RS Zip Zap Mini RC RF Servo Tutorial

Have you thought about maybe using some resistors and plugging the receiver board into a 9v? Would last much much longer then 4 volts, and take up less space.

You should be able to get by with 1 10k ohm resister.

The receiver board can only take 4.8 volts and even with a 10k resistor on a 9 volt system, I'm afraid that there will still be enough voltage to fry the board. But then again, using a resistor might deplete the power much faster than it would normally without it. I have to look into this some more.
 
I do that on the indicator readout for my helmet vent system. 2 10k ohm resisters in series on some LED's in parallel to my ventilation system power hook-up (2, 9v batteries) keep the 1.5v LED lit well till the power starts to drop low enough to kill a fan.

I'd say try it, longer lasting and less space. If you have a spare board...worth a shot.
 
just to revisit the idea of a 9V lasting longer than 4.8 (4 rechargeable AAs)... the 9 volt gives off more juice at once, not longer life... 4AAs have more storage capacity than a 9v, just cant push out as much juice at once. and wasting that much energy on a resistor will do nothing but build up heat in an already hot helmet.
 
just to revisit the idea of a 9V lasting longer than 4.8 (4 rechargeable AAs)... the 9 volt gives off more juice at once, not longer life... 4AAs have more storage capacity than a 9v, just cant push out as much juice at once. and wasting that much energy on a resistor will do nothing but build up heat in an already hot helmet.

I agree, I went over this idea in my head many times too and the extra power will indeed build up heat. Thanks for the comments and feedbacks guys!
 
Dangit, lol! Just found this thread this morning- Add another couple boxes to the lid checklist!

Amazing bit of inguenity there TD2253! I love that level of detail!
 
This is absolutely brilliant!

I have a small suggestion to make soldering the pads a bit easier - you won't have to be nearly as careful to avoid a short, and it won't make any functional difference to the unit.

The cheeseball diagram below pretty much shows it all. If you take a sharp X-acto or utility knife and carefully (CAREFULLY!) score the board where my red line is, you will effectively separate the pad in half. Don't cut too hard or deep; you should only have to make one or two fairly light passes to cut through the thin plating that comprises the pad.

pad.gif


From there, just solder your wires as usual. If your cut is correct, you can actually blob on as much solder as you want (not recommended, sloppy solder jobs make me angry LOL) as long as you don't bridge the cut you made.

If anyone ever wants/needs any soldering advise or tips, just say the word. I used to teach a wire and connector repair course for the US Navy and I'm still miniature/micro-miniature circuit repair certified. :)

-Rick
 
This is absolutely brilliant!

I have a small suggestion to make soldering the pads a bit easier - you won't have to be nearly as careful to avoid a short, and it won't make any functional difference to the unit.

The cheeseball diagram below pretty much shows it all. If you take a sharp X-acto or utility knife and carefully (CAREFULLY!) score the board where my red line is, you will effectively separate the pad in half. Don't cut too hard or deep; you should only have to make one or two fairly light passes to cut through the thin plating that comprises the pad.

pad.gif


From there, just solder your wires as usual. If your cut is correct, you can actually blob on as much solder as you want (not recommended, sloppy solder jobs make me angry LOL) as long as you don't bridge the cut you made.

If anyone ever wants/needs any soldering advise or tips, just say the word. I used to teach a wire and connector repair course for the US Navy and I'm still miniature/micro-miniature circuit repair certified. :)

-Rick

Thanks for the great tip Rick! Maybe I can pick your brain one day regarding electronics and such! BTW, welcome to TDH!:)

Dangit, lol! Just found this thread this morning- Add another couple boxes to the lid checklist!

Amazing bit of inguenity there TD2253! I love that level of detail!

Thanks for the compliment Gunslinger!:)
 
\If anyone ever wants/needs any soldering advise or tips, just say the word. I used to teach a wire and connector repair course for the US Navy and I'm still miniature/micro-miniature circuit repair certified. :)

-Rick

Rick - YES. Any tips/tutorials, pictures, everything... I have learned by trial and error, so I am the KING of sloppy soldering... I would love to be better. Every time I solder I feel like I need 1 to 2 additional hands and I have a hard time breaking surface tension.

So I say... start a new thread and teach away.
 
