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Introduction and Getting Started
#1
Greetings,

My name is Adrian, and I have a 1982 Mason 43 cutter-rigged sloop, which we've owned for 23 years, and which currently resides on the Chesapeake Bay (VA, USA).  When we were about 20 years younger than today, we took our three kids cruising in the Caribbean and US East Coast (up to Maine), and explored the US East Coast and Caribbean for about 3 years.

By day, I'm a software developer, can read code, and write Java, C, and Python with the best of them, but circuits beyond the Radio Shack 150-in-1 project box are not my forte.  So, not total noob, but not far from it.

What brings me here is our aging Robertson AP200 autopilot.  I won't go into all the shortcomings of the AP200 (which, if you know its quirks, is actually decent), but will say it does not have a tack feature.  So, my solo tacking consists of putting the wheel over to 2 o'clock or 10 o'clock on the opposite side, waiting for the jib to blow through,  moving the helm back over to 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock on the opposite side to stop the fall-off, quickly sheeting in, tacking the staysail, then moving the helm over AGAIN to the proper balanced setting on the opposite tack.  In winds upward of 20kt, this experience can leave me breathless and, as my years progress, I'm tending to favor more sedate, leisurely experiences.  So, basically, I'm looking for auto-tack.  And remote control - that's another biggie!  Not having to get on my knees in the cockpit to see the display on the existing AP200 so I can make course adjustments would be a major bonus, especially if the weather is rough and our boat's tumblehome sends buckets of water over the helm.  Plus, I hear great things about Sean's creation, and think it will steer better than what I now have.  But, as I'm not an EE, I believe I could benefit from some mentoring, and that's why I'm here. 

Some more details about my autopilot:  Robertson AP200 -> Simrad.  Discontinued long ago.  Fluxgate compass.  J101 Junction Box (fwiw).  Hydraulic ram connects directly to tiller on rudder post below-decks - more than adequate to steer boat.  Ram is driven by 12v reversing-polarity hydraulic pump.  Not sure of current draw.
 
So, to get started, I have the following components:
  • Arduino Nano
  • IBT-2 controller
  • Raspberry Pi Zero W
  • Nokia 5110 LCD
  • MPU 9255 (sensors)
  • USB cables
  • Some 40 pin male/male headers
I need to rig this thing up initially to get started, before I try to "harden" it into a final product.  Here are some questions that I think are all about "What are best practices?":
  • Should I buy stranded or solid hookup wires?  I'm thinking stranded, but maybe solid is good enough and easier?
  • Should I get ribbon cable(s)? I recall seeing one picture with a ribbon cable that had the display mounted on a connector in the middle of the cable, and the MPU at the end (I think).  So, both GPIO connections on a single cable.
  • Should I buy a PCB board(s)?  What kind?
  • Should I get special prototyping headers?  (I have male/male, but no special female connectors for the wires, so I can't use them as-is) 
  • Do I need more than the IBT-2 to drive my hydraulic ram? I'm basically not sure I understand enough about the concerns around this.  The wires that go to my motor are not that large -- I believe it's controlled by low-power solenoids, and the actual power supply is direct (i.e., doesn't go through the junction box) with a heavier gauge wire. As I write this, it occurs to me I have more research to do "in the field."
  • I'm thinking the interface point should be directly to the motor (i.e. the solenoids), rather than trying to patch into (and possibly destroying) the working J101 junction box.
  • Should I prototype it using a breadboard (etc) initially prior to trying to build the "final product?"
  • To operate from the unit (not via my cell phone) what kind of buttons are recommended? 
  • Do you guys with successful builds have an emergency kill switch installed, in case you have an OMG moment ("Dang, my navigation is good - I clove that daymark in half!")
Adrian
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Messages In This Thread
Introduction and Getting Started - by vadrian - 2022-05-03, 02:37 PM
RE: Introduction and Getting Started - by vadrian - 2022-05-04, 08:47 PM
RE: Introduction and Getting Started - by vadrian - 2022-05-19, 03:32 AM
RE: Introduction and Getting Started - by ironman - 2022-05-19, 09:18 AM
RE: Introduction and Getting Started - by vadrian - 2022-05-19, 01:09 PM

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