finhudson

Eurobricks Vassals
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About finhudson

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    Male
  • Interests
    Lego Technic, Power Functions, Electronics

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    UK

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  1. Glad to hear some others loving combining RC an lego too! I completely agree, after sailing it, it became very obvious that it was too heavy and had too much drag, but it didn't make it any less fun. I didn't need any grease to avoid excessive wear, but then I'd designed the drivetrain so that there were only 3 points of contact between the spinning axle and other parts. It handled the brushless power surprisingly well. It could be to do with the entire drivetrain being submerged in water for the whole time. I totally agree about PF being way weaker than what lego can handle, the lego RC system was better, but just too heavy. Good idea with the grease, I'll probably try that for the version 2. One other point to make is how much smaller and lighter the brushless motors are than lego motors. The small one I used on this boat is equivalent to more than 10 RC buggy motors at full throttle.
  2. I recently built a Lego boat using a non-lego electric system. I instead used a brushless motor and ESC, a servo, a receiver and a 3S lipo battery. I also designed and 3D printed a better, bigger propellor than anything lego has to offer. More details in the video: I managed to find a motor and servo with mounting holes that are the right distance apart to use with lego, and I used a reasonable slow motor (1000kv), as not to cause excessive wear to the lego parts. I didn't pay any real attention to the looks of this model, it was just made to be fun to sail. It came out so much more fun to sail than any boat I have ever made with the Lego PF or RC system. Have you guys ever built something using non-lego parts, and if so (or if not), what do you think of it?
  3. I haven't tested 6A continuous, but I have tested 4A with a prototype for an inline voltage booster I'm working on. It all worked fine, the batteries just warmed up a little bit. I agree with you about the rosin core solder, it make the whole process much easier Electrically, this would make no difference, but if you needed a polyfuse for another project I guess it could be worth doing
  4. finhudson

    Future MOCs

    How about efferman's 11 stud wide one from the axles thread, but change the middle section of it to be slightly wider.
  5. finhudson

    Future MOCs

    I'd advise to check the axles thread I'm currently working on a Lancia delta HF integrale in 1/10 scale and for a future project I'm thinking of a small drift car with an rc motor for drive.
  6. Performing this modification will allow you to draw more current from your battery box. I tested the maximum current before the modification at 0.3A and the maximum current after at 6A. I have often found the over current protection built into the power functions battery boxes to be set a bit too low, for example, it is very limiting when using RC buggy motors. I opened up a battery box to see how easy the over-current protection would be to bypass, and it turned out to be very easy. My method is shown below: (Warning: performing the following modification will void the warranty of your battery box. Do not draw high currents for long periods of time because it may lead to overheating.) (I will not be responsible if you try it and break something) 1) Open up the battery box to gain access to the circuit board Remove the screws, then use a screwdriver to begin to pry out the battery holder, once it is about 5mm out, push in the plug on the top, and then fully remove the battery holder. 2) Prepare the electronics tools for bypassing the over current protection You will need: A soldering iron, solder, wire cutters, wire strippers and tweezers. A helping hands tool is optional but it helps. 3)Bypass the over-current protection This step is much simpler than it sounds, all you need to do is solder a wire over the polyfuse on the circuit board. First you need to locate the polyfuse, as shown in the image below The polyfuse rapidly increases in resistance when a high current passes through it. This is how the over-current protection works: when a high current passes through the polyfuse, the increase in resistance causes the current to drop back down again. To bypass the polyfuse, all you need to do is solder a wire across it. First you need to tin the wire so it can be soldered more easily. With some solder on the tip of your iron, heat up the wire from the back. Apply solder to the wire from the front and you will see the stands of wire absorb some of the solder. Now tin the other end of the wire and move onto the next step. Now all you need to do is solder the wire over the polyfuse. Use tweezers to hold the tinned end of the wire on one side of the polyfuse, then heat it up with the soldering iron to reflow the solder joint. Repeat this with the other end of the wire to achieve a result like in the picture below: 4) Reassemble the battery box and you are done! Notes: Do not embark on this project if you do not trust your soldering skills, soldering irons get very hot and could easily burn you. If the switch does not move after the battery box is reassembled, open it up again, remove the piece of wire, and replace it with a thinner one so that is does not jam against the switch.
  7. Firstly I want to apologise for bumping the topic, at the time it seemed a good idea, but looking at it now it does seem quite immature. This product is not meant to compete with the SBrick, if you want a simple, elegant solution, then the SBrick is definitely the way to go. My products instead offers a bridge between the Open source Arduino platform and your LEGO creations.
  8. 10 Days left! If anyone wants one, now's the time to get it.
  9. I don't quite understand how I failed, it functioned perfectly when I tested it
  10. Here's my best so far: Driven and steered axle with independent suspension, using only U-joints for a greater steering angle You can see the very sharp steering angle in this last picture:
  11. I just thought I should mention that the shield can be programmed to respond in different ways to the remote control commands by editing the code on the Arduino. For example, I could program the Arduino such that the drive and steering commands from the controller would correctly control a skid steer vehicle. (Demo coming soon). I will publish the bluetooth commands the app sends if the project is funded to make it easier for you to program custom responses. If anyone has any questions just ask.
  12. My app allows full control of the PFShield, which roboremo could be configured to do with some different code on the Arduino. My app also allows basic programs to be made and executed of the PFShield, which Roboremo cannot do. I am also providing the Arduino shield and Arduino sketch to work with my App, there is no hardware part to Roboremo, it is just a control app. The full version of my app will also be free. So to conclude, I have a hardware solution that can be installed directly into your creation and controlled or programmed with my app. EDIT: I explained this terribly, basically, roboremo is an app to control Arduino projects you make, I am selling a complete control solution with my Arduino shield and the Android app Second edit: I don't know if I'm allowed to say this on the forum, but please back the kickstarter
  13. I have already uploaded a picture of it in an RC truck (see previous page) There are some more videos of the shield on the kickstarter page. Does anyone else have any opinions or suggestions for the in app programming?
  14. So I know it's bad to double post...but... I think you guys might want to see this: I have added a simple programming environment to the android app that can be used for simple programs by people with no experience with coding. It could also be useful for testing parts of a program you are making quickly and easily with using the Arduino IDE. The video explains it much better(select HD quality to see the app better): Note: The same app is used for the remote control functionality, and that remains unaffected by this update. You can select 'Program mode' or 'RC Mode' from the main menu in the app What do you think to this?
  15. Don't worry legoexpert, it will be compatible with your phone ;)