Hi, community,
I find that most people use Maytech or Flipsky remotes
All my needs are just 1 channel and a waterproof remote control for Efoil.
The Cheap China W4 remote control can completely meet my needs.
However, I didn’t like the way W4s use the thumb finger trigger to control, so I redesigned it to use the index finger trigger.
I reuse almost components of W4, just need 1 M3x15mm new. For the housing I used the 3D print services of JLCPCB, It really cheap ~ 6$, but the shipping cost is 17$ ( to Vietnam)
Did you try the remote? The one i had (same model) was really poor, killing the riding experience. Problems with signal integrity causing throttle signal and power peaks
I’ve been using it for 3 months, and I haven’t had any problems with it.
Maybe I haven’t exploited it to the same extent as you.
Can you show me how to test your problem?
The problem was that the throttle signal transmission had faults, causing power peaks. You’d be cruising along and suddenly the motor races for a short burst, sometimes enough to crash. If you haven’t noticed in three months then the issue must be corrected on your remote.
Damn it, it is a really really big trouble, I test by turning off the TX and causing power peaks.
I’m contacting the seller to see how can fix it
Update: The problem has been resolved.
You connect the Remote to the Rx, you release the throttle and the motor doesn’t turn, then you press the button on the Rx.
Done.
I did it and it worked
MrKen: Great design!
I’ve been using this remote for a while on my first efoil build together with a FVT Seashark ESC. This combo has some “personality”, in the sense that during efoiling I sometimes need to reset power both on ESC and remote to get going, but not seeing a pattern why this is so. The most common quirk is that I lost connection every time I dropped into water, needing to switch power on remote. And of course the trigger which is not suited for efoiling, which your design sorts out.
However, after buying a new remote after the first one got receiver water damage, the replacement has been a different experience, Testing it yesterday for the first time it didnt stop motor completely when releasing, just going slowly back to shore, then went out again and this time it stayed in mid throttle when releasing! I fell off the board and expected the board to disappear, but it turned sideways around towards me and I managed to grab hold of it and turn power off (needs to build in a deadman switch :)) It was quite sketchy experience and now I lost confidence in this remote. It is clear that the first and second remote, bought from different sellers, had different HW/FW. This has been mentioned on the forum about good and bad versions of this remote, so can anyone explain (LarsB?) how to tell which version to buy?
I was planning to upgrade to a Flipsky because of trigger, but some says its not that troublefree either, so might stay with this one and the new case IF I can get a “good” one, or maybe build the BREremote, which seems a bit challenging.
in the sense that during efoiling I sometimes need to reset power both on ESC and remote to get going, but not seeing a pattern why this is so.
Do you mean you need it like that or the remote does that?
Because I’m experiencing the exact same thing. I’m making a device like the ScubaJet, and when on the water, everything is normal. However, when I dive underwater, I can only go a short distance, the Receiver and ESC turn off the power, and have to go ashore to reset. I thought it was because of the battery’s automatic shut-off protection and now you have the exact same thing
Testing it yesterday for the first time it didnt stop motor completely when releasing, just going slowly back to shore, then went out again and this time it stayed in mid throttle when releasing! I fell off the board and expected the board to disappear, but it turned sideways around towards me and I managed to grab hold of it and turn power off (needs to build in a deadman switch :))
That may be due to Fail Safe Mode, follow my instructions above to set the throttle level when the signal is lost.
Previously I used this remote for skateboard, and after this experience, I think it’s not suitable for water things even though It is waterproof
Well basically the motor sometimes didn’t run when pressing trigger, usually after a crash, but most of the times it was only to switch power on the transmitter, so I would say it worked fairly ok until Rx board corroded from moisture. I have a connector for the 6V and a XT90 for the 36V on the outside so I can toggle power on all 3 units while in (fresh) water, very KISS design, definetly not the safest one which I found out when I tried it in salt water… . It lasted 5 min on foil before stopping and I could feel the 36V creeping from all over the board from a not perfectly insulated 36V, which probably killed the Rx board and then soon after the ESC smoked, luckily on land. So then I ordered 2 more W4 remotes (building a foildrive board as well) and a new FVT ESC, which also have slightly different FW to old unit. So when testing I had both remote and ESC new with possible new FW/HW so I was a bit unsure which was causing the problems, but suspected remote. Since I had a spare one I tried it on land and seemed fine so tried it yesterday on water, and luckily if worked flawlessly, even better than the first unit I had, not needing to repower Tx after crashes!
