Finally got onboard and did the Articulation mod!

Namuna · #1 06-12-2006, 04:39 PM

With RadioShack selling the ZZMTs for such insanely cheap prices, I bought a few and was ready to do some modding!

Using the excellent tutorial posted by Clint (over at BitPimps). I went through and created my crawler/articulated Monster!

I already have victim #2 dismantled to do another one!

Here are some pics and a vid of it in action...

Any PuppetMaster fans?

And a short video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqJ4xx2Rbpw:)

Michael.mt2k · #2 06-12-2006, 07:29 PM

Beautiful!
I love how you kept the PCB cover intact!

How is it climbing and stuff?

Any tendancy to spin the articulated part under torque??

Namuna · #3 06-12-2006, 08:29 PM

Check out the video in the post, it gives a decent idea of how it's doing.

- Definitely needs the wheels to be weighted down to help it crawl though
- Even with the stock green gears/motor, it's too fast to be a crawler. I'm either going to do the additional gear mod (or maybe even the 5 gear mod) to slow it down...Or I might just take the BIG leap and swap an IWaver PCB in there instead
- I've got the next MT all ready to go and some ideas on how to do it better!

Not enough torque to twist the articulation by itself though, which is fine. I'd rather have the thing spin wheels instead of twisting or strippig the gears on the articulation.

Snake Mod · #4 06-12-2006, 08:52 PM

I'm kinda new to this articulation stuff and I don't even own a ZZMT

. All I see reallt is you cut all the plastic in the middle except the driveshaft are and the charging points. Is that all it really just so it can bend and move without breaking the middle? There's got to be something I'm missing.

Michael.mt2k · #5 06-12-2006, 10:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Namuna
Check out the video in the post, it gives a decent idea of how it's doing.

- Definitely needs the wheels to be weighted down to help it crawl though
- Even with the stock green gears/motor, it's too fast to be a crawler. I'm either going to do the additional gear mod (or maybe even the 5 gear mod) to slow it down...Or I might just take the BIG leap and swap an IWaver PCB in there instead
- I've got the next MT all ready to go and some ideas on how to do it better!

Not enough torque to twist the articulation by itself though, which is fine. I'd rather have the thing spin wheels instead of twisting or strippig the gears on the articulation.

Seems smooth as can be from the video!
I might stock up on a couple more before I attempt it though.

Do the additional gears! (THAT one I've done!)

Namuna · #6 06-12-2006, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Snake Mod
I'm kinda new to this articulation stuff and I don't even own a ZZMT . All I see reallt is you cut all the plastic in the middle except the driveshaft are and the charging points. Is that all it really just so it can bend and move without breaking the middle? There's got to be something I'm missing.

Actually, the middle is already "broken".

You have the basic idea of the Mod, to give it the ability to twist/bend and move with much more ease.

If you get the chance to pick up an MT...DO IT! These things are a BLAST! Regular Zips and SEs need clean flat surfaces...You could run the MTs in grass! Not to mention if you watch that video, these things can drive over almost anything (try doing that with a regular zip or SE!).

Azimov · #7 06-13-2006, 09:25 AM

Very nice! Love the video.
I've been putting parts in a tray for awhile now with the intention of doing this mod myself. I plan to use an SE PCB and gear the rear end down way low.
Problem is, the XMod bearings are just too expensive. Twenty bucks and I just need one of the two smallest ones. I'm coming up with a work around for this and I'll post when I get the thing working.
I have a few requirements that I feel are mandatory for a crawler.
1. proportional control.
2. very low gearing. 80/1 or lower.
3. absolutely no wobble
4. smooth articulation
5. fitting a stock charging pad (SE or MT)
6. four wheel steering. This one is probably not gonna happen unless I can get another MT chassis.
I've almost got everything I need to start, so I'll post soon.
Great work Namuna. You've inspired me even more to do this mod.

Namuna · #8 06-13-2006, 11:35 AM

Man, I'm seriously HOOKED on moddin my MTs now!

