My Radio Control Lawnmower. I get lots of questions about this. Mainly it's "Why?" and "What did you use for.......?"

The answer to why is: Because I could.

And what did I use: The propulsion system comes from an RS540 size motor (15T) and a gearbox from one of those 'Powerwheels' type toys that little kids ride around in. It was donated by an unknown individual on Kimmell Road who had it sitting out for the trash men to pick up. The Motor control is a simple H-bridge circuit with a little revamping to handle 170 amps max for short bursts, and well over 100amps continuous without overheating. The brackets are steel and 3/16 inch aluminum bars.

The chain and sprockets are from a small child's bike donated by my uncle TuT. The steering servo is a Hitec HS-805BB with over 300 oz. in of torque @ 1 inch from pivot center @ 6volts. Holding the servo to the mower body is a piece of 1/8 inch lexan. The steering is made from fairly thin flat steel bar bent and held together with all-thread and nuts.. then held to the body with standard nuts and bolts. There's more to steering geometry than most people realize, but since this is a light project (under 30 pounds total) it wasn't a huge issue.

The radio to control it all is a 6 channel e-flite helicopter transmitter and receiver.

In all, it took some electronics, robotics, and mechanical knowledge, about 275 bucks worth of brand new mower, parts, electronics, some free time, and some thinking. I might be a prick, but I'm not a stupid prick.

Click the little pictures below to see a larger version with better detail.