Computer Controlled Radio-Controlled Car help

Hi

I need some advice on a project I decided to undertake. I want to control my radio controlled car from my pc using the cursors on the keyboard. I am planning to use a microcontroller to receive the input from the keyboard (via RS232) and somehow control a transmitter which will send the signal to the receiver on the car itself. I am familiar with microcontrollers but when it comes to the communications I don't know how to proceed. I believe that there should be some chips that could do the transmitting and receiving???

Thanks!

Check my PIC RF tutorial.

Thanks for the quick reply...and by the way great website. I have become fond of PIC since last year (coming from an AVR background!) so it is the way I will go.

(PS This does not mean I'm not an AVR fan)

Suds you traitor! <Just kidding> I'm an AVR guy, then again I don't feel like learning PIC and AVR's do what I want =)

I know a guy that done the exact same project.
He used the PIC 16F628A that has an USART (for serial receiption from the PC) and PWM for controlling the motor speed.
He used C# to write the PC's software (I suppose you can use Hyper Terminal as an alternative)
Good Luck.

Sure, writing a command line prompt for a serial interface is a good programming excercise. It's thin client too and can be adapated for a variety of instances.

I was an AVR guy as well and defended my "religion" against PIC outsiders! Then I realized that they both had their advantages and disadvantages.

This project of mine will start when I'm on vacation. Campus does not cater for hobbies! I'm just trying to put things into perspective from now so that I don't waste precious time fumbling for ideas.

Thanks to everyone who has given some insight. Your time is greatly appreciated.