Elenco Radio Controlled Car Kit - Manual (Page 2)

The AK-870 is a r
adio-controlled car that y
ou put together
.
It has 7 control
functions:
forw
ard, f
orw
ard-left, f
orw
ard-r
ight, bac
kw
ard, bac
kw
ard-left,
bac
kw
ard-r
ight, and stop
.
The remote control oper
ates at a frequency of
27.9 MHz.
It uses 4 AA batter
ies and one 9V batter
y (not included).
The
car is mechanically assemb
led b
y the user with no solder
ing required.
In addition to the e
xper
ience of b
uilding the unit, there is also an o
v er
vie
w
of its oper
ation, a b
loc
k diag
ram, an electronic road map sho
wing the
electr
ical circuits
, and a troub
leshooting section in case of prob
lems
.
Recommended f
or a
g
es 12 and up.
It takes about 3 hour
s to b
uild.
RADIO-CONTR
OLLED
CAR KIT
Man
uf
actured b
y
Elenco
TM Electr
onics,
Inc.
150
W
. Car
penter A
v en
ue
Wheeling, IL 60090
Cop
yr
ight © 2001 Elenco
TM Electronics
, Inc.
WHA
T
IT
IS
TR
OUBLESHOO
TING
2
753287-E
W
ARNING:
CHOKING HAZARD - Small P
ar
ts
.
Not f
or children under 5 y
ears
.
!
3 7
8 12
ELECTR
ONIC R
O
AD MAPS
HO
W
T
O USE IT
AK-870
W
ARNING:
Contains a GLASS B
ULB which could
cause an injur
y if the to
y is brok
en.
!
!
Y
OU
WILL
NEED:
r
Scre
wdr
iv
er (Phillips type
, small-medium siz
e)
r
V
aseline or g
rease
r
tape (Scotch type will be fine) r
scissors r
1 9V batter
y (alkaline is recommended)
r
4 AA batter
ies (alkaline or rechargeab
le nic
k el-cadmium are highly
recommended).
Do not mix old and ne
w
, and diff
erent types of
batter
ies
.
r
Y
ou ma
y also need a standard scre
wdr
iv er in step 14.
BLOCK DIA
GRAM
Place the car in a flat, open area, tur
n the ON/OFF s
witches on the car
and the tr
ansmitter to ON, and e
xtend the antenna on the Remote Control.
The LEFT le
ver on the Remote Contr
ol:
Push f
orw
ard (or f
orw
ard-r
ight) to mak
e the AK-870 go f
orw
ard.
Push bac
kw
ard to mak
e the AK-870 go bac
kw
ard.
Push to center or let go to stop
.
The RIGHT le
ver on the Remote Contr
ol:
Push left to mak
e the AK-870 tur
n left.
Push r
ight to mak
e the AK-870 tur
n r
ight.
Push to center or let go to go str
aight.
T urbo King oper
ates best on a w
ood or tile floor or in y
our dr
iv
e w
a y.
Ne
v
er oper
ate
T urbo King in the street.
These suggestions will help mak
e y
our car last f
or y
ears of fun:
·
Ne
v
er dr
iv
e y
our car in r
ain, sno
w
, m
ud, sand, dir
t, or on a w
et floor
,
as damage ma
y result.
·
Do not dr
iv
e y
our car on car
pet since lint ma
y damage the wheel
mechanism.
THE FCC The F
eder
al Comm
unications Commission (FCC) regulates use of the
radio frequency spectr
um in the United States to pre
v ent products from
interf
er
ing with each other
.
FCC regulations f
or y
our the AK-870 require y
ou to accept an
y
interf
erence from author
iz
ed sources and that y
ou shut do
wn if y
ou are
causing interf
erence with other author
iz
ed products
.
Contact Elenco
TM
Electronics if y
ou need assistance
.
Y ou should ne
v er modify the electr
ical circuit components inside y
our car
or Remote Control tr
ansmitter as this ma
y cause malfunctions or violate
FCC regulations f
or this product.
