Pypilot motor controller - desperate to get one :)

[Joao Simoes]

Evening,

I am desperate to get a motor controller for the pypilot.

Currently they seem to be out of stock and as per previous comments from Sean, he has made the design free for people to source them themselves... (Thank you for that!)

I am looking to get an order through JLCPCB - a company that makes and assembles PCBs.

I have tried to export kicad to gerber and even created the bom file with JLCPCB post processor - mind that I learned all this to get the controller - this is not my subject - just my desperation! and its fun to learn new things.

Would it be possible to get a high resolution photo of the motor controller - the standard one - for me to read the specs and finish my board?

Anyone has one and @Sean; would you be ok with this? I know you are the moderator so I am hoping you see this request.

Also, do I have anyone interested in the European union? I am located in Portugal and would be happy to post. Minimum quantity is 5 pieces and I only need one. Cost would be the overall divided by 5 plus postage to you.

To clarify, this is the one I am trying to get
https://shop.openmarine.net/home/28-pypi...oller.html

Thirdly, I got late to the Maiana party, Does anyone have a PSB they can take high res photos from? the files are also online to make them but I also have some bom discrepancies!

I hope nothing of what I wrote is offensive to anyone and I believe all the information has been made free for people to replicate the technology, please let me know otherwise.

Many thanks to everyone.
Joao

[Vainamoinen]

Good afternoon,

I'm also currently seeking to fabricate motor controller for pypilot, but I need the high power version of it. The more do the less, but not the other way ;-).
Currently, I preferred to make affair with AISLER, very similar to JLCPCB, but the manufacture is in Germany. It's a little bit more expensive, but still reasonable (77€ for 5, 64€ for 10 261€ by 5, 210€ by 10).
I've asked to Sean, and he helped me to do it.

If you are okay with have an higher (and more expensive) version of it, we can share cost. I can make the order, and sell you one.
I'm currently in A Coruna, so not so far away from you.
I made a post in the for sale section for that a few days ago.

If anyone else is interested, let us know ;-)

Thanks
Bastien

[Vainamoinen]

Good afternoon,

I'm also currently seeking to fabricate motor controller for pypilot, but I need the high power version of it. The more do the less, but not the other way ;-).
Currently, I preferred to make affair with AISLER, very similar to JLCPCB, but the manufacture is in Germany. It's a little bit more expensive, but still reasonable (77€ for 5, 64€ for 10 261€ by 5, 210€ by 10).
I've asked to Sean, and he helped me to do it.

If you are okay with have an higher (and more expensive) version of it, we can share cost. I can make the order, and sell you one.
I'm currently in A Coruna, so not so far away from you.
I made a post in the for sale section for that a few days ago.

If anyone else is interested, let us know ;-)

Thanks
Bastien

For comparaison purpose, I did the JLCPCB process until almost the end, and it's a lot cheaper : around 64€ per board for 5 (miss a component which was not available when I did it, maybe some prices will change at the time of order, but it's marginal)

I'm considering this option too now.

[Joao Simoes]

Hi Bastien,


I am interested but I would like to ask anyone that knows - don't know if you do - if this controller will use more power than the standard one.

My sailboat is 18 foot and all electrics are scaled to its size including the battery 

If the only difference is the cost - meaning the power consumption difference being marginal - I'm happy to buy one from your stock.

But I would like to know I wont be wasting battery unnecessarily.  

I have a working unit currently with a arduino and a BTS7960 motor controller but would like to have a permanent solution that is design for purpose.

Kind regards,
Joao

[Vainamoinen]

Hi Bastien,


I am interested but I would like to ask anyone that knows - don't know if you do - if this controller will use more power than the standard one.

My sailboat is 18 foot and all electrics are scaled to its size including the battery 

If the only difference is the cost - meaning the power consumption difference being marginal - I'm happy to buy one from your stock.

But I would like to know I wont be wasting battery unnecessarily.  

I have a working unit currently with a arduino and a BTS7960 motor controller but would like to have a permanent solution that is design for purpose.

Kind regards,
Joao

Hi Joao,

I totally understand.

I don't know for sure the answer, but seems like it's the same power consumption. I refer to the pypilot datasheet on Pypilot.org, both for quiescent consumption and efficiency (for the same motor current) https://pypilot.org/schematics/hbridge_datasheet.htm and https://pypilot.org/schematics/highpower_datasheet.htm
If someone have some more information...

I will try to pass the order on Monday,
For now, we are 3, if anyone wants to join, say it before Monday, I'll order for more.

Regards,
Bastien

[nitrosails]

Hi Bastien,


I am interested but I would like to ask anyone that knows - don't know if you do - if this controller will use more power than the standard one.

