RC Tanks Australia Forum

Hi All

A little post to help with the switching functions of S1 (switch 1) and S2 (switch 2) on the RCXHL units. Note: whenever RCXHL is used it refers to BOTH the 2HL and 5HL versions.

First up on some RC2HL the S2 function was programmed to automatically act as a reversing light. If this is the case then you will not be able to use S2 to switch headlights or machine guns. You may however be able to change the firmware running on your RC2HL to change from S2 being a reverse light. Contact us for help either a $15 programming cable will be required or chip swap.

How S1 & S2 work:
On the board S1 & S1 are just a pair of jumper pins. Most boards will have these pins labelled and importantly tell you which pin is the V+ pin and which the V0 pin. V+ pin is directly connected to the 5+Volt supply so it always capable of providing 5 volts. It is the V0 pin that is "switched". When the switch is activated V0 connects to ground completing the circuit.

It is important to be aware of both the polarity of the switch pins and that they turn on/off a 5 volt supply.

Now how the switches are activated depends on what board you are using. On either board if S2 is a reverse light it switches on whenever the throttle is in reverse. Otherwise:
RC2HL:
S1: 100% CH4
S2: -100% CH4
RC5HL (Taipan Protocol)
S1: -100% CH5
S2: -50% CH5

If you want S1 & S1 to switch LED lights they can be connected up to S1 & S2 with the addition of a 220 ohm resistor to limit the current. Again note polarity when connecting.

If you want to turn ON/OFF your headlights or switch between hull and turret machine guns or switch on/off your smoke unit then it is best to use a relay. I realise some of you may not be familiar with relays nor confident of soldering up a circuit for them. Fortunately, such a practice of using relays is so common that ready made relay boards are easy to source and one such board is now available through the webshop.



As you can see in the picture above there are 3 'input' pins to control the relay and an output terminal

VCC connects to the V+ pin of your switch
IN1 connects to the V0 pin of your switch
GND connects to the GND pin of the programming port

When connected in this fashion the activation of the switch breaks the normally closed connection between COM and NC and connects COM to the NO terminal. Switching the headlight is easy you simply cut one of the wires going to the headlight. Put one cut end into the COM terminal and the other end into the NC terminal. When the switch is activated the connection is broken and the headlight turns off.

Switching Machine guns is a little more complicated. A diagram would be best but have not got one on hand right now. What I do have is a series of videos showing a 2 channel relay board in action. The dual relay boards are simply two of the above units on a single board.

Here are the videos:







Cheers
Kevin G

Hi Kevin, was considering using sw1 and sw2 to turn lights on and off directly without passing through the plate RX18, so you do not blink or indicate when on or off the tank (that's another led inside), but I is giving problems as activated but not go out, and make mistakes configuration command, the indicator lED will sw in use decreases its intensity, I used 3 leds (2 1.9 vile. parallel with a resistance of 180 ohm. and 1 led 3.2 vol., and a resistance of 180 leds, is this normal? estoyn doing something wrong? not expected to sw1 and sw2 interruptorres function as on / off with the leds directly feeding?

greetings

HI C3

Not exactly sure what you problem is so I have made up a diagram of how you should wire your LEDs correctly. You can put the two LEDs on either SW1 or Sw2 it does not matter.

rc5hlv9_switch.jpg

The LEDS are turned on or off by toggling either -100 or -50% and returning CH5 to neutral each time. DO not leave CH5 in any other position other than neutral.

ALSO the switching must be instantaneous so you can not travel through -50% on the way to -100% otherwise both switches will activate.

Cheers
Kevin G

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rctanksaustralia.com

Thanks for your attention, you're all ok, only sometimes I notice the throttle to stick a small sprint, although I have not even changed the 180 ohm resistor. by 220 ohm. would be necessary?

regards