I3:FWD Weight (+33%)
+= I2:LR Weight (+40%)
+= I4:TRA Weight (+40%)
Let’s go through what this is telling you:
• I3, I4, and I2 are all the inputs. I = input, and
the number is the channel or stick
• FWD = forward-backward movement
• LR = left and right turning
• TRA = left-right translation
• Weight = the percentage of influence the
input channel has on the output to the motor,
controlling its speed and direction.
NOTE: In some cases, to get the right
direction of spin, you need to subtract
the influence and not add it; sometimes
Mecanum wheels need a counter-
rotation to do things like translate. In
the end, it’s either an exercise in logic,
or you can figure it out by experimenting
until you get the movements you want by
messing with the percentages. The key
to this is to write it down on each change
you make so you know what worked and
what did not.
Reprogram on the Fly
You may ask, “Why not get an Arduino to do this?”
Well, for one, I find OpenTX much easier. I am not
a coder, and the GUI of the companion software
helps me understand exactly what is causing
which movement.
Another big advantage of programming the
transmitter instead of programming an Arduino
or microcontroller is that having all the “brains”
on the radio controller allows you to instantly
customize and fine-tune your model’s functions
in real-time, without constantly re-flashing a
chip onboard the robot. This level of control
and flexibility is essential for unlocking the full
potential of your robot — and for leveling up
your newfound R/C guru skills. With the ability
to reprogram on the fly, you’ll have the power to
make quick and effective changes as needed.
TIP: Try ChatGPT! There’s a learning curve
on these transmitter platforms, but I’m now
using ChatGPT to write the programs and it
works great!Try it out and tweak it from there.
Telemetry and Feedback
But wait, there’s more! With these operating
systems, you can get what’s known as telemetry.
This is the ability for sensors like voltage,
temperature, IMUs, barometers, and the like to
send info from the robot back to the controller to
inform you of what is going on or influence how
the model behaves. You can even log data during
a run to find out what is happening (and why) to
the vehicle or the environment it is in.
You can have altitude sensors, flight
speed, ground speed, and GPS on an aircraft.
Temperature, humidity, cameras, and battery
sensors on ground vehicles. A lot of these are
also plug-and-play, meaning you plug them
into the receiver, and they instantly feed this
information back to your controller.
Here’s an example. For this Mecanum robot
I’m using LiPo batteries, and if you take them
down past a certain voltage, they are destroyed
forever or have been damaged to the point of
uselessness. So, I have attached a battery sensor
that will monitor the battery’s voltage and also
the charge level. Figure
N
shows the sensor
plugged into the battery and into channel 8 of a
receiver.
• This battery info is fed back to the remote
(transmitter), which will display how much
power I have left.
• With the companion software, I can then take
this info and figure out how much runtime I
Autumn Desjardins, Zelda Wiki/Nintendo
R/C PROPS OpenTX Transmitters
N
36 makezine.com
M85_031-37_RC_OpenTX_F1.indd 36M85_031-37_RC_OpenTX_F1.indd 36 4/10/23 12:44 PM4/10/23 12:44 PM
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.