Electronize speedo

hi all

i am having some trouble working out which speedo it is that i should buy from Technobots. i need 2 FR15HX but i am unable to figure out the one it is. could some shed some light on the problem?

thanks alex

i have 2 in stock right now if you want them.
email me for price

oops, should have said...

i have 2 of the 30hx in stock right now if you want them, there is no 15hx, you have the hvr and tvr 15s, which are based on the 30hx design, but with smaller current..
email me for price

Alex, you need 1 of each of the following

RC speed control Microprocessor 15A 1500-014

RC speed control Microprocessor 15A Vreg 1500-015

The second one includes a Battery Eliminator so you dont need a reciever battery.

Just a quick qeustion , is it possible to modify the 30amp electronize in a way for the 40amp relays ? eg can i remove the relays already there and then just add external relays

Yes you can. From Technobots: http://www.technobots.co.uk/Technical/Guidance/Electronize%20Speed%20Controller%20External%20Rela y%20Modification.htmhttp://www.technobots.co.uk/Technica...%20Controller% 20External%20Relay%20Modification.htm

I just went to install external relays on my Electronize. I dont get any potential voltage from pink to yellow. The relay is still turning on from pink to green.

The relays I used have a diode in them. Could this have damaged the speedo?

I have killed two and have two more. I cant afford to make another mistake or I will have to wait months more while I post the speedos away for another repair.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Hi Phil,
I have no experience of the Electronize ... but I have plenty in Fizz Pop ....F**!!

I suspect that you could well have popped the controller IF youve got the relay coil diode oriented wrongly.... essentially a deadshort.
Have you tried again with the diodes removed?
You could also try re-instating the internal relays......just to check that the speedo is dead.

Fingers crossed that theyre ok.

Remove the diodes from the relays before trying the next pair of Electronizes.

Thanks for responding, Woody.

I pulled wires off the relay and tested the pink/yellow circuit for potential voltage. There was none. I cracked open the relays and could not see the diode. There is a circuit diagram that says there is a diode.

I dont have the internal relays as I had them modified by Electronize.

I have thought of having a go at randomly replacing components back from the yellow wire in the hope that I can get it back to life.

I should have stuck with the internal relays.

Hmmmmmm... I cant understand how its been possible to damage the controller .......other than a really big hit of back emf from the relay coil....... did it click at all before dying?

Can you give a spec link to the external relays your using?

Can you also give ALL the information on what you did when wiring in the external relays.........I.E. Did you also have the motor attached ....and the pin numbers that you used in your assembly ....perhaps a pic ,drawing or sketch.
Oh ....and did you attach the new external wires?

Sorry to be a pest ....but its the only way I can see to help and try to diagnose the prob.



(Message edited by woody on January 28, 2007)

(Message edited by woody on January 28, 2007)

This is a real long shot.
Theres a remote possibilty that the pink isnt the common wire .....have you tried testing for potential using using the green as the common?

Thanks again for your help.

The relays are Narva 68048 http://www.narva.com.au/Switches_Relays_1.htmlhttp://www.narva.com.au/Switches_Relays_1.html

The relay did not click at all before the pink/yellow circuit on the controller stopped working.

I followed the instructions given by David Mainprize to wire the external relays. Here is a picture of the wiring http://robowars.org/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1386http://robowars.org/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1386 Here is a picture of the circuit diagram for the relay http://robowars.org/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1387http://robowars.org/forum/album_pic.php?pic_id=1387

I wired the relays onto the wires that Electronize had supplied. They were installed onto the circuit board. I plugged the controller to my receiver and powered up the receiver. I attached an 18 v battery to the inputs of the Electronize. I had my multimeter on the outputs of the relays, pin 30. I found that I had voltage when I moved the lever on my transmitter in one direction, but there was no voltage when I moved the stick in the other direction.

I tried reversing the polarity on 85 and 86 of both relays. I then tested the voltage across pink/green and pink/yellow and found that pink yellow was not working.

I tested another speedo without attaching the external relays. There was variable voltage coming from the heavy blue/yellow wires and there was potential voltage on pink/green and pink/yellow. I attached the external relays to this speedo and got the same result. That is, the pink/yellow circuit stopped working.

Before the modification, pink was definitely the common wire.

The Electronize were working fine for me for the last three or so years before this.

Do your relays have pictures of diodes on the body?
If they have then you mustnt follow the wiring PICTURE ......you must follow the NUMBERS.

You have one relay that works ......and pink is connected to what number .. 85..? ......The pink wire MUST be connected to the SAME NUMBER on the other relay.

Youd have been fine picking the resistance relay option :sad:

I suppose your thinking ... why does Davids work ... he used the same relays!
I strongly suspect that he tested the relays by connecting them across a 12v battery ..... thus blowing either one or both of the diodes..... ( diodes invariably blow open circuit).....so he was lucky.
So ...... ( adds get out clause )..Im fairly sure that YOU should attach the pink to 85 on BOTH relays.
Alternatively you could try removing or blowing the diodes.

Tsk ....Ive just re-read Phils post and believe that the pictures are of his relays rather than pertaining to the instructions given by David .
Ignore the erroneous references Ive made to Dave.

Woody

Philip, Electronize will get it repaired for under £10. More expensive, but alot less trouble.

I am thinking of sending all four back to Electronize and getting the internal relays put into them. The only thing that makes me want to try to get two of these working is that the last time I sent them over, it took three months to get them back. The length of time taken may have had something to do with Christmas.

The pictures above are my attempt at wiring. Dave provided a diagram with the colours of the wires drawn in and the pin numbers marked.

Wierd, i had my exsternals back within a week or two. Probably to do with the postal service, Electronize as a company are pretty reliable.

i know that around christmas they were VERY busy.

Phil ...Ive uploaded a modified picture... on my profile ...of how I think you should wire in your relays .. taking into consideration the diodes.
Note:- Im assuming that the green / pink combo is correct .....seeing as how it worked in both attempts.

(Message edited by woody on January 29, 2007)

Thanks for all of your help. I bought the correct relays today and my speedo works. I will go and install the other two relays on the other speedo and, hopefully, I will have a pair of working speedos.

I will send the broken pair back for repair. I will probably just get the internal relays in them as they worked fine for three years before I damaged them.

Thanks again.

The external relays are far better for robots. The internal ones supplied are very small and dont handle much current. I had the contacts weld on my first pair of electronize speedos trying to run 200 watt wheelchair motors at 24 volts. I replaced them with external relays 5 years ago and have had no problems since. For external relays I use the automotive ones from Maplin, £1.49 each last time I bought them.

I sent those speedos over just after the above post. So far, they have not come back.

Have you enquired about them to Electronize?

I have sent many emails. I am still waiting on a reply.

I had a similar lengthy wait for my speedos to be repaired..
months and months went by..
emails werent answered
in the end I kept phoning till they sent them back..
I think they couldnt be bothered really
shame

Electronize have had my speedos for a year now. I guess I should give up. No replies to my emails.

I didnt phone them as the cost of a call from Australia to the UK would be too high.

I like the speedos but the repairs are just a bit much.

they could be stuck in customs when ever ye send stuff to australia someone has to go and get it from them

Give them a call, the chap there is really nice and helpfull and goes out his way to sort things out for you. many times ive phoned him up and he has stopped over at work to get things done for me.