Mini-Z, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer, MR-03, MR-02, MA-010, Forums, News, Pictures, Parts, and Shop - Mini-ZRacer.com
Forums, Mini-Z, MiniZ, Kyosho Mini-Z, Kyosho MiniZ, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, MiniZ Hop-Ups, MiniZ Parts, Kyosho Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Kyosho Mini-Z Parts, Kyosho MiniZ Hop-Ups, Kyosho MiniZ Parts, Kyosho Mini-Z Racer Hop-Ups, Racer Kyosho Mini-Z Parts

Go Back   Mini-ZRacer.com Forums > Manufacturers > Flip Side

Reply
 
Thread Tools Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 2010.04.09, 10:46 AM   #1
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
New project, Flip Side ICS Software

I do not know if this will interest anyone other than me but I have been working on my own ICS software as a small side project. I upgraded my sons car to an ASF board and became interested in using the ICS port. Unfortunately the only software available is for Windows and all my systems are either Linux or Mac so I was stuck.

Obviously in such a case a person will write their own software and build their own hardware, right?

I am close to being finished with the software but my hardware has not arrived yet. My bluetooth parts should be in early next week and then I can finish up the software.

The software will work with the dNaNo, ASF and MR-03 ICS ports. I am not doing AD at this time because its communication is different than the other 3 and my bluetooth module will not be able to communicate with it.

In addition to the basic functionality the program will have an advanced tab to let you modify the various values directly. I am curious to see what we can get these cars to do when not limited to a few options in a drop down. It can allow finer tuning. It may not work but it will be interesting to find out.

Here are some screenshots of what I have so far.

Main screen


Advanced screen for directly modifying the values


Is this something that will interest other people?
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.09, 11:25 AM   #2
briankstan
Registered User
 
briankstan's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: West Jordan, Utah
Posts: 6,877
I've never played with the settings on any of my 2.4 cars, but I am interested in seeing what you come up with and possibly giving it a shot.
__________________
--Salt Lake Mini-Z---HFAY---MZR Gallery--
briankstan is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.09, 12:03 PM   #3
arch2b
Moderator
 
arch2b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 35,480
Send a message via AIM to arch2b
if it means no longer being tied to expensive kyosho setting hardware, i think you will find many interested parties.
arch2b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.09, 02:21 PM   #4
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by arch2b View Post
if it means no longer being tied to expensive kyosho setting hardware, i think you will find many interested parties.
I was not really even thinking about the hardware side of it. I had initially posted this thinking people would only be interested in the software side of what I am doing since there is already hardware on the market but no software for us Linux/Mac people.

The adapter I am building would be expensive as well since it is communicating wirelessly via bluetooth. The one I am building cost me around $80 in parts. I guess if there is enough interest I could produce a batch of them and should be able to get the price at $60 for bluetooth.

USB is easier, I could probably do those for about $35.

Not sure there would be enough interest in the hardware based on the person on the marketplace selling the ICS serial port adapters much cheaper than the Kyosho stuff but does not appear to get very many sales. Without a quantity of sales I could not justify the investment in parts to bring prices down.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.09, 03:52 PM   #5
arch2b
Moderator
 
arch2b's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Washington, DC
Posts: 35,480
Send a message via AIM to arch2b
understood.

i'm sure there are plenty of mac people that you would make very happy with your software.
arch2b is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.11, 06:12 PM   #6
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
So I got a little impatient and built a quick USB ICS adapter this weekend and got the initial software working. I have done some basic testing with the Linux and Mac versions so far

Here are links to the various version:
Linux version 0.26

Mac version 0.24

Windows version 0.24

When you first open the program you will need to choose the correct COM port before you can do anything usefull.

For the Linux version you will need to make a symbolic link to /dev/ttyS followed by the next free number for the program to detect the USB adapter. If you are using a serial adapter this will not need to be done.

After choosing the correct COM port you will then be able to read or write settings. Make sure to set the car type correctly. When you do this on the main settings screen it will gray out any options not available for that car.

If you are interested in tweaking settings further you can use the Custom screen. For some of the cars settings the Kyosho program just gives you 4 or 5 options, this screen will let you tweak some of those further. I do not know if that will be usefull or not, the car may not recognize the other values.

For example in the gain menu you could only select minimum, medium and strong. These equate to the values 50, 100 and 255. If you go to the custom screen though you could put in a value of 75. Will this work and give you something in between 50 and 100, I do not know. If people find that the cars will let us customize the values like that please let us know. It will be interesting to hear what people discover.

This is Alpha software, the first build that I have produced. There will be bugs, let me know what you find so I can fix it. I also welcome any suggestions for improving the program.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.13, 12:41 AM   #7
PridgeoK
Registered User
 
PridgeoK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 236
Quote:
Originally Posted by pinwc4 View Post
USB is easier, I could probably do those for about $35.

