Ch 5 & 6 - ?

Hi,

This is a OTP chip, if the program has not be done to read 6 channel you can't get more from this radio.
To more channel, you have to make your own encoder with a PIC, AVR etc ..., i think it's a PPM from the encoder to the RF.

Géo .

Thank Géo

As expected, Airtronics was not willing to help in any way at all.

waqa,

I really like the screen shots you did for your compaq. I dug mine out and it still works. Being able to change planes in the field and having tons of model memory really makes the 6ch TX worth the $60 bucks. I think I will just buy one of those rather than try to hack a way to use my Polks Tracker III for 2.4G. Would it be possible to build a cable to interface the compaq and the existing USB hookup on the TX rather then adding a special one to the TX? I'm thinking a special cable that could be connected to my existing Compaq cable and then to the USB port on the back of the TX leaving both TX and Compaq items in there original condition. What do you think?

I don't know too much about electronix stuff, but can do my own soldering when the need arrises, but I would need some instruction on how to do this if it is possible.

Thanks,
BlueFFF

Originally Posted by BlueFFF

waqa,

I really like the screen shots you did for your compaq. I dug mine out and it still works. Being able to change planes in the field and having tons of model memory really makes the 6ch TX worth the $60 bucks. I think I will just buy one of those rather than try to hack a way to use my Polks Tracker III for 2.4G. Would it be possible to build a cable to interface the compaq and the existing USB hookup on the TX rather then adding a special one to the TX? I'm thinking a special cable that could be connected to my existing Compaq cable and then to the USB port on the back of the TX leaving both TX and Compaq items in there original condition. What do you think?

I don't know too much about electronix stuff, but can do my own soldering when the need arrises, but I would need some instruction on how to do this if it is possible.

Thanks,
BlueFFF

BlueFFF,

Leaving the TX+cable and Ipaq+cable intact is on my list of things. I hacked into my TX as it was just quicker to do than build a go-between module at the time and I don't have a 4 pin mini din plug like the one on the TX side of the usb cable so I already cut my cable.

To avoid cutting anything, I have put together a simple circuit that uses 3AA batteries. The parts should all be available at radio shack except possibly the 4 pin mini din, I'm going by my radio shack today to find out if they carry it. If not I'll have to order one from mouser.com, they cost about $1.

The parts needed are:

max232n IC (level shifter 5V-12v)
5 1uf capacitors
small perf board
4 Pin Mini Din (S-video male plug)
breakaway header pins or male db9 (to connect to Ipaq or any pocket pc rs-232 serial cable)
a small switch
3AA or 3AAA battery holder

There are plenty of ways to do this but I think this is the least expensive solution. I'll post more detailed schematics and build photos once I'm done making it. You could also use a lipo or single 9v with the addition of a 5v regulator like a 7805. I'm not sure about the current usage but will test it and post my results.

In the attached photo you can see how I use my TX side connector for both the Ipaq and USB by cutting it and soldering in servo connectors. Only 3 wires are used so servo connectors and wire works great for this.

waqa,

That sound great! Just the type of help I was hoping for I will have to get my TX on order.

Thanks,
BlueFFF

Originally Posted by waqa

Yes, any Ipaq running OS version 3 or later will work.

So far I've got 9 screens.

I'm trying to exploit the touch screen as much as possible to make it a nice tool, any and all ideas are welcome. This is all open source so any and all good ideas go into the design. I need to clean up the screens, get all the fonts right, and barring any major issues should have it all done this weekend.

For anyone interested, the source code as it evolves will be here. I make no warranty etc. on the software, use it at your own risk.

A PC novice here so the question may be absurd. Is there a handheld out there that could be used in the same manner as my home PC to program the TX? I suppose the OS might not be compatible with the software driver provided. Have to be cheaper than a portable PC.

Originally Posted by abbydawn

A PC novice here so the question may be absurd. Is there a handheld out there that could be used in the same manner as my home PC to program the TX? I suppose the OS might not be compatible with the software driver provided. Have to be cheaper than a portable PC.

I'm using my Pocket PC Handheld. It is an older model that has a regular serial cable rather than only USB. Any newer Pocket PC's having only USB may need to use a Bluetooth version, if they have bluetooth. I'm also working on a Palm Pilot version though the software for it will take longer.

I tried the MAX232 circuit with no luck. I wasn't 100% it would work as the 115kpbs baud rate needed is near the upper limit for these chips. There are plenty of other level shifter IC's out there, mouser.com carries around 100 of them. Most operate up to the mhz ranges and most are in SMD (tiny) packages.

So, since my first version works, I'll stick with it. The level shifter I'll use is this one LINK , it works and has nifty TX and RX LED's so you know everything is hooked up right and working. They cost $10. Building the same circuit from scratch wouldn't save much.

You'll need to power the level shifter. The TX uses 5V TTL logic so I'm going to try out this DC-DC converter

4.5V might be sufficient so I'll try a 3AA setup as well.

I've got a few 4 Pin DIN plugs coming from mouser in a couple days and will report back then. Radioshack had none of these.

Hi to all, although I registered a long time ago, this is my first post in this forum.

I'd like to introduce another possibility to communicate Pocket PC's with this RC system (BTW, I have the 6 Ch Turborix) which could be to use the IR port, that is quite common. I've had 3 pocket PC phones, and all of them had IR serial port.