I'm currently gathering the necessary info, then I'm going to order some iWaver PCB boards and swap em into my MT Crawlers for lovely propo-ness!

Az, did you know there's TWO Xmods ball bearing sets? The ones you were looking at are probably the 2 size sets for the $20...But there's another set (part #6008512) that's on clearance for $9.97 and it's only got the small bearings in it (14 total in set). I was lucky and bought a set during the extra 25% off on top of clearance pricing.

Hard to find though, it's not even listed on Radioshack's site anymore.

Good luck and keep your eyes peeled for my "MT Propo upgrade via iWaver PCB".

Snake Mod · #9 06-13-2006, 01:20 PM

After reading this Thread, I want one to mod. The articulation mod should take about 10 mins. with an x-acto knife. I'm thinking of getting one this weekend. I never got one before because I just thought these things were slow as hell. Which I love but I want to be able to go faster as well. Now I know.

Namuna · #10 06-13-2006, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Snake Mod
After reading this Thread, I want one to mod. The articulation mod should take about 10 mins. with an x-acto knife.

Oh boy are you in for a rude awakening if you think this mod is only going to take 10min and that you'll only need an X-Acto knife (unless you were kidding?).

When I did this mod it took me about 3 hours!

I'd never completely taken apart an MT before so I wanted to make sure I remembered where everything was going to be put back and some fine soldering work (you'll need to de-solder the PCB in order to get at all the components and re-solder it all back in place after) is also needed.

Now that I've done this though the next time around I figure should only take about an hour or less.

Here's the link to that Tutorial (!Be warned, there's no language filters at BitPimps!):
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...pic.php?t=6991

Snake Mod · #11 06-13-2006, 02:26 PM

Yeah I was messing around not even a dual cell takes 10min. sorry I forgot to put the smiley in the previous post.

EDIT: I couln't ask for a better tutorial thanks Namuna for directing me to that

(oh yeah, off the subject, why is there a bit science and not a Zip Zap science and there should be like a place JUST for Tutorials you know what I mean, It would help on the searching)

Namuna · #12 06-13-2006, 11:34 PM

Good points about the other areas for info Snake, I'll add that to my list of to-dos.

I've gone ahead and ordered 3 of the iWaver PCB boards. I'm very much psyched about this project now.

It does seem like the Articulation mod isn't compatible with making the MT full propo though (there's nowhere to put a servo if you shave everything down for the Articulation mod

)

I did find a workaround where using a resistor across the servo pot allows you to continue using the generic MT motor driven steering. Credit goes to betty.k over at BitPimps for that one:
http://bitpimps.lixlink.com/pages/ph...pic.php?t=5176

Azimov · #13 06-14-2006, 04:01 PM

Quote:

I've gone ahead and ordered 3 of the iWaver PCB boards.

Could you post a link to these boards please? I've looked around, but can't seem to find a site to order the things.

Quote:

I did find a workaround where using a resistor across the servo pot allows you to continue using the generic MT motor driven steering. Credit goes to betty.k

That's an excellent idea to simplify things, but it's not what I had in mind. I really want to end up with at least SE steering steps. The IWaver board is looking better all the time though.
And, that is an outstanding tutorial. I've printed it out so I can refer to it as I work. I have some different things in mind, but the tutorial is invaluable for remembering where things go when reassembling.

Quote:

Az, did you know there's TWO Xmods ball bearing sets?

No I didn't. The RS I looked in ony had one set. I'll have to look around in the mall stores. But I hate the mall stores, lol. Anybody out there wanna sell/trade me a few of these bearings? I've got lots of bodies and spare parts.

Namuna · #14 06-14-2006, 04:19 PM

Here's the link to the PCB at ToyEast:
http://www.toyeast.com/v3/pdtdetail.asp?pdt_id=AIW209

Azimov · #15 06-15-2006, 03:21 PM

Got an order on the way. Thanks a bunch.