Cheap 433Mz keyfob tx/rx

[eye-kay]

Hi Guys

I am building a picaxe based controller for a battery loco - my first venture into homemade electronics. The aim is to control it using a 433Mhz keyfob. I have been looking for a suitable cheap transmitter and receiver and have seen one for £8.99 on Virtual Village (http://www.virtualvillage.co.uk/433mhz-4-channels-radio-wireless-control-momentary-001540-034.html). There are not much details and there is no datasheet available (I have emailled them but got no reply). It looks similar to the one shown on Greg Hunter's Sandstone & Termite website (http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/satr/electronics.htm#RC).

I would like to ask the mighty intellects of the forum whether this will be suitable and whether anyone has used VirtualVillage before? Are they a reliable supplier?

Ian

 

[Del Tapparo]

Ian - I have done the very project you are undertaking. It works, and the little keyfobs Txs are great, but I had very limited range with my setup. Following the train around worked fine, but I couldn't run it "remotely" from the patio chair. It probably depends on the loco you are using and how much noise suppression you add or need.

Since then, I have found that low cost 2.4GHZ hobby radios just totally eliminate the range issue. Now if I could just find 2.4GHZ in a key fob transmitter, that would be great!

Have fun with your project. The PicAxe is a great way to get started.

 

[Westcott]

Yes, I got one from VirtualVillage, and used Greg's notes to get started.
As Del says, the range is very limited, other than that the setup works well.
The fun part, for me, was writing my own PicAxe code.
Greg shared his with me, but of course I thought I could do better!

Again, like Del, I'm now a convert to cheapo 2.4GHz kit.

 

[KleineDicke]

I have also used the keyfob remote (from eBay) for Loco control. In one application, I built my own circuit board with three speeds and reversing control; in another, I used one of Del's speed controllers. Both worked well; I haven't found the range limit to be a problem for me.

 

[eye-kay]

Thanks for all the encouragement. I have placed an order for the keyfob.

 

[gregh]

Hi Guys

I am building a picaxe based controller for a battery loco - my first venture into homemade electronics. The aim is to control it using a 433Mhz keyfob. I have been looking for a suitable cheap transmitter and receiver and have seen one for £8.99 on Virtual Village (http://www.virtualvillage.co.uk/433mhz-4-channels-radio-wireless-control-momentary-001540-034.html). < Link To http://www.virtualvillage...tary-001540-034.html). There are not much details and there is no datasheet available (I have emailled them but got no reply). It looks similar to the one shown on Greg Hunter's Sandstone & Termite website (http://www.members.optusnet.com.au/satr/electronics.htm#RC). < Link To http://www.members.optusn...r/electronics.htm#RC).

I would like to ask the mighty intellects of the forum whether this will be suitable and whether anyone has used VirtualVillage before? Are they a reliable supplier?

Ian

Ian,
Great to see you investigating these units (and have found my webpages helpful) . As others have said, these units do work well. I haven't had any range problems - 20m is usual with no problems. I always put a 0.1 uF across the 5V supply - maybe that helps.
The problem I have had with virtual village is that some receivers have a momentary output (output stays high only while button is pressed.) and some have a toggle or latched output. (ie when you press A for instance, the A output stays high even after you release the button.) Always wise to send an email asking. One way to check is to look at the part number on the Rx. If it's a 2272-M4 it's momentary. a 2272-T4 is toggle.

For data sheets go to http://www.princeton.com.tw/ , select english and then search for PT2262 and download the datasheet (pdf). On about page 10 there is the cct of the keyfob transmitter.

Greg

 

[eye-kay]

Thanks Greg. Virtual Village are offering both momentary and latched at the moment.

Thanks for the link to the datasheet. VV eventually emailed me back and said they didn't have one.

Ian

 

[adeshers]

Greg, could the momentary transmitters be used to control pointwork? I'm using track power for the locos with (probably) an Aristo Train Engineer but was mulling over some sort of remote route setting option.

Ade

 

[Westcott]

... could the momentary transmitters be used to control pointwork? I'm using track power for the locos ...

I'm not Greg, but yes it could.
You would need constant track power, and some basic electronics per point (or crossover pair).

Hamish