I'm hacking apart a 20$ "New Bright" remote control car.
The controls are digital, either forward or backward, full left or full right,
so it will be very easy to use, only needing 4 pins on my chip.
I'm using a Basic-X chip that I salvaged off a robot I built for a class.
I have a few questions though.
I decided to use Tip120 transistors to control the motors.
I am kinda confused though,
so I wire the base to one of outputs on the chip (is 10ma enough to trigger a Tip120?)
And, the emitter and collector are wired just like a relay, with one going to the the motor, the other going to ground or positive voltage?
I tried wiring it like this, and the transisitor got VERY hot.
Also, what is normally used if I don't make my own custom circuit board?
I bought a board from ratshack that had just a bunch of little copper pads on it, but that turned into an absolute mess.
Just to let you know a little about what my goals are,
I'd like to use a IR reciever on the robot, and a homemade remote,
to be able to change subprograms on the robot, without having to press any buttons on the robot.
I am also using IR senders and recievers in the bumpers to detect obstacles. I will also be using a IR transciever setup higher up in the bumper to detect to see if the robot could try to climb over the obstacle (its a pretty beefy truck.)
Thank you for any help