Are these speed controllers and radio compatible?

kgavrylec

Airtronics VG400 RC radio victor 883 speed controller 24V wheelchair motors in a sumo robot have speed controllers directly connected to the receiver, orange lights are on, but do not seem to be getting proper or full function of the controllers as the red or green lights do not come on. Also the speed controllers whistle when being run. Are the radio and speed controllers compatible?

erco

RC speed controllers can be compatible. Most of them have particular startup sequences (such as full stick motion in both directions to scale) before they function, read your particulars. My question is whether your high-current 24V motors are too much for your system. Try some smaller hobby motors instead and make sure they work first.

Duane Degn

I second erco's suggestions.

Is the orange light on solid or does it flash?

Since the Victor 883 is reversable, it might work better on a radio channel that has a self centering stick. Maybe you could try it on the elevator channel.

You can also follow the instructions to return the unit to its original calibration if there's a chance the calibration has been messed up.

Is the whistling sound from the fan? I noticed in the instructions it warns against connecting the power backwards "will destroy the unit", so be careful.

BTW, welcome to the forum. I hope you keep us updated on your progress.

spiked

It may not be startup that needs full stick motion, but some have 'calibration' setup step that does that must be run before first operation. I've seen RC controllers (for helicopters in particular, cars occasionally) that require low stick at startup, but I doubt if that safety measure is employed here. (it is there in heli mode of the following)

Speaking of RC stuff, why not just go with an RC controller? http://www.castlecreations.com/products/phoenix-ice2-hv.html
The smallest one does 40 amps up to 50 volts for $129, the next does 60 amps for the same price of the victor that only does 50. The castles are very programmable (eg break/no break, reverse/no reverse, power curves etc).

update: Sorry, I just re-read and realized you already had this. I thought you were asking before getting one. But I'll leave the info for others.
What caught my eye on the product page is;

Signal Driver Notes:

1. Use a PWM Signal Driver to ensure the signal from your receiver is Victor compatible.
2. A PWM Signal Driver is not needed with IFI Control Systems, some receivers, and some mixers.

That does not sound good.

graffix

This is one that handle's 120 amps. Its expensive but hey http://www.robotshop.com/ProductInfo.aspx?pc=RB-Rob-01
I was considering it for a 2ch. 24volt wheel chair motor controller.
heres the conversation where it was mentioned http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=28&ved=0CGIQFjAHOBQ&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.robotshop.com%2Fforum%2Fshowthread.php%3F691-Jet-3-Ultra-conversion-to-a-robot.&ei=9KjGTveqO8Lr0QGMg-nvDw&usg=AFQjCNHwY_dMTYvQ5FpAMtiHCXRjWlYetA&sig2=vCHOvtb4eyljiYw6WJYDrA

Duane Degn

spiked wrote: »

Signal Driver Notes:

1. Use a PWM Signal Driver to ensure the signal from your receiver is Victor compatible.
2. A PWM Signal Driver is not needed with IFI Control Systems, some receivers, and some mixers.

That does not sound good.

I also thought that was strange. But the controller should work with normal RC gear. Here's a quote from the FAQ.

They are the same type of PWM signals output by hobby radio-control receivers and read by hobby servos. The output is a pulse whose width varies from about 1ms to 2ms. In the Robot Controller program, a value of 0 corresponds to a 1ms pulse. A 1.5ms pulse means neutral, or a value of 127, while a 254 corresponds to a 2ms pulse.

What's nice about these speed controllers is the proportional reverse. The less expensive speed controllers usually don't have this feature.