Resolved by rgordon!
Ok, the most awesome and rapid responses to my question regarding using my EZB with the sabertooth controller makes me a lot more confident that I may actually be able to do this... (whats in my head that is...)
I had envisioned using my EZB (v3) to control by robot and run programmed routines but ALSO have the ability for me to manually override at anytime with a conventional Futaba RC controller to interact with people as they approach.
Can EZB AND a conventional RC controller BOTH be wired to simultaneously share control with one having priority but the other running if the one with priority provides no input?
Sounds kind of complicated but it would make Halloween AWESOME! (My bot is the 'G-Bot' - a Lost in Space B9 robot that has until now been just a static display. This would be sooo cool if I can do it! )
Hopeful!
It would be kind of complicated to do.... One of the main reasons is the dip switches on the sabertooth would have to be manually set for rc and then back to serial... Why don't you just remote control the robot from ARC on your PC instead and skip the RC radio altogether?... The sabertooth Movement Panel is basically RC.... ARC can be configured for autonomous or remote control ... it is extremely flexible...
There are rc controllers that can be used with pc's.
@Tech.... Ok, but she will still have to set the dip switches on the sabertooth manually to rc and then back to serial.... If you use the sabertooth Movement Panel she can leave the dip switches in serial mode and just as easily control the robot via ARC....
Hi @gwen4156,
I did accomplish this with my robot Questor which allowed me to select between R/C and EZ-B control with the flip of a switch on the R/C transmitter. But there may be better ways to do it now. See this thread:
linky
@Gwen If You Have An Android Phone, You Can Make A Mobile Control And Control Your Bot With That. I Have A V3 And Have Done It With A Robosapien. You'd Just Need A Small Script To Toggle Auto And manual Modes With A Button For It In The Mobile Interface. You'd Get A Lot More Control Over The Bot Than You Would With An Rc Controller This Way As Well.
Just My $.02
Wow lots of great replies guys keep them coming I appreciate all the thoughts.
I'm certainly not opposed to controlling the robot 100% using the EZ board serial control through the ARC. I have a small notebook an iPad or my Android phone to ultimately use. Part of my consideration is cost as I'm trying to complete the project with what I have on hand another consideration is that I just like using a joystick. I just have had a really hard time learning to fly my Parrot drone well using the touch pad on either my iPad or Android phone.
and of course there's that small issue of learning how to use the whole interface and write script none of which I really have any knowledge of at this point ...
Steep curve...
Keep the ideas coming please.
You can use a cheap usb joystick with ARC to control the sabertooth too... Again, best of both worlds...Everything through ARC... You won't have to write much script at all...What you want to do can be done using a few ARC controls (that are properly configured)... It's actually very simple to do....
Also, with auto-position actions, and just better stability in general, I think you will find it easier to control virtually any robot than an AR Drone. The Drone is easier than most RC planes, and certainly easier than any RC helicopter, but it moves very fast, and is always a little behind reacting to commands, so pretty easy to lose control and crash into stuff (about half my landings are crash landings...).
Since you are using a V3, forget about iPad. iOS doesn't support Bluetooth Serial connections, so when EZ-B for iOS is released it will be V4 only. Android works on V3 though.
Alan
Is it possible ( without too much difficulty and considering im not a coder) to use something like this connected to my small notebook PC to manually control th G-Bot? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Black-USB-Dual-Shock-PC-Computer-Wired-Gamepad-Game-Controller-Joystick-/121100701093?pt=US_Video_Game_Controllers&hash=item1c322a0da5
This will work great... PS2 Robot controller
Ok, I'm connected and experimenting with controlling the G-Bot using the Sabertooth control in ARC v3. My Sabertooth 2x25 is in simplified serial mode (dip switches 1,3,and 6 up).
I have no idea what the values represent in the Sabertooth control configuration screen in ARC and cannot find a tutorial on it.
I'm reasonably sure the motors and controller are wired correctly. When I had my rc reciever connected to the Sabertooth I used channel 1 for the S1 and channel 2 for the S2. The joystick operated the motors perfectly (stick forward both motors forward, stick reverse, both motors reverse and the mixing was perfect). Now, with the Sabertooth in simple serial mode (dip switches as described above) I have the EZB connected via signal wire from D0 on the EZB to S1 on the Sabertooth (with common ground) and the G-Bot moves erratically. I cannot make any sense of how those values relate to what happens when I use the control arrows or the keyboard arrows...
Help please.
There was a thread by @Rich that helps explain how the Sabertooth settings work....
Sabertotth
Hope this helps....
OMG, that's it! It works! Thanks rgordon! :)
Is there a way to set the Sabertooth or EZB so the motion is gradual (maybe exponential vs linear)? The G-Bot will have a rather high center of gravity when fully assembled and the way the lower half is buzzing around in my garage it would've been on its side by now. As it is I think I could have driven it right through the garage door.
I could put a blade on it and use it for plowing snow in a few weeks :)