AW Rules

[joey_picus]

Spall did have a frequency change of sorts, I suspect that's what the extra switch on the controller is for. (in any case, it was infrared :P)

[sabotageDave]

No problem David

R/C toys might not have a facility to change crystal...

Right then, More questions!
I've been tinkering with old stuff again, are you allowed to use a part of rc stuff, I have an old tank within dimensions and weight limits, all I'd be using is the motors, chassis and tracks, the rest would be home built, ie remote control system, battery, armour and all the rest that is needed, which raises a noob point which proves how far I have to go to understand everything...........

What parts are 'needed'? There's obviously motors, transmitter, receiver, battery, something to move it along (wheels / tracks / legs) but what about speed controllers? are they necessary and what exactly do they do? Is there anything I've missed...

Also, after looking around parts websites, how does the signal from a receiver translate into motors moving? Do they have connections straight to motors or is there a step in between?

And finally a cheeky one, could someone give me an example of a receiver that is suitable for AW; light, small, etc... that would run on a 9V battery? I've decided it's the simplest and most readily available battery...

I think I'll leave the other forum for now, one is enough methinks, plus this way I get to hassle you lot some more

[joey_picus]

...what about speed controllers? are they necessary and what exactly do they do? Is there anything I've missed...

...how does the signal from a receiver translate into motors moving? Do they have connections straight to motors or is there a step in between?

...you answer your own question there virtually :P The speed controller is what goes between the reciever and the motors to get the motors moving, and it's also what batteries generally plug into - most speed controllers can power the reciever from a regulated supply from the battery.

An absolutely brilliant guide by Andy Hibberd (five time AWS champion including three consecutive wins...grr...lucky fecker...:P) to wiring antweights with diagrams can be found here: http://www.robotwars101.org/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=1399 and illustrates how on a budget you can also use modified servos to get a robot going.

You would be allowed to use the drive and other bits from R/C tanks; it's just the radio gear that's suspect (and often the control circuitry is part of that so needs to be replaced too). Recievers needn't run straight off 9V batteries as you can run them through regulators (either on the speed controller board or standalone ones) so they only get 5V and don't fry themselves, so you can use pretty much any sub-10g reciever that's compatible with your chosen transmitter.

[sabotageDave]

Right, I'm learning, the questions are getting more focused

I have a couple of examples but have no idea if they're compatible:
Speed controller: http://www.technobotsonline.com/saberto ... oller.html
Receiver: http://www.technobotsonline.com/futaba- ... -4-ch.html

I'd guess they are compatible, I have a feeling I'm going to be asking questions every step of the way here...

I also am having trouble finding a transmitter with a skid steer layout, All the online shops I find only have Forward-Back, Side to side controls or the wrong frequency.

That guide is very useful btw :wink:

tia

[razerdave]

I know its unavailable ATM, but http://www.technobotsonline.com/saberto ... 30698.html is the same as you linked to, but it has the RC wires already attched, so no mucking about doing it yourself.

The RX and sabretooth are compatible, in fact I use both in my drive-all-day ant, Bulletproof.

As for skid steer, not quite sure what you mean, what do you want the robot to drive like?

[daliad100]

I think he means tank steering but the sabertooth has inbuilt mixing to put drive on one stick leaving yourother hand free to control your weapon.

[sabotageDave]

Yeah, well not exactly skid steer, but pretty much the same. just where each track is controlled separately, forward and back, skid steer implies they only go forward and turn by stopping one side.

I don't intend to use a weapon, I'm going for simplest of simple, a push-bot, I'll think about weapons later... When I know what I'm doing. :shock:

Now before I go spending many pennies I need to find a reasonable transmitter at 40 MHz that has the right configuration, now this I am having trouble with... Know any online shops or shops around York anyone?

Thanks again for the feedback, am I getting annoying yet? :P

[joey_picus]

Nope, you aren't you're being reasonable in fact.

You can get batteries and servoes, as well as radio gear, from Micron Radio Control who are based in Malton, but most people tend to buy online - delivery from places like Technobots and Robot Bits (both of which sell motors, speed controllers, and wheels among other things) and MUTR (polycarbonate and other plastic/metal sheet for armour - check under Modern Materials) as well as eBay sellers tends to be quite timely and affordable.

For a first robot I'd reccommend getting the Sabertooth 2x5A for R/C speed controller as it comes with a nice sheet explaining how to wire things up and what the switch settings do, and with that and some radio gear you should be pretty much set - there will hopefully be at least one Antweight World Series 'oop north' as they say around here in the first half of next year, either in Hull or Pontefract, but in the meantime you're welcome to take whatever robot you end up with to the Preston Roaming Robots event in February (?) 2011 and have a go with it there, I'll be in attendance with a couple of other ant builders and hopefully Jonno should have his bespoke arena ready for us to fight in then.

[sabotageDave]

Nope, you aren't you're being reasonable in fact.

You can get batteries and servoes, as well as radio gear, from Micron Radio Control who are based in Malton, but most people tend to buy online - delivery from places like Technobots and Robot Bits (both of which sell motors, speed controllers, and wheels among other things) and MUTR (polycarbonate and other plastic/metal sheet for armour - check under Modern Materials) as well as eBay sellers tends to be quite timely and affordable.

For a first robot I'd reccommend getting the Sabertooth 2x5A for R/C speed controller as it comes with a nice sheet explaining how to wire things up and what the switch settings do, and with that and some radio gear you should be pretty much set - there will hopefully be at least one Antweight World Series 'oop north' as they say around here in the first half of next year, either in Hull or Pontefract, but in the meantime you're welcome to take whatever robot you end up with to the Preston Roaming Robots event in February (?) 2011 and have a go with it there, I'll be in attendance with a couple of other ant builders and hopefully Jonno should have his bespoke arena ready for us to fight in then.

Good good

Aye I've been looking around Technobots a bit, seems quite thorough, apart from their transmitter section!
There's some places local to me where I can get metals / plastics if I ever need them in the future, so that's not a worry.

Yeah, I've just contacted them about that receiver, asking when it's back in stock, also that guide you mentioned is in the 'downloads' tab in the product info.

I'll definitely get it ready for next year then, and hope it doesn't get broken :shock:

[sabotageDave]

Also, some pics of the chassis I salvaged:









You can understand why I want to use a simple 9V, it fits beautifully!