Not sure there would be enough interest in the hardware based on the person on the marketplace selling the ICS serial port adapters much cheaper than the Kyosho stuff but does not appear to get very many sales. Without a quantity of sales I could not justify the investment in parts to bring prices down.

Interested? Definitely.

I'm not all that thrilled with the idea of a serial port cable from the marketplace for connecting the car (my laptop doesn't even have a serial port), so a USB version would be awesome. Kyosho's product is too much $$ for my meager budget, though I've been sorely tempted to dish out for it in the past. I've borrowed it before from a friend, but without having access to it on a regular basis it's pretty hard to try out different settings, so the temptation remains.

So yes - certainly, I'm raising my hand for an inexpensive USB version using your software. Sounds promising already and looks to be even more flexible than Kyosho's product.

Good work!! Looking forward to how this one turns out for you!

Kevin.
PridgeoK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.09, 12:35 PM   #8
Treadmule
Tire Crew
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: SoCal - South Orange County
Posts: 98
I'd like to try on on my MacBook with Snow Leopard 10.6.3 on an ASF MR-02.
__________________
Treadmule...
Treadmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.12, 11:21 AM   #9
ub0211042
Registered User
 
ub0211042's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 659
Quote:
Originally Posted by pinwc4 View Post
I am curious to see what we can get these cars to do when not limited to a few options in a drop down. It can allow finer tuning.
this the best point...fine tuning will give more choices , will try em out for sure good job pinwc4!
__________________
Mini-Z AWD 2.4Ghz 94mm
Mini-Z AWD DWS PN A-Arm 2.4Ghz MR03 board 98mm
Mini-Z MR-02 2.4Ghz
Mini-Z MR-03
FX-101 Dnano 360 Modena
ub0211042 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.12, 11:53 AM   #10
ub0211042
Registered User
 
ub0211042's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Posts: 659
the windows version works ...
__________________
Mini-Z AWD 2.4Ghz 94mm
Mini-Z AWD DWS PN A-Arm 2.4Ghz MR03 board 98mm
Mini-Z MR-02 2.4Ghz
Mini-Z MR-03
FX-101 Dnano 360 Modena
ub0211042 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.12, 12:45 PM   #11
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by ub0211042 View Post
this the best point...fine tuning will give more choices , will try em out for sure good job pinwc4!
Since I do not have documentation done here are the values that the various dropdown menu options equal

GAIN: Min = 50, Mid = 100, Strong = 255
SPEED: Slow = 10, 2 = 20, 3 = 30, 4 = 40, Fast = 255
PUNCH: 1-10
DRIVE BAND: Narrow = 1, Mid = 2, Wide = 3
DUMP: Over = 1, Smooth =2
DRIVE FREQ: High = 64, Medium = 120, Low = 255
NEUTRAL: Narrow = 130;124, Mid = 136;120, Wide = 148;108
VERTICAL INERTIA: Strong = 1, 2 = 2, 3 = 3, 4 = 4, OFF = 255
BACK TIMING: 1 = 1, 2 = 5, 3 = 10, 4 = 20, 5 = 40
STEERING GAIN: 1-255
THROTTLE GAIN: 1-255

Last edited by pinwc4; 2010.04.12 at 03:24 PM.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.12, 10:09 PM   #12
Treadmule
Tire Crew
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: SoCal - South Orange County
Posts: 98
It rained here today and I wasn't able to set up my track on the patio as I usually do, so no testing done. It'll be a few days till I can try again.

I noticed a couple minor cosmetic things in Mac version 0.24:
- Typos on a couple of the "Car" panel buttons (Neutral & Virtual Inertia)
- For Car Type - ASF a few items are grayed out on the "Car" panel, but they seem to be editable in the "Custom" panel.

But, those are just tiny glitches. The software seems very solid and easy to use and that's what counts.
__________________
Treadmule...
Treadmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.12, 10:32 PM   #13
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by Treadmule View Post
It rained here today and I wasn't able to set up my track on the patio as I usually do, so no testing done. It'll be a few days till I can try again.

I noticed a couple minor cosmetic things in Mac version 0.24:
- Typos on a couple of the "Car" panel buttons (Neutral & Virtual Inertia)
- For Car Type - ASF a few items are grayed out on the "Car" panel, but they seem to be editable in the "Custom" panel.

But, those are just tiny glitches. The software seems very solid and easy to use and that's what counts.
Thanks for the feedback, I will get those typos fixed. I had not payed close attention to the spelling yet.

As for the options in the Custom panel I did that on purpose. The custom panel is intended to let you change any of the values to anything you want without any enforced rules like the Car menu options. The values may not do anything but it lets us experiment some.

