Hello,

I realise this is slightly off topic but I have an Air horn that I have wired up using the included relay to a 12v lipo battery. The air horn works when I connect the battery.

I would like to be able to remotely control the air horn using a spectrum transmitter. I have a 20 amp esc and a receiver. The esc and receiver work when I connect the esc to a brushless motor but I would like to replace the motor with the air horn compressor.

I tried connecting the wires from the ESC to the relay where it was originally connecting to the battery however there is no where to connect the signal wire of the esc so there was no input from the transmitter to make the horn sound.

Please see attached photo of the current working wiring of the air horn and also the esc, receiver I have that I want to include into the wiring.

Can anyone recommend how I can do this. I do a bit with radio controlled planes etc. but do not understand how I can incorporate the RC gear into the air horn wiring.

Thank you
Peter

I don't think it will work with a brushless ESC. They give Alternating Current in 3 phases.

A "brushed" ESC should work. They give Direct Current out of 2 wires.

.... and that is all I know about these electronics. Let's wait and see what others say.

Get yourself a RX controlled On / Off switch. usually used for switching Gasoline engine Ignition off etc.

Something like this :

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...en_us_products

As "perttime|" says ... a Brushless ESC will not work with the air horn anyway.

But of course if all you want is to get power to the horn - use a BRUSHED ESC and no need for switch ..... the Brushed ESC will go from zero to full power as per your TX

You need to use a DC motor ESC, They do make them still, but you might have to look a little harder to find them.
for example: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

https://usa.banggood.com/320A-Brushe...r_warehouse=CN

There are some RC switches out there, but they cost more than using a DC motor ESC.

mmmmmm is not a Brushed ESC a DC motor ESC ?

That's 3 of us now recc'd Brushed ESC.

Another way of course is a servo arm activating a micro switch ..... it used to be quite common for on / off brushed motors on gliders etc. in old days to have a small switch stuck to side of a servo ... the arm would rotate and 'click' the switch ON ... rotare back and switch would click OFF ...

If this device is for a practical joke and not a tugboat we would like some video.

Do you know how many amps the air horn takes?
They normally have the benefit of being directly connected to a big lead acid battery so it could be quite a lot.
If you use a speed controller to switch it on and off it will have to have the rating to handle it.

As solentlife suggests the use of a servo to activate a suitably sized switch would relieve the 'electronics' of directly carrying the air horn amps.

In addition to the switch linked in post #3 you will need a current amplifier (usually called a relay) to switch the motor on and off. It may be desirable to also have proper snubber circuitry across the relay contacts.

Thank you everyone for your replies. I think I will try to use a servo to activate a micro switch. I will remove the need for the esc and power the receiver and servo with a 9v battery, then power the horn separately.

Originally Posted by pjmills81

Thank you everyone for your replies. I think I will try to use a servo to activate a micro switch. I will remove the need for the esc and power the receiver and servo with a 9v battery, then power the horn separately.

Not many servos can take 9v ..... so I would not go that route.

A simple way would be :

Any battery source such as a LiPo or other battery of voltage suitable for your air horn.
A BEC that can drop that battery voltage down to 5V for Receiver and servo.
The raw power of the battery can then be fed via the press to make switch to the air horn.

The switch fixed to side of servo so the servo arm activates the press to make.

Hey everyone,

This is what I ended up doing. The horn is powered by a 3s lipo and I have a servo and receiver separately powered by a 9v battery to activate a micro switch to turn on the air horn.

Thanks

I would replace the 9V alkaline with a voltage regulator of appropriate output, as per Nigel. Your servo won't last long.

... I mean, in real life, I'd just grab a brushed ESC from my pile, but that's too easy.