HO
W
IT
W
ORKS
Encoding Circuitr
y
27.9 MHz
Signal
Filter/
Amplifier
Dr
iving Motor
Steer
ing Motor
Filter/
Amplifier Decoding Circuitr
y
L R F B
Pulse Sequence
,
length depends on which command is being sent
Sequence of Radio F
requency
Pulses
Pulse Sequence
,
length depends on which command w
as sent
HO
W IT
W
ORKS
TRANSMITTER SCHEMA
TIC
RECEIVER SCHEMA
TIC
O
THER AMERIKIT PR
ODUCTS
!
REMO
TE CONTR
OL
TRANSMITTER
CAR
RECEIVER
NO
T OOLS OR
SOLDERING REQ
UIRED!
This electronic science lab will teach y
ou
about electronics from A-Z.
WIth this all-
in-one lab
, y
ou’ll lear
n about electronic
par
ts
, ho
w to read schematics
, and
wir
ing diag
rams
.
All this while b
uilding
up to 50 diff
erent projects
.
P orjects
include a finger touch lamp
, magnetic
br
idge
, v
oltmeter
, morse code
, alar
m,
tr ansistor r
adio
, metal detector
, etc.
Electr
onic Pla
ygr
ound
with
T raining Cour
se Model EP-50
This is our most popular kit.
Our
T elephone Kit will teach y
ou all about
comm
unications
.
Y ou will actually b
uild
y our o
wn phone and be ab
le to mak
e
and receiv
e calls
.
The clear plastic
case lets y
ou see all of the w
or
king
components
. It e
v
en has flashing neon
lamps when the phone r
ings
.
Clear
T
elephone Kit
with
T raining Cour
se Model AK-750
T
alking Cloc
k Kit
with
T raining Cour
se Model AK-220 Build y
our o
wn talking cloc
k! It looks
e xactly lik
e an ordinar
y analog cloc
k, b
ut
it also announces the time with a v
oice at
the press of a b
utton on the top
.
The
mo
v ement is dr
iv
en b
y the speech circuit,
thereb
y synchronizing the analog time
and digital time
.
Lear
n about gears and
ho
w time is k
ept electronically
.
Chec
k out our
W
eb site at http://www
.elenco
.com f
or our full line of electronic kits!
Contact
Elenco
TM Electr
onics
if par
ts are missing or damaged.
DO
NO
T
contact y
our place of pur
c hase as the
y will not be ab
le to help y
ou.
QTY
.
DESCRIPTION
P
AR
T #
(6AK870B1E)
r
3
Scre
ws 0.4”
x 0.1”
(10mm x 2.6mm)
640101
r
3
Scre
ws 0.4”
x 0.115”
(10mm x 3.0mm)
640101E
r
5
Scre
ws 0.3”
x 0.1”
(8mm x 2.6mm), 0.15”
head
640102
r
1
Scre
ws 0.3”
x 0.1”
(8mm x 2.6mm),0 .2”
head
640102E
(6AK870B2E)
r
2
Rear Spr
ings
680023
r
1
F
ront Spr
ing
680024
r
2
F
ront
Wheel Shoc
k Absorber (small spr
ing)
680025
r
1
Middle Gear
610809
r
1
Rear Rod 0.8”
x 0.075”
(20mm x 2mm)
610808
r
1
Steer
ing Alignment
Wire/Spr
ing
6RCC7K11
r
1
Steer
ing Alignment P
ost
6RCC7K36E
r
1
Steer
ing Motor Br
ac
k
et
626018E2
(6AK870B3E)
r
1
Left F
ront
Wheel
662018E1
r
1
Right F
ront
Wheel
662018E2
r
1
F
ront Section Co
v er
626018E1
r
1
Rear Section Co
v er
626019E
r
1
Light Bulb Co
v er
626022
r
1
Steer
ing Bar
626023E
r
1
T ransmitter Antenna
484010E
r
1
Bottom F
rame
610910E
r
1
Car Antenna
484011E
r
1
Dr
iving Motor
6AK870B5E
r
1
Steer
ing Motor
6AK870B6E
r
1
Circuit Board
6AK870B7E
r
1
Remote Control
T ransmitter
6AK870T
AE
r
1
T op Co
v er
6AK870TFE
r
1
Rear
Wheels Assemb
ly
6AK870R
W
AE
r
1
Decor
ativ
e Decals (1 Sheet)
720063E
r
1
Plastic
T ubing (at least 6”)
890014
4
P
AR
TS LIST
B A G 1
B A G 2
B A G 4
B A G 3
P A CKA
GED SEP
ARA
TEL
Y
B A G 7
B A G 5
B A G 6
Y ou ma
y ha
v e been giv
en diff
erent scre
ws from
those specified here (and usually some spares).
