Radio Control

One problem solved....

I recently bought an RC car in Hong Kong for $15 USA.
These cheap cars have remote controllers that to not have variable speeds, just

MOTOR +, MOTOR -, MOTOR RIGHT, MOTOR LEFT

This is absolutely perfect for my needs in this shot clock.
I have three controls: RESTART, PAUSE, RESET.

So, I took apart the vehicle  and pulled out the circuit board (left)
(Remote controller on the right)

Lets get some basics down on these circuits.
When the FORWARD button is pressed on the remote controller, it sends data over the 27MHz radio wave
The receiving board receives that data and turns on a motor to move FORWARD
Using this circuit, I can replace the FORWARD motor with a transistor
When the receiving board outputs a voltage signal to where the FORWARD motor once was, it will send a signal to the base of an NPN transistor

The transistor will connect the collector to the emitter.


How can i use this?
If you look at my prototype PCB, you will notice that I intended it to be handheld, or to be rested on a table.
Eventually, when this project is finished, I will need to place the PCB on the basketball backboard. The control buttons will be inaccessible to the bench.

So, when that time comes, I will connect the receiving board to the prototype PCB and replace the button switches with transistors.

This way, the bench can control the shot clock,

wirelessly

This is pretty cool to me. I hope it's cool to everyone else too.

This is the shot clock that will change the game.

Parts and PCB

Parts

Alrighty, anyone who likes to buy a lot of parts would know that Radioshack is a terrible place to go.

Compared the the prices you can find online, Radioshack is 500% or more overpriced

Plus, Radioshack is extremely limited in variety

But, what can I say. It's Radioshack. It sells cell phones.

So, being in HK I took the advantage of buying some parts in Sham Sui Po (heaven).

I went to this WECL store, bought $545 HKD worth of stuff. Well worth it: stocking up for the states!

Can you believe it? One heaping pack of resistors costed $5 HKD. Thats less than a US dollar.

Microphones, lasers, buttons, All less than one US dollar.

You can imagine how much I bought:

Sadly, and as I expected, I couldn't find flex resistors. They're hard to find: I guess I'll just have to order it.

PCB

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B5gFDZ2efTDSX0hPdG5sWWJuemc&usp=sharing

That's the link to sharing all of the files. Updated.
There is a README there.

I highly recommend David Cook's Copper Connection software for hobbyists. It's free, easy to use, and tailored to the hobbyist needs.

Anyways, I'm in HK, away from my equipment, so I can't make the PCB yet.
this PCB is for testing out different sensors, so I guess it is a prototyping PCB.

The smaller PCB is for the phototransistor. It is separate.
I still need to work on deciding if I want to use flex resistors or piezo elements...

Cheers!



This is the shot clock that will change the game.