bitPimps.lixlink.com

Okay, I've caught the MT Mod bug and now I want to do a PCB swap (put an iWaver board in). I've been searching around and got bits and pieces of info here and there, but nothing as step-by-step as Clint's MT Articulation tut.

I WAS able to find a word doc that betty.k put up on BruceMicro, of sat4life27's Mini-Z/iWaver board into a ZZSE tut...But the pictures in the doc weren't in there so I'm back at a loss on some details.

So here are some questions...

The PCB
1. Is this the proper board to use?
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wt ... LXKRN7&P=7
2. Along with needing crystals, is there anything else I'll need to do this (there was mention of a 10k ohm resistor for the ZZSE mod, but do I need it for MT as well?). If I do need the 10k ohm, where can I get that badboy?
3. Is the wiring straightfoward? Pretty much the same setup as the regular MT board?

Crystals:
4. Can I use XMods crystals with the iWaver pcb? (it'd be much cheaper to get this pack)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search
4a. If yes, can the XMods crystals be put into a Mini-Z Perfex Tx? I'd MUCH rather use a Perfex!
4b. If no and I have to buy the specific iWaver crystals...Do those work with the Mini-Z Perfex?
5. Where on the iWaver PCB does the crystal get soldered to?

Sorry if a lot of this stuff is already covered, but if ya work with me on this one I'll come up with a fully detailed tut with pics and vids!

Thanks!

Well I haven't done the ol' iwaver PCB swap, but I've been wanting to do one, and been paying attention, so here's what I got.



The PCB

1. Is this the proper board to use?
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wt ... LXKRN7&P=7

That board should work, but differs because it used a standard 3 wire servo, where as the old Iwaver PCB basically wired right up to a SE Servo.

2. Along with needing crystals, is there anything else I'll need to do this (there was mention of a 10k ohm resistor for the ZZSE mod, but do I need it for MT as well?). If I do need the 10k ohm, where can I get that badboy?

You're gonna need a servo for the MT. If you got the original Iwaver PCB you can use the SE servo assembly, but if you're using the Tower iwaver board, you may want to get a standard 3 wire micro servo, disassemble it, and figure how to cram that in there. Also do a search for betty.k's semi propo resistor cheater method.

3. Is the wiring straightfoward? Pretty much the same setup as the regular MT board?

When LBRC hooked an Iwaver PCB to his ZZ SE, he said the wiring was the same. If your using the 3 wire version then everything should hook right up as it would in an Iwaver.

Crystals:
4. Can I use XMods crystals with the iWaver pcb? (it'd be much cheaper to get this pack)
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search
4a. If yes, can the XMods crystals be put into a Mini-Z Perfex Tx? I'd MUCH rather use a Perfex!
4b. If no and I have to buy the specific iWaver crystals...Do those work with the Mini-Z Perfex?

Xmod and iwaver crystals are Futaba compatible crystals and will work in most all radio systems. I'm not familiar with the Perfex radio, but if I remeber right, the Iwaver radio works well with Mini-zs, but the Perfex radio sometimes has compatibility issues with the Iwaver. Not sure about that, You may want to research mini-z racer for info about that.

If that is the case, The Iwaver TX is worth the money for its programable features.

5. Where on the iWaver PCB does the crystal get soldered to?

What I've seen people do is, onsolder the crystal jack from the PCB, and resolder it sideways. I've seen others just lay the crystal across the jack and solder it in place.

Hope that was helpful.

I'll tell ya, the only reaso I'm putting this off is because when i get around to it, I gotta do a ZZ MT, a SE, a Xmod, and a Superslick MT.

CD,

I tried to PM you, but I don't see a copy of what I sent in my Sent Messages. Is your message box full?

Anyway...

So if I could find an iWaver 01, I'd be able to drop the PCB right into the MT without needing any further resisters or servos?

Hey Namuna, you got mail.

all you need to do is this:
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/phpFo ... php?t=5176

in my opinion for a good crawler you want propo throttle but the steering doesn't need to be propo, just strong.

here's the sat4life thread you wanted, pics intact:
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/phpFo ... t=pcb+zzse

Well, for all she's worth I just ordered 3 of the iWaver PCB boards from ToyEast.
http://www.toyeast.com/v3/pdtdetail.asp?pdt_id=AIW209

I'll be picking up the XMods crystal set
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index ... age=search

Now I'm off on the hunt for some resistors. Betty, you mentioned you used 3.3k ohm for the pot cheat...I saw there's 2.4k ohm resistors out there, would that be better?

I guess I could pick up some 10k (surface mount? How's that different?) resistors too if I decide to go all out and do the mod as LBRC did with getting the Mega Micro Servo.

Namuna wrote:Betty, you mentioned you used 3.3k ohm for the pot cheat...I saw there's 2.4k ohm resistors out there, would that be better?

dunno about better or worse but it should work just fine.

You know, I just realized...

You CAN'T do an Articulation mod AND have a Full propo MT at the same time...You got nowhere for the servo to go. Unless I'm missing something?

So it seems betty's pot cheat using the resistor is the only way to go if you want throttle propo AND Articulation...Which is exactly what I want.

Betty.k, if i'm understanding correctly, with your resistor mod, turning the tx stick slightly will move the steering slowly and turning the tx stick all the way will move it fast. As it sounds, it is basically turning the servo into an esc with a low speed gearbox. neat.

How does the steering react when you center the stick? I would assume it remains at full lock?

If you can slow the final drive ratio even more, maybe by adding an extra reduction gear to the servo(or a slower motor/higher value resistor), you can probably simulate full propo steering pretty well and get crazy steering torque.

Namuna wrote:You know, I just realized...

You CAN'T do an Articulation mod AND have a Full propo MT at the same time...You got nowhere for the servo to go. Unless I'm missing something?

You can, but it requires chopping off most of the front end of the MT and using the servo case as "the new front chassis". it's a real pita.

Cut out the front section for the servo before cutting off the sides of the mt chassis. The sides add stability while you gut the entire front end...
then when the servo is CA'd in place cut the MT sides off and mount on an articulated zzmt.

Clint wrote:...How does the steering react when you center the stick? I would assume it remains at full lock?

Ooo ooo! I can answer that one...When you center the stick, the steering motor should halt and the the centering springs will do their thing and re-center the steering.

Clint wrote:You can, but it requires chopping off most of the front end of the MT and using the servo case as "the new front chassis". it's a real pita.

Oh for christ's sake! Why don't I just buy a CNC and BUILD my own shit at that point!!

Namuna wrote:

Clint wrote:...How does the steering react when you center the stick? I would assume it remains at full lock?

Ooo ooo! I can answer that one...When you center the stick, the steering motor should halt and the the centering springs will do their thing and re-center the steering.

correctamundo

betty, I found 2 sets of 3.3k resistors from RatShack, does it matter which set I go with?

http://www.radioshack.com/search/index. ... er+%243.99

electronically either will work as well as each other.

just go for the smaller one, even a surface mount one salvaged from a dead pcb will work

Alright, I've received my order of PCBs from ToyEast and here's a look at the board.

Full Top View:


Zoomed in Top view


Full Bottom View:


Zoomed in Bottom View:


Betty (or anyone else who'd know),
Where's the magic spot I need to hookup the 3.3k resistor to?[/img]

across the servo pot terminals, the servo pot isn't used.