Swinging boom sensor. Which-way-did-it-go?
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>
On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the mainsail is secured along
its base to a swinging boom.
I need to detect which way the boom has swung most recently -- to the right or
to the left. Sounds ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by a couple of
things. One, the sensor or sensors must to be
impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the sensor must not add friction
to the hinges or axle or pins upon which the boom swings.
It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I just need to know which way
it went most recently.
Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running before the wind, it helps to
pop the jib to the side opposite the mainsail. In this way, the whole sail plan
is presented to the following wind, and the boat
goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a butterfly" or going
"wing-on-wing."
Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib twitcher, to jerk the jib to
the side opposite the main. Others use a wind-up contraption that stores energy
from the swings of the mainsail, then releases it
all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of the centerline opposite the
mainsail. (This system detects mainsail position mechanically, and puts a
mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
good.).
One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of a pot, read the pot with the
Stamp, and use the position information to instruct a jib twitching servo which
way to tug the jib.
Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor turns with the boom, with
the stator on the deck.. No touch, no friction. There must be other ways, but
most of the things I can think of seem too
complicated for such a simple, but stubborn, problem. I bet there is an ultra
simple solution, but what?
Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the mainsail is secured along
its base to a swinging boom.
I need to detect which way the boom has swung most recently -- to the right or
to the left. Sounds ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by a couple of
things. One, the sensor or sensors must to be
impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the sensor must not add friction
to the hinges or axle or pins upon which the boom swings.
It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I just need to know which way
it went most recently.
Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running before the wind, it helps to
pop the jib to the side opposite the mainsail. In this way, the whole sail plan
is presented to the following wind, and the boat
goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a butterfly" or going
"wing-on-wing."
Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib twitcher, to jerk the jib to
the side opposite the main. Others use a wind-up contraption that stores energy
from the swings of the mainsail, then releases it
all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of the centerline opposite the
mainsail. (This system detects mainsail position mechanically, and puts a
mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
good.).
One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of a pot, read the pot with the
Stamp, and use the position information to instruct a jib twitching servo which
way to tug the jib.
Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor turns with the boom, with
the stator on the deck.. No touch, no friction. There must be other ways, but
most of the things I can think of seem too
complicated for such a simple, but stubborn, problem. I bet there is an ultra
simple solution, but what?
Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
Comments
mast?
"Place your hand on a hot stove for a minute, and it seems like
an hour. Sit with a pretty girl for an hour, and it seems like
a minute.
That's relativity." - Albert Einstein
---- On Tue, 23 Apr 2002, Michael Gianturco
(michcg@m...) wrote:
> >
>
> On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the mainsail
is secured
> along its base to a swinging boom.
>
> I need to detect which way the boom has swung most recently --
to the
> right or to the left. Sounds ridiculously simple, but it is
complicated
> by a couple of things. One, the sensor or sensors must to be
> impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the sensor
must not add
> friction to the hinges or axle or pins upon which the boom
swings.
>
> It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I just need
to know
> which way it went most recently.
>
> Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running before the
wind, it
> helps to pop the jib to the side opposite the mainsail. In
this way, the
> whole sail plan is presented to the following wind, and the
boat
> goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a butterfly" or
going
> "wing-on-wing."
>
> Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib twitcher,
to jerk
> the jib to the side opposite the main. Others use a wind-up
contraption
> that stores energy from the swings of the mainsail, then
releases it
> all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of the
centerline
> opposite the mainsail. (This system detects mainsail position
> mechanically, and puts a mechanical drag on the movement of
the sails.
> Not so
> good.).
>
> One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of a pot,
read the pot
> with the Stamp, and use the position information to instruct
a jib
> twitching servo which way to tug the jib.
>
> Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor turns
with the
> boom, with the stator on the deck.. No touch, no friction.
There must
> be other ways, but most of the things I can think of seem too
> complicated for such a simple, but stubborn, problem. I bet
there is an
> ultra simple solution, but what?
>
> Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
>
>
>
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Subject
> and Body of the message will be ignored.
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>
>
transmitter and IR detector arranged in a "C". You attach some sort of
"flag" to the boom that goes through the "C" interupting the IR light path
and there you have the detection with NO friction at all. The sensors are
quite cheal and I believe can be made water proof quite easliy.
Mike .
Original Message
From: "Michael Gianturco" <michcg@m...>
To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 8:57 AM
Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Swinging boom sensor. Which-way-did-it-go?
> >
>
> On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the mainsail is secured
along its base to a swinging boom.
