General operating instructions, How it works (continued), Gears – Elenco R/C Snap Rover® User Manual
Page 7
General Operating Instructions
-6-
Wheel shaft
Motor gear
Spins 128 times
faster than wheels
How It Works (continued)
Rover Drive Mechanism:
The small gear on the Motor drives a larger gear, which drives a
larger gear, which drives two larger gears (one on each side), which
drive larger gears. The last, largest gears are fixed on shafts that are
attached to the front and back wheels, making them move. Note that
interlocking gears spin in opposite directions. Also notice that in the
sets of interlocking gears between the Motor and the gears on the
wheel shafts, the number of “teeth” is increased each time (40-8, 44-
8, 64-44, and 64-20), for 128:1 gear ratio overall. This means the
Motor must rotate 128 times to rotate the wheels once. The reason for
this is that if the Motor were to drive the wheels directly then the
Rover would be so fast that it would be impossible to control. Using
the gears to reduce the speed also makes the wheels move with
much greater force, preventing the Rover from getting stuck in rough
terrain and allowing it to carry heavy loads uphill.
Build the circuit for projects 1 or 2. Set the channel switches on the
remote control unit and R/C Receiver module (RX1) to the same
setting (A, B, or C). Place the Rover on a flat, open area, turn the
ON/OFF switch on the remote control unit and the slide switch (S1) to
ON, and extend the antenna on the Remote Control.
Push both levers forward to make Snap Rover
®
go forward.
Push both levers backward to go backward.
Push the left lever backward and the right lever forward to turn left.
Push the left lever forward and the right lever backward to turn
right.
The buttons on the remote control unit are used to control sounds or
lights (or other special functions) as described in the projects.
Never operate Snap Rover
®
in the street.
Never drive your Rover in rain, snow, mud, sand, dirt, or on a wet
floor, as damage may result.
GEARS
Right control
lever
Left control
lever
Power switch
Power ON indicator LED
Antenna
Channel selector switch
Left function
button
Right function button