Is 'Center off' possible for channel 3 on TQi?

[Newth Cox]

I'm thinking about finally splashing out & buying a 4 channel TQI.

It suddenly dawned on me though that I need channel 3, to be a 3 position switch, not just left & right. I need left, right & center, to cover all my models.

I know on the normal TQ link transmitters this is an easy mod, I've done it myself, but is it that straight forward on the TQi?

Hope someone has already sorted this.

Thanks
Newth.

[krallopian]

It's exactly the same!

[Newth Cox]

Great stuff, thank you.

[Newth Cox]

Done, thank you again.

Just wish I could find a replacement 'centre of' rocker switch that could be soldered onto the switch PCB. It would be nice to keep the look of the transmitter standard.

[krallopian]

NP glad you got it working. I got mine from my old 27mhz radio.

[O.G.]

What are you doing to need a 3 position switch? Just curious..

Sent from the cockpit of my Jeep Wrangler

[jolynsbass]

Is there anyway to modify the existing thumb switch to have three positions? I'm also really interested in a "stock" look with increased functionality. Frankly, I'm not sure why Traxxas wouldn't just have put a three position switch on there, since the channel supports it.

[Newth Cox]

What are you doing to need a 3 position switch? Just curious.

My crawler uses rear steering. I'm just messing about with how that works. I currently have the rear steering tagged into channel 1, using channel 3 to switch a servo reversing unit in to the wire that feeds the rear servo. It's not great, but it's what I have currently. I'm hoping I can now use channel 3 directly, then mess about with channel 4 & 5 to work it as it now is at the same time.

Is there anyway to modify the existing thumb switch to have three positions?

I had a look, then decided against it. If I modified it, I didn't think I'd be able to retain any kind of spring to the switch in a centre position (Should I be able to get it working at all!). I really need to track down a supplier & see if a 'centre off' switch is available. The current toggle switch looks nasty.

[krallopian]

The stock switch will act as a three way switch if you slowly move it up. Without ANY modification to mine, it is already a 3-way switch.

[Newth Cox]

Doesn't make it very usable though. The switch needs to 'click' into place, to be of any real use. My clumsy fingers would never cope with it like that.

[jolynsbass]

The stock switch will act as a three way switch if you slowly move it up. Without ANY modification to mine, it is already a 3-way switch.

Testing it with a servo connected, I see that you are right. I agree with Newth, I need a discreet position/detent for the switch. I'll going to see if I can do some sort of mod to it...

[Newth Cox]

I've found a switch that might do, but the pinout is wrong. I suppose you mod the pcb to make it work, or even make up something else to mount it on. The lever part isn't quite right, but i think it would work ok. Oveall size is correct though.

http://globiz.info/index.php?page=pr...oduct_id=09014

[jolynsbass]

I've found a switch that might do, but the pinout is wrong. I suppose you mod the pcb to make it work, or even make up something else to mount it on. The lever part isn't quite right, but i think it would work ok. Oveall size is correct though.

http://globiz.info/index.php?page=pr...oduct_id=09014

I think if it's the right size, it'd be easy to mod the lever part (w/ a dremel!) to be able to slip the original red thumb switch thing on. I don't see any way to order this switch, though... I'd sure like to see how much it would be. Any ideas on how to get one?

[jolynsbass]

Okay, a found a cheap pack of 5 here :
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/09014-5x-M...item3f16c78a70

But they don't ship to the US... nuts! I've spent too much time looking - anyone have any other likely sources for this part?

[Newth Cox]

They're the ones I initial found when looking. They lead me to the site I posted. I can never make head nor tails of the rules on this forum with regards to ebay linking, so I didn't.

I've still not found an on/off/on though. How hard can it be to find 1!

I keep changing my mind about the ebay one. It still sounds a lot of work to fit it & it still not be right. For the sake of £3, I may well pick up a pack of 5 anyway, just to have a look.

I know what will happen, I'll finally find the right switch, but find I prefer the toggle switch I currently have mounted externally. lol

[jolynsbass]

Wouldn't just not connecting the mid-position output terminal on the switch turn it into an on/off/on? I guess I don't know about these things very well.

I have order a dual output receiver switch from the robot marketplace, that takes the various signals from the receiver channel and puts them into an off/on state for it's output on two different leads. I'd like to have two sets of lights that can be switched on like so:

switch down = lights all off
switch mid = main body lights on (just head/tail lights, no top rack lights or underbody lights)
switch up = all lights on

Would an on-on-on switch work with this setup? Sounds like it would - since the actual turning off of lights comes from the receiver switch reading the various positions of the thumb switch as sent by the radio...

(Wrote to the seller of that ebay switch - they are willing to ship to US! I might have to buy a 5 pack and see if I can get it to work!)

[Newth Cox]

If you follow the ebay link, the pinout for the switch is there. It's not the same layout at all. It'll work, but will need some modification to fit the existing PCB.