I still think there are some bugs in the first remote, but it might also be because I tried to set throttle range on the first one, which I never tried before. However the motor did not run by it self on land, only in water, and then the mid power runaway happened also. I found this thread explaining that this has happened to others and reason why (some glitches in PWM signal when crossing bit/byte boundaries)
Heres a pic of the 4 remotes I bought so far
#1. Worked ok til Rx corroded. Battery was dead because I didnt charge it while new and when I did, it was depleted, so attached a 18650 to it. #2. 2 trips working ok til Rx died after salt water experiment. #1 and #2 has slightly different Tx PCB #3 and 4. Same HW. #3 runaway problem, but #4 worked fine, but only tried one hour. Both PCBs have a plastic wrap, but looks epoxied too although hard to say without removing wrap. #4 has rust on one diode lead after one trip in fresh water so doesnt look promising in long run.
Do you know what the trimpot does and if it has something to say about the instability? I havent quite understood the Failsafe thing, only that it doesn’t work on #3
Unfortunately, when I tested yesterday, water got into the Tx. I tried to dehumidify it and test it again. Luckily Tx is still alive but I’m not sure about the future.
In the manual, the trimpot is used to trim the throttle, but mine is stiff and cannot be adjusted
If you mean the remote, the PCB should be waterproof by the epoxy layer, so shouldnt be a concern as the case is not waterproof. Or am I misunderstanding?
Printed your case in PLA and tested it. Print wasn’t 100% so had to file the opening a little bit to avoid trigger getting stuck. It worked fine except motor went slowly around after trigger release. This is due to magned not being close enough to Hall sensor. I have some suggestions how to improve the design:
Replace the 15mm M3 screw with a printed cylinder that goes through the trigger
and extends to the top shell and using the 3rd screw to lock it to the shell. The diameter of this cylinder should be slightly less than the coiled spring. This will keep the trigger more centered and tight, as well as making spring easier to install. If you understand what I mean.
The spring tensioner tab broke off so might make it slightly thicker.
LED windows can be open as water will get in anyway.
Now #4 is dead after 2 rounds in water. Turns out the waterproofing in #3 and #4 was epoxy/silicone on each end of a shrink wrap tube in the middle which of course did not keep water out and soon corroded some components (ICs and passives) which lead to dead remote. Dont understand why not just dip whole PCB in epoxy like #1 and #2 in pic above, which would be easier and not cost more than the chosen solution. Have complained to seller.
If you mean the remote, the PCB should be waterproof by the epoxy layer, so shouldnt be a concern as the case is not waterproof.
Turns out the waterproofing in #3 and #4 was epoxy/silicone on each end of a shrink wrap tube in the middle which of course did not keep water out and soon corroded some components (ICs and passives) which lead to dead remote.
Yeb, I exactly the same, water goes through the wrapped tube on the bottom of the PCB.
Replace the 15mm M3 screw with a printed cylinder that goes through the trigger
and extends to the top shell and using the 3rd screw to lock it to the shell. The diameter of this cylinder should be slightly less than the coiled spring. This will keep the trigger more centered and tight, as well as making spring easier to install. If you understand what I mean.
The spring tensioner tab broke off so might make it slightly thicker.
LED windows can be open as water will get in anyway.
I understand why you suggest that. However, doing it that way, the trigger will be centered on the hole, but horizontally it will not be in the middle, because it lacks support on the right side. The right side is the spring, and there is no flat surface for it to lean on. That will cause the trigger to jiggle.
I printed it by SLA, so FDM will make it by big layers and the connection between 2 layers is not good. If the tab breaks off, it’s okay, the spring will rest against the surface of the housing. My previous version didn’t have that tab and I still use it normally.
Ok, I just want it to be seamless and beautiful. If you print it with SLA, light can pass through, but with FDM it cannot. So You can drill it, though.
By the way, I will edit it and update it on Cults3D.
Ok, so then it is clear that in order to get these “waterproof” remotes waterproof, we need to remove the wrap and cover the entire PCB with epoxy/silicone.
Regarding the design of the trigger, the fact that you managed to make the rest of the shapes very accurate (my CAD skills are limited, only made some easy shapes in Fusion360), it is an relatively easy job to make a sleeved cylinder type to position the trigger in the middle and get rid of the M3 screw. As you point out, the quality of the print and materials have an influence of the result and a smooth and safe remote is 100% important.
Anyway, I might shell out for a better design like the Bremote instead since this remote has its shortcomings other than the casing, but as a cheap alternative this could be worth testing out for others.
. It lasted 5 min on foil before stopping and I could feel the 36V creeping from all over the board from a not perfectly insulated 36V, which probably killed the Rx board and then soon after the ESC smoked, luckily on land. So then I ordered 2 more W4 remotes (building a foildrive board as well) and a new FVT ESC, which also have slightly different FW to old unit. So when testing I had both remote and ESC new with possible new FW/HW so I was a bit unsure which was causing the problems, but suspected remote. Since I had a spare one I tried it on land and seemed fine so tried it yesterday on water, and luckily if worked flawlessly, even better than the first unit I had, not needing to repower Tx after crashes!
