New smartphone-to-RC board: BlinkRC

Here's a cool new product from the Maker Shed: Blink RC. It's a wifi-to-RC board, which can let you replace your RC gear with a smartphone or other wifi-enabled computer. From the announcement:

The BlinkRC from the Maker Shed replaces your standard remote control receiver in your car, plane, or boat, and allows you to control it with your smart phone. The more adventurous can try creating an application on your computer that takes advantage of the open messaging protocol and the BlinkRC’s (3) output channels and (2) analog input channels. Now you can control a variety of different servo’s and sensors from almost anywhere that has WiFi or Internet access.

A few thoughts:

1) Looks good! But...

2) $125!!!

3) Wifi range limitation makes it inappropriate for most aircraft applications

4) Not open source :-(

Here are the full specs:

802.11b/g/n connectivity
Onboard low-profile WiFi chip antenna
Onboard U.FL-R-SMT-1 external WiFi antenna connector
Infrastructure or Ad-Hoc Modes
Transmit range up to 330' depending on environmental / antenna considerations
Requires 3.5vdc to 5.5vdc regulated input (typically from ESC)
Three (3) Output Channels for Servo/ESC control
Two (2) 0-20v analog input channels with 8-bit resolution
Reverse Polarity Protection on Battery input
Optional plastic enclosure
FREE download of iPhone controller app
FREE download of PC compatible controller app
FREE download of Droid controller app (coming soon)
FREE download of Blackberry controller app (coming soon)
Dimensions: 2.8" (L) x 1.0" (W) x 0.25" (H)
Weight: Approximately ~4oz
Outputs: Three (3) Universal/Futaba J Style Connectors
Inputs: Two (2) .1" Header Connectors w/ +5V and GND Available for Sensors

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Comments

Duane Brocious March 8, 2011 at 5:28pm

Get an AR Parrot for $50 more and you have WIFI, FPV and stabilization system on an RTF quad.
Jack Crossfire March 8, 2011 at 4:18pm

Can't believe it has no data connection. It just does PWM. That's the RC world & people actually buy this stuff because they don't know how to go from wifi to PWM. Now those $parkfun $50 wifi - UART boards that only do 1 megabit look like a steal.

Actually, this is the $50 wifi module from $parkfun. & every time you hit "buy", $parkfun's inventory goes down by 1.
hamish March 8, 2011 at 4:14pm

lol, i like how they say 'packed to the brim with components', even though its a wifi module they found in a broken laptop + an AVR. . .
I.S. March 8, 2011 at 12:40pm

Too few channels and bit pricey IMO
robert mcintosh March 8, 2011 at 11:41am

Interesting. would be more usefull for flight if it converted the tx rc/ppm signal into cellular/3g and then back to rc/ppm on the rx side for long range no line of sight flights.

This reply was deleted.