I'm trying to do something similar - I screwed the thrusters to the fin, underneath the kayak. Still messing about with the ESC so haven't got it going yet.
Once you prefect it you should make them to sell for people like me that will never figure out how to make that. Your video is great but way over my head once you got to the electronics.
No. This motor controller is a typical ESC (electronic speed control) from the Remote control hobby world. So it is designed to plug into a receiver that would be getting inputs from a transmitter. So the arduino is taking the place of the receiver. The motors have 3 wires and need the ESC electronics to accurately control it.
You can easily "uncomplicate" and do away with the Arduino by using a "servo tester" to control the motor ESC's..... You can also 3d print the motor housings and props for under $20 and buy 2 motors and ESC's for $30ish.....so $50ish for both motors and ESC's rather than $200 each....
No matter which way you go, the hardest part is figuring out how to mount it to the kayak. I wanted to stay light, slim and balanced as possible so I could still wheel it down narrow pathways to the water from anywhere not just a boat ramp. A trolling motor would be mounted on one side or the other if you are hand steering so it would be heavy and bulky on one side, plus you usually have to do modification to the length or the head electronics so I wanted to start from scratch. I have full speed control forward and reverse not just 3 speed settings. My goal is fine control steering not trying to go anywhere fast.
In my setup I've ran 40 mins at full power. I usually only operate a very short time at full speed, mostly I use just enough thrust to keep pointed in the right direction. I've been out for 3 hour trips with no problem.
The joystick was wired into circuit board inside housing. I couldn't find any documentation on how the board communicated with the main board under the seat of wheelchair. I took out the board inside the remote, and wired the joystick directly to the 5 wire cable. I'm only using 4 wires;, 5 volt, ground, speed, direction.
I'm just wondering how you got Steve-O to narrate your video. Just messing with ya! My kayak is a pontoon and I want to just use one thruster underneath to help on windy days. I already have the brushless thruster but need to figure out how to raise/lower the speed on a 12v battery. There are no simple videos on how to wire a thruster. I just want to wire my motor to a controller and be able to just turn a knob or flip a switch to go in reverse.
The blue robotics web site has diagrams and info on how to hook it up. But you need an ESC to control the motor, and something that sends the correct signal to the ESC. A simple 5 dollar servo tester would work. But thrust commander that bluerobotics sells would be a good choice as well.
No I put relevant code blocks together to make the script. Blue robotics has demo script to show how to get motors initialized. Used Arduino servo library. And used code block that mixes the analog joystick readings into signal for each motor.
I've never tested it above 12. The bluerobotics website has several graphs of motor performance you can check out. bluerobotics.com/store/thrusters/t100-t200-thrusters/t200-thruster/
Excellent. Everything i have dreamed off. Thank you for sharing this
I'm trying to do something similar - I screwed the thrusters to the fin, underneath the kayak. Still messing about with the ESC so haven't got it going yet.
Ciao sto lavorando sul mio kayak con questi motori. Li fai funzionare a 12v oppure 24v? Che potenza hai riscontrato?
i would know how to build but dono anything about electrical and components rite now
Once you prefect it you should make them to sell for people like me that will never figure out how to make that. Your video is great but way over my head once you got to the electronics.
Is the arduino necessary? Cant you just go from the motor controller to switches? Just turn on then a enabke switch for each one to control direction?
No. This motor controller is a typical ESC (electronic speed control) from the Remote control hobby world. So it is designed to plug into a receiver that would be getting inputs from a transmitter. So the arduino is taking the place of the receiver. The motors have 3 wires and need the ESC electronics to accurately control it.
You can easily "uncomplicate" and do away with the Arduino by using a "servo tester" to control the motor ESC's.....
You can also 3d print the motor housings and props for under $20 and buy 2 motors and ESC's for $30ish.....so $50ish for both motors and ESC's rather than $200 each....
Why not trolling motor 30 lbs 20 lbs ? What is the advantage? Speed? consumption? Price? Mou
No matter which way you go, the hardest part is figuring out how to mount it to the kayak. I wanted to stay light, slim and balanced as possible so I could still wheel it down narrow pathways to the water from anywhere not just a boat ramp. A trolling motor would be mounted on one side or the other if you are hand steering so it would be heavy and bulky on one side, plus you usually have to do modification to the length or the head electronics so I wanted to start from scratch. I have full speed control forward and reverse not just 3 speed settings. My goal is fine control steering not trying to go anywhere fast.
How long can you run for?
In my setup I've ran 40 mins at full power. I usually only operate a very short time at full speed, mostly I use just enough thrust to keep pointed in the right direction. I've been out for 3 hour trips with no problem.
Nice build!
John, do you have the PIN out for the Invacare joystick?
The joystick was wired into circuit board inside housing. I couldn't find any documentation on how the board communicated with the main board under the seat of wheelchair. I took out the board inside the remote, and wired the joystick directly to the 5 wire cable. I'm only using 4 wires;, 5 volt, ground, speed, direction.
I'm just wondering how you got Steve-O to narrate your video. Just messing with ya!
My kayak is a pontoon and I want to just use one thruster underneath to help on windy days.
I already have the brushless thruster but need to figure out how to raise/lower the speed on a 12v battery. There are no simple videos on how to wire a thruster.
I just want to wire my motor to a controller and be able to just turn a knob or flip a switch to go in reverse.
The blue robotics web site has diagrams and info on how to hook it up. But you need an ESC to control the motor, and something that sends the correct signal to the ESC. A simple 5 dollar servo tester would work. But thrust commander that bluerobotics sells would be a good choice as well.
👍👍👍
quick question, did you write the program from scratch or did you find a site for the controller to program input and mixed signal output?
No I put relevant code blocks together to make the script. Blue robotics has demo script to show how to get motors initialized. Used Arduino servo library. And used code block that mixes the analog joystick readings into signal for each motor.
very slow
How fast does it go?
Batteries Wired in series not parallel. As parallel would still only have 27 amps.[wink].
No I'm afraid you have it backwards. My batteries are wired in parallel to keep the voltage at 12 volts.
@@John82y Ahh, of course that is correct. You seemed too astute to do it in series of course !!.
John, How fast will both these motors run with a 24v battery?
I've never tested it above 12. The bluerobotics website has several graphs of motor performance you can check out. bluerobotics.com/store/thrusters/t100-t200-thrusters/t200-thruster/