My sailboat is 18 foot and all electrics are scaled to its size including the battery 

If the only difference is the cost - meaning the power consumption difference being marginal - I'm happy to buy one from your stock.

But I would like to know I wont be wasting battery unnecessarily.  

I have a working unit currently with a arduino and a BTS7960 motor controller but would like to have a permanent solution that is design for purpose.

Kind regards,
Joao

Hi Joao,

I totally understand.

I don't know for sure the answer, but seems like it's the same power consumption. I refer to the pypilot datasheet on Pypilot.org, both for quiescent consumption and efficiency (for the same motor current) https://pypilot.org/schematics/hbridge_datasheet.htm and https://pypilot.org/schematics/highpower_datasheet.htm
If someone have some more information...

I will try to pass the order on Monday,
For now, we are 3, if anyone wants to join, say it before Monday, I'll order for more.

Regards,
Bastien

[PaddyB]

Hi Bastien,


I am interested but I would like to ask anyone that knows - don't know if you do - if this controller will use more power than the standard one.

My sailboat is 18 foot and all electrics are scaled to its size including the battery 

If the only difference is the cost - meaning the power consumption difference being marginal - I'm happy to buy one from your stock.

But I would like to know I wont be wasting battery unnecessarily.  

I have a working unit currently with a arduino and a BTS7960 motor controller but would like to have a permanent solution that is design for purpose.

Kind regards,
Joao

If you go the Pi zero route power is low, don't have exact figures though. But the actual power to steer on my long keel 10m steel boat must be next to nothing n long passages. I turn the gains down a bit then keep thinking it's broken as it will go for like a minute before a little Zzz Zzz for a second or 2. 

https://www.perplexity.ai/ is a fantastic resource for research (and doesn't care about spelling  )  -

what is the average power consumption of a raspberry pi zero (not wifi) uner mediym load

Based on the search results, we can estimate the average power consumption of a Raspberry Pi Zero (non-WiFi version) under medium load.

The Raspberry Pi Zero (without WiFi) consumes approximately 108 mA at idle when running the Raspberry Pi OS Bullseye image[1]. This translates to about 540 mW at 5V.

Under medium load, we can expect the power consumption to increase. While the search results don't provide an exact figure for medium load on the original Pi Zero, we can make an educated estimate based on the data available:

1. The Raspberry Pi Zero W (with WiFi) draws around 370 mA when stressed using Stressberry[3].
2. The non-WiFi Zero typically consumes less power than its WiFi-enabled counterpart.

Considering these factors, we can estimate that the Raspberry Pi Zero (non-WiFi) under medium load would likely consume between 200-300 mA, or approximately 1-1.5 W at 5V.

It's important to note that the actual power consumption can vary depending on factors such as:

- The specific tasks being performed
- Connected peripherals
- CPU and GPU usage
- Enabled features and configurations

The Raspberry Pi Zero is known for its energy efficiency. In fact, it's often referred to as the "power sipping" model among the Raspberry Pi family, with an idle current draw of about 65 mA according to some measurements[4].

When planning projects using the Raspberry Pi Zero, it's advisable to allow for some headroom in your power budget to ensure stable operation under various load conditions.

Citations:
[1] https://www.cnx-software.com/2021/12/09/...nsumption/
[2] https://hackaday.com/2021/11/01/the-pi-z...icient-pi/
[3] https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ras...2-w-review
[4] https://forums.raspberrypi.com/viewtopic.php?t=127210

[seandepagnier]

Hi everyone.

I feel quite bad but I had little choice as I could not survive selling these. I want to revisit sometime when I can but I can not do much for a few months now.

As for power consumption, the higher power ones actually will use less power. For one reason, they have lower on resistance of the mosfets, and another use a switching regulator to generate the 5 volt power. The difference is really almost nothing, especially at lower power maybe few milliwatts, but I wanted to make this clear, that the regular motor controller uses a tiny bit more power but is cheaper to produce.

[Joao Simoes]

Good evening everyone.

Sean, thank you for confirming. This is great news.

Bastien, Count me in It seems it will be a great piece of kit.

Also, Sean, could you share any bill of materials (if you have them for the controllers) it will make life easier of amateurs like us to replicate the boards in the future. Anyway, thank you for this great piece of kit.

[matthiaspe]

Good evening everyone.

Sean, thank you for confirming. This is great news.

Bastien, Count me in It seems it will be a great piece of kit.

Also, Sean, could you share any bill of materials (if you have them for the controllers) it will make life easier of amateurs like us to replicate the boards in the future. Anyway, thank you for this great piece of kit.

Good morning,
I am also looking for a motor controller.

I plan to have a pypilot installed either with a cylinder or with this system which I find ingenious: https://milo-autopilot.com/

I am in Paris, is it possible to participate in group purchasing?