Received DX6i Transmitter/Receiver, Dean’s connectors and bullet connectors. Purchased aluminum tube, sheet of aluminum and a handful of screws from Home Depot. Having difficulty cutting aluminum, purchased metal hacksaw. Tested Transmitter/Receiver combo with servo motors. Works as expected. The servos included with the transmitter are very small and light, and may prove useful during the construction of a gripping mechanism.
Used some spare female headers to create a power connection to the receiver. The Dean’s connector was soldered to the power input of the ESC, while the bullet connectors were used for the motor/ESC connection. The Dean’s connection proved to be a solid and strong connection. The bullet connectors also provide a strong connection, though has a greater risk of a circuit short. Heat shrinks were used as a protective cover.
For the receiver, power can be applied to any of the inputs on the receiver. At rest, the receiver operates on 5V and 30mAs. When controlling a servo motor, the current requirement depends on the number of servo motors attached and moving. Since the receiver will be sending signals only to the Arduino, current draw should be similar to when the receiver is at rest.
Read the output signals from the receiver using an oscilloscope. Despite the poor quality of the oscilloscope, the output signal is indeed a PWM signal; however, it does not have a fixed time slot. The order of the PWM signals is as follows: Aileron, Aux1, Elevator, Rudder, Throttle, Gear. There is no gap in between outputs, as soon as the pulse width with one output is done, the next one begins immediately. Due to the dynamic time interval, an interrupt system to read the receiver signals in necessary. In addition, the output of the Aux1 pin mimics the throttle, however the throttle signal is only outputted when the throttle hold on the transmitter is not on. Activating the throttle hold immediately disables the throttle.
Cut out and drilled the motor mount from a sheet of aluminum. Motor did not mount completely parallel, used cardboard to straighten. Not an ideal setup, but will suffices for a prototype. Final version will be better cut and drilled. Motor mount design will require extra work.
Figure 1: Motor Mount Drawing
Soldered the bullet connectors for the motor and the ESC. Soldered Dean’s connectors for the power for the ESC and to 18 gauge wire. Connected the receiver to the ESC and the ESC to the motor for a prototype test. Completed a successful test of the transmitter->receiver->ESC->motor chain. However, the current power supply is insufficient beyond 45% thrust; it cannot output enough current for the motor.
Images
Figure 2: Servo Motor
Figure 3: Receiver
Figure 4: Transmitter
Figure 5: Testing the Receiver
Figure 6: Bullet Connectors
Figure 7: Dean's Connector
Figure 8: Motor Mount Prototype
Figure 9: Motor Mounted
Figure 10: Motor Testing
