radio control on tanks

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:05 am

Hi I know this might be a daft question but the only R/C tank I have had was a Tamiya, and it used one stick for motor and direction, I understand that in full size tanks, they used two levers;
I have fitted all the electronics, programed the soundboard for the encoder, and all works well, so my question is I have a stick for each motor, one with ratchet and one without, which one do I change, or is it just a matter of choice
Regards Jeff

Adrian Harris · Post by **Adrian Harris** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:15 am

It is a matter of choice. Some people have the two levers set for the two tracks, with the turret and gun elevation on the other axes. Others have the motor control on one and the turret control on the other.

With the Futaba radios, it is quite easy to remove the ratchet and retro-fit a spring so that both sticks are self-centring.

The best thing to do is try it both ways and see which feels most natural for you.

Adrian.

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:21 am

Thanks Adrian, I suppose self centring is the safest method, as hands off it will stop
regards
Jeff

Robert E Morey · Post by **Robert E Morey** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:42 am

Jeff,
I prefer the self centering sticks as well. I changed my Spektrum DX6 to be self centering on both sticks. Its a bit of a safety issue as well. I had one near crash when the tank started a nice spin turn in place when the power was turned on. Looking into what happened I found the ratchet stick was not 100% centered. Having the tank do a unexpected spin turn on a narrow, elevated hydraulic lift cart could be a disaster if it falls off onto the garage floor. The ratchet makes it hard to tell when the stick is dead center. I also found it very easy to bump the ratchet stick accidently without realizing it -only to have the tank move unexpectedly when power is turned on.

No problem with that now that the ratchet stick is a self centering one.
Kind regards,
Bob

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 8:05 am

Hi Bob, thanks for that, but I am having trouble finding the self centering unit for the Futaba 7C-2.4GHz set, I am using one out of an old FF7, this is metal and a slightly different shape, so a small amount of slack in one direction, so if anybody knows where I can buy one please let me know
regards
Jeff

Derek Attree · Post by **Derek Attree** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:19 am

Hi Jeff
Hobby stores in the UK can order the proper parts as the main agents. Mine cost a big Â£2.50 and took a fifteen mins to fit.

Please also check trims before switching on that can cause a situation like Bob mentioned.

Derek

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:45 pm

Hi Derek, many thanks, Ripmax gave me the code number, and hobby stores has ordered one for me, very helpful service
regards
Jeff

Allan Richards · Post by **Allan Richards** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 10:19 pm

Jeff,

I definately agree that you need all the sticks to be self centre but on the older 4QD speed controller the DMR 203 interface unit can be set up in two ways. It has a 100% mixing option enabled by simply moving a jumper on the circuit board. Without the mixer the motors move on two sticks both fwd and reverse with the mixer both motors move together on one stick and turning is done with the second stick. This way you can use one stick for fwd/rev and turn, leaving the other hand free to operate other things. I also think with the mixer enabled it is easier to drive in straight lines.

Andy Payne · Post by **Andy Payne** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:10 am

Like Allan I also use the right stick for the vehicle and left stick for the turret.
It's just my preference and for me it seems to make it easy to adjust the turret on the move.
Regards
Andy

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:25 am

Hi Allan & Andy, thanks for the input, I know you could use a single stick with the 4QDs but can you with the new modules, and if yes does anybody know how?
regards
Jeff

Post by **Armortek** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:42 am

Hi Jeff

Yes you can use single stick control with the new modules. The easiest way to do it on the Futaba radios is by using elevon mixing. This mixes channels 1 and 2 on the transmitter and allows you to drive using the right hand stick only. There is no need to change the ratchet to a spring for left stick when using this function. This makes driving in straight line much easier and has the added advantage that you can drive your tank whilst drinking a cup of tea at the same time. What more could ask for!

Mark

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:04 am

Hi Mark thats great news, I will have a go at doing that tonight, and a big thank you for helping me sort out my wiring problem, the service you give is second to none
regards
Jeff

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 8:26 pm

Help please, I have used the Elevon mixing for channels 1 & 2
and it puts control on the right stick, but pushing the stick forward controls the direction, and sideways controls forward motion, swapping the plugs on channel 1 & 2 make no difference, how do I change stick control
regards
Jeff

David Ward · Post by **David Ward** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:22 pm

Hello Jeff

Try reversing channel 2 - ( If not Ch 1) I think!

David

Jeffrey Goff · Post by **Jeffrey Goff** » Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:48 pm

thanks David, it was that simple, reversed channel 1, sorry for all the questions, but I have never used a programmable radio before.
when I set the Elevon mixer each channel was at 50% is this the right setting or can each channel be up to 100%, as it seems when you use direction the wheel speed is faster than when in forward or backward motion
regards
Jeff