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For Halloween I wanted a way to
animate the house decorations a
bit. In this project I took a cheap
RC toy and some inexpensive
parts and made a 'RC Skytram'. It is
a chassis that hangs from a wire or
string, and will run along the
string based signals from a radio
control. The idea is to hang a
ghost or spider or whatever from
the chassis, and have it jump out
on unsuspecting trick or treaters.
On a cost and tech level this is a
very cheap and easy project.
animate the house decorations a
bit. In this project I took a cheap
RC toy and some inexpensive
parts and made a 'RC Skytram'. It is
a chassis that hangs from a wire or
string, and will run along the
string based signals from a radio
control. The idea is to hang a
ghost or spider or whatever from
the chassis, and have it jump out
on unsuspecting trick or treaters.
On a cost and tech level this is a
very cheap and easy project.
Parts needed to build the RC skytram:
The main part is the 'Radio Controlled Rat'. Inside this rat has a
single motor that will spin forward or reverse based on the 2
button wireless remote control.
In addition we used a 3 AA battery pack and some pulleys from
the Tamiya Pulley set.
Last is a spare piece of ABS which we heated up to form a J
shape.
Two pulleys joined together form the cable hanger and a drive
pulley. Use a screw that goes through both sides of the ABS to
mount the hanger. That will give you max load carrying
capacity. Remember to put the drive belt on before running the
screw all the way through.
Remove the rat's drive wheel. With the belt in place determine
a good, tight position for the drive motor. Too loose and the
belt will slip. Too tight and the life expectancy goes down.
Remember you'll have to take the pulley off to replace the belt.
Drill a hole through the ABS for the motor shaft.
Solder the battery pack to the receiver board. This rat also
drove two LEDs. I haven't chosen to hook any up yet, but you
can.
Two #4 x 3/8 screws mount the gear box housing against the
ABS. Place the belt on the drive wheel and hang on the string.
Last is to use double sided tape to secure the battery pack and
receiver PCB. Choosing which side to mount them affects the
center of gravity. Try and get the system to hang vertically.
At this point the piece will run up and down the string on
command. Next is to go to the local Halloween supply store and
find something to hang from it.
Happy Halloween and have fun!
The main part is the 'Radio Controlled Rat'. Inside this rat has a
single motor that will spin forward or reverse based on the 2
button wireless remote control.
In addition we used a 3 AA battery pack and some pulleys from
the Tamiya Pulley set.
Last is a spare piece of ABS which we heated up to form a J
shape.
Two pulleys joined together form the cable hanger and a drive
pulley. Use a screw that goes through both sides of the ABS to
mount the hanger. That will give you max load carrying
capacity. Remember to put the drive belt on before running the
screw all the way through.
Remove the rat's drive wheel. With the belt in place determine
a good, tight position for the drive motor. Too loose and the
belt will slip. Too tight and the life expectancy goes down.
Remember you'll have to take the pulley off to replace the belt.
Drill a hole through the ABS for the motor shaft.
Solder the battery pack to the receiver board. This rat also
drove two LEDs. I haven't chosen to hook any up yet, but you
can.
Two #4 x 3/8 screws mount the gear box housing against the
ABS. Place the belt on the drive wheel and hang on the string.
Last is to use double sided tape to secure the battery pack and
receiver PCB. Choosing which side to mount them affects the
center of gravity. Try and get the system to hang vertically.
At this point the piece will run up and down the string on
command. Next is to go to the local Halloween supply store and
find something to hang from it.
Happy Halloween and have fun!
