The completed remote control
All of this autonomous stuff is pretty cool and all, but I decided it could get better. I could control the robot remotely –either taking it over completely or giving the autonomy a nudge here and there to adjust the course.
I started with the venerable Arduino and added a prototyping shield from NKC Electronics. On top of that I installed a Sparkfun joystick shield. Actually, I bought the joystick and the shield board, and populated it with my own components. It’s not that I thought I could do a better job, Sparkfun was out of the assembled shields.
RF Link 4800 bps radio on proto board
The prototyping shield is there to hold a socketed RF Link 433Mhz transmitter. The transmitter input connects directly to the serial output of the Arduino on pin 1. The rest of the simple radio’s pins are V+, Gnd, and antenna. I have a 33cm wire connected to the antenna pin. The whole unit is powered by a 9v battery pack connected to the Arduino, which passes regulated 5v to the proto board and joystick.
RF Link 4800 bps receiver unit
The joystick is read through the analog ports while its buttons are read digitally. The values are passed directly to the serial bus via a Serial.print command. The signals are caught by the matching 433Mhz receiver connected to another Arduino mounted in the robot. In essence, any joystick deflection or button presses are received and acted upon through the radio. It makes for a very simple radio control system.