of my King Tiger running with this setup. I am uploading in this post the model setup too so everybody can download it and use it in their programmable radios.

phpBB [video]

EDIT: Ok, I cannot upload .bin files. and .rar files neither. Can the admin of the web allow us to upload .rar files? using winzip is a pain...

Also my radio file is configured for using the push switches at the back, but it is very easy to change to wathever switch you want. If you dont know how to do it, I will guide you.