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First driveNEORACER DOCS
NEORACER DOCS
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STEP 04 / GETTING STARTED

YOUR FIRST DRIVE.

Now that your car is charged and your controller is on, it's time for your first drive! These same controls become your safety net once your code is doing the driving, so a relaxed ten minutes with the throttle and the steering now pays off later. You'll already feel at home with them when that moment comes.

0 minutesBeginnerIndoor only
FIG. A / A GOOD FLOOR PLAN
FLOOR PLAN · TOP DOWNDRIVING ZONE4 m4 m≥1 mSTARTYOU STAND HERE
A 4 × 4 metre clear box gives you plenty of room for the first session. Standing at one edge gives you a clear view down the line of travel.
//You'll need
  • The Flysky transmitter that came with the car.
  • A 4 × 4 m clear indoor area with at least 1 m of clearance from walls.
  • A hard floor works best. Hardwood, tile, concrete, or thin carpet all give the throttle a clean feel; plush carpet tends to absorb the response and make the first drive feel sluggish.
  • A quiet room without .
01 / FIVE MINUTES OF PRACTICE

THE FIRST DRILL.

01
Place the car on the floor, wheels down, pointed away from you.

Stand at one edge of the safe zone so you have a clean view down the line of travel.

02
Turn on the transmitter first, then the car.

Powering up in that order lets the receiver lock onto a clean signal from the start. A quick twitch at power-on just means the signal is still settling, and switching the transmitter off resets it.

03
Push the throttle to about 15% for a second, then let go back to neutral.

The car will roll forward about a metre and stop. This release-to-neutral motion becomes your everyday way of stopping the car, so it helps to do it a couple of times until it feels natural.

04
Try a gentle steering input next.

Steering only responds while the car is rolling, so a quarter-turn left and right at low throttle is a good first feel.

05
Drive a slow figure-of-eight inside the safe zone.

Around 25 % throttle is plenty. The car is geared for about 25 km/h flat out, but a small fraction of that is enough to find the feel of it on day one.

02 / THREE HABITS WORTH KEEPING

GOOD DRIVING HABITS.

01

Default to neutral throttle

If you're not sure, the stick goes to neutral.
Whenever you have to think about what to do next, the car can already be still while you figure it out. The habit becomes especially useful once your Python code starts driving for you.
02

One variable at a time

One change per run keeps cause and effect clear.
If you change two settings between runs, it's hard to tell which one caused the new behaviour. The same idea carries over later when you start tuning closed-loop controllers.
03

Disconnect the LiPo when you stop

A pack left plugged in keeps draining, so unplugging it at the end helps.
A connected pack draws a small trickle of current through the regulators. Disconnecting it keeps the pack healthier for longer between sessions.