Trigger version looks so good, can’t wait to get my hands on one of these! When you release the shell .step files I can definitely help work on any shell iterations necessary.
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I Hope you continue to feel better.
Thank you for not showing your butt.
Really exciting work! As a community we’re all going to be enriched by this project, thank you!
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Any news on what battery will be going into the trigger version?
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Not taking away from this awesome project, but until it’s ready, the mini mod is definitely a reliable trigger option.
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Haven’t heard of that one, will have to check it out as well.
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Doesn’t feel right dropping a link here, but should be an easy search.
(I have three of them.)
Thanks so much guys! I’m gonna try and answer everyone, outlining the next steps of the project. I’m of course open to suggestions.
I’ve been hesitant to launch a full beta program with hand assembled remotes for three main reasons:
- PCB V1 has flaws and assembly is kind of a hassle. I have to hand solder a resistor divider for the battery (remote and receiver), and the rumble motor transistor + associated components. It’s not much, but it rapidly compounts and eats a lot of time if say a batch of 5 has to be assembled. PCB V2 solves these issues, but I wanted to get some more miles in before pulling the trigger.
- Batteries are still small LiPos and shipping a remote with them is tricky. I know you guys want a replaceable battery version that will incidentally also solve this, but I have to deal with a) space constraints and b) a reliable 3D printed mechanism to replace it without having to completely open it up.
- Ergonomics are hard. What if you don’t really find it comfortable? I would love for some people with 3D printers to provide feedback on the shells first.
That’s why I was thinking that the best option ATM is to provide VERY detailed instructions CheapFOCer2 style so people can make their own (I would still wait for PCB V2, but this can be discussed). At any rate, I intend to solve these issues and provide a more well-rounded product in the future. I don’t know how far I’ll be able to get, but I’m open to suggestions! On this note it would be awesome if you guys could tell me how much assembly are you comfortable with/willing to do.
For the more DIY inclined:
I’ll try to get around to it today. Detailed BOM and instructions, complete with design files and STLs. 90% of it is in the github repo, but I need to clean it up a little bit and add documentation (maybe an assembly video). Once I do my part, people from the community testing it would be perfect to make is as good as it can be. I’ll provide all the support I can, via this thread, PMs or even a call if I can squeeze the time to do it.
In order to maintain an stable “main” branch and testing features, my intention is to follow the classic software development workflow with issues and pull requests on Github. I know it can put off some people, but I really don’t want anyone getting hurt because they unknowingly flashed untested firmwared or printed unfinished hardware.
Automatic shutdown is going to detect inactivity (no TM from the receiver/no input from the user), so I expect it to be pretty “smart” about it. That’s how the VX1 does it and I think it has a 10 minute period (which I do think it’s too short).
However, this is going to be customizable via the settings file when flashing the firmware! This leads me to another small feature that has me pretty excited. One of the configuration options is the battery discharge curve for both the remote and the board. Since I use LiPos in all my boards, the VX1 was all over the place and the 4 LEDs would not be reliable at all when estimating my remaining range. The unfancy has 5 customizable levels for it (4 LEDs + rumble/blinking for the lowest one)
I used Fusion360 for the models (I learnt CAD with Inventor), but I’m pretty sure I can export .step files. Do you have any suggestions on a better way to encourage collaboration on the CAD side of things? It has been probably the most complicated part of this project and I would love some help/feedback!
All versions ATM use a small 600mAh LiPo.
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I haven’t done a whole lot of CAD collaboration but exporting as .step should be good enough for any CAD software to be able to edit the files as .step is software agnostic. Only thing you don’t get is full part history and things of that nature.
For a project like this that is open source and you want collaboration from whoever can help I would say to probably keep things on the repo as .step or just provide as many different types of files as possible .step, .f3d, etc. Fusion should definitely be able to export as .step. I personally use solidworks so I’d lean towards just having everything as .step but ultimately it’s up to you.
If anyone else who has worked on open source hardware development could weigh in on this as well I would be curious to other people’s experiences.
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I’ve never ordered a custom pcb so I don’t know much about how pricing works… but maybe we should organize a group buy in the states (to avoid international shipping) of the v2 pcb when @thunkar gives the green light. Maybe add a small markup and pass the profits back to @thunkar?
Thoughts?
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Most PCB order sites will pre-solder a lot of SMD components for you if you need (JLCPCB, PBCway, etc)
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There is a way to make a f360 project public and share the link. I’m not sure how permissions work, but this may be an avenue to explore since it’s the CAD platform most used by hobbyists.
Generally, i support have the single source of truth be in GitHub. People can play with beta designs all they want, but the master should be frozen in GitHub.
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I know this requires a paid license, not possible with the free hobbyist one.
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For the V1 I used JLCPCB and I think it’s the easiest way as their SMD soldering service is more than enough for hobbyists. Also good price and reasonably fast.
Regarding profits…this project is 100% open and free to use for anyone. I won’t object if the community wants to contribute to cover the costs of development (I might open a paypal.me at some point) but please feel free to use it as you please. Even if a business is interested, I would be more than fine with it (though in that case some credit in the product page would be nice 
)
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you should consider licensing your designs under attribution and share-alike
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Just dumped current version of all CAD files (f3d, stl, stp) in the repo! Will try and complete the BOM today:
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Update
Edited the original post so the current info is more visible and completed the BOM with links to aliexpress and amazon were applicable.
Wiki with instructions, videos and wiring diagrams to follow!
Hardware
Went for a long ride today with the dual trigger version. Regarding RF and sensor performance it has been flawless, but I wasn’t really liking how it felt in my hand (and/or the control schema) at first.
It’s growing on me though, I think I see what you guys mean now. However, I have a few ideas in mind and I need some input from the community:
- I rest my index on the accelerator and only touch the brakes when I need to
- I rest my index on the accelerator and keep my thumb on the brake trigger at all times
- I rest my thumb on the brake trigger at all times and only touch the accelerator when I need to
- I hold on to the remote with all my fingers and move them to the proper tigger only when I need to
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In pictures:
With the current trigger size (as big as possible as per some comments about the VX3’s tiny triggers), only option 1 is really comfortable to me, switching the grip to number 3 when I have to brake. It’s perfectly usable as it is but I wanted to get your opinions.
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I definitely fall into the first category most of the time.
With the small trigger thing, I think it was mostly about the width of the triggers. Maytech v2 has nice wide ones
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i misvoted n dunno how to un vote. one vote from option 3 should be removed and added to option 1!
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Something to keep in mind on the Maytech remote the brake trigger is a push forward. This makes it easy to not have my thumb on the trigger and just slide up to the trigger while pushing it forward as needed (one motion).
With a “push back” trigger like you have I don’t think I’d be comfortable getting my thumb up top and then pulling back for those emergency stops. I’d likely keep my thumb on the brake trigger at all times in that case.
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