DIY Trigger Style Remote with Telemetry - Complete Guide

ok this is my first take on this, total noob but i tried to make a schematic with the new module. one thing i noticed is we cant put the on off switch between the battery and the boost+charger. if we put a switch in between it wont be able to charge it when the circuit is open. so battery must be hard wired to the module. i wired + side of the battery with 10k resistor to pin A2 but the actual on off switch is on the output side of the module so im not sure how this is going to work or going to work at all… or may be its designed to work only with its on off key which i mention in my previous post.

I am wondering if there is a means to NOT use the onboard switch. I much prefer a rocker.

I ordered a few pieces to try… Let’s see… schemetically wise looks fine.

I also ordered some esp32s as well to see how hard it is to port over the software. From what I have seen the only problem is actually the VESC data which if we don’t have a library it won’t be able to port.

yea i think rocker is a better solid choice too. this specific board may force you to use its on off key but theres another one which is without that key. just battery, usb and 5v terminals in total 6. probably you have seen it, it was in the related products. rocker switch definitely would work with this one https://www.aliexpress.com/item/6W-5V-UPS-mobile-power-Diy-Board-Charger-Step-up-DC-DC-Converter-Module-for-3/32790658678.html?spm=2114.10010108.1000023.9.14e97b70TYSyNv yes esp32s is very nice package it has everything. if you can make it work it would be awesome :slight_smile:

i tried to design a new pcb with the modified components it is one piece 2 layers i have no idea if it is allright to use i think someone experienced needs to check it but at least there are no DRC errors. also added cap along with a voltage regulator to the nrf24 module. theres no cap on 5v line tho. on the side are the measurements of the modules. theres a small gap in between them so they should mount ok. here is the link https://easyeda.com/orhanyoruk/kumandam

EDIT: edited and updated the pcb with MCP130T-300I/TT supervisory chip which holds the reset until nano has a 3v on 3.3v line and then resets the board. it can be ignored if the issue is not present but it has a place just in case. EDIT2: i just inspected the nano v3 board and under it theres already an ams1117 3.3v regulator. looking at these types of regulators data sheets they all require tantalum capacitor at both ends (vin, vout) usually 10-22uf tantalum is recommended on the vout side. in this case i thought it would be better to remove lm1117 and replace it with 22uf capacitor for 3.3v line. also added another one for 5v line.

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i just remembered this post and tried to search for 250 value in your code but i couldnt find it. googled for this particular subject and i saw post saying you have to put ‘‘radio.setDataRate(RF24_250KBPS);’’ right after ‘‘radio.begin();’’ is it correct?

Yes you are right, after radio.begin().

radio.begin(); radio.setDataRate(RF24_250KBPS);

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So I got all the newer components as well as the ESP32s but I have no time to go fix things up as I’m busy building my boards…

Anyone else progressed?

My wifi modules just arrived but I’ve changed the pcb layout and added some smd tantalum caps. Waiting for them right now. Transmitter pcb is one piece like we discussed earlier. It utilizes that 2in1 booster/charger module. Transmitter pcb has 220uf tantal d case on 5v. 100uf d case, 10uf b case and 1206 ceramic 100nf for 3,3v. Receiver has the same cap layout but instead of 220uf it has enough room for 1000uf on 5v. I ll see how it’s gonna turn out after they arrive. I think it strongly depends on booster/charger to work as intended. The rest is ok. Also prints went ok, they might need some sanding here and there :slight_smile:

So u fit everything on one PCB??? Got a pic?

Yes pcb design is shared. I ll find the link and share it when I arrive at home. I kept the same dimensions of your original pcb design and pcb holes are in the same place. I hope I didn’t do any mistake with the design. I will test it when they arrive of course I need that booster/charger module it is on its way too. Edit: Forgot to mention I also added a place for mcp130 to watch for 5v line. That’s of course totally optional just in case for power/reset issues we had earlier but some people did not have this problem.

these are the final designs which i ordered. Capture1Capture2 Capture3Capture4 you can find them in this link https://easyeda.com/orhanyoruk/kumandam ‘‘rx’’ and ‘‘finalSMD’’ are the ones i ordered.

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I just received the pcbs and wireless modules today. Tried out couple of prototypes. So far these crappy antenna is no good. Unless I touch it with my hand it doesn’t connect to the receiver. I have 5 of these some of them doesn’t work even if I touch them. So like you suggested that antenna seems like superior (forgot it’s name). Build another receiver with internal antenna from the same company and made the connection with original firefly remote (with ceramic antenna) and I got the best signal so far. 7 meters with 2 solid walls in between. Waiting on another antenna purchase a while ago, once I got it i ll use it on transmitter side and report back. Btw receiver pcb has 100uf tantal, 10uf tantal, 100nf ceramic all parallel to 3.3v -gnd and 1000uf low esr on 5v

IMPORTANT UPDATE

So @Zyb has been asking why his remote loses connection when he rapidly changes throttle positions (e.g. accelerate and brake rapidly). This was an issue on the bench but not in not really in the real world but was worth investigating.

So I spent several hours debugging component by component and it wasn’t the hall sensors, the connection between receiver and transmitter or anything like that. It was the code using analogWrite instead of the servo.write function to send the throttle position to the VESC.

I have adjusted the code to use the servo library instead and have bench tested this, see the GitHub below.

DO NOTE THAT YOU DO NEED TO RECALIBRATE YOUR REMOTE IN VESCTOOL AFTER FLASHING THIS NEW FIRMWARE!!

ALSO, PLEASE USE THIS WITH CAUTION AT YOUR OWN RISK. PAD UP!!

Many thanks to @zyb for raising this concern!

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Im really interested in this, nice work @ervinelin ! I will try and wait for a month or two so I can trust this a little bit more, kinda sceptic on it since i will be building it and a lot of my stuff breaks down especially electronics since I just want them to work and hurry up and not take time to make it nicely :smiley:

I know what you mean… I’ve spent MONTHS working on this remote…

I’ve built like 5 of them, each time improving on the last… Really rather be riding

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My board is out of commission for at least a month or so and i haven’t ridden it at least 2-3 months because im rebuilding it, kinda feels sad only the drive train left to do :smiley:

That’s why you always have more than one board!

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I got myself a gasoline goped, changed the engine, tuned it out and it has 6hp :smiley:

So slightly less than dual 2,5kW motors? :slight_smile:

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Did you do a push request of this correction also to @solidgeek’s repo ?

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