Balance system for RC sailboat

This is just a siple test of a balance system for a rc sailboat i am thinking about building.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• RC
• Balance

[Sredna8200]

By using the servo electronics, you are also able to overroule the movement with the rc transmitter. If you move the stick on the transmitter a litlle, you would actually move the zero-point so the system would try to keep the boat heeling at an angle instead of level. In theroy I bellive it works, but have no idea how it goes on the water.

[Sredna8200]

This turning is done by the pendulum; it also has the convenient effect that the motor slows down as it closes in on the dead point (Servo print does this).

Try to open an old servo and play around with it. Make sure all the gears can rotate 360 degrees; many gears are limited to 180 or a little more. You will pretty quick get an idea of how it works. Hope it makes some sense…

[Sredna8200]

Therefore I connected the two poles of the switch with a diode, this way the current can only run one way, which would make the motor turn the opposite way from when it activated the end-stop. The pot-meter should also just be connected with wires, so it can be placed somewhere convenient. If you turn the pot-meter motor will go one way and vice versa.

[Sredna8200]

It is actually very simple. I opened up an old servo chosen for the “proof of concept test”. I removed both motor and pot-meter from the print. Made sure the sprockets were free to rotate 360 degrees. I then connected the print and motor with wires with a switch in each line so that there is connection when the switch is not activated. This way the motor will run until the switch is activated, but it will not be able go the other way again.



[Sredna8200]

Thanks for the comment. The arrangemet is only meant as a proof of concept.

I'm dreaming of making a 29er skiff dinghy, so lever way and response speed, would be adapted to suit the application.

I think the system would also work fine for kanting keel boats. That beeing said, I haven't tested it on the water, so I don't know how waves and boat movement will influence the system. Hopefully someday I, or someone else, will have time to build a test system for sea trial.

[sailorj2009]

Does anyone know any really good servo brands that are waterproof and can turn 360 degrees

[isail29ers]

i like it! do you have a wiring diagram for it? i can see the switches at each end to stop it and the weight on what i guess is a potentiometer of some sort.

this could be above deck on longer rails and perhaps use a motor instead of servo to go further and speed it up

I have had this sort of idea but for canting keel using mercury switches to determine angle of heel.

fyi, who cares about rules. this is advancing radio control sailing!

[aclsalrfp]

You're breaking rule #51 of the ISAF Racing Rules of Sailing.

[richardbough]

Off the set weight and balance of the keel bulb. Sorry, I'm on an I touch and accidentally tapped send. Lol.

[richardbough]

I love the inspiration.

Do you think with a couple of gears that you could speed up the weight shift? Maybe somewhere around 2-3 times faster? Maybe use the servo to slide a weight that's on a suspended line so the weight would always be centered on the center of gravity. Like when the boat keels over the weight would also shift forward and aft while at the same time using gravity shift side to side. I would think that keeping the weight on the CG to port and starboard would not be throwing