I’ve worked on a couple instructions for making joystick controlled cars https://gobabygocarswithjoysticks.github.io/index/. A joystick can help a kid practice driving at different speeds and spinning in place. The joystick modifications can be a good chance to teach soldering, but it’s a much longer process than a button modification.
I wanted to make it easier to build joystick cars. I designed a circuit board that includes two motor controllers, a microcontroller, and screw terminals for all connections so that no wires need to be soldered. It replaces the Arduino and ESCs that joystick cars have been using and makes the circuit much simpler.
I tested the circuit boards in an Aosom Jeep (jeep instructions), but they should work in any small or medium-sized 12 volt car with two motors (the PCB can supply 10 amps to each motor) (general instructions).
The source files and documentation for this project are available here for if anyone wants to review the design, build your own, or adapt it:
https://github.com/gobabygocarswithjoysticks/gbg-pcb
I have a few boards from the first set that I assembled that I would be happy to give away. If you’d like one, I would ask that you help cover shipping (the board fits in a USPS small flat rate box). If you are interested in building a car with one of these boards, have questions, or have feedback on the design, please reply here or email me at gobabygocarswithjoysticks@gmail.com.
thanks so much for sharing