Lixander`s lodge - W.I.P.`s and MOC`s

[Ryokeen]

2 hours ago, Fluwoeb said:

Glad you were able to figure this out on your own! I learned this from some research. Just from a quick google search you can learn more. With brushless motors you can switch any two wires to switch the direction, which as you found out also solves your problem with it going fast in reverse and slow in the forward direction. Check out this video: Just Swap Any 2 of 3 wires 🔄 How to Change Brushless Motor Spin Direction (Reverse Rotation) (youtube.com)
Another thing to note with brushless RC is that when starting turn the transmitter (or remote) on first and then the car, and when you are done turn the car off first and then the transmitter. Why? It prevents any miscommunication such as, in some cases, accidental acceleration (due to the throttle trim not being in the center and the transmitter sending a signal as soon as it is turned on). I found this book from a local library very helpful: Radio-Control Car Manual: The complete guide to buying, building and maintaining: Benfield, Matt: 9781844254705: Amazon.com: Books

Correction:
You can only change any two wires to change direction on a sensorless brushless motor. On sensored ones that will probably blow the esc and damage the motor.

The other point is btw valid for any RC model, regardless if it's brushed or brushless, nitro or gas. Today that mostly doesn't happen as receivers/esc have some protection in place in the case that the signal is lost. Old AM transmitters/receivers didn't have such a protection(also they had more interferrence from other signals as there was no encoding) means if you turned of the transmitter the receiver often did random things as it might pick up a very weak signal on the used frequency.

[Fluwoeb]

15 minutes ago, Ryokeen said:

Correction:
You can only change any two wires to change direction on a sensorless brushless motor. On sensored ones that will probably blow the esc and damage the motor.

The other point is btw valid for any RC model, regardless if it's brushed or brushless, nitro or gas. Today that mostly doesn't happen as receivers/esc have some protection in place in the case that the signal is lost. Old AM transmitters/receivers didn't have such a protection(also they had more interferrence from other signals as there was no encoding) means if you turned of the transmitter the receiver often did random things as it might pick up a very weak signal on the used frequency.

Thanks @Ryokeen! Yes, sensorless is a very important distinction for the wire switching.  And yes, I have experienced what you described with the receiver picking up weak signals on the used frequency if the transmitter was turned off first. 

50 minutes ago, Lixander said:

Maybe if I change the throttle dead-band the problem would be solved? (this setting must be done manual as it isn`t on the programming card)

That sounds like a good plan. I myself have yet to explore the throttle dead-band. I have the same issue with the RPM cutting at low-medium throttle, but it also seems to not start until I get to that same point with the throttle... 

[Lixander]

8 hours ago, Fluwoeb said:

Thanks @Ryokeen! Yes, sensorless is a very important distinction for the wire switching.  And yes, I have experienced what you described with the receiver picking up weak signals on the used frequency if the transmitter was turned off first. 

And how it ended for the car?

8 hours ago, Fluwoeb said:

That sounds like a good plan. I myself have yet to explore the throttle dead-band. I have the same issue with the RPM cutting at low-medium throttle, but it also seems to not start until I get to that same point with the throttle... 

Oke. For me, it always does that up until 2/4-3/4 of the throttle.

[Fluwoeb]

14 hours ago, Lixander said:

And how it ended for the car?

The car was fine, it just would randomly drive or turn on its own until I turned it off. 
(I don't want to derail your topic so if you want to keep talking we can chat in the DM )

Edited July 13, 2024 by Fluwoeb

[Lixander]

11 hours ago, Fluwoeb said:

The car was fine, it just would randomly drive or turn on its own until I turned it off. 
(I don't want to derail your topic so if you want to keep talking we can chat in the DM )

Oke......thanks! ;))

[Lixander]

I just ”put” the Studio files of my brushless mod of the Sprite retro buggy made by Apachaihapachai on Rebrickable - https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-190287/Lixander A./sprite-retro-buggy-rc-mod/#details.

Even if the file is actually on Bricksafe, the Rebrickable page has more informations and the instructions notes.

                                    

                                                                                                    

 

Edited July 21, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

Also, now I am working on the semi-RC version of the RC-E buggy.

And with this.....I really reached the limits of the Lego gears, as the model can`t run with them due to the structure itself :(((

I will try to make it more sturdy, but I already ran out of 24t gears.

