DIY Heavy Class R/c Vehicle- (electronics)

ever built or played with a small r/c car and got nowhere but a very flat surface? those little cars can't go much of anywhere and can't carry much of anything either, what you need now is a heavy duty vehicle. Now your in the Pro league. This Instructible will teach you the basics of what you might electronically need to build such a vehicle.

Step 1: Electronics

This will include the all the necessary components to control the bot.... you will need motors around 12v, the motor-controllers that change their speed, signal boosters (for use in my set up),Tx & Rx ( transmitter and receiver),tank signal mixer, main power source, battery for Rx, and chargers for all power sources.(also a fuse or breaker is needed for safety)

Step 2: Motors

The motor i used is from http://www.vexrobotics.com/vexpro, this company offers many of the parts needed to drive this project. well not just any 12v motor can work this hard. you will need something with a little more 'Umph' or 'kick' you will need a motor that can supply the torque and speed  you need for your desired vehicle.other motors you can use can be scooter motors,electric car motors, and any other large motors. Along with the motors you will need an equally qualified ESC ( motor controller), that can handle the amp draw of the system.....

Step 3: Esc

these are the ones i used for my motors... they can be any make , but they have to be able to stand up to the amp draw.( once again from Vex pro )standard receivers will not be able to transfer the signal, so you will need a signal booster...

Step 4: Signal Boosters

simple inline booster used for in between Esc and Rx....
-PWM Signal Driver

Step 5: Transmitter and Receiver

any transmitter you have will do.if you do not have one ,for a cheap and reliable system, i would recommend Spectrum 2.4ghz radio with receiver....  i use it for all of my new r/c projects.

Step 6: Power

for the radio you will need a receiver battery, that pairs with your Rx. Also you will need the main power source. for this project it has to be generally large because of the power consumed by such a massive machine. i used a 12v 35ah rechargeable..... with this battery you will need a fuse or breaker. i used a auto reset breaker ,so would not have to  reset every time i turn it on (generally the motors have a spiked amp draw when first started up).

Step 7: Tank Mixer

this part is not essential, but very useful in the long run. it takes two channels on the radio and then mixes their outputs so that you can push on toggle forward instead of both when driving tank style....

Step 8: The Rest Is Up to You.. (summary)

you can make it what you want. you can have a tank, a car or any vehicle so desired, in the end what ever you decide make sure you are able to commit to it. After all ,these are expensive projects that take a lot of care ,time ,and money. but in the end its all worth it.

Step 9: My Tank

codename "Shredder"
for its very sharp tank tracks,one brush by and your legs are torn in two. this massive beast weighs in at 50 lbs ,made of mostly high grade aluminum and some wood and clocks in at speeds in excess of 25mph. as you can see shes not quite finished yet. I have to add armor (cover) , a paint job,and a turret mount, along with some little tweaks here and there. This took me over a year to build and over $1500 . but it is worth every cent, "once your in to a project .........there is no way of getting out"



P.s. -for parts you can look at any robot parts store like vex or robot marketplace.