Treadwell WED-15-77: Part 27 - Testing

Well…… A few hiccups before the finale.

• The tracks need shortening (both).
• The mast base support needed a slot in it (think i did this as a second version on the model but didn’t reprint it.

May 9th

Connected up the battery and plugged in the fuses and plugs into the receiver, and powered up.

After dipping the Sabertooth into tank mode, right transmitter stick in full control.

I added WED-15 to the transmitter, and colour coded the LED’s to match.

Might also have to invest in some blue sticks.

May 10th

Today was the mast and head install.

This was there I realised I hadn’t but a slot in the mast base plate for the servo leads. I decided NOT to bother with the servo block plug, as it would of been difficult to reach once the mast was fitted. I just extended the servo leads.

I first connected up the head pivot servo.

Then the eye/head servo for the up down action.

Once happy with this, I connected up the main claw arm lift servo to a switch on the transmitter. Again, all good.

Next was the claw servo…. It worked but not for long??

Its been a while since testing it so don’t know if I hadn’t done something right, as on closer inspection, the case looked warped.

Took it out of the forward servo casing and, yes, the gears had jammed and one had melted, over heating the motor and melting the servos housing.

I did take a test video, you can watch it in the next post.

May 13

I trimmed the neck servo to increase it’s turning range. I also adjusted the head servo to increase it’s looking up position.

May 15

I got round to pinning the head/eye supports to the pivot bar. I had to fit an additional cross bar back in, for rigidity.

The ‘piston’ and the two ‘clamp’ rings got a respray, to a more brass look.

The eye/head servo lead I decided to modify by adding an additional plug on the outside of the neck. This allows the eye/head unit to be fully removable, found it so much easier to work on this way.

Added a spacer to reduce the clearance between the neck and mounting plate.

This fits under the bearing shim.

May 21st:

Tested out the track on the ground.

It works, but the teeth are still a problem, also the front brackets are flexing under the tension and there’s not enough torque on the axle nuts.

3D printing some beefier versions out of ABS.

I’ll also be printing new motor brackets in ABS too as these were flexing slightly.

Ordered a new nano servo.

R5-D4: Update April/May 2023

I’ve been giving R5 as he hadn’t been actually moved since Birmingham at the NEC.

New Dome motor wheel:

3D printed him a new wheel, as on the previous one the retainer nut wasn’t being held well and the PLA had been stretched. So I slightly modified some of the sizes and then printed it in ABS. Fitted the nut and 'o’ring and then fitted it onto the motor shaft.

Test was on Saturday at…..

 ...April

Next up was to connect up the new receiver. This didn’t take me to long, compared to the nightmare I had trying to sort it out when at Celebration 🙄.

I didn’t need to connect power (previous TX require power), this one utilities the power from being connected by the servo leads. Jacking up the wheels meant I was able to setup the drive and steering channels, plus the extra switch ones, for the utility arm, sounds and (once I have the long enough servo lead) I’ll be able to trigger the trading card dispenser.

Trading card dispenser:

A while back, I made a new trigger control box that utilised a servo controlled relay, instead of the previous remote control. Once the servo lead arrived, I crimped on new plugs to connect up the TCD control box.

View Blog post here.

But on testing it….. I realised that it needed to have a momentary activation rather than an actual ‘switch’. So I’ve been on Radio Model Workshops website and will be ordering a single RC switch relay, which has the option of it being a momentary one. So this control box will get another upgrade when it arrives.

In the meantime, I swapped the control box back over to the remote control version and 3D printed a new box for the remote, so that it could be attached to the new rear panel I’d printed off for the new Flysky transmitter.

I drew up a button bracket, that fits into one of the rear screw hole sockets, this will be upgraded again to look better and also hold the LED in place.

May 9th

Outer foot ankle lock:

The outer foot shell needed some repair to it, so with the legs off the body, I stripped the outer foot down. The ankle locks unbolted and the ankle bolt nut (previously held in place with super glue), fell out lol. I knew I needed a better way to hold them in place. I had thought about a lock washer, but then a lightbulb 💡 moment came. I measured up and drew up a nut holder to 3D print. It would be held in place by a bolt.

Nut holder loose.

Nut holder moved into position. I applied some thread lock to help keep it in position, but only nipped it tight to allow the ankle bolt to locate through into the thread.

I’ve added the file to my Prusa page.

The wooden foot shell got cleaned up inside to allow the new glass fibre to bond properly. Good as new again.

New Transmitter - FlySky FS-ST8

Birmingham’s event was eventful, but also had a sad part, my second Volantex Exmiter EX7 transmitter died...???? 😢 Great.... right before Celebration in a two weeks.

I spoke with Chris as he had a flysky which I had looked at before but didn’t know anyone who had one to check it out.

I came across this FS-ST8 and liked the look, checked out a few YouTube reviews and all seemed good.

Got home and started searching for suitable ones and also non Royal Mail delivery (as they have unfortunately become less reliable) found one and decided to buy. It arrived within days.

Had a quick flick through the settings, so easy to operate. Has LED’s that can be changed, sounds for power on/off. It’s also quite lightweight and comfortable to hold.

Eximiter diagnostic

Checked the batteries, stripped it down the following day, tested it for continuity, but nothing after the switch, even swapped the switch as had a spare one.