Controlling a remote control toy

Hey there! I'm considering getting an Espruino to transmit to a remote control Dalek I own, to achieve world domination be able to control it with JavaScript.

Now, my technical knowledge is limited but a sticker on the back of the controller states "40MHz". I am presuming that this means that for me to be able to control it, I would need a 40MHz transmitter? If so, where could I obtain one of these, and how would/could I manipulate it from the Espruino?

Lastly, is there a sight where standards for remote control devices can be found? I suppose I would have to source information on the data the controller transmits on the frequency so I could replicate it with the transmitter.

Thank you for your patience and support in advance; I am very new to hardware, so any help is very much appreciated. :)

Check around on ebay and see if modules for this exist (look for stuff on people doing this with arduinos).

The other approach, of course, is to note that you already HAVE a controller and see if you can use the GPIO pins of the Espruino to drive the existing controller....

If they're not arranged in a matrix, the switches on the existing remote control probably just ground the appropriate pin, so if the voltage on it is no higher than 5, you could just hook up the buttons to GPIO pins and drive em like that. I've done this kind of thing all the time with discrete parts, and it could save you a lot of wheel reinvention.

I wish you luck in your plan for world domination - but not too much. I've got my own plans... I just need some fissile material, a foreboding island, an appropriate outfit (I'm thinking Gadaffi meets Lady GaGa)...

Yeah, come to think of it, that sure sounds easier than having to configure broadcasting manually :) Thanks for your help :D

It depends a bit on your controller, but normal RC vehicles (cars/planes/etc) with discrete receivers tend to send out a pretty simple signal - it's basically a bunch of Servo control signals (roughly 1ms-2ms) of varying polarities put end to end...

             _______     __________            __          ___
____________|       |___|          |__________|  |________|   |_________________________
 ....         S1      S2    S3          S4     S5   S6      S7       .....

I'm pretty sure that's what happens anyway (perhaps with more than 7 servo signals though). That's then transmitted over and over, with a large gap between the signals so the receiver can sync up.

You may be able to find a transmitter that'll take that signal (or find a point where you can 'inject' the signal into your existing transmitter - and then it's pretty easy to recreate it with Espruino. To be sure about that you'd want to prod around with an Oscilloscope though.

Having said that. @DrAzzy is probably right - it's a lot simpler to just modify your existing remote control :)