Re: speed controller help [TANKS]

[Frank Pittelli <frank-at-rctankcombat.com>]

chris barthelson wrote:
>         Why do you say venerable 555??? are they quick to release their 
> smoke? So what does this provide? and why is it not written about on the 
> speed controller page.... or is it? It has to be cheaper than everything 
> else?

I called 555s venerable because they are "deserving of honor and 
respect; generally implying an advanced age".  The 555 is one of the 
most successful general purpose ICs designed in the last 20 years.  It 
can be used to solve an amazing number of electronic design problems.

The reason I didn't include 555-based controllers in the How-To was 
because micro-processor solutions have far more capabilities and if 
you're going to build your own ESC, that's probably a better way to go. 
I mentioned them in the email because the person seemed interested in 
building something himself and I didn't know if he was interested in a 
microprocess or discrete IC solution.

You can find a number of homemade ESC designs on the Internet and with a 
little tweaking and experimentation, I'm sure they can be made beefy 
enough and reliable enough for our purposes.  If you're interested in 
learning about ESCs or electronic design, give them a try.  If you're 
interested in saving money, buy one ... they've already solved all the 
problems for you.

        Frank P.