Wireless remote control - assistance please!

[keithw88]

Dear Experts,

I have a MaxPower bow thruster which I would like to control by a wireless remote control (to facilitate picking up mooring lines in my marine berth - my boat is too high and too heavy to jump off holding a line or to use a boat-hook to manhandle it).

I have a Lewmar electric winch which I also would like to be able to control by a remote (one-way only) (for lifting my dinghy onto my foredeck when single-handed).

And finally (not needed, but worth finding out about), it might be good to be able to wirelessly control my anchor winch and the anchor wash.

Each of these electrical devices was made by a different manufacturer. Each device has a mechanical switch which switches a relay, and all of them start when a button is pressed and stop when the button released. (Though the anchor wash would be better switched on with a press and off with another press).

Is it feasible to use a wireless remote from one manufacturer to control devices made by other companies?

is it feasible to have one wireless system in which most units to operate only when a button is pressed and other(s) which start with one press and finish with another (I have read that this involves a latching switch - would that be in the wireless system or in a relay)?

Each of these units runs off my 24 volt supply.

What considerations needed to be addressed?

Thanks in anticipation!

[pesarsten]

I have used inexpensive remote controls designed for remote control of winches in different applications. Just connect to the coil of the up/down relays.

Most are for 12 Vdc so you may have to get creative with the 24 volt.

[noelex 77]

An industrial wireless crane remote would do everything you want. They are available in 24v models.

We use one for our 24v anchor winch (no other functions wired at the moment) and it has been excellent.

[Jon Hacking]

We have used a remote switch from a 4WD shop to drive our anchor winch for a couple of years now. Works fabulously, including from the cockpit. The receiver simply activates the relays that you have now, so very easy to connect. Just put it in parallel with whatever switch(es) you're using now. These use a 4-wire connection (common, up, down, ground) with a 5th wire that's actually a wobbly antenna.

A quick Google search for "24v winch wireless remote control" produced 2 hits on Amazon that specifically say 24v (& not quite 5M other hits). They're about $20, & come with 2 transmitter units, one that fits nicely in your hand, & a smaller one made more for a key-chain.

The main gotcha with these is that the transmitter unit is not waterproof, & it uses a small 6v battery that's easy to find online but not that common in shops, so best to pick up a couple of those as well. We find the batteries last us about a year.

Industrial crane controls would probably also work, & have more buttons so can control more things, but will cost more & might also require more integration.

[SV__Grace]

Our boat has a robust remote control system that uses Quick marine grade waterproof remote controls.

I use the plural because we have one wireless remote that controls 5 systems, a wired backup if the wireless doesn't work, and a dedicated wired windlass remote if they both fail.

The five systems used for this remote control are-

1. Windlass
2. Main sail in mast electric furler
3. Lifting winch for dinghy
4. Electric jib fuller
5. Electric staysail fuller

Crazy, huh? When we refit Grace I removed the electric jib and staysail furlers and reconfigured the remote to work with 3 systems simply by moving wires around on the receiver. I've removed, upgraded, swapped, replaced a lot of stuff on our boat but this system, which looks to be at least 15 years old, has worked great.

[keithw88]

Thank you all! It’s a work in progress, but first stop will be the Quick system as it is waterproof.(It does include the word ‘Marine’ in its name, though, which triples the price of course!)

[Carlr]

I have had 3 boats equipped with a product called Yacht control. They have a system which integrates all the functions you’ve mentioned and does so reliable. Check it out.

[CaptainMarkS]

Originally Posted by SV__Grace

Our boat has a robust remote control system that uses Quick marine grade waterproof remote controls.

I use the plural because we have one wireless remote that controls 5 systems, a wired backup if the wireless doesn't work, and a dedicated wired windlass remote if they both fail.

The five systems used for this remote control are-

1. Windlass
2. Main sail in mast electric furler
3. Lifting winch for dinghy
4. Electric jib fuller
5. Electric staysail fuller

Crazy, huh? When we refit Grace I removed the electric jib and staysail furlers and reconfigured the remote to work with 3 systems simply by moving wires around on the receiver. I've removed, upgraded, swapped, replaced a lot of stuff on our boat but this system, which looks to be at least 15 years old, has worked great.

Hey SV Grace, that sounds like an elegant solution. How does one remote control so many devices? Doesn't one need to interface with receivers on each device? I'd like one solution for my windlass and in mast furler.

[SV__Grace]

Originally Posted by Mark Selawry

Hey SV Grace, that sounds like an elegant solution. How does one remote control so many devices? Doesn't one need to interface with receivers on each device? I'd like one solution for my windlass and in mast furler.

Hello Mark, the system has a controller where all device wires in the system are connected, along with an antenna for the wireless remote.

There are also connections on deck for wired remotes- for the windlass forward, the davit winch aft, and the furlers and davit winch in the cockpit.

Each remote has two rows of buttons for up/down and in/out.

Below is a photo of all three remotes that came with our boat thanks to a previous owner- two wired and one wireless. The wireless can control 5 devices and since I removed the two electric headsail furlers I use this for three devices- windlass, electric main in-mast furler, and davit winch.

I use the wireless remote 100% of the time and the wired remotes are backups (easy to tell from the photo which gets the most use!).

Tip: the davit winch is a 12v winch that normally goes on an ATV or off road/utility vehicle. Holds up well in the marine environment, cheap and easy to replace, and lots easier then manually hauling the dinghy up even with 4 part tackle. Handy for raising and lowering heavy objects on and off the boat. Ours is mounted on the mizzen boom thanks to a previous owner.