PBP projects for R/C models

[Kenjones1935]

Toggling between autonomous control and radio control is much more complicated for the toy level car than for the hobby level car. Why? Toy level drives the steering servo and the wheel motor each with DC in both directions. This requires four wires. There is no common ground. Hobby level cars use pulse width modulation signals for these two jobs. Only two wires are required. The grounds are common.

Toggling between PIC and R/C in toy level requires switching eight wires - four from the radio receiver and four from the PIC. The same operation on PWM wires requires switching only two wires.

Hmmmmm...... That's a pretty good argument for sticking to the expensive machines.

Ken

[Kenjones1935]

I have some Radio Shack solderless prototyping boards. With 22 guage solid wire I can create a fairly robust kit. I need to connect ten signal wires from the PICkit 2 to the solderless board. The Digi-Key S5752-12-ND header might work. The question is whether 22 gauge solid wire will fit and stay in this device. If not #22, then what gauge will work? Or is there a crimp-on male connector that will do the job.

What did the Microchip engineers have in mind when they designed the PICkit 2 printed circuit board? Any ideas?

Ken

[mackrackit]

22 gauge will be snug and if you do your breadboarding like Darrel does it all should stay put.
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/atta...2&d=1278267329

[ScaleRobotics]

What did the Microchip engineers have in mind when they designed the PICkit 2 printed circuit board? Any ideas?

A compact USB device that programs all their MCU's, using 5 to 6 connections?

But what do you mean Ken?

On a tangent, here is what they were thinking for the pickit3:

[mackrackit]

A compact USB device that programs all their MCU's, using 5 to 6 connections?

I think Ken was getting at the 44 pin dev board. It is kind of useless... Mine got the most use helping Ken get started. It is back to collecting dust.

[Kenjones1935]

This describes what I found when I took the "servo" apart. (I got it back together with much struggling so this is from memory.)

It has 2 wires that go to the motor and 4 wires that go to some kind of rotating position sensor. On a small board are 2 etched concentric circles which are in contact with a 4-pronged device mated to the spinning gear. I think 2 of
the 4 prongs touch the outer circle, the other two the inner circle.

Have any of you come across such a device? Any idea its purpose and how I control it. Other cheap cars just go bang bang into the steering motor with a little spring plus the caster effect to bring it back to neutral.

Ken

[mackrackit]

Now I remember seeing one of those.
It is a reversing/limit switch. The cheaper cars are either turn or no turn. Not much in between.

If I remember correctly...

[Kenjones1935]

22 gauge will be snug and if you do your breadboarding like Darrel does it all should stay put.
http://www.picbasic.co.uk/forum/atta...2&d=1278267329

My 16F887 is attached to a Microchip PC board. It is the PICkit #2. My problem is getting ten signal wires off that board an onto a solderless proto board like Darrel used. Are you all suggesting that I do the whole job on a solderless board? If I were to do that, where do I get the solderless header that fits my Microchip provided USB connector? I'm pretty sure my 44 pin square shaped PIC will not fit. I need the long rectangle shape.

Ken

[mackrackit]

I use these with bread boards and the PicKit2
http://www.allelectronics.com/make-a...-ANGLE//1.html

The long rectangular chips are what they call a PDIP package. Much easier to solder when you get to that point.

I would develop the project on a bread board with PDIPs and that might be the way to go with the kit also. It would low the students to experiment...