K-9 Build - Week 8

Still having issues with the stuttering motors, I've been given a number of possible fixes but as it stands none have done anything to fix the problem.

Here are some of the suggestions I received from various people. The reason I'm posting these is because MAYBE there are others out there who are having the same problems or similar and don't know where to turn.  I hope this helps:

- You may need to install some filter capacitors on the motor leads.
Here's a website that shows you how:

http://www.kronosrobotics.com/an142/GAN142.shtml

You can get those capacitors at any radio shack if you need them fast.

Also, keep your transmitter at least 5 feet away from the bot while doing your tests and stuff.

- I suggest adjusting the trims on your sticks, read your manual that came with the radio. the trims are next to the sticks.

you can also go with changing from linear to expo at about 70 to soften the response around neutral. then change to what feels right to you on responsiveness.

If still too fast see if the radio has duel rates. set your duel rates to 50% to start, and when you flip the switch you will have half the speed the motors are capable of.

- After reading the manual go get a decent radio. my suggestion is either Futaba, JR or Spektrum. I wouldn't use that radio in a mouse droid. and i have been flying giant scale r/c aircraft since '86

- I noted you have your antenna wound up that is a NO-NO on these receivers

- I suspect its a matter of selecting the correct Dip switches and adjusting the trim

This is the correct dip switch formation for my setup

- Run the receiver and servos independently from the Sabertooth

- Twist the wires to the motors, you'll be surprised how much this helps

After much trial and error and attempting to figure out exactly what the heck is going on, I was able to reduce the speed of the motors but adjusting the "End Point" in the software setup for this particular transmitter however no adjusting of the trim of changing the power supply to the servos stopped the stuttering.  And so this leaves me with one more thing to try, get rid of this transmitter and receiver and replace it with a better quality one.  So we shall see once that arrives.

In the mean time I decided to go a head and start working on making the ears move, now theres two ways Ive seen how to do this the first I found a video on YouTube...

 
However inspired again by Doug Dixon's setup I went ahead and used a Futaba S128 with a linear servo conversion kit on it. A tab slides back and forth on top of the servo instead of having a rotating servo horn. The servo is attached to the inside of the head by Velcro to allow easy adjustment and removal.

Next I'll be playing with the tail, lets hope that once the new controller arrives this will fix the stuttering motors...