Contact Elenco
TM if it is not clear which
to use
.
Remote Contr
ol
T
ransmitter:
When the le
v ers in the Remote Control Unit are pushed electr
ical contacts
are made connecting the 9V batter
y po
w
er to the tr
ansmitter and
indicating which commands the user w
ants sent to the car
.
F orw
ards/Bac
kw
ards and Left/Right commands are controlled b
y diff
erent
le
v ers and use diff
erent sets of electr
ical contacts that are used to encode
a sequence of electr
ical pulses;
the n
umber of pulses depends on which
command is being sent.
In some models Left/Right commands are only
sent if F
orw
ards/Bac
kw
ards commands are also being sent, since there is
too m
uch fr
iction to tur
n the wheels unless the car is mo
ving.
An electr
ical
circuit that is tuned to a frequency of 27.9 MHz creates a signal that is sent to the antenna when the pulses are activ
e .
The antenna con
v er
ts this
electr
ical energy into r
adio energy
, creating a stream of r
adio energy
b ursts
, which tr
a v el through the air and are pic
k ed up b
y and understood
b y the r
adio receiv
er in the car
.
The frequency of 27.9 MHz w
as selected
for y
our AK-870 with the appro
v al of the FCC (the US go
v er
nment) to
minimiz
e r
adio interf
erence betw
een this product and all other electr
ical
products
.
Radio Receiver: The car antenna collects r
adio energy and con
v er
ts it bac
k into electr
ical
energy;
the energy here will alw
a ys be m
uch less than the energy
or
iginally applied to the tr
ansmitting antenna.
If the car is tur
ned on then
the r
adio receiv
er in the car is contin
uously monitor
ing the electr
ical
energy from its antenna.
The receiv
er is basically a filter which is tuned to
amplify an
y energy around 27.9 MHz and b
loc
k energy the antenna pic
ks
up outside this region.
If the Remote Control
T ransmitter is sending
commands then its r
adio signal will be pic
k ed up b
y the receiv
er and
con
v er
ted bac
k into the or
iginal pulse sequence
.
Decoding circuitr
y then
deter
mines which commands w
ere sent b
y measur
ing the n
umber of
receiv
ed pulses in the sequence
.
Signals are then sent to the motors to
e x ecute the commands
.
Characteristics of Radio Reception: Man
y f
actors aff
ect the ability of the AK-870 to receiv
e commands from its
Remote Control
T ransmitter
.
A w
eak batter
y in the
T ransmitter will result
in a w
eak
er tr
ansmitted signal;
if the batter
y is v
er
y w
eak then the
T ransmitter ma
y not function at all.
The
T ransmitter’
s ability to con
v er
t
electr
ical energy to r
adio energy is best when its antenna is fully e
xtended
and deg
rades as the antenna length is reduced;
the same thing also
applies to the car antenna’
s ability to con
v er
t the r
adio signal bac
k into
electr
ical energy f
or the receiv
er
.
The
T ransmitter’
s antenna tr
ansmits
energy in all directions so as the r
ange betw
een it and the car is increased,
less energy is receiv
ed at the car
.
When oper
ated with strong batter
ies
and in an open area the r
ange will be at least 40 ft.
Obstacles such as
w
alls
, fur
niture
, and trees will deg
rade the r
adio signal’
s ability to tr
a v el
through air and reduce oper
ating r
ange
, b
ut will ne
v er b
loc
k it completely
.
In some cases more r
adio energy ma
y tr
a v el from the
T ransmitter to the
car b
y going around obstacles than b
y going through them.
