Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronics

Questions, Tips and Tricks about the transmitter, the electronics in the car etc.
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Ned
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Joined: Sun 13. Apr 2014 01:02
Location: Sedona, AZ USA

Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronics

Post by Ned »

Below is a pic of 3 chassis. The chassis on the left is one of the original chassis with a proprietary transmitter and electronics offered by Wes. The 2 white chassis were made using a kit that I designed and call CK8. The one in the middle is a newer version of CK8 but not the newest. I haven’t built a chassis yet with the newest version, which has been printed and is now waiting on my desk.
IMG_20180705_163527-1.jpg
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All of the chassis use the same motor and the same 10440 3.7v li-ion rechargeable battery. In all cases the battery is loaded from the bottom. To save room, my chassis do not use magnets to make contact with the terminals of the battery. The chassis in the middle does have a small magnet above the (+) end of the battery to help hold the battery in place. Both of my chassis use inexpensive 2.4ghz RC transmitters and electronics. Both also use an HK-5320 servo from HobbyKing. The WB of all of my chassis kits are adjustable. The WB of the one on the right is shorter because the motor is glued to the back of the battery box as well as to the motor pod. The frontend of both of my chassis have some positive toe (toe in) and negative camber. The kit uses wheels and tires commonly used on 1/32 scale slot cars.

The chassis in the middle uses a receiver and ESC combo board. It is available from Magnetic Racing Ltd. That board apparently does not need an external antenna.
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Magnetic-Rac ... SwFUxa6gNj
The Flysky FS-GT2B transmitter is compatible with the receiver & ESC combo board. That transmitter uses the AFHDS protocol to communicate with the receiver. The receiver is compatible with the servo which uses the PWM protocol to communicate with the HK-5320 servo.

The chassis on the right uses a separate receiver and ESC. I bought mine at Banggood.
https://www.banggood.com/Flysky-FS2A-4C ... rehouse=CN

https://www.banggood.com/DasMikro-1S-Bi ... rehouse=CN

The HobbyKing HK-GT2E transmitter is compatible with the separate receiver noted above. That transmitter uses the AFHDS 2A protocol to communicate with the receiver. The receiver is compatible with the servo which uses the PWM protocol to communicate with the HK-5320 servo.

As you can see from the photo, the receiver/ESC combo board sold by Magnetic Racing is much easier to wire up. That is a very big advantage in my opinion. The footprint is small enough for a small 1/32 scale chassis. But it also is thicker and is more likely to interfere with the cockpit, even when recessed into the floor pan of the frame. As far as I can tell the combo board has dynamic braking automatically engaged when the trigger is moved to the neutral position. This slows down the car very quickly. Personally I’d prefer a little less braking force. Of course by moving the trigger beyond the neutral position, you can cause the car to go in reverse.

The DasMikro bidirectional ESC also has dynamic braking. But it is not automatically engaged when the trigger is moved to the neutral position. If the car is going forward, and the trigger is allowed to return to its neutral position, the car will coast. To engage the brakes you must deliberately move the tigger beyond the neutral position. To go in reverse, you must first allow the trigger to return to the neutral position and then move the trigger in the opposite direction that is used to go forward. In this way, braking is optional.
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I believe both transmitters are made by Flysky but they use different protocols so they are not interchangeable. The HK-GT2E is less expensive. It handles 2 channels whereas the FS-GT2B has 3 channels. It also has a lightweight rechargeable battery pack in the bottom which can be connected to your computer via the included USB cable to recharge it. The lightweight battery pack makes the entire unit top heavy, so it’s best to lay it down on its side. As far as I can tell, the less expensive HK-GT2E is not compatible with the receiver/ESC combo board. The FS-GT2B is not compatible with the separate FS2A receiver and DasMikro ESC.

