What do I need to make this work?

[brianaxel]

Hi there,

First post 
Me old Robertson Simrad AP300 gave up on me. Got a AP9 mk3 for free but was missing the solid state board, so that didn't work.
Found this site, and thought, hey this is too cool not to try :-)
I'm not really familiar with the Raspberry PI yet, but I know how to program in C-language from Arduino, PIC, Atmel etc, so guess that wont be a show stopper :-)

I have GPS and heading data on NMEA 0183 RS232.
I have 24V solenoid valves, relays are 24VDC coil voltage, for port / starboard rudder.
I have a PC with OpenCPN running.
What do I need to buy to make a working system?

A RaspBerry PI (obviously :-) )
Guessing some 5V relays to drive the 24V relays or solenoids directly?

Any other sensors?
Display?
Buttons?

Maybe theres a quick guide here I've missed? 

Thanks for you help!

[brianaxel]

I think I found most of what I need in the Wiki (doh!).

:-D

[seandepagnier]

I'm sure you will have more questions.

Do you have a clutch as well?

The regular motor controller cannot work at 24 volts, unless you get the 24 volt version. Then the two motor outputs (and ground) can be used to drive relays. I suggest putting a diode anti-parallel across the relay to protect the controller.

It is likely the relay will actually close at 12 volts. did you test this?
Is there some reason you need to use relays? It is better to avoid them and power the motor directly from the controller as this will give you variable speed, soft starting/stopping and current/voltage/power measurement.