I've ordered a set, more to have a look at than anything else.

[trax de max]

sub miniature toggle switch on-off-on, If a word is in brackets that part is spring loaded ie. on-off-(on). the last on will spring back to off.
I don't know any american sites but click me it may help

[Newth Cox]

Did you manage to find the right switch on that site? I can't seem to. It's an odd looking switch.

ps - thanks for looking.

[jolynsbass]

Did you manage to find the right switch on that site? I can't seem to. It's an odd looking switch.

ps - thanks for looking.

Don't know if you were talking to me - prob. not. But check this out: It's just like the switch you found on ebay (identical), only it says "center off".
http://www.onlinetps.com/shop/index....oducts_id=1022

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EDIT1:
Looks like its in India, but the site takes Paypal... that gives me some confidence. I only wonder what the shipping cost would be? (each switch is Rs.35.00 = ~$0.63 US, according to quick google search...) If shipping isn't too much, this might be the one you're looking for! I don't think modifying the TX PCB would be too hard... I'm going to have to take a look at it tonight to see if there are just wire traces on the board, or any actual electronics on it. (I think it's just wire traces, which means, you ought to be able to bypass the board altogether - just connect the TX wires directly to the switch...

So, would this switch be the best one (on-off-on) vs. the other switch (on-on-on)? What exactly is the difference in how they would operate in the TX? I wish I could order both from one source...

------------
EDIT2:
Nuts - looks like they don't ship to America... Ugh. Plus, they have only 4 in stock. Still, might be worth a shot for you, Newth.

[trax de max]

switch down = lights all off
switch mid = main body lights on (just head/tail lights, no top rack lights or underbody lights)
switch up = all lights on

to have this you would need connected to ch4 and ch5 if it's the same as the TQ Link. as it's really ch4a & ch4b
and use an on-off-on switch one connected to ch4 the other to ch5 using an on-off-on SPDT
In the UK i go to maplins, don't know if they ship worldwide.

[jolynsbass]

Trax de max,
No that doesn't work - you need some kind of circuit/switch in-line between the rx and leds in order to turn them on and off from the tx. I've got a switch that will output to two different leads for LEDS based on the signal that is sent from the rx (either both off, on/off, on/on) - perfect for a three position switch.

Since the thumb switch *can* be a three position switch, that's far more efficient to use that one channel than to use both chan 4 & 5 (4a/4b) - which are currently used for my hi/lo trans and lock/unlock diffs.

[Newth Cox]

Don't know if you were talking to me - prob. not. But check this out: It's just like the switch you found on ebay (identical), only it says "center off".
http://www.onlinetps.com/shop/index....oducts_id=1022

Thats the fella! Pinout looks the same as whats currently there. Would mean a quick desolder/solder job. (& a bit of modding on the lever)

Edit.....
Actually, it says 'spring action'. I wonder if that means momentary action. I'll email them.

[trax de max]

Ah, now it gets tricky.
the reciever outputs a pulse to turn servos 1ms to go one way 1.5ms for neutral and 2ms for opposite direction. To get 2 sets of lights to work plugged into one channel like this would need the correct switch if there is one, in the receiver feeding lights.
I use a pololu switch in receiver for roof lights. If there is a switch to do this they would maybe have one.
I would like to see this work, as it could open up some new light set ups.

Spring doesn't lock in position.

[Newth Cox]

In the UK i go to maplins, don't know if they ship worldwide.

I use maplins all the time, theres a store just down the road from work. Unfortunately, this time they haven't got the right switch.

[trax de max]

they deliver if its not in one store it'll be in another. Pop into a RS place There is one in Nottingham. They are the main suppliers for electronic stuff. You may need a company account or say your a student. For something that is a few pound they'll let you off.

[Newth Cox]

Thanks, but I've tried Maplins (Farnells) & RS, but no look. Finding a centre off toggle switch is cake, but finding the correct one out of the range that Traxxas use is becoming tricky. As you can see from the links above, it looks like a slide switch, but it's actually a toogle. Any help finding the correct switch would be great.

[jolynsbass]

I've discovered two more part numbers for those two ideal-looking switches:
TS22E01 - this is the classic "center off" switch
TS23E01 - this is the on-on-on switch

edit: I'm pretty sure it's not a momentary switch. Traxxas thumb rockers are also "spring-loaded", so that as you approach the point of connection, a spring pushes the switch quickly into place - it helps to avoid corrosion of the terminals from arcing.

[trax de max]

is it a replacement for the thumb switch your looking for that has off-on-on, or any order.
And the switch has to look like the stock rocker switch.
It will be difficult to find one unless someone takes measurements of the switch, i'll try and find one, might not look the same but may look similar and not too much out of place like a toggle switch would.

