Hellooo...
Is there anybody out there, besides WeldingRod? I feel like I'm talking to myself here and II do that enough in real life - talking to the smartest person in the room and all that.
I've currently got a 6 channel programmable rig that I could use for the controls, or an 8 channel that isn't programmable - let's assume the 6 channel. Looking at my wish list, and comparing it to what's available for transmitter and receiver channels, I can see that I'm going to have to get creative on this thing, REAL creative.
For instance, if I was to use a dedicated channel for every function, the outriggers alone would require 8 channels. I think I've got way to do pare that down to 2 channels, along with just using a single 10 amp ESC to drive all the gearmotors.
I'll replace one of the variable position auxiliary channels on the transmitter with a multi-position rotary switch, at least 5 position. You can get them from Allied or Digi-Key in a variety of flavors, including some that have two center poles. The transmitter switch, using fixed resistors between the positions, would allow me to change a servo in the model to several different FIXED positions. I could use this servo to rotate a similar multi position rotary switch to known positions. 5 positions - counting the end-points, gives me 30° between positions. By using a 120° servo, this just happens to match the angle between the positions on the rotary switch, it's like somebody planned it this way. I'm planning on using a single 10 amp ESC to drive whatever is attached to this switch. The two center poles on the rotary switch would allow me to switch both poles in all 5 positions.
I'm planning on attaching ALL 4 of the gearmotors that will be used to extend/retract the outriggers to one of the 5 positions. They are teeny-tine little things, 7mmx16mm coreless motors, planetary gearboxes, and run at 200RPM. These motors have a running current of less than 20mA, the switch is rated at 2A, and the ESC at 10A - so I should be able to get away with this. This will ONLY allow me to extend/retract all 4 outriggers simultaneously, not accurate to full scale but I'll live with it. I could then attach the 4 raise/lower gearmotors to the other 4 positions on the switch. These are N20 Type 7 gearmotors. The motors are a little bigger, but not much, they each draw about 60-80mA when running. This will let me raise/lower each outrigger independently to level the crane. I'll have to do it one at a time, which probably isn't accurate to full scale, but again - I'll live with it.
OK, that's 2 channels down and we haven't moved this thing yet. Each wheel will be driven by another N20 gearbox. All 4 will all be wired to the another 10A ESC and we're off to the races. All 4 wheels are also linked together for 4 wheel steering. Forward/reverse and Left/Right steering, that's 2 more channels down and now we've only got 2 left.
What's still on the wish-list: Slew crane, raise/lower boom, extend/retract boom, tilt forks up/down, raise/lower crane, and the lights - too much. All right, the lights can be wired into the receiver power. So that the lights are on whenever the receiver is on. Not accurate to full scale, but SOME sort of working lights are better than NO working lights.
Hmmmm…. That leaves us with 5 motors that we want to control, and an already designed solution for a 5 position switch - now isn't that a coincidence? Each of these motors can be run one at a time and then left in that position while moving something else. I know it's not accurate to full scale, but it IS do-able. And it won't cost me mega-bucks for a bazillion channel rig that would need at least 4 arms for accurate scale operation.
Now that I've got the gearmotors for the outriggers, I can start the 3D design for their covers and mounts. Last night I got the re-design done on both of the N20 gearmotor types, the standard and the Type 7. I also got the axle modifications done last night. It was too late to try printing them out before I went to bed - so I'll try printing them tonight.
That's enough for today, tomorrow I might even be able to provide some pretty pictures.
Don