But I am surprised how ”light” it is, even with the hobby electronics and its 4x4 driveline.........I didn`t changed nothing at the suspension and it behaves the same. So, considering the Lego version has around 1.5 kg / 3.30 lbs / 53 oz if not a little less, I will say this version weights about the same also.

SCRAPPED (due to the extreme wear that the motor causes to the pieces)

 

 

Edited July 29, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

With the problems encountered with the last semi-RC model (RC hobby-grade electronics + Lego driveline) in mind, I made a large scale buggy (around 1:10 but a bit shorter in length).

The RC-E buggy REVii has detachable bodywork and wing, an enclosed ”tray” for the electronics (when the bodywork is attached), a fully independent suspension (made with 4x extra-hard 9.5L shocks) and a rear wheel-drive geared at 12.57:1 (12-16-20t + 20-28t + planetary wheel-hubs) with the possibility to use a differential instead of the 28t gear (the swap won`t affect the gear ratio).

I am pretty confident with the integrity of the chassis............but not so much with the one of the bodywork and the driveline :((

P.S.: the RC-E buggy REVii was scrapped.

Also, I had a fairly new RC model as a reference...........the Kyosho DirtMaster, a kind of a variant of their renowned Ultima buggy series.

Finally.............this meme fits perfectly with my ”situation” with the Lego gears now:

*Explanation:

Spoiler

The tuner that is behind RWB, a Japanese company which tunes Porsche`s mostly from 70`s - 90`s, in order to make the cars wider, cuts the fenders of the cars to fit the bodykits.

 

Edited August 17, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

Soo, after some tests I scrapped the RC-E buggy REVii and started working on a compact 4x4 model with 4x buggy motors and 1x PF servo.

The chassis of the new Tortoise buggy is sturdy enough for me, but I am not so sure about the bodywork.

I modified the connection between the front and rear frame the last days and the bodywork today. Now I could put the 2x Mk 4.0 hubs in the rear, just under the wing.

Moreover, besides the 4x4 drive, 4x buggy motors and 1x servo, the Tortoise buggy has independent suspension on all wheels, a detachable bodywork and wing.

The thing is that all my 4x MK 4.0 hubs stopped showing me when there are fully charged for a while and that led to 2x hubs with swollen batteries. Today, one of the remaining 2x hubs went smoking when I tried to connect it to a remote (turned on the remote and just turned on the hub with 2x stacked connectors put on a channel; when I pressed the button of the hub, the hub stopped showing its usual green/blue lights and then smoke came from the circuit board followed by a small flame).

So I was left with just 1x (traumatized) hub and a little monster-model with 4x buggy motors :/

I am planning to run the remaining functional electronics with a hobby-grade LiPo battery that also has 2 cells but gives more flexibility and ”safety” (I never though that I could call a simple LiPo safer than one connected to a circuit board with some safety things, even rudimentary some ones). For that, I have to make some adapters and swap the unusual JST (type PH with 3 wires) connector of the board.

Anyway, if someone is interested, here are the internals of a MK 4.0 hub.

Edited August 17, 2024 by Lixander

[2GodBDGlory]

Oof, that's rough about the battery! I hope my 6.0 hub holds up better than that...

[Lixander]

21 minutes ago, 2GodBDGlory said:

Oof, that's rough about the battery! I hope my 6.0 hub holds up better than that...

Yup :/

Also, the 6.0 might hold up better, as there might be a chance to actually have more qualitative electronics, considering the price difference.

I think I am going to get some BuWizz 2.0 after I gather enough bucks. 1x BuWizz 2.0 can hold up 2x buggy motors + 1x PF servo?

Edited August 17, 2024 by Lixander

[Aurorasaurus]

28 minutes ago, Lixander said:

I think I am going to get some BuWizz 2.0 after I gather enough bucks. 1x BuWizz 2.0 can hold up 2x buggy motors + 1x PF servo?

Yes, but only if you drive very carefully. The 3.0 really is the better option, you just need to use a C+ L motor to steer instead of a servo.

[Lixander]

6 minutes ago, Aurorasaurus said:

Yes, but only if you drive very carefully. The 3.0 really is the better option, you just need to use a C+ L motor to steer instead of a servo.

I see. Thanks for the answer!

I think that I would get the more affordable BuWizz 2.0, even if I am not careful at driving my models :/

Edited August 17, 2024 by Lixander

[Aurorasaurus]

15 minutes ago, Lixander said:

I see. Thanks for the answer!

I think that I would get the more affordable BuWizz 2.0, even if I am not careful at driving my models :/

The problem is that Buwizz 2.0 cuts power if your motors are under high load, which I think is likely given your motor setup and aforementioned "not careful" driving. But I wish you the best of luck, whichever you choose.

Edited August 17, 2024 by Aurorasaurus
add quotation marks

[Lixander]

1 hour ago, Aurorasaurus said:

The problem is that Buwizz 2.0 cuts power if your motors are under high load, which I think is likely given your motor setup and aforementioned "not careful" driving. But I wish you the best of luck, whichever you choose.

I understand. And thanks a lot! ;)

[Aurorasaurus]

2 hours ago, Lixander said:

I understand. And thanks a lot! ;)

No problem :)

[Lixander]

I finished today the Studio model and also did some test renders. You can see that the Tortoise is smaller and also lighter with about 300 g / 11 oz / 0.66 lbs than the 4x4 truggy REVii I finished at the start of the year.

I also played a little more with the wing shapes in the digital file than in the real build, as I currently don`t have enough 11L curved panels :/

Moreover, the model can carry a maximum of 2x hubs, so the safest way to go (with 4x buggy motors + a PF servo/ PU L model with no fire hazards) is 2x BuWizz 3.0, which means that I have to swap the servo with a PU L (an unwanted novelty for me).

 V.S. 

Edited August 23, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

I managed to fit (theoretically) 3x BuWizz 2.0, but that is a pretty ”inaccessible” version, as 2x BuWizz 3.0 are far more common than 3x BuWizz 2.0, judging by the price.

Anyway, I also did some tweaks on the rear and front assemblies: the motors on each frame are completely independent one to another now, as the motors were previously secured with a 8L axle with stop that passed trough the (slower) outputs closer to the edge. Now, each motor is secured with a 3L axle with stop.

Moreover, 4x hard 6.5L shocks seem to be enough for the weight of the model without any hub, as the model has so about 1 kg / 37 oz / 2.20 lbs (with hubs, the weight should be around 1,5 kg / 53 oz / 3.30 lbs).

Edited September 4, 2024 by Lixander

[EvilEnderman]

On 8/22/2024 at 7:12 PM, Lixander said:

Moreover, the model can carry a maximum of 2x hubs, so the safest way to go (with 4x buggy motors + a PF servo/ PU L model with no fire hazards) is 2x BuWizz 3.0, which means that I have to swap the servo with a PU L (an unwanted novelty for me).

Not necessarily - I've overcome this problem in the past by using a PF to PU adaptor like this: https://pv-productions.com/product/powered-up-to-power-functions-adapter/

They also sell them on AliExpress, which is the route I took, super cheap and works a dream!

[Lixander]

13 hours ago, EvilEnderman said:

Not necessarily - I've overcome this problem in the past by using a PF to PU adaptor like this: https://pv-productions.com/product/powered-up-to-power-functions-adapter/

They also sell them on AliExpress, which is the route I took, super cheap and works a dream!

I see. Thanks for sharing!

Also, one friend who wants to put 2x buggy motors on the 42124 "Off-road buggy" set got those adapters from AliExpress. The price and the quality are ok, as you said, but the wires were soldered incorrectly, so the motors were spinning when no command was given.

[Lixander]

 

I didn`t updated the W.I.P. ”workbench” for some time, so, here it goes.....

1st thing: The Vintage baja buggy - TC27 should have been on Rebrickable. But due to some circumstances, the Studio file of the model will be put on Brickshelf after I manage to update it.

2nd thing: As all of my hubs went dead and my last servo has problems, I ordered some new electronics, but it will take some time until they arrive ://
  So, until then, these are the models that are already built and that are waiting for a functional thing to finish them:

 

• Tortoise 4x4 buggy (compact 4x4 buggy with 4x buggy motors, 1x PF servo/ PU L motor/ Geekservo, 3x BuWizz 2.0/ 2x BuWizz 3.0/ 1x custom control unit, detachable bodywork and wing)

 

• Ford F-250 1972 (made for the RTXP 2024 Technic contest - Pick-up class which will be held by the Romanian LUG this autumn; it has 1x PF L motor, 1x PF servo/ PU L motor, 1x PF battery pack/ BuWizz 2.0 / BuWizz 3.0, interior with seats and fake steering-wheel, independent suspension in front and solid-axle type at rear; it can use 1x set of lights in the front)

  And the models that should be test-built in the near future:
 

• Baja buggy (functional Technic replica of the alternate 5893 Baja Buggy made by offroadcreations; it features 2x buggy motors for the rear wheel-drive, 1x PF servo, 1x BuWizz 2.0/ MK 4.0 and a detachable bodywork; 3x light sets can be installed - 3x studs for the front and 3x for the rear)

 

• S.RC Trophy-truck (medium-sized trophy-truck with 4x4 wheel-drive from 2x buggy motors, 1x Geekservo for steering, 1x custom control unit, detachable bodywork and space for 3x light sets - 5x studs for the front and 2x for the rear)

 

• Ruslan baja-truck (based on the Eagle V2 trophy-truck; it features 2x buggy motors, 1x servo-motor, (big) positive caster-angle, easily removable bodywork sides, realistic suspension - 4-links type at the rear and independent at the front and space for 5x light sets - 6x studs in the front and 5x at rear)

 

• Mars buggy (small buggy with 1x buggy motors for the rear wheel-drive with options for 3x gear ratios, 1x servo for steering, independent suspension at front and solid-axle type at rear and a semi-detachable body-work)

 

• Retro RC buggy (another small buggy with 2x buggy motors, 1x servo, but has space for 2 light sets - 2 studs in front and another 2x at rear and independent suspension on all wheels; it should weight around 800 g / 28 oz / 1.76 lbs with 2x BuWizz 2.0 or 2x CaDa/ MK hubs)

 

And the 3rd thing: W.I.P.s that ended up in the trash bin and I don't remember to mention them before. Luckily, there is just one such W.I.P.:

 

• RC Trophy-truck MAXX (I don't know why, but every model I make that has ”MAXX” in the name ends up in the trash bin :// ; anyway...this thing should use the 3300 kV brushless motor set-up I have paired with a Geekservo, an unfinished detachable bodywork, a pretty large positive caster-angle and an independent suspension on all wheels; the problems that keep me away from building this are the transmission that would most likely end up shredded in the first minutes of the test-runs - if the teeth of the motor`s metal pinion meshed correctly with the ones of the new red 28t differential first, and also the drive-line itself, as not even the new CV joints could bare the torque and RPMs of such motors)

Edited September 22, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

The Tortoise buggy will be scrapped, as I can`t finish it due to 2x faulty motors. Anyway, it waited over a month to be tested and now I find that 1x buggy motor is barely working due to chopped wire insultation and the other one stopped working after some time that it worked with the PF connector melted :((

I will see if I can borrow 2x buggy motors to properly finish this model.

Until then, you can find the Studio files for the BuWizz 2.0 and 3.0 versions with the latest updates on my Bricksafe - https://bricksafe.com/pages/Lixander_A./tortoise-buggy/wip 

P.S.: The Tortoise buggy was scrapped 

Edited October 1, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

The Ruslan baja finally made it to the test bench. It had some errors in the design of several areas, such as the steering, the roof and the rear suspension, but I think I already solved them, despite I didn`t test the model for extended periods of time; in the next weeks I will try to go out with it and properly test the Ruslan.

Thanks again to @Daniel-99 for letting, helping and encouraging me to remake his Eagle V2 for everyone! In the next month the Ruslan should be on Rebrickable.

 

Also, if you feel lazy and don`t want to search the post where I mentioned the specs, here there are:

- 2x buggy motors geared through 1x yellow differential (14 / 20; the other gearing is just for transmitting the power, as it has a gear ratio of 1:1), 1x PF servo and the possibility to install several light sets (around 3x sets in the front and 2x at rear);

- easily detachable bodywork panels;

- responsive suspension with high travel (the front can go over 3x 107 x 44 mm ”Tractor” tires and the rear over 2x 107 x 44 mm tires.......there are photos below) which in front is independent and at rear is a 4-link type, like in the real baja/ trophy-trucks; it uses 4x 9.5L extra-hard shocks and 2x soft 6.5L shocks.

Edited October 2, 2024 by Lixander

[Lixander]

The Ruslan II is on Rebrickable - https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-198908/Lixander A./ruslan-ii-baja-truck/#details and on Bricksafe - https://bricksafe.com/pages/Lixander_A./ruslan-baja-truck

Thanks again to @Daniel-99 for all the help!

[Aurorasaurus]

It looks good in the renders, and I like the removeable bodywork. How does the rear suspension work, are the light grey shock absorbers connected to an antiroll bar? 2 motors doesnt seem like enough to me, how is the performance?