openrcforums

Posted: **Fri Mar 29, 2019 8:33 am**

Feels good! The vibrations are not super strong, but I think is strong enough, definitelly more than noticeable. I am glad I bought the new bigger motors instead of the tiny ones I bought at the beginning.

The only down with the motors, are the noise they make. Is more noise than I expected... But well, the overall result is I am more than happy, and I managed to do it myself! Of course following your tutorials.

Posted: **Fri Mar 29, 2019 1:09 pm**

They are normally noisy.. For example, the ones on mobile phones can also be noisy..
Make sure you glue them well, don't forget they vibrate and can come loose. Hot glue is very easy to remove with a bit of alcohol anyway, if needed.

João

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 6:26 am**

I made an extra board for the haptic part, consists of a BS170 and some other parts. Works great and strong.
Also changed the 5V regulator for this!
So, I can use the stock circuit for the buzzer and replaced the buzzer with a speaker.

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 9:35 am**

There were some specific mods to replace the stock 9x buzzer with a speaker. As far as I remember it couldn't be a direct replacement because the speaker has a very low impedance.. That information was in the wiki that unfortunately doesn't exist anymore

João

Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:02 am**

well, the stock output is driven by a transistor 8050SS with 1W. So, I replaced the stock Buzzer with a speaker and a 10R Resistor without problems!

If you use the stock transistor and their modded circuit for the haptic then a direct replacement of the buzzer would be critical!

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 10:55 am**

I'm pretty sure I did a direct replacement back in the day, maybe just adding a low value resistor (10-20 Ohm or so) in line with the speaker.

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:17 am**

yes you said this in some thread!

As I said, if you using the stock circuit with the transistor, you can replace the buzzer.

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:29 am**

What I also did is, I put two more toggle switches beside the back pots and connect them with it. So, now I can use the pots like pots or adjust a rate with the pots and use the toggle switches for switching between the 2 conditions 0 and the adjusted pot value.

Also two more toggle switches for backlight and speaker. Ok, only simple hardware mods but okay!

And on the picture you can see the circuit I used for my haptic.

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:38 am**

Any link to how you did the metal standoffs? I have a feeling I'm going to be opening the radio more than a few times and one of the plastic standoffs is already about at the limit of how much more I can ream out and then use a bigger screw on...

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:26 pm**

Kilo wrote:What I also did is, I put two more toggle switches beside the back pots and connect them with it. So, now I can use the pots like pots or adjust a rate with the pots and use the toggle switches for switching between the 2 conditions 0 and the adjusted pot value.

Also two more toggle switches for backlight and speaker. Ok, only simple hardware mods but okay!

And on the picture you can see the circuit I used for my haptic.

Is your haptic motor rated for 5V? Most of the ones I have seen are rated at 3V only. If that is the case with yours you might need a diode or two in series with the motor, otherwise it might have its life shortened.

What firmware you have installed on your radio?
I believe you still didn't find the voice module mod??

João

Sent from my BLN-L21 using Tapatalk

Posted: **Thu Apr 11, 2019 1:42 pm**

Hey,
of course I had diodes in series with the motor

didn't draw it on the circuit.
And yes, I've heard about the voice module mod

But for me it's a bit overkill and I don't need it really. If I would use telemetry then I would think about it

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2019 2:41 pm**

scottydsntknow wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:38 am Any link to how you did the metal standoffs? I have a feeling I'm going to be opening the radio more than a few times and one of the plastic standoffs is already about at the limit of how much more I can ream out and then use a bigger screw on...

Hi, sorry it took me so much time to answer you, I am not very active in the forum. It was fairly easy to do, just grab a dremel or rotary cutting tool, cut part of the plastic, screw a bolt in the standoff, then, put a soldering iron tip touching the metal standoff and carefully start screwing it in the plastic mount. Plastic should be quite soft and you will be able to screw it very easily. Once is cold you can safely remove the bolt.

And ah, If it is not clear, please feel free to send me a private message in spanish (I am spanish too)

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2019 2:43 pm**

Hi guys, after seeing a lot of videos of lipos exploding, and having two lipos puffed, I am beginning to be scared. I am planning to install some 18650 batterys. Are the Lion batteries safe? Or do I better stick with nimh?
Any link with a trustable source of batteries?

Thanks!