[jolynsbass]

I don't need off-on-on... I think any configuration of switch order will be fine. I've been in contact with the main manufacturer of the on-off-on switch, which is identical size and arrangement of pins as the traxxas stock TX switch, and am inquiring whether they'd ship a small order (10pcs) to the US, for a reasonable price... If not, I'll but one of the on-on-on switches and see if a simple bit of adjusting could make it work... The size,shape of those two switches are a perfect match, only the lever would need a bit of dremeling to make sure that the original thumb rocker (red bit) could fit on it. Nothing a dremel wouldn't be able to fix...

We're close - I can feel it!

[Newth Cox]

Update on my progress on this.

The 3 position switch, on/on/on switch has come. (Pack of 5 actually from ebay, link somewhere above)

Ignoring the pins on the bottom, the switch body is identical. Even the metal case with the 4 large securing tabs is the same.

The metal sleeve on the lever part has simply pulled off & revealed a plastic lever that can easily be trimmed to match the traxxas switch.

Now the not so good news. I've cut off the 2 extra pins that allowed the centre on position, as I only need on/off/on. (Hope that makes sense).
The postion now of the centre pins is exactly the same as the traxxas switch. Good stuff.
The 4 remaining pins however are now where the problem lies. They're a couple of mm further away from the center pins than on the traxxas switch.

So to make it work, I'm now left with 2 obvious options, at first glance.
1 - Drill 4 new holes into the pcb & the solder the wires directly to the pins poking through.
2 - Find a way to solder to pin with it bent out of the way or cut very short. (Because of the switch's metal case, there is a small amount of pin visible between the switch & pcb

[trax de max]

i never seen the pic of the board, If there is other components on it don't drill it. If it's a bare board it might just be used to help hold the switch in place which you could drill and leave the legs long, probably have to hot glue the legs in place to hold it there, then you could run wires from the legs to the wires going to the main board, or join on existing wires.

[Newth Cox]

The PCB is exactly as you described. It's primary function is to hold the switch in the correct place for the red knob to sit on to it & be aligned to the hole in the handle.
There's nothing else on it. Literally 13 holes. 6 for the switch legs, 4 for the switch housing & 3 for the wires to the main board. (A double switch isn't really required but traxxas have double things up. Good if one set of contacts fail in the switch fail eventually.)
I think there's enough room between the switch & PCB to bend the legs outwards. That means no drilling the pcb.
Once I get chance, I'm next going to try just fitting it to see how it feels. Not much point going any further if I don't like the feel of the red rocker being 3 way instead of 2.

[trax de max]

cool, if you like it and it wobbles a bit, hot glue to case.
£12 at B&Q for locitite gun and two sticks.

[jolynsbass]

Newth, I'm very interested in your impressions of how the switch works/feels. In messing around with the stock switch, I discovered that if you pry up the little metal tab on the side, it allows the switch to become a three position switch (with a strange off-on-on config that could be easily fixed by switching wires around.) It has a curiously angled actuator lever, so that if you go into the third position of the switch, it's *really* low, and you can't move it into that position with the red thumb switch attached. It does reveal a potential short-coming of the new on-on-on (or on-off-on) 3-pos switch - the total range of motion is twice as much as the stock setup... if you put the red switch on there, it will be lined up poorly with the body of the radio, either being pushed too far in on the top or the bottom. I think what we really need is a three position switch with a more limited range of motion, and to attach the red thumb rocker on that. The trick is finding one short enough.

I stopped by the local Radio Shack (electronics parts store) - they had *no* 3-position switches at all.

[Newth Cox]

I'm definately going to get a switch soldered onto the PCB just to give the 'feel' of it a go.
I may have very busy few days coming up, so it'll probably be next week now when I get round to it.
I'll report back.

[Newth Cox]

cool, if you like it and it wobbles a bit, hot glue to case.
£12 at B&Q for locitite gun and two sticks.

I'm fairly confident that the switch will be as stable as stock. the 4 main mounting tabs will drop into the existing holes.
I must try to get some photos up!

[trax de max]

heres a single pole version i had seen some with the mounting legs on the switch but can't find them again. photos would be great and any numbers thats on the stock switch housing.RS clicky me

[Newth Cox]

The switch looks like this dude. There's no markings on it at all other than the word ALPHA.
I'm sure this would be the exact switch for the job, pinout & everything look spot on. Had nothing back from the company in the above link though.



The ebay switch I now have to play with, looks like this. As you can see the pinout is wrong.



It is good enough though to see how the switch feels when installed.

[jolynsbass]

You're going to love this: I just turned the stock traxxas switch into a three position switch, with center off, and a center detent, and kept it within the range of motion of the original switch setup... I'm going to be posting up some pics and little how-to momentarily... Totally free mod, no extra parts required. Just a bit of soldering and cutting, then reassembly.

Edit: Here's a quick taste of the final result: