After viewing the plans for a 3D-printed Jeep Rancher on the 3DSets.comwebsite I decided it would be a perfect project for my grandson and I (but really for me). The.stl files and instructions supplied by 3DSets.com are near perfect particularly for original Prusa printers and a real value at $30.00.
I don’t know a thing about RC (radio controlled) gear. It’s a hobby I have never explored. As I investigated the requirements for RC controller for this project I got intimidated by the wide assortment of transmitters, receivers, esc’s (electronic speed controllers) and motors involved in RC. I also don’t have a group of RC knowledgeable people around that I could rely on for advice.
Rather than investing in a traditional RC hardware I decided to create my own using Blynk on my iPhone as the ‘remote control’ and a Wemos D1 Mini and Cytron MD13S as the receiver/motor controller onboard the Jeep. I knew from other projects I have made that I could make this work. I just wasn’t sure if I could make it small enough to fit in the same area as the 3D Sets Jeep designers had set aside for the RC hardware.
Desiredfeaturesfor the electronics: The design of the Jeep evolved during the development of the electronics. The original build had only one motor, a 21T, 540 high torque brushed dc motor providing the forward and reverse motion. It requires a high current reversible motor controller. During my design process 3DSets added a winch for the front bumper. It is specified as a 3-5V geared to 150 rpm. It also requires a separate reversible controller. The steering is actuated by a 180 degree servo. The suggested battery for this project is a 2S Shorty Lipo 7.4V 100C 4600 mAh hardcase. To be safe I used BEC’s (battery elimination circuits) for the microcontroller and motor controller. I also wanted a circuit to monitor the charge level of the battery to protect it from over-discharge. Since it was possible that I would operate the Jeep in a location where cellular internet service was unavailable I decided to host the communication between the iPhone and Jeep with a Blynk local server on a Raspberry Pi.
Adafruit has had paid day off for voting for our team for years, if you need help getting that going for your organization, let us know – we can share how and why we did this as well as the good results. Here are some resources for voting by mail, voting in person, and some NY resources for our NY based teams as well. If there are additional resources to add, please let us know – adafruit.com/vote
Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.
Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.