Obviously, a serial to IR interface would be needed on the transmitter's side. I've found these two schematics but, for sure, there are lots of them, and also ready made, because (old?) PC motherboards used to have a header to plug them in:

http://electronica.ugr.es/~amroldan/...ccion_IrDA.doc

http://www.rentron.com/IR_TRANSCEIVER.htm

What do you think?

A very simple question from a simpleton. Will this Tx bind with/to the Parkzone Rx found in the Vapor and Ember 2?

Originally Posted by TeamTEOR

As expected, Airtronics was not willing to help in any way at all.

You could try to find the PPM signal following a similar procedure as described here:

http://users.belgacom.net/TX2TX/tx2t...to-oscillo.htm
http://users.belgacom.net/TX2TX/tx2t...h/tx2txgb1.htm

It's a page dedicated to explain how to make trainer cords to join different brands of radios. The same problems (finding PPM signal, changing polarity, ...) are found in this task.

I'd like to share some photos of the Turborix 6 ch system.

Also, some remarks:

The receivers and RF section are exactly the same than in the 4 ch system.

On the TX, the battery +12V is routed to two 5 volt regulators: a smd one, on the tracks side, which feeds the microcontroller, and a TO-220, comp side, which feeds the RF module. The +12V track also feeds a resistor divider going to the microcontroller (probably, just for voltage sensing). So, it isn’t a problem to feed the TX with NiMHs, LiPos or anything that provides enough voltage for the regulators to work (typically 7.5V). From the photos in other posts, looks like the same applies to the 4 ch system.

The mainboard (not the same as 4 ch version) is prepared for another versions of the TX: Has room for reverse switches and a HF section (you can see the place for the XTAL (under the TO-220) regulator, and for the RF coils (marked IFT1…IFT5). The reverse switches are routed to microcontroller pins, maybe the program is prepared to react, maybe it’s not (depends if it’s the same micro/program than for the other versions with the same mainboard).

The PPM output of the microcontroller is routed to the trainer connector via 1k2 resistor. This signal is not used by the programming cable, but is useful for a PC simulator (I’ve used FMS with a standard USB simulator cable). The same microcontroller signal is routed to the PPM_IN of the RF module via a resistive divider.

The trainer/programming connector has all the pins wired (pinout in a previous post from keepitsimple). In the 4 ch system there is one wire missing.

The main IC on RF TX module and both RX modules is an A7122 (http://www.amiccom.com.tw/upload/200...6243578035.pdf). The main and aux RX have the same RF board. There is a 16 pin SOIC labeled FS8004, in the TX module, both receivers RF boards and also in main RX motherboard. I haven’t been able to find information on this one (same as somebody said in a previous post). Coud be some type of microcontroller.

I have a Futaba FP7UAP, and maybe I'll experiment feeding it's ppm signal into the Turborix's RF module (after adapting signal level), and see what happens. As the same USB simulator cord works with both radios, protocols should be quite compatible.

Hope this information is useful for somebody!

Originally Posted by MoFl

I'd like to share some photos of the Turborix 6 ch system.

Also, some remarks:

The receivers and RF section are exactly the same than in the 4 ch system.

On the TX, the battery +12V is routed to two 5 volt regulators: a smd one, on the tracks side, which feeds the microcontroller, and a TO-220, comp side, which feeds the RF module. The +12V track also feeds a resistor divider going to the microcontroller (probably, just for voltage sensing). So, it isn’t a problem to feed the TX with NiMHs, LiPos or anything that provides enough voltage for the regulators to work (typically 7.5V). From the photos in other posts, looks like the same applies to the 4 ch system.

The mainboard (not the same as 4 ch version) is prepared for another versions of the TX: Has room for reverse switches and a HF section (you can see the place for the XTAL (under the TO-220) regulator, and for the RF coils (marked IFT1…IFT5). The reverse switches are routed to microcontroller pins, maybe the program is prepared to react, maybe it’s not (depends if it’s the same micro/program than for the other versions with the same mainboard).

The PPM output of the microcontroller is routed to the trainer connector via 1k2 resistor. This signal is not used by the programming cable, but is useful for a PC simulator (I’ve used FMS with a standard USB simulator cable). The same microcontroller signal is routed to the PPM_IN of the RF module via a resistive divider.

The trainer/programming connector has all the pins wired (pinout in a previous post from keepitsimple). In the 4 ch system there is one wire missing.

The main IC on RF TX module and both RX modules is an A7122 (http://www.amiccom.com.tw/upload/200...243578035.pdf). The main and aux RX have the same RF board. There is a 16 pin SOIC labeled FS8004, in the TX module, both receivers RF boards and also in main RX motherboard. I haven’t been able to find information on this one (same as somebody said in a previous post). Coud be some type of microcontroller.

I have a Futaba FP7UAP, and maybe I'll experiment feeding it's ppm signal into the Turborix's RF module (after adapting signal level), and see what happens. As the same USB simulator cord works with both radios, protocols should be quite compatible.

Hope this information is useful for somebody!

NoFi, interesting info, thx. Some of us are having rather unbelievable range test results which makes us wonder if the button is actually doing the job it supposed to. Also I've found that if I hold the button down before turning the TX on there is no transmission until I release the button. Does that make sense? Maybe you could shed some light on how the dang thing technically performs a range test? One flyer flew to his visual limits, pressed the range button and still maintained control!