1/35 Trumpeter KV-1 converted to RC

custom built features:

custom RC circuit adapted from garage door opener with excellent low speed performance (smooth start/stop/acceleration/braking)

articulating suspension

metal tracks

hope you enjoy it.

next project is JS-3


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngwn2KKv4x4

Nicely done!

You do realize you're insane, don't you?

Well Well Well
What to say ??
Truly great, is it Fruil Tracks
Do you have some progess pics because it really a nice work
Cheers
Seb

MrNeil, Seb, thanks much for the compliment. I am glad you enjoy the test run video.

Seb, some in-progress shots are as follows:


CONTROL CIRCUIT











My design utilizes an 8-Channel switched RC circuit. It is of the simple switched design, not proportional design commonly found in RC toys/models. The switched RC circuit is commonly used in garage door openers for commercial buildings in China.

My design principal is to achieve high degree of realisim in both vehicle behavior (how the tank moves) and control (how to driver actuates controls to actually drive the vehicle). In this regard I was only half-succesful.

Let me explain; there are 8 independent channels, each independently operated by a push button:
Channel 1 - accelerator, push and hold to accelerate, when released, engine gradually slows to a stop.
Channel 2 - brake, push to rapidly slow down the tank until full stop. When released, if tank is in motion, speed picks up a little; than gradually falls of to idle/stop.
Channel 3/4, steering - push 3 to lock left side track, push 4 to lock right side track; opposite side track maintains speed
Channel 5, reverse - push to change direction between forward/reverse
Channel 6, simulated gear select - push to sequence among selectable speed range. Low gear: high acceleration, low top speed; High gear: slow acceleration, high top speed. Also running light turns on when in high gear.

There is also a smoker circuit onboard. The smoker utilizes a vacuum pump to suck smoke from a e-cigarette and push it out the exhaust. The speed of the vacuum pump is tied to the main drive motor, with a slight timing lead. So the smoke oozes out before the main motor picks up speed.

PHYSICAL MODIFICATION

Articulating suspension. -- attachment of the swing arm to the body by mini-ball bearing. Also the running wheels each contain two ball bearings inside. The swing arm part is modified by snipping off the both axles and replace with 2mm carbon fiber rods.

The suspension uses small springs obtained from floppy disks (remember those from the 90's). Each supply roughly 50 grams of force, times this by 12 arms, measures out to be 600 grams of supported weight (1.5 pounds)
which scales out to 25 tons (600 times 35 times 35 times 35). OK a real KV-1 weighs 40 tons, not 25. But we are in the ball-park.











Another note of interest: I see lots of RC tanks doing neutral turns, i.e. tracks moving in opposite directions turning the tank in-place.. This maneuver is easy to achieve by RC electric motors, but is inaccurate for WWII soviet and American tanks, which did not have regenerative steering. So steering can be affected only by slowing-locking one side; but not reverse.

The panzers on the other hand, can pivot-turn.

Ok
So you are a crazy modeller and a electronic genius.

Wanna gonna do to keep up with the level here ???????

So all wheels got their own suspension and small ball bearing.
Speechless
And the tracks are from Fruil right ???

Congrats Martin
Cheers
Seb