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2019 3:39 pm**

Well, they have a hard metal case around them, but if mis-treated they can also explode. I don't like to charge any type of Lithium battery inside the radio, so I always remove them for charging with an appropriate charger and in an appropriate place, faraway from my house

But I did return to using NiHMs. 6 cell pack for my 9x radios with different upgrade boards is more than enough, and with the Ar9x board is the recommended anyway. The only disadvantage is that sometimes we must discharge them completely to avoid the infamous memory effect, and they also take a bit longer to charge than Lithium based batteries.
For Lithium batteries, I think the best is to try finding them locally. Or if you are in Europe, perhaps HobbyKing Europe, which is in Holland I think. Forget ordering them from China as airliners do not like to transport this kind of material, and if they do, it is expensive i suppose. I order my batteries from Hobbyking Europe. They are also not so expensive, and the postage price is quite reasonable

João

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2019 8:22 pm**

jhsa wrote: ↑Fri May 03, 2019 3:39 pm Well, they have a hard metal case around them, but if mis-treated they can also explode. I don't like to charge any type of Lithium battery inside the radio, so I always remove them for charging with an appropriate charger and in an appropriate place, faraway from my house
But I did return to using NiHMs. 6 cell pack for my 9x radios with different upgrade boards is more than enough, and with the Ar9x board is the recommended anyway. The only disadvantage is that sometimes we must discharge them completely to avoid the infamous memory effect, and they also take a bit longer to charge than Lithium based batteries.
For Lithium batteries, I think the best is to try finding them locally. Or if you are in Europe, perhaps HobbyKing Europe, which is in Holland I think. Forget ordering them from China as airliners do not like to transport this kind of material, and if they do, it is expensive i suppose. I order my batteries from Hobbyking Europe. They are also not so expensive, and the postage price is quite reasonable

João

Do you have any link for those transmitter 6 cell pack nimhs? Is this one? https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-rec ... eries.html

If not, I took a quick look at the website, and I might use 8 of this ones: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-rec ... -nimh.html
EDIT: Those ones are not and wont be in the European shop, so I might get AA rechargeable batteries somewhere else.

Two of this might be also OK: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/18650-type- ... ?wrh_pdp=7 But Nimhs seems to be safer.

It is not the first time I order batteries from china with free shipping using aliexpress, and everything arrived with no issues. I guess as long as you dont order them in a bulk, it arrives safe and sound. I guess they just smuggle them, lol.

But seriously, I am really concerned about the lipo risks and the plan is to stop using them in all my toys. As you know, I use tanks and things like that with a very low draw of amps, so definitely lipos are not what I need.

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2019 11:32 pm**

I make my own NiMH packs.. So, I just normally by some AA and solder some soldering braid to the cells, and then solder them together. Then Shrink sleeve over the assembly and that's it..

João

Posted: **Fri May 03, 2019 11:35 pm**

the problem with the 18650 cells, as far as I know is that they don't like to be soldered, and could get damaged quite easily.. I had bad experience with some from Banggood

Not sure about those ones from HK.

João

EDIT: Oh, these are protected cells.. I would not go for them then

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2019 6:34 am**

I've soldered 18650s the same way several times without issue... NiMH doesn't like heat either so in both cases you need to be "quick and precise".

Posted: **Sat May 04, 2019 10:20 am**

Kilrah, perhaps, as I said above, my 18650's were just bad.. I bought them in some kind of promotion at Banggood.. I need to get some from HK, remove the protection and solder them to see if those don't get damaged.. I am very quick soldering batteries. Large tip and hot. Tin the batteries, let them cool, solder desoldering braid, let cool, and then solder them together. I don't need more than a couple seconds to solder 2 batteries together. That shouldn't damage them

João

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2019 2:02 pm**

Well, I ordered some 18650 cells from here:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4PCS-lo ... 4c4d6jz5E3

Those are protected from overcharge and overdischarge cells (with chip) and with a feedback of about 2000 clients, all of them gave between 4 and 5 stars of happyness, so It looks I can not go wrong with them.

Plan is to start using those cells in my stuff. I will replace the 3S lipo in my radio with two of those Li Ions as soon as I receive them. They should last very long in my radio.

Then I will keep replacing the lipos in all my models for nimhs-lions.

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2019 2:17 pm**

be careful, I wouldn't use protected cells, specially in the models

You are asking for trouble. You see, the instant power from the LiIon cells are much less than LiPos. meaning that there will be a greater voltage drop. if the voltage falls under the cell protection's threshold, the cell with turn OFF and your model will fall from the sky, and nothing you can do to save it. Ahhh, I remember now, you have ground models, right??

I will still leave my comment here in case someone else with models that fly reads this post..