In the car
,
w
eak batter
ies will reduce po
w
er to the Motor and deg
rade the receiv
er’
s
ability to filter
, amplify
, and decode commands from the
T ransmitter
.
Car Steering Mec
hanism:
When a command is receiv
ed to tur
n left or r
ight, a v
oltage is applied to
the Steer
ing Motor
.This v
oltage across the Motor creates a magnetic field.
Inside the motor is a small magnet which is connected to the gear y
ou see
on the outside of the motor
. The magnetic field tur
ns the magnet in the
motor
, which tur
ns the gear
. The
“teeth”
on the gear g
rab the Steer
ing Bar
and pull it to one side
.
Since the F
ront
Wheels are connected to the
Steer
ing Bar
, the car will tur
n.
T
o tur
n the other direction, the v
oltage to the
motor is re
v ersed.
Car Drive Mec
hanism:
The Dr
iving Motor w
or
ks the same as the Steer
ing Motor
.
When a
command is receiv
ed to go f
orw
ards
, a v
oltage is applied to the Dr
iving
Motor
; this v
oltage is re
v ersed to go bac
kw
ards
.
The small gear on the
Motor dr
iv
es the Middle Gear
, which dr
iv
es the gear that is par
t of the Rear
Wheels Assemb
ly
, making the wheels mo
v e .
Note that the gears on the
Motor and the Rear
Wheels Assemb
ly rotate f
orw
ard and the Middle Gear
rotates bac
kw
ard to dr
iv
e the car f
orw
ard, this is because inter
loc
king
gears spin in opposite directions
.
Also notice that betw
een the Motor gear
and the Middle Gear and again betw
een the Middle Gear and the Rear
Wheels gear
, the n
umber of
“teeth”
is increased b
y 4:1 and 5:1
respectiv
ely
, f
or 20:1 o
v er
all.
The Motor m
ust rotate 20 times to rotate the
rear wheels once
.
The reason f
or this is that if the Motor w
ere to dr
iv
e the
wheels directly then the AK-870 w
ould be v
er
y hard to control.
5
6
Symptom:
Car does not go f
orwar
ds/bac
kwar
ds or does so erraticall
y.
·
Be sure all the car batter
ies are strong and all y
our wires mak
e strong
connections
.
·
Mak
e sure the wheels are all free of thread, lint, or hair and that the
b lac
k r
ub
ber on the wheels is not coming off
.
·
Spin the rear wheels with y
our hands
. Y ou should f
eel and hear the
Middle and Motor gears spin smoothly
.
If not, chec
k y
our assemb
ly of
the rear section, adding
V aseline or g
rease if necessar
y.
·
Lift up the rear section (to remo
v e fr
iction with the g
round) and
disconnect the Dr
iving Motor wires from the Circuit Board.
Re-connect
the Motor wires across a 1.5V
batter
y with y
our hands
, the wheels
should spin smoothly
.
If nothing happens (the motor gear does not
spin) then inspect y
our motor f
or prob
lems
.
·
The Rear
Wheels gear m
ust be tight on its rod and the Middle Gear
m
ust NO
T be tight on its rod.
·
Be sure that there is no ph
ysical damage or
“shor
t circuits”
on the
Circuit Board.
If y
ou ha
v e a v
oltmeter
, y
ou should measure about
1.5VDC
across the wires to the Dr
iving Motor when the tr
ansmitter is
activ
ated and the wheels are not tur
ning, or about 4VDC when the
wheels are spinning freely
.
Symptom:
Light Bulb does not light.
·
Chec
k the wires to the Light Bulb
.
·
Chec
k the b
ulb is not b
ur
nt-out.
·
Be sure that there is no ph
ysical damage or
“shor
t circuits”
on the
Circuit Board.
If y
ou need ad
ditional assistance or replacement par
ts,
contact:
Elenco
TM Electr
onics,
Inc.
150
W
. Car
penter A
v en
ue
W
eb site:
/www
.elenco
.com
Wheeling, IL 60090
e-mail:
elenco@elenco
.com
(847) 541-3800
F
ax:
(847) 520-0085
Sa
y that y
ou ha
v e v
ersion:
E
DO
NO
T
contact y
our place of purchase as the
y will not be ab
le to help y
ou.
