Home
If you build your own electric skateboards, you'll know that the current off the shelf remotes are not exactly ideal. Most do not have telemetry data, others are rather expensive for what they are and of course for some reason a lot of them are thumbwheel driven.
In my search for my own personal remote, I've bought, hacked and built several variations including the very popular GT2B mod, the mini remote and I finally stumbled upon SolidGeek's Simple 3D-printed NRF remote (https://github.com/SolidGeek/nRF24-Esk8-Remote & https://www.electric-skateboard.builders/t/simple-3d-printed-nrf-remote-arduino-controlled/28543). I built that as well but really didn't like the thumbwheel.
I ended up hacking a mini remote to hold the electronics in SolidGeek's design but it required extreme creativity in dremeling out the necessary cavity for the new electronics.
I also really hated the fact that there are a million and one wires to individually solder between all the various components. Thus I began my journey to build my own based on SolidGeek's initial schematic with a goal of sharing it with the esk8 community.
The idea was simple, design an a easy to build, decent sized trigger style ambidextrous remote with telemetry and a deadman's switch as a safety feature. The last point was made painfully clear to me after my finger got caught in the gears when I accidentally bumped the trigger in my old remote.
To do this, I started designing my own custom PCB to hold the electronics (https://easyeda.com/ervinelin/New_Project-35f7bf3537744cda8e1064904f6a78a5), which is a completely new adventure for me. I made some minor mistakes along the way but I am glad it worked out. The latest versions have corrected these mistakes.
I also took weeks to refine the remote design starting from paper sketches, to iteration after iteration of the 3D model, test fitting, re-modelling, re-printing and more testing to get to the final design (which still could do with more refinements).
The trigger mechanism uses hall sensor instead of a potentiometer as well as a skate bearing to ensure a smooth operation (as well as to pay homage to the fact that it's a skateboard). Again refinements were made to the position of the magnets as well as the size of the magnets.
The receiver itself is also relatively easy to build and is very small.
The eventual remote works as I had intended, telemetry, deadman's switch, deck selection, mode button and work.
It's also slim enough to easily fit into pockets or bags.
Overall I'm very happy with the end results, it's a fair bit of work with many parts to order but I hope this repository helps you build your own!
Caveats: Remote is experimental and not an off the shelf product that has undergone proper testing. Build and use at your own risk. Please bench test extensively before actual use. Lastly, I highly recommend protective gear when using the remote just in case something doesn't work (many many things can go wrong)