And in this case I wouldn't also use the protected cells in my radios.. It wouldn't be the first turning OFF when the model is in the air

I could buy the cells, but I would remove the protection.. And for doing this, you also need to know what you are doing. wrong movement, a short circuit, and things get really hot in a matter of seconds.. Ask me how I know it

João

Posted: **Mon May 06, 2019 2:34 pm**

Lol, yes, that should not be a problem. If I were flying Id keep using the Lipos for sure, but it is not the case. I am too afraid of crashing for flying.

I use only ground and slow vehicles; tanks. So the battery last long. For example with a 5.000 ish battery I have, it lasts for 5-6 hours of non stop use.
Anyway in those models, currently running with a 2S lipos, I am planning to install 6S Nimhs, 5000mah as soon as they are available in hobbyking.

The 18650 li ion cells, will be used in the radio, also as a power bank for feeding leds in a scale battle city, and in a small and slow 1/16 armoured car with a 380 motor. So everything should be ok.

This is the model I am curently working by the way.

Posted: **Wed Jun 05, 2019 7:24 am**

Well, I have been testing and using some of those 18650 batteries with very good results. I think those batteries are lasting foreve, lol. Now I want to make the definitive pack.

I have seen some people wires a balance plug, and some other not. Also some stock 2cell 18650 packs comes with no balance plug, but some others yes.

My cells are protected. Should I add a balance plug to them?

Posted: **Fri Jun 28, 2019 8:40 am**

Small update. I did the battery packs with the protected cells. I had problems making those battery packs, because it was absolutelly not possible to solder in the positive of the cells. Negative was fine, but possitive not possible. Not even when sanding, not even with solder flux... Just a no go. But thanks to the cells were protected I managed to solder the wire to the lateral metal strip that is in the positve side of the battery. Pfew!

I have been testing them, and works very good and lasts for ages, so even when protected, seems to be fine.

also BEWARE about the polarity when connecting it to the radio. In the radio the center wire is positive, in the battery balance plug is not. So I did a connector and I just plug the JST wire to it. It is not possible to invert polarity. I also did the reverse polarity radio mod, but I dont want to test if it works or not, lol

Posted: **Sat Dec 28, 2019 8:13 pm**

Kilo wrote: ↑Thu Apr 11, 2019 11:29 am What I also did is, I put two more toggle switches beside the back pots and connect them with it. So, now I can use the pots like pots or adjust a rate with the pots and use the toggle switches for switching between the 2 conditions 0 and the adjusted pot value.

Also two more toggle switches for backlight and speaker. Ok, only simple hardware mods but okay!

And on the picture you can see the circuit I used for my haptic.

Somehow it seems I missed your reply. Do you have more info for those toggle switches for the backlight and speaker? I might fit them too!

Posted: **Sat Dec 28, 2019 8:16 pm**

Well, thanks again to that tutorial from Joao, software from Mike, and the 9xtreme I managed to fit two sliders on my radio.

It works good, very good! No problems at all, but just a question regarding the next pic:

With one slider I move those two bars (Marked in red) and with the other, only one (purple)
Why is that? Why there are two bars in the first slider and only one on the second? Is not that annoys me, but I am curious.

Posted: **Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:02 pm**

I use a common function to display most of that screen as well as the main screen. On the main screen I only have the space in the middle for 4 pots, so a 5th one isn't displayed. I clearly added the display for the extra pots on the calibration screen, but forgot I already have one of them displayed!
I think I can safely remove the one on the left.

Mike

Posted: **Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:11 pm**

MikeB wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:02 pm I use a common function to display most of that screen as well as the main screen. On the main screen I only have the space in the middle for 4 pots, so a 5th one isn't displayed. I clearly added the display for the extra pots on the calibration screen, but forgot I already have one of them displayed!
I think I can safely remove the one on the left.

Mike

I would remove the center one marked in red. No need of having two bars moving with the same pot.
And also for me I think it makes sense to have one bar on the outside area of each stick, matching the real location of the side sliders.

Just my 2 cents

Posted: **Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:29 pm**

It may, indeed, look better, but then on the main screen neither extra pot would be shown.

Mike

Posted: **Sat Dec 28, 2019 10:03 pm**

MikeB wrote: ↑Sat Dec 28, 2019 9:29 pm It may, indeed, look better, but then on the main screen neither extra pot would be shown.

Mike

Oh I have just seen it!
Well, maybe for the calibration screen you can leave those bars on every side of the sticks, and on the main screen maybe you can put the bars with 2 pixels instead of the current 3 and / or reduce the space between them in one pixel, when using 5 pots... Just some ideas...

The screen I use most is the one with all the bars in the channels.

openrcforums

What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: RE: Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?

Re: What else can I upgrade in my radio?