I’m getting pretty frustrated with my Flipsky VX1, constant random disconnects are making me nervous about riding, and I really don’t want it cutting out at the wrong time. It’s starting to feel dangerous.
So I’ve been seriously thinking about building my own controller.
I’ve been searching around and found a few DIY projects. The most popular one seems to be the Firefly Remote, but it looks like it’s a pretty old project and I haven’t seen much recent discussion about it. Has anyone here used the Firefly, either recently or in the past? Curious how reliable it ended up being.
I also found the Unfancy Remote, which is a newer project and still has some activity. It looks really solid, but it requires ordering a custom PCB, which is kind of a turn-off for me. I was hoping for something I could build with fairly easy-to-source parts, without needing to order custom boards.
Are there any other DIY controller projects out there that you’d recommend?
I’m okay with soldering, 3D printing, coding if needed, just not super into the idea of having to order an expensive batch of custom PCBs just to put together one controller.
Would love to hear your thoughts, experiences, or any other projects I might have missed!
This is not a “how-to” or anything, but I’ve created several remotes of my own.
Each time, I’ve used the PCB from an existing remote and created a new body in CAD. I have arthritis in my thumbs, so it hurts to use the Thumb-wheel remotes for more than a few minutes. And the only brand that uses a pistol-grip style remote is Evolve. I have an Evolve, and Im not impressed.
So I set out to make my own pistol grip remote.
I immediately ran into an issue. Because to have Index finger Throttle and Thumb Break, I would need 2 channels. But the Thumb-wheel remotes use a single channel for both throttle and break.
After some thinking, I figured I could just do it RC Car style, which has throttle and break on the same channel. And it’s just a Cam mechanism so its wasn’t too hard to figure out. Most Eskate brands on the market, the ones that don’t make their own custom ESCs, just use off-the-shelf ESCs, so you can pair many different off-the-shelf remotes to them.
Anywho… Pictured here are 3 of my DIY Remotes. They all have integrated Green laser pointers, the 2 clear ones also have built-in Garage door openers too.
The lower white one on the left is different tho. This one was for a VESC based project, so it needed its own receiver. Because of that, I was able to program several channels so the “Index/throttle, thumb/brake” thing was no longer a problem. No Garage opener on this one, but it does have wireless charging.
For that one I started with a Maytech remote:
i’m building one from the scratch and it has been a year already! it has ble, wireless charging, it’s super safe, hall sensor, amoled touchscreen display, telemetry from vesc and jaibaida bms, the dead man switch is capacitive so it senses when it’s being holded, it has all the bells and whistles. it will be out this year and fully open source. my gift for the community
Good point, I’ll try to get some quotes from PCB manufacturers here in Brazil.
I just had it stuck in my head that ordering a small quantity would be really pricey.
The Unfancy Remote does look really well thought out.
That’s really cool! Being able to hack the remotes to fit your needs is awesome.
If I could do something to fix the reliability of my VX1, I definitely would.
The big reason I’m looking into DIY remotes is because stuff like this is impossible to find here in Brazil so I’d have to import it, and with the 100% tax on imported products, getting a new remote becomes prohibitively expensive.
Honestly, the only reason I was even able to build my esk8 in the first place is because those crazy tax laws didn’t exist back then.
Nice! He’s gotta release that!
That’s exactly the kind of DIY project I was hoping to find.
Looks like he’s still working on it, but I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on his remote
Dude, that looks absolutely insane!
I can tell you’ve poured so much work into it, this is going to be a huge gift to the community. Can’t wait to see it in action!
I can send you 3D print files and a parts list for my leg throttle, it’s hardwired so no RF problems lol. Hopefully you can find domestic substitutions for some of the hardware and bushings, or can redesign the printed parts to fit parts you’re able to get.
