I have a fairly old 1988 New bright RC Firetruck that currently only goes forward and backwards. I would like to gut and replace pretty much everything within the truck. That includes motor's/servo's/controller.
I'm a total noob for electronics (I have messed with 1/10scale RC car stuff mainly soldering/connecting ESC's and such) and I am willing to learn however i'm unsure if I should buy individual components or a kit.
I would need to control 5 motors (servos?) (forward/reverse, left/right, ladder up/down, ladder left/right, ladder extend/retract). edit Some wiring for lights as well* I am leaning towards some sort of wireless controller for the truck as well. So if i'm adding things up right a 10 channel controller.
So in short, what's the parts/kits I would need to completely rewire a toy firetruck.
Thanks in advance and apologies if a related post is elsewhere in here (I couldn't find it)
For the wireless control you might like to consider sending data with a pair of nRF24L01+ transceivers. They are very cheap, work well and you could have as many "channels" as you want.
I use them for radio control for 00 gauge model trains
Before you gut it out, have a quick google about the New Bright IC. I've just gutted two cars, one older than the other. I've tried using the l23d motor controller to power the already existing motors, and though i can move the wheels when lifted off the ground, it's simply not providing enough current when it's placed on ground. I was able to power the steering motor of one of the cars by supplying some 3V to one of the new bright IC pins.
PS: my RC cars were a bit bigger than what's in teh youtube video. You might be okay?
But do you think it could fit? One of the mini variants. The nRF24L01+ and a single cell LiPo?
I would be interested in seeing the controller opened up to see if there is space available.
Hi,
Before you dismantle it, please take pictures of how it all goes together and how things work, for future reference.
It might sound silly, but there may be a time during refitting with other parts, you may need to know how the old parts fitted and performed.
Some pics from your Youtube.
Wow thanks for all the reply's guys, and sorry for not responding sooner (work and all that).
I am planning on using a new controller, hoping that I can find a 3d print file and just print one from thingiverse. However if I had to design one that would be not likely (I can barely make a simple square 3d design much less something complex).
One thing I had thought about later is possibly using RC parts, which would take out some guess work for me. I'm pretty sure i'd have to use an airplane ESC. I could see that mounting the new electronics would be tough either way (hey what are drills for) and I'd have to be really careful on which motors as most I think would go way faster than what I'd need.
PaulRB:
Do the existing motors work? It would be much better to use them if they do.
Currently I don't think the motor's work but I didn't really have a good way to test them. The main drive wheel motor (forward/backward) works but is very sluggish and weak even with fresh batteries.
Robin2:
Have a look at the RC crane in this RMWeb Thread. Not sure if it is encouraging or discouraging. It's definitely fabulous.
...R
This is very encouraging thanks! I suddenly realized I want motorized stabilizer's too
As a side note I also have an old excavator toy that I was planning on doing the same thing with, I just figured the fire truck would be easier to start with.
Unless you want a work of art I would not bother with making a 3D printed "box" for the controller. Many of the component suppliers sell plastic boxes that would provide a very solid support for the controller. There are dozens of shapes and sizes - you can even get ones that look quite respectable
Whandall:
You should have a look at the very small NRF24L01 modules that are available.
Thanks, that's very interesting.
I am currently (and intermittently) experimenting with an ESP8266-12 as an alternative to the nRF24 / Attiny1634 combination. At 24x16mm it's not as small as the device you mentioned but it greatly reduces the amount of soldering.
And one attraction of the bigger nRF24 modules is that I use the pins for programming connections for the Attiny