Symptom:
Car has reduced rang
e
.
·
Mak
e sure that the batter
ies in both the car and the Remote Control
T ransmitter are strong and that the
y are installed with the positiv
e and
negativ
e ter
minals positioned proper
ly .
·
Mak
e sure y
our antenna is proper
ly e
xtended.
·
Nearb
y CB and amateur r
adio tr
ansmitters can interf
ere with y
our
control of the AK-870.
T ry mo
ving a
w
a y from them.
·
Mak
e sure the wire betw
een the Circuit Board and the antenna in the
car is intact and that the antenna scre
w is tight.
·
Be sure that there is no ph
ysical damage or
“shor
t circuits”
on the
Circuit Board.
·
Although tunab
le inductor L1 has been pre-aligned, y
ou ma
y need to
adjust it f
or best perf
or
mance
. Y ou need a v
er
y small scre
wdr
iv
er f
or
this
.
Remo
v e the top co
v er and flip the ON/OFF
s witches to on.
Activ
ate the tr
ansmitter and mo
v e it a
w
a y from the car
. Adjust tunab
le
inductor L1 on the circuit board f
or best r
ange
. Be
VER
Y
GENTLE,
since L1 is FRA
GILE.
It should tur
n easily
.
If y
ou apply too m
uch
force y
ou ma
y break it.
Symptom:
Car runs e
ven though the Remote Contr
ol
T
ransmitter is off
.
·
Disconnect the batter
y in y
our
T ransmitter to mak
e sure it is not
malfunctioning.
·
Nearb
y CB and amateur r
adio tr
ansmitters are interf
er
ing with y
our
control of the AK-870.
T ry mo
ving a
w
a y from them.
9
10
11
Symptom:
Car does not go in a straight line when y
ou release the
right contr
ol le
ver
.
·
Use a non-Phillips type scre
wdr
iv
er to adjust the front wheels
alignment control on the underside of the Bottom F
rame
, as in
assemb
ly step 14.
Symptom:
Car doesn’t w
ork at all.
·
Mak
e sure that the batter
ies in both the car and the Remote Control
T ransmitter are strong and that the
y are installed with the positiv
e and
negativ
e ter
minals positioned proper
ly
.
Alkaline or re-chargeab
le
nic
k
el-cadmium batter
ies are highly recommended, and ne
w ones will
last f
or 30-40 min
utes of contin
uous use
.
Do not mix old and ne
w or
diff
erent types of batter
ies
.
·
Mak
e sure the ON/OFF s
witch is ON.
·
Mo
v e the
T ransmitter antenna close to the car antenna to be sure
y our r
ange is not deg
raded.
If r
ange is deg
raded, see the symptom f
or
reduced r
ange (ne
xt).
·
Be sure that none of the wir
ing connections w
ere brok
en, are
contacting an
y other metal (creating a
“shor
t circuit”), or are wired
wrong.
·
Be sure that there is no ph
ysical damage or
“shor
t circuits”
on the
Circuit Board.
·
Open the Remote Control
T ransmitter and chec
k that the wir
ing
connections are all intact and that there is no damage to its circuit board.
Symptom:
Fr
ont wheels do not turn or barel
y turn.
·
On some models LEFT/RIGHT commands are only sent if
FOR
W
ARD/BA
CKW
ARD commands are also being sent, so tr
y
pressing both tr
ansmitter le
v ers at the same time
.
·
Lift up the front section (to remo
v e fr
iction with the g
round) and see if
the wheels tur
n no
w
.
·
T
ur
n one of the front wheels with y
our hand and be sure that the other
wheel tur
ns in the same direction and that the Steer
ing Motor Gear is
mo
v ed along the F
ront
Wheels Steer
ing Bar smoothly
.
·
Chec
k the wir
ing to the Steer
ing Motor and y
our assemb
ly of the front
section.
·
Be sure that there is no ph
ysical damage or
“shor
t circuits”
on the
Circuit Board.
If y
ou ha
v e a v
oltmeter
, y
ou should measure about
4VDC
across the wires to the Steer
ing Motor when the tr
ansmitter is
activ
ated.