I’ve got plenty of RC gear, but all my cars have been nitro so never really got into the electric scene….

Essentially I’m looking to build a cable cam rig, but have it ‘powered’ so it can track up and down the line.

Stuff I already have:
Spectrum 3 ch transmitter and receivers.
7v battery packs
Smaller battery packs to power servos (for the nitro side of things)
Enthusiasm

I know I’ll need:
A speed controller
An electric motor

Some one linked to the hobby-king website the other day (talking about quad copters) and tbh it’s baffling!
I’m sure brushed is the simplest option, so would likely want a brushed esc (as then I could perhaps use an old electric drill motor and gearing, couldn’t I?).

Can anyone recommend a few bits that would suit my needs?? Does the 7v battery pack power the electric motor AND the ‘electrics’ such as the receiver/esc?

Cheers!!

DrP

Have a look for househusband, he is in to that sort of stuff…

Brushless! Seriously, go for brushless motors and the corresponding ESC. Much more powerful and efficient.

However… You may need to plan on a reduction gearbox or something so that the motor’s speed can be made more useful for the rig.

Yes, by the way, the 7v batteries can power the whole setup

I am trying to find out about this stuff too but

Some speed controllers come with a BEC battery elimination circuit
BEC

a motor marked 1000kv actually means 1000rpm/V (unless anyone want to correct me)

The hoby king motors at least show you what rating speed controller you require, but some electronic speed controllers need programming and I really dont know about that bit.

It was a lot simpler when you just had a Tamiya 360 (or 540 if you were feeling rich) with a fancy variable resistor.

N

Programming an ESC is really easy. It’s usually setting the low voltage cutoff and your battery voltage, and sometimes braking and throttle.

Cheers for the above.
I’ve forayed into this scene before (building a brushless hovercraft – built the body, but couldn’t get my head around the motors side of things..).

If anyone is in the mood to create a ‘shopping list’ of a compatible motor and ESC, that would be grand…. 😉

DrP

Brushless! Seriously, go for brushless motors and the corresponding ESC. Much more powerful and efficient.

and much more expensive. Whilst I’d always advocate using a brushless motor for an RC vehicle, I’m less than convinced how important it is in this case. Brushed does also allow using a motor which already has a gearbox as the good Dr suggests, which may make things more simple.

I’m afraid that whilst I’ve actually designed my own brushed speed controller, it’s a micro scale one and also for planes/helis, so not any use for you as only one directional and I don’t really know anything about the bi-directional ones you’ll need. Nor about motors on the scale you’ll need.

Does the 7v battery pack power the electric motor AND the ‘electrics’ such as the receiver/esc?

As mentioned, many/most ESCs have a built in BEC which provides the voltage for the receiver. If not you just use a separate BEC to provide it with power – very few people use a separate receiver battery in electric models. As for powering the ESC, well that has to be powered from the battery which powers the motor, as that’s how the motor gets its power.

I think you need to work out gearing before you buy a motor & ESC, otherwise you might have to buy another one.

I also would go with brushed for your first attempt. A lot cheaper, can work in reverse, loads of ESC & Motor combo’s on Ebay.

Here’s a guy’s list of bits he bought for a cable cam.

Are you going to do a blog about the build? I’d be interested in seeing one, and possible trying to make one in the summer..

EDIT: Better Cable Cam Thread

I’d be up for blogging about it..
Will need to get my site up and running again (or more likely, I’ll just ‘blog’ another big post on here…

Will read those other ‘guides’ when I get the time,
Cheers all

DrP