I still have more testing of the lane changing capabilities of a chassis with the servo mounted between the front wheels. As of now, I’m of the opinion that the lane change plates need to be longer than those required for the original magracing chassis. That chassis with a coil, creates a greater steering angle when the coil is energised compared to when the servo between the front wheels is actuated. Thus it turns quicker in a shorter distance to take an alternative guide wire. A servo mounted in the midsection of the chassis, like those created by Wes lately, apparently work fine with the original short lane change plates. That’s not too surprising since the mid mounted servo acts directly on the tie rod. More on this later perhaps.
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HeliumFrog
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Re: Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronic

Post by HeliumFrog »

Thanks Ned this is an excellent comparison for the possible radio options.
The Magnetic Racing board doesn't have braking at all, so I am guessing the motor generates back emf or something which slows the motor down more quickly and feels like braking. There is a small dead zone at the neutral point (so you don't get jitter when stationary).
The board also has "Cruise control" on channel 3 which may be of use to some people.
If anyone can think of another feature that we can add in the software that can be switched into action using a combination of throttle, steering and the channel 3 switch let us know and we can put it into the software.
Ned
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Joined: Sun 13. Apr 2014 01:02
Location: Sedona, AZ USA

Re: Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronic

Post by Ned »

HeliumFrog wrote:The Magnetic Racing board doesn't have braking at all, so I am guessing the motor generates back emf or something which slows the motor down more quickly and feels like braking...The board also has "Cruise control" on channel 3 which may be of use to some people.
.
Martin, you may not have deliberately programed dynamic braking into the Magnetic Racing board, but the chassis acts like it has dynamic braking. My chassis with your board stops much faster than any other chassis with the exception of the one mentioned above that has a DasMikro 1S Bi-directional Brushed ESC. In the latter case, as I mentioned, the braking is optional based operator input.

I would like to know if my experience is atypical. Is there something about my particular motor that makes it behave this way? I’m using the standard magracing motor with the 1.5mm output shaft. I would like to hear from other members of this forum who have experience using the Magnetic Racing board with a compatible transmitter and the standard mag racing motor. Please share your experience. Maybe I have a defective motor. I’d like to know before I tear it off the chassis and replace it.

For those considering the purchase of the Magnetic Racing board, it was easy to bind to my Flysky FS-GT2B transmitter. It comes with written instructions on how to wire it, unlike all of the other boards and servos I've ordered from China! Concerning wire, Martin suggested using 27 SWG tinned copper single strand wire to connect the board to the motor and battery. It's not insulated. I used 26 AWG which is almost exactly the same size and readily available in the States. I'd use insulated wire, if room permitted, to eliminate need to insulate a few spots in my setup that are vulnerable to shorting . Also the "Cruise Control" feature which is engaged by pressing a button on the side of the transmitter is a nice feature. Press it a second time to disengage it.
Boernis
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Re: Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronic

Post by Boernis »

Headlights turn on/off would be nice. Does anybody have Mag Cars with light? Never heared so far.
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davidwp
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Re: Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronic

Post by davidwp »

Boernis wrote:Headlights turn on/off would be nice. Does anybody have Mag Cars with light? Never heared so far.
I have been looking for mag steer cars with those capabilities so I can run them on my 1:24 scale model railroad layout. I want to have the capability to let them run without control or to hold 'street races' and have magracing type control. I have found this supplier in the UK: http://www.deltang.co.uk/

They started as a supplier to the RC airplane and helicopter hobbies and have expanded to trains, boats and cars. They have an incredible range of very small receiver/ESC boards. The ones for cars provide running lights, turn signals, hazard lights, brake lights, backup lights, emergency vehicle lights and other capabilities. For night mag racing you could have running lights and probably figure out how to put orange flashing lights in the tailpipes when backing off for a corner!

https://youtu.be/e5w_-JhQW4I
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HeliumFrog
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Re: Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronic

Post by HeliumFrog »

The Deltang receivers are good, but there may be a few issues with them. DSM2 protocol is no longer legal for sale in the UK (DSMX is OK though if I remember rightly). Also have a look at the transmitters as sometimes these are more expensive then the flysky variety.

The major problem with them though is they are just too small. I have scrapped one of them when trying to solder to it. Very difficult!
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davidwp
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Re: Three Chassis with Different Transmitters and Electronic

Post by davidwp »

Image

Rx65 DSM2/DSMX 18V Receiver with 3A Bi-Directional ESC (18x35mm)

This is the Deltang receiver that I just ordered. I am going to use this one in a 1:24 scale Hartland 0-4-0 locomotive and later will buy the automobile version. This has larger solder pads than earlier versions and DSMX protocol. They are used successfully in the UK by many model railroaders. I'll let you know how my first run goes.
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