Author Topic: Transmitter and Reciever for Thrusters  (Read 2287 times)

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Offline Lacrosse24Topic starter

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Transmitter and Reciever for Thrusters
« on: August 28, 2015, 08:02:06 AM »
I'm trying to find a reciever and transmitter that is compatible with my underwater thruster setup so I am able to remotely turn the thrusters on and off.  The transmitter would have to be waterproof because it would be on person while in the water.  The transmitter would be no more than probably 15 feet from the reciever at all times.  The setup picture is in the attachments except I'm trying to use 2 underwater thrusters and I'm not sure how to combine the wiring so they would run off he same battery, ESC, and reciever.  Does the transmitter and reciever have certain specifications that depend on the motor, if so, here are the details of each thruster.  It's a DC motor with a max power of a 150W, max voltage of 12V, max thrust of 3.8kg, rated current of 12A, max current of 30A and I'm already sure you need at least 12.5 amps per thruster coming from the battery if that means anything relating to the transmitter and reciever.  Thanks a lot hope to hear from someone soon!  ;D
« Last Edit: August 28, 2015, 12:43:07 PM by Lacrosse24 »

Offline cyberjeff

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Re: Transmitter and Reciever for Thrusters
« Reply #1 on: August 28, 2015, 08:51:52 PM »
Waterproof is not so hard. Blutooth and any of the RF modules operate at such high frequencies that the antennas are very very small. All  this could go in a small waterproof box.

The problem is transmitting through water, which hates anything above super low frequencies and these are super high:

http://users.tpg.com.au/users/ldbutler/Underwater_Communication.pdf

Above the water is still dicey. Go with a fail safe where it shuts off when it loses signal.

You may be better off with sound/sonar. You could have a pinger and a detector, make it fail safe and when it loses the "ping" it shuts off.

Anything off the shelf is going to cost a boat load.

What's wrong with a cord?

Offline Lacrosse24Topic starter

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Re: Transmitter and Reciever for Thrusters
« Reply #2 on: August 28, 2015, 09:21:41 PM »
The RF module sounds like a good idea.  Since both the person and the object with thrusters will be at the surface almost 100% of the time I don't think the water's low frequency requirement will be too much of a burden.  The reason a chord is not an option is because it would simply get in the way.  Now does an RF module transceiver have 2 parts, one part that you would wear(in my case) so you could remotely control the thrusters, and another that's fixed on the object which recieves all of the data from the remote part?  Also getting back to the fail safe, how would you go about programming these kinds of things, I'm relatively new to this kind of technology and I'm not sure how I can really set up the remote control effectively.  Do you have any tips on how I can figure this out?

Offline cyberjeff

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Re: Transmitter and Reciever for Thrusters
« Reply #3 on: August 31, 2015, 08:08:53 AM »
The RF module sounds like a good idea.  Since both the person and the object with thrusters will be at the surface almost 100% of the time I don't think the water's low frequency requirement will be too much of a burden.  The reason a chord is not an option is because it would simply get in the way.  Now does an RF module transceiver have 2 parts, one part that you would wear(in my case) so you could remotely control the thrusters, and another that's fixed on the object which recieves all of the data from the remote part?  Also getting back to the fail safe, how would you go about programming these kinds of things, I'm relatively new to this kind of technology and I'm not sure how I can really set up the remote control effectively.  Do you have any tips on how I can figure this out?

You may be able to use something like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-12v-10A-relay-1CH-wireless-RF-Remote-Control-Switch-Transmitter-Receiver-/221283333405?hash=item338583b51d

Similar devices widely available.

If that doesn't work for you, you have Bluetooth options. Bluetooth is a relatively short range technology commonly used for headsets for phones, keyboards, etc.. There are a wide variety of other uses so there are a lot of different devices out there.

Here is a bluetooth remote relay that might be suitable for switching off the thrusters:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lazy-Bone-Android-Bluetooth-Smartphone-cell-phone-wireless-relay-switch-/230939710949

That comes with code to use with a cellphone.

Whether you can find a transmitter / receiver combination ready to use, I don't know. You'll need to look around. It's possible.

All this can be assembled, coded and built with commonly available parts and a microcontroller like an Arduino. Parts for both ends would be around $50 and perhaps less depending on how sourced. You would have to write some code, but there is a good bit of starter code out there. If you decide to go this route, the Arduino's have a huge support base and you can get guidance at the Arduino forum:

http://forum.arduino.cc/

Offline Lacrosse24Topic starter

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Re: Transmitter and Reciever for Thrusters
« Reply #4 on: August 31, 2015, 08:19:52 AM »
Thanks a bunch, you've been very helpful!! ;D

 


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