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Hi,
   I am pretty excited to be road testing the 'Arduino In A (RC) Race Car' this morning.

   Whats so exciting about reading a relatively slow PWM input (RC Receiver signal) and outputing the same (ESC Signal) ?

   To answer that, the test car is good for 40km per hour, its exciting to see the Arduino taking an active role in controlling something mechanical and as time and input critical as an RC Race car.

   The questions I hope to answer are -

1) Is my code and circuit design robust enough to cope with the electrical noise in the car, especially the noise generated accelerating to and braking from top speed.
2) Is my design robust enough to cope with vibration in the car
3) Can I operate the car at the limits of the transmitter range without interference from the in car Arduino
4) If I was to hand the controls to anyone else, would they be able to tell the car was 'fly by wire'

   The project under test today is a an implementation of a remotely switchable 'child mode' for my cars. It will allow me to hold the brake for a few seconds to engage a low power mode so that my kids can take a turn at the controls without damaging my cars. To revert to 'dad mode' I can again hold the brake for a few seconds to return to full power mode. While this has its uses, the main purpose is to prove the concept of Arduino managing the ESC Signal for a wider project implementing traction control.

I will update my blog over the weekend with the results and post a link here for anyone interested.

Wish me luck,
    Duane B.

[Reply #1 on:]

Good luck Duane! Hope it goes well!

[Reply #2 on:]

Hi,

The first session was very short lived, the program kept switching to error mode which would indicate rogue pulses from the ESC. I have since noticed that the power capacitor on the ESC has a loose/dry solder joint so will fix that and try again.

Duane.

[Reply #3 on:]

Update here - http://rcarduino.blogspot.com/

Thanks
    Duane B.