Thanks for the welcome, Gene! I've been around these parts before, but apparently too long ago and got purged at some point. :lol:

I'm not much of an actual circuitry design guy, but I can build or repair a board if the parts are in front of me and I have a schematic to work from. I tend to do more hacking and cobbling - often with dubious results, and I've got plenty of experience with Magic Blue Smoke. An electrical engineer, I am not.

But I'll tell ya what - my solder joints don't break. :D

I've been meaning to put a soldering tutorial together for a couple of years now, sort of a boiled-down version of that course I taught. Since Darth_Nickel asked, I suppose I should actually get to writing!

I'll see about getting something coherent together over the next few days, with some pictures and such. I know I can't be the only military-trained tech here, so maybe some of the other folks can jump in and keep me honest in case I forget something. :)

Back on-topic...I think I have some R/C airplane guts in a box somewhere, and I know I have two or ten of those little cars (11 year old son - yeah, that's my excuse!) laying around. I'm very curious now to see if I can make a similar gadget with what I have on hand. We'll know before the weekend is out! :)
 
Thanks for the welcome, Gene! I've been around these parts before, but apparently too long ago and got purged at some point. :lol:

I'm not much of an actual circuitry design guy, but I can build or repair a board if the parts are in front of me and I have a schematic to work from. I tend to do more hacking and cobbling - often with dubious results, and I've got plenty of experience with Magic Blue Smoke. An electrical engineer, I am not.

But I'll tell ya what - my solder joints don't break. :D

I've been meaning to put a soldering tutorial together for a couple of years now, sort of a boiled-down version of that course I taught. Since Darth_Nickel asked, I suppose I should actually get to writing!

I'll see about getting something coherent together over the next few days, with some pictures and such. I know I can't be the only military-trained tech here, so maybe some of the other folks can jump in and keep me honest in case I forget something. :)

Back on-topic...I think I have some R/C airplane guts in a box somewhere, and I know I have two or ten of those little cars (11 year old son - yeah, that's my excuse!) laying around. I'm very curious now to see if I can make a similar gadget with what I have on hand. We'll know before the weekend is out! :)

Sounds good! I served in the Navy for about 16 years as a jet engine specialist but more on the mechanical side though rather than the electronics part of it. I look forward to seeing your tutorials and learning a few tricks of the trade!:)
 
Ah, a fellow squid! I got out as an AE1...put in a little under 13 years, and just got fed up with it and left last year. I'm much happier now! :)

After looking through all my spare parts boxes, I found my airplane innards but not any of the Zip-Zaps. I'm going to make a RatShack run tomorrow and see if they still have any, by chance. (edit: being the lazy bum that I am, I just snagged two real cheap on eBay LOL) I'm not sure the servos I have will support the weight of a stalk, but it's worth a try!

I've also started writing up (what I believe is going to be) a very comprehensive soldering guide. It'll be some days or more before it's ready to be released into wild, but progress is being made. :)
 
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Oh man, I hate posting after myself.... :)

Good news: I have a Bumblebee Zip-Zap and an airplane servo in the same room with me right now.
Bad news: It's a digital servo and won't work right without the receiver board out of the plane. Bah.

Good news: The soldering tutorial is still progressing!
Bad news: Not nearly as fast as I'd hoped, so it'll still be a while yet before I'm ready to post it.

Good news: By the time I get an analog servo, I should have a helmet nearly ready to install it in.
Bad news: Bumblebee must die. :(
 
Hey man, Thanks for the tutorial, Muito bom mesmo!!!

No problem Noturno!:)

Oh man, I hate posting after myself.... :)

Good news: I have a Bumblebee Zip-Zap and an airplane servo in the same room with me right now.
Bad news: It's a digital servo and won't work right without the receiver board out of the plane. Bah.

Good news: The soldering tutorial is still progressing!
Bad news: Not nearly as fast as I'd hoped, so it'll still be a while yet before I'm ready to post it.

Good news: By the time I get an analog servo, I should have a helmet nearly ready to install it in.
Bad news: Bumblebee must die. :(

Hey Pilot,

Yeah I was an AD2 and yes, I did get tired of the bureaucracy (BS) as well. I had to kill Bumblebee too!:lol:
 
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