Tag Archives: toy

Remote Control Toy

I just got done with Project Lab 1 at Texas Tech and all in all it was a really good experience.
I won’t be in Project Lab 2 next semester because of a prerequisite conflict and I will most likely not be taking it this summer,
mostly because I want to go home and take classes there this summer. So, I decided to pick up a new hobby and design my own RC car from the ground up.
I’ve pretty much had to abandon all of my previous hobbies due to school and this is one I think I can justify as a good, worthwhile learning experience.
I also wanted to post regularly on Facebook and here so that anyone who wants to can follow my progress.
To get things started, I wanted to make a sort of checklist of things to do.

  • [ ] Ascertain how to use antennas with this project
    1. What frequencies can I use?
    2. What ranges can be expected?
    3. Are there any IC’s that make this easier?
    4. Can information go both ways?
  • How many L298 (H-bridge) IC’s do I need for 4 DC motors?
  • [ ] Find some good DC motors
    1. Not too Big.
    2. Around 9v Max running voltage
  • [ ] Find a good way to power all of this
    1. Perhaps adapt another battery pack from another RC car
    2. Something with enough power to run it for about 2 to 4 hours
    3. Preferably rechargeable.
  • [ ] Find a way to be able to use an O-Scope and Function Generator for testing purposes
  • [ ] FPGA or MC? That is the question
    1. Programming Language
    2. Price of Testing, SW, and Mounting

I plan to officially get started after the beginning of the year.