For example I would really like someone with an MR-03 to use the custom panel to set the Back Timing to 0. The main program only lets 1 be the lowest option but I am really curious if 0 would work. It would be awesome if we could get rid of the back timing altogether. It may not have any effect or it may cause erratic behavior, we do not know until someone tries.
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.17, 10:49 PM   #14
Treadmule
Tire Crew
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: SoCal - South Orange County
Posts: 98
I had a little test time yesterday afternoon, so I tried a couple variations with the ICS software.

Virtual Inertia set to zero caused my MR-02 to randomly run-away at full throttle, even with a neutral trigger. Hitting brakes stopped it. I tried a few other "in between" settings, but didn't encounter anything obvious. On the other hand, I don't have a timing system, nor am I that consistent in my driving to tell if the changes I made were having any impact. Maybe the changes are subtle and require a more refined driver than me to reveal their characteristics.

Have you had any more thoughts about the hardware? I'm also interested in a USB cable. Maybe you'd consider just showing the schematic with parts list rather than providing finished cables. Let us DIY?
__________________
Treadmule...
Treadmule is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 2010.04.20, 09:14 AM   #15
pinwc4
Registered User
 
pinwc4's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2005
Posts: 913
Quote:
Originally Posted by Treadmule View Post
I had a little test time yesterday afternoon, so I tried a couple variations with the ICS software.

Virtual Inertia set to zero caused my MR-02 to randomly run-away at full throttle, even with a neutral trigger. Hitting brakes stopped it. I tried a few other "in between" settings, but didn't encounter anything obvious. On the other hand, I don't have a timing system, nor am I that consistent in my driving to tell if the changes I made were having any impact. Maybe the changes are subtle and require a more refined driver than me to reveal their characteristics.

Have you had any more thoughts about the hardware? I'm also interested in a USB cable. Maybe you'd consider just showing the schematic with parts list rather than providing finished cables. Let us DIY?
Thanks for the feedback, that is interesting information. I figured 0 could be a problematic value for some of those settings. Still holding out hope that it will work for the Back Timing on the MR-03 though.

I have the same issue as you, I am not a consistent enough driver to be able to tell how small changes are impacting my car.

In regards to a USB cable I will come up with something. I would not base a schematic on what I have built as it was just using parts I already had sitting around.

Has anyone else tried this software and have feedback? Is this software useful for people? Is there any features that you would like to see?
pinwc4 is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Version 0.40 of Flip Side Racing Software now available pinwc4 Flip Side 4 2010.02.08 07:53 PM
Flip Side Racing Software feature requests and bugs, original thread pinwc4 Flip Side 409 2010.02.06 03:36 PM
Version 0.38 of Flip Side Racing Software now available pinwc4 Flip Side 18 2010.01.22 11:33 AM
Version 0.33 of Flip Side Racing Software now available pinwc4 Flip Side 9 2009.07.17 08:06 PM
Flip Side Racing Software Info pinwc4 Flip Side 0 2009.05.01 09:29 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 12:13 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2011 Mini-ZRacer.com
Mini Inferno Sale - Up to $85 Instant Savings!
Micro-T Hop-Ups
RC18R, M18, Micro RS4, Mini-LST, TamTech-Gear, Minizilla, RC18T, RC18B, RC18MT
shop.tinyrc.com Products

more»
Tiny RC Community News
[03/22/17] MZR was on vacation, didn't... : All kidding aside, the host experienced a bit of a server meltdown last week and efforts to restore the site to a new server took longer than anticipated. The current server is temporary until - more»
[11/25/15] Did You Hear? Our Black... : Hey Racers,
We're getting started a bit early with our Black Friday sale this year.  Generally we're not supporters of retailers opening early on Thanksgiving, but in our case, we're - more»
[06/30/15] shop.tinyrc.com: Have You... : Hey All! Just a quick reminder to everyone that we post all of our shop.tinyrc.com Newletters here on the MZR Forum. If for some reason you miss them in your email inbox, you can always see the - more»
Mini-Z, Mini-Z Racer, MR-02, MA-010
M18, M18T, RC18T, Mini-LST, Mini-T, Micro RS4, XRay, 1/18, 18th scale
XMODS, XMOD, Micro Flight, ZipZaps, ZipZaps SE, Bit Char-G, MicroSizers, TTTT, Plantraco Desktop Rover, SuperSlicks, Digi Q
Mini Inferno, Mini Inferno ST, half EIGHT, 1/16, 16th scale
Epoch, Indoor Racer, 1/43, 43rd scale
E-Savage, eSavage, eZilla, e-Zilla, HPI
Robots, Bots, Bipeds, Wheeled, Manoi, Roomba, NXT, Lego, Hacking
Crawling, Crawlers, Micro, RC, Losi Mini-Rock Crawler, Duratrax Cliff Climber
Kyosho Minium, Caliber 120, Minium Forums
Mini-Z Hop-Ups, Mini-Z Parts, Mini Inferno Hop-Ups, Mini Inferno Parts, M18 Hop-Ups, M18 Parts