Circuit Design/Components for R/C Brake Lights

[Mark Webber]

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks

 

[hamilton]

Mark Webber wrote:

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks


// ___

+---->|----|___|-+
| led 220 |
| |
--- |
- |
| / |
+-----o o-------+
break switch

I do not know where you can get a foot small enough
to press the break pedel !

 

[Mark Webber]

What kind of switch would you recommend, or is there a way that I could know
the brakes are being applied from the receiver?

"hamilton" <hamilton@deminsional.com> wrote in message
news:3fd63c95$1_3@omega.dimensional.com...

Mark Webber wrote:

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights
on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be
required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help
is
appreciated.

Thanks


// ___
+---->|----|___|-+
| led 220 |
| |
--- |
- |
| / |
+-----o o-------+
break switch

I do not know where you can get a foot small enough
to press the break pedel !

 

[Jacobe Hazzard]

Mark Webber wrote:

What kind of switch would you recommend, or is there a
way that I could know the brakes are being applied from
the receiver?

We're gonna need to know a lot more about your truck. Like, *anything at

all* would be a good place to start.

 

[default]

On Tue, 9 Dec 2003 16:54:12 -0500, "Mark Webber" <mark@anon.com>
wrote:

What kind of switch would you recommend, or is there a way that I could know
the brakes are being applied from the receiver?

"hamilton" <hamilton@deminsional.com> wrote in message
news:3fd63c95$1_3@omega.dimensional.com...
Mark Webber wrote:

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights
on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be
required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help
is
appreciated.

Thanks


// ___
+---->|----|___|-+
| led 220 |
| |
--- |
- |
| / |
+-----o o-------+
break switch

I do not know where you can get a foot small enough
to press the break pedel !


You have a receiver on the truck that outputs a control voltage to the

brake? Are the brakes proportional control (press harder - move
joystick further does it stop faster?)

If the brakes aren't proportional - either on or off just wire the LED
to the brakes.

If the braking is regenerative (motor supplies braking torque) that's
a different ball game entirely - more information would help.

If you do use regenerative or "electronic" braking you'd need to sense
the drive motor signal and light an LED when the motor was off or in
reverse mode.


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[James Meyer]

On Tue, 9 Dec 2003 15:57:44 -0500, "Mark Webber" <mark@anon.com> wroth:

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks

My old Schwin "Black Phantom" bike (I really wish I still had it) had
brake lights built in. They used a switch that sensed when the bike slowed down
(for whatever reason) and turned the light on. They used a small plastic tube
with a brass ball in it that could roll from one end to the other. The tube was
mounted horizontally with a pivot near the center. Picture a little cannon like
they show on the Bugs Bunny cartoons. The tube is capped at each end. The end
toward the front has a couple of contacts with flexible wires attached built in.
The tube has a stop under the front end so that it can't pivot all the way
level. It's still pointed up a little bit when the ball rolls toward the front
because the bike is stopping. Once the bike is still, the ball runs to the back
end again.

So simple it HAS to work.

Jim

 

[Mjolinor]

"hamilton" <hamilton@deminsional.com> wrote in message
news:3fd63c95$1_3@omega.dimensional.com...

Mark Webber wrote:

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights
on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be
required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help
is
appreciated.

Simplest solution is probably a mercury switch that is set to "tilt" when
the truck slows down.

 

[Michael]

"Mark Webber" <mark@anon.com> wrote in message news:<vtcdmgpp4c56b@corp.supernews.com>...

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks

I did this once, by monitoring the signal to the throttle and brake
servo. The signal to the servo is a series of pulses which vary in
width, you can average them out with an RC time constant and compare
them to a reference voltage to drive the brake lights.

 

[John Fields]

On 9 Dec 2003 22:16:02 -0800, michael@clift.com.au (Michael) wrote:

"Mark Webber" <mark@anon.com> wrote in message news:<vtcdmgpp4c56b@corp.supernews.com>...
I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks

I did this once, by monitoring the signal to the throttle and brake
servo. The signal to the servo is a series of pulses which vary in
width, you can average them out with an RC time constant and compare
them to a reference voltage to drive the brake lights.

---
If the pulses go away when no braking signal is present _and_ they're
constant frequency but variable width, then all you need to do is use a
retriggerable one-shot with a period slightly longer than the time
between two pulse leading edges to drive the LEDs.

--
John Fields

 

[CWatters]

Hi Mark,

Model transmitters, recievers and servos work on a pulse system. The pulse
width varies in proportion to the control position on the transmitter
(example: full left = 1mS, full right =2mS and center = 1.5mS).

You can buy small electronic switches that will do exactly what but they are
hard to track down. Try asking if somone can recommend a small "Electronic
switch" on the forum here...

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/index.php?topic=air-elec

Colin


"Mark Webber" <mark@anon.com> wrote in message
news:vtcdmgpp4c56b@corp.supernews.com...

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks

 

[John Fields]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:08:27 GMT, James Meyer <jmeyer@nowhere.com>
wrote:

On Tue, 9 Dec 2003 15:57:44 -0500, "Mark Webber" <mark@anon.com> wroth:

I am looking to put together a small circuit to activate red led lights on
my R/C truck but I am unsure as to the components that would be required,
especially how to work out when the brakes are being applied. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks


My old Schwin "Black Phantom" bike (I really wish I still had it) had
brake lights built in. They used a switch that sensed when the bike slowed down
(for whatever reason) and turned the light on. They used a small plastic tube
with a brass ball in it that could roll from one end to the other. The tube was
mounted horizontally with a pivot near the center. Picture a little cannon like
they show on the Bugs Bunny cartoons. The tube is capped at each end. The end
toward the front has a couple of contacts with flexible wires attached built in.
The tube has a stop under the front end so that it can't pivot all the way
level. It's still pointed up a little bit when the ball rolls toward the front
because the bike is stopping. Once the bike is still, the ball runs to the back
end again.

So simple it HAS to work.
---

Even when you're coasting downhill with the brakes off?^)

--
John Fields