One-byte message, one-way RF, one Arduino: Can it be done?

Wireless & IoT
1

I’m an early-intermediate-level electronics hobbyist, and I’m trying to make a remote-controlled airboat project for fun. I plan to use SparkFun’s simple TX/RX wireless transmitter/receiver pair for communication. The problem with this is it only supports one line of data, and so far the only solutions I have found are using either two Arduinos or two sets of wireless transmitters and recievers.

On the transmitter side, I need to send four bits (motor forward, motor backward, rudder left, rudder right). On the receiver side, I need to drive an SN754410 H-bridge chip for the motor (only one full h-bridge is required) and a servo for the rudder. Like I said, I would like to use only one Arduino and wireless TX/RX set.

I have looked at shift registers, but vetoed them due to the requirement of a secondary clock input. I also looked at mux/demux chips but those require binary selector inputs. What I need is a way to take binary input and output a single, continuous serial stream of one-byte messages which could be send along the wireless link. An Arduino at the other end would then read these messages and handle the H-bridge and servo accordingly. Is an IC or combination thereof that would allow me to do this? Ideally, I would be able to get everything from SFE to reduce shipping costs and keep everything organized, but I will look elsewhere as a last resort.

Any help is much appreciated, and please keep in mind that I am not an expert.

EDIT: I forgot to specify a range. Let’s go with 100ft for simplicity’s sake.

2

It is hard to imagine how you would control an RC-type servo with just two bits, unless you plan to use pulse width modulation as in typical RC hobby applications.

However, you don’t need an Arduino to transmit and/or receive many bits of digital (on/off) information. There are cheap, single chip solutions that just need to be paired with a simple RX/TX combo to send information, like garage door openers, but with several independent channels.

One example is the Holtek chip series, see http://www.linxtechnologies.com/product … -decoders/ for one source. There are other similar solutions, see also http://www.rentron.com/remote.htm

In particular, for your application check out the R-8PE/D 4-bit encoder/decoders (which I think are pre-programmed PIC processors) and associated schematic diagrams at http://www.rentron.com/remote_control/Holtek.htm#12E