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[DPRG] R/C heli technology
Subject: [DPRG] R/C heli technology
From: dpa
dpa at io.isem.smu.edu
Date: Mon Jun 11 16:09:13 CDT 2007
Howdy,
Did my first hover today with my new helicopter, (a TREX-450 with a
Spektrum DX7 radio, for those in-the-know :)
This is some seriously cool technology. The gyro itelf is about the
size of a nickle, and includes an 8-led "level meter" with 5 green
leds for programming modes and a push button for user input! The
motor is brushless with a very nifty speed controller that uses sound
output for programming feedback and the R/C link for programming input,
all based on timing, for things like slew rates, gain controls,
and gain limits. Extremely nice.
The whole thing lights up like a Christmas tree and sings like R2-D2
during powerup. I love it!
The heli uses a 2200 mAh 11.7v LiPo battery pack about the size
of a small Snickers candybar, that charges in just one hour.
Once again I think we robot folks have a great ally in the R/C car/
plane and now helicopter crowd. Seems like one of these "heading
hold" gyros might be just the ticket for odometry+gyro robot
navigation, indoors or ourdoors.
Does anyone know of a brushless speed controller that can be reversed?
The helicopter, of course, just runs the motor in one direction and
reverses the pitch of the blades, but a robot needs to be able to
reverse its motors in software. The speed controller has three
leads and reversing any two of them reverse the direction of the
motor. That suggests that it would not be difficult to build a
controller that can reverse the motor. Anybody know if such a
thing exists?
best,
dpa
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