jtryon

looks great!

yes you should only run a long main power wire to the actuators from the relay, using the proper gauge cable.  14-16ga should be ok for most applications.  use this cable chart if that helps pick the gauge you need:

http://assets.bluesea.com/files/resources/newsletter/images/DC_wire_selection_chartlg.jpg

12 minutes ago, Timr71 said:

They're not super stretchy. For my purposes they do steadily hold the skis in place. There were some different additional straps available for purchase on the display rack at Bass Pro.  Also you might search the manufacture's website to see what your other options might be.  I won't really get to see how well mine will work until I get out on the lake and see what if any rope interference issues I might have created for myself. We'll see.  

What you trying to do? Rack up more surfboards on your boat. I think I'd find a different device to utilize for surfboard racks.  I'm thinking more along the line of various closet made parts or something like that.  

yeah trying to rack more boards without having to pay ~$180 for a cheapo double-wakesurf rack, without looking too cheesy.  those look nice actually, if they seem like they can handle a little abuse from waves---i have to think so if they are designed to be on ATV's that are constantly being beat on worse than my boat would be.  this one actually looks cool since it rotates and could mount boards up/down rather than sideways, so i might lean this direction and see how it looks before buying multiples: https://www.kolpin.com/rhino-grip-xl-utv-mount

how does the construction of the ones you got feel?  surf boards are <10lbs in most cases so i'm not so much worried about weight as how they would hold up to 35mph (tops) wind speeds on the water.

really cool idea.  how stretchy are the straps that it comes with?  i'm looking to do something similar but for surf boards, but those straps don't look like they're long enough.

wow, amazing work!

On 4/17/2020 at 4:13 PM, TimbrSS said:

I considered doing that stuff, but after changing out the v-drive gear set to a 1.48:1, I don't need anything else.

@TimbrSS did you do a writeup for that?  i know of a few guys that are trying to do the same.

he has a company, https://hyperryddesigns.com/  might be able to contact him easier through there.

looks awesome!

thanks!

yes a 3.5" round weld-on end is perfect, because i'll be welding a single 3.5" tube to it rather than duals like you did.  12" long is great and I can trim from the top if needed, and the outlet end the same shape as yours as well, or if it's easier to do a straight angled cut on the outlet that's perfectly fine as well.

The 3.5” formed down pipe would be awesome because I’m sure it will be hard to get an exhaust or fab shop around here to make that exact piece.

great work!  did you make that hydraulic press shaper to narrow the down tube just for this project?  if they're easy enough to reproduce just the narrowed downpipe i would gladly pay you for it.  i'm converting my centurion sideswipe exhaust to a single rear outlet (4" downtubes to 3.5" exit) and am not looking forward to having to shop around to my local exhaust shops to have that downpipe done.

sent ya a PM in case you are able to make me one of these..

6 minutes ago, SONICJK said:

So rotary encoder is working in the code. Now just need to test GPS.
Once everything is up and running effectively I'll put up a wiring diagram. 

i have a GPS coming that will be delivered today and i should know if it's working by tomorrow as well.

jhartt, on the GPS i'm using here, it has external male pins so all you need is a female/female jumper pins from the board to the GPS and you're good to go with no soldering.

tested on my board and working great!  i'll order up a GPS and test that in my car once it comes in, to make sure speed input and everything is working.  i also found a better rotary encoder than the ones i previously used, which had always seemed to crap out easily so i don't trust them in a marine environment.  jon had also said his testers had the same problem with the rotarys working reliably.  i'll order one of these and see if it works better: https://www.digikey.com/en/videos/p/panasonic/waterproof-encoder

great job justin!

functionally it is working in the console output, but the integrated motor pins still aren't putting out voltage when they should.  admittedly i stopped working on it for the past month, but want to pick it back up because i have a couple things to try after doing some more research.  i hope to have an update in another week or so.

great idea, do you have a template for this?

so i have the board behaving correctly finally in the arduino serial monitor, deploying left and right without the errors i was getting for the past week.  however, only two of the motor driver outputs are putting out voltage on retraction or deployment of the switch, but i can't get more than two functions to work at a time.  for instance, i can get left retract and right retract voltage, or left deploy and right retract voltage, etc. but never a single side deploy/retract voltage.  when i look at the roMeo pinout and read up on it, the functions say they are for a motor control and directional control, which i'm not sure translates to a polarity-reversing 12v motor like the lenco's we're trying to drive. 

pinout of the motor driver below. does anyone have experience with this romeo board and/or a general idea if this motor controller is even capable of working how we want it to?

i bought the new all-in-one board last week and attempted to upload the code to it today.  after changing some of the pinouts once i read up a little on the dfrobot site, the new board took the code upload without any of the initial errors i was getting, which is good.  i'm going to grab my bench testing switches, LED's, etc. from the boat garage this week and see if this thing works as is, and will update everyone on progress.

just saw this because i'm prepping to install an FAE-style exhaust myself after ripping out sideswipe last night (centurion typhoon).  really got my gears turning because i was planning on cutting two holes in the transom for a traditional-style FAE, but I may just do a single after seeing this.  thanks for the idea!

thanks.  a lot of recommendations on the makita 9227C as well.  guess i should pony up and buy a nice one off the rip.

any recommendations on an inexpensive-but-good rotary buffer to use for this?   or which specs to look for when selecting one?

I would shorten the down pipe to be about level with the prop nut, and would bring the whole thing as close to the taps plate as you can without interfering with it up and down.

6 minutes ago, SONICJK said:

What size are those interior tubes 4"?

i need to measure but they are either 3.5 or 4".  mine would be a little different than the pics because i have a catalytic convertor, so it might just be one bend after the cat which would attach to the thru-hull exit.  i didn't even think about buying a pre-made stainless elbow...that's a great idea to keep the engine bay a little cleaner looking of an install.

i would just being making the elbows out of PVC and keeping the rest the marine exhaust hose, which is the same thing FAE does for these conversions.  i attached a couple pics of what FAE sent me for their conversion.  i suppose i could use that flexible rubber exhaust hose for the turns instead too.

thanks for the thoughts on sched 40 ratings--i also thought that pressure had a lot to do with the rating but wanted someone to ease my mind. 🤘