Hi,

is it possible to reverse engineer radios used in rc toys?

Radio System Categories

 

Of course it is, but is it worth it?,

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PIC programmer software, and PIC Tutorials at:
http://www.winpicprog.co.uk

 

Try reverse engineering an LED flashlight. If that gives you trouble, then forget about it.

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Pay it forward.

 

First try to engineer a system reasonably well.
Later you can try reverse engineering of anything.

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Regards,
Sarma.

 

IMO, if you want to learn radio design, best to study schematics of working units. I've seen lots of those posted here. If you don't understand anything on the drawings, just ask

 

Why do you want to reverse engineer them?

 

They might use ICs that are specially made for them but you can't buy the ICs.

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Uncle $crooge

 

Some receivers have pic micros in them for dsp

The code may be protected........

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Eccentric millionaire financed by 'er indoors

 

We can't be negative about the idea without knowing what he means. Reverse engineering implies that you are making a design off of the machine, which in this case is pointless because you can more easily find a design that uses more readily availible components. But if he means taking out the board that (usually in one piece) Recives the radio signal, decodes it and controlls the motors, and hooking it up into his own project, that can be done, and is often fun to do.

 

Quite right AG, I've come across some that have very obscure numbers which led me to that conclusion when trying to make 2 receivers work that I bought from Ebay....

Suffice to say, I did succeed in getting them to work Required the addition of a couple of smt components which is a challenge in itself given my eyesight

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Eccentric millionaire financed by 'er indoors

 

I guess you are pointing out that the cost of reverse engineering would be exorbitant.

I wish to start my own toy manufacturing company. I want to manufacture toys that have technology & are affordable to everyone. I plan to manufacture a 2.2 RC Rock crawler which will retail for $35 here & a bit more abroad.

Coming back to the radio, I feel that is the main problem since if I got to buy readymade radio sets, then its gonna cost me more than my product price.
It will be impossible to even think of manufacturing the product at $35. The only way to solve this problem is that I manufacture the radio inhouse.

 

I understand that it won`t be easy at all.

 

If you are planning on doing this for buisness, then the ethical thing to do would be to design your own. If you get together with a manufacturer, which you will have to do to mass produce the component boards, they may be able to help you. Even if you don't care about copying a design, you will work harder to replicate their chip than you would have to to make your own design.

On a side note, I have been working on learning how to make RCs and as I make the project and learn I am developing a tutorial walk through of it at the same time, when its done and refined I will make it availible in the projects section here and you are free to use it.

 

check my reply to Nigel

 

oh, mine does use purchased radios, I guess that is what he asked how to build. I may dabble in using a transmitter and reciever module sets to do it. But for now buying the radio and just building the motor control circuitry seems like the practical way to go. And I'm not going to actually build the transmitter itself at home in either case.