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Electronics |
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RC Controller
RC Controller stand for 'Radio Controlled Controller'. As it implies, it is a device that controll something faraway using Radio Frequency wave. They have been used very widely for various types of Toys (e.g, Race Car, RC Airplane etc) and recently they are widely used for various types of drones. One of the typical example can be illustrated as shown below. RC Controller is made up of two parts. One part is Transmitter (Controller) and the other parts is a Receiver. The controller transmit various control command to a reciever in the form of radio wave. The reciever detects the radio wave from the transmitter and convert it into various type of electrical signal (usually digital signal) and trasnfer the signal to other modules that will control various actuators (e.g, electric motor).
What to choose ?
If you just want to use a controller that comes with Toys or Drones when you purchase, you wouldn't need to know much of the technical details. However, if you are more interested in the technologies of the controller or you want to build your toys or drones by purchasing and putting together the separate components, you need to understand a certain level of technical details. Even though it may look a simple system, it would be a pretty huge task to understand all the detailed technology from radio communication to all the electronic circuits. Definately you would not be able to get all of these knowledge in short time. However, if you find answers to some of the questions as below, you may get enough information for selecting a ready made controller for your system.
Frequency : This refers to the frequency of the radio wave that the transmitter (controller) uses. The most important factors to determine the frequency would be personal preference (technical requirement) and regulations in the area where you use the controller. The common frequencies that are used for RC controllers are as follows
Depending on the region (country), you may not allowed to use some of these frequencies. In case of US (most North America), 27, 72, 75, 2.4 Ghz are allowed by FCC.
Channels : The 'Frequency' described above does not refer to the specific frequency that the transmitter use. It refer to a certain range of frequency (you may call it a frequency band). Actually the Channel refers to a specific frequency within the frequency band that the transmitter is using. Usually there are multiple channels in a frequency band and a transmitter sets a specific channel to transmit the control command (data).
Coverage : Coverage refer to the maximum distance within which the transmitted signal is recieved successfully by the reciever. This coverage first limited by the regulation of the country where the transmitter is used and then the transmitter power and reciever performance.
Reference
[1] Radio Control (R/C) Radio Service - FCC [2] Remote Control Transmitter FCC ID Common Questions [3] How Radio Controlled Toys Work (I) [4] How Radio Controlled Toys Work (II) [5] Radio control gear explained. [6] Radio Control Transmitters and Receivers - Beginner's Guide [7] How do traditional RC systems work? [10] 2.4GHz Radio Control Explained [11] Make a Simple RC (Remote Controlled) Robot Car [12] DIY REMOTE CONTROL CAR: THE BEST RC CAR TUTORIAL!
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