>
> I need to detect which way the boom has swung most recently -- to the
right or to the left. Sounds ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by
a couple of things. One, the sensor or sensors must to be
> impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the sensor must not add
friction to the hinges or axle or pins upon which the boom swings.
>
> It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I just need to know
which way it went most recently.
>
> Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running before the wind, it
helps to pop the jib to the side opposite the mainsail. In this way, the
whole sail plan is presented to the following wind, and the boat
> goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a butterfly" or going
"wing-on-wing."
>
> Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib twitcher, to jerk the
jib to the side opposite the main. Others use a wind-up contraption that
stores energy from the swings of the mainsail, then releases it
> all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of the centerline
opposite the mainsail. (This system detects mainsail position mechanically,
and puts a mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
> good.).
>
> One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of a pot, read the pot
with the Stamp, and use the position information to instruct a jib twitching
servo which way to tug the jib.
>
> Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor turns with the boom,
with the stator on the deck.. No touch, no friction. There must be other
ways, but most of the things I can think of seem too
> complicated for such a simple, but stubborn, problem. I bet there is an
ultra simple solution, but what?
>
> Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
>
>
>
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
Body of the message will be ignored.
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
Mount the disk to the mast of the mainsail
Arrange the sensors so that when the boom is
Left of center sensor A is blocked and sensor B is open
Right of center sensor A is open and sensor B is blocked
Tweaking the angle separating the sensors and the cutout
position will allow changing the detection ranges.
Hope this makes sense. If not I can email you a sketch.
Mike Witherspoon
Original Message
From: Michael Gianturco [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=6xz-gzXtFU3ONRbqvyTcf0X8Rwi3JlkocbkmHLMZBOm5PRCKn75VsXERwnHviXBh8RdiAeszhonlsohQcCoOcA]michcg@m...[/url
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 8:58 AM
To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Swinging boom sensor. Which-way-did-it-go?
>
On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the mainsail is secured
along its base to a swinging boom.
I need to detect which way the boom has swung most recently -- to the right
or to the left. Sounds ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by a
couple of things. One, the sensor or sensors must to be
impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the sensor must not add
friction to the hinges or axle or pins upon which the boom swings.
It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I just need to know which
way it went most recently.
Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running before the wind, it helps
to pop the jib to the side opposite the mainsail. In this way, the whole
sail plan is presented to the following wind, and the boat
goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a butterfly" or going
"wing-on-wing."
Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib twitcher, to jerk the
jib to the side opposite the main. Others use a wind-up contraption that
stores energy from the swings of the mainsail, then releases it
all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of the centerline opposite
the mainsail. (This system detects mainsail position mechanically, and puts
a mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
good.).
One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of a pot, read the pot with
the Stamp, and use the position information to instruct a jib twitching
servo which way to tug the jib.
Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor turns with the boom,
with the stator on the deck.. No touch, no friction. There must be other
ways, but most of the things I can think of seem too
complicated for such a simple, but stubborn, problem. I bet there is an
ultra simple solution, but what?
Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
Body of the message will be ignored.
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boom put the switches on each side of the boom at just the right angle so
when the magnet gets close to one, it signals the stamp. Skip
Original Message
From: Michael Gianturco [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=64dvEtQ_vm22CsHsjCgrMLrcg3ET19v3I0VeydlfrqX8lGONONe8l4M3IXjVEtsXiWnWmEERNQAQivs9Jvn47A]michcg@m...[/url
Sent: Tuesday, April 23, 2002 11:58 AM
To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Swinging boom sensor. Which-way-did-it-go?
>
On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the mainsail is secured
along its base to a swinging boom.
I need to detect which way the boom has swung most recently -- to the right
or to the left. Sounds ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by a
couple of things. One, the sensor or sensors must to be
impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the sensor must not add
friction to the hinges or axle or pins upon which the boom swings.
It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I just need to know which
way it went most recently.
Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running before the wind, it helps
to pop the jib to the side opposite the mainsail. In this way, the whole
sail plan is presented to the following wind, and the boat
goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a butterfly" or going
"wing-on-wing."
Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib twitcher, to jerk the
jib to the side opposite the main. Others use a wind-up contraption that
stores energy from the swings of the mainsail, then releases it
all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of the centerline opposite
the mainsail. (This system detects mainsail position mechanically, and puts
a mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
good.).
One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of a pot, read the pot with
the Stamp, and use the position information to instruct a jib twitching
servo which way to tug the jib.
Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor turns with the boom,
with the stator on the deck.. No touch, no friction. There must be other
ways, but most of the things I can think of seem too
complicated for such a simple, but stubborn, problem. I bet there is an
ultra simple solution, but what?
Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
Body of the message will be ignored.
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
couple of reed switches or hall effect sensors to
detect the magnet? The reed switches or hall effect
sensors will be detected as digital/discrete inputs.
Kevin K Asato
KC6POB
--- Michael Gianturco <michcg@m...> wrote:
> >
>
> On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the
> mainsail is secured along its base to a swinging
> boom.
>
> I need to detect which way the boom has swung most
> recently -- to the right or to the left. Sounds
> ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by a
> couple of things. One, the sensor or sensors must
> to be
> impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the
> sensor must not add friction to the hinges or axle
> or pins upon which the boom swings.
>
> It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I
> just need to know which way it went most recently.
>
> Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running
> before the wind, it helps to pop the jib to the side
> opposite the mainsail. In this way, the whole sail
> plan is presented to the following wind, and the
> boat
> goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a
> butterfly" or going "wing-on-wing."
>
> Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib
> twitcher, to jerk the jib to the side opposite the
> main. Others use a wind-up contraption that stores
> energy from the swings of the mainsail, then
> releases it
> all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of
> the centerline opposite the mainsail. (This system
> detects mainsail position mechanically, and puts a
> mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
> good.).
>
> One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of
> a pot, read the pot with the Stamp, and use the
> position information to instruct a jib twitching
> servo which way to tug the jib.
>
> Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor
> turns with the boom, with the stator on the deck..
> No touch, no friction. There must be other ways,
> but most of the things I can think of seem too
> complicated for such a simple, but stubborn,
> problem. I bet there is an ultra simple solution,
> but what?
>
> Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
>
>
>
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> from the same email address that you subscribed.
> Text in the Subject and Body of the message will be
> ignored.
>
>
> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
>
>
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switches and a tiny rare earth magnet to tell a BS the state of the
trim tabs. The HES/magnet solution can be easily made waterproofed
with RTV silicon glop. If you want really tiny you can get SMD HES
sensors cheaply from AllElectronics - then get out your tweezers and
magnifing glasses.
--- In basicstamps@y..., kevin asato <kc6pob@y...> wrote:
> How about a small magnet affixed to the boom and a
> couple of reed switches or hall effect sensors to
> detect the magnet? The reed switches or hall effect
> sensors will be detected as digital/discrete inputs.
>
> Kevin K Asato
> KC6POB
> --- Michael Gianturco <michcg@m...> wrote:
> > >
> >
> > On an r/c model sailboat, and on big boats too, the
> > mainsail is secured along its base to a swinging
> > boom.
> >
> > I need to detect which way the boom has swung most
> > recently -- to the right or to the left. Sounds
> > ridiculously simple, but it is complicated by a
> > couple of things. One, the sensor or sensors must
> > to be
> > impervious to water, or protected from it. Two, the
> > sensor must not add friction to the hinges or axle
> > or pins upon which the boom swings.
> >
> > It doesn't matter much how far the boom swings -- I
> > just need to know which way it went most recently.
> >
> > Why do this? In a race, when the boat is running
> > before the wind, it helps to pop the jib to the side
> > opposite the mainsail. In this way, the whole sail
> > plan is presented to the following wind, and the
> > boat
> > goes faster. The maneuver is called "popping a
> > butterfly" or going "wing-on-wing."
> >
> > Some racing models use an extra servo, called a jib
> > twitcher, to jerk the jib to the side opposite the
> > main. Others use a wind-up contraption that stores
> > energy from the swings of the mainsail, then
> > releases it
> > all it once by way of popping the jib to the side of
> > the centerline opposite the mainsail. (This system
> > detects mainsail position mechanically, and puts a
> > mechanical drag on the movement of the sails. Not so
> > good.).
> >
> > One idea would be to mount the boom on the shaft of
> > a pot, read the pot with the Stamp, and use the
> > position information to instruct a jib twitching
> > servo which way to tug the jib.
> >
> > Another might be make a tuning capacitor whose rotor
> > turns with the boom, with the stator on the deck..
> > No touch, no friction. There must be other ways,
> > but most of the things I can think of seem too
> > complicated for such a simple, but stubborn,
> > problem. I bet there is an ultra simple solution,
> > but what?
> >
> > Thank you for your ideas on this one. Best, Michael
> >
> >
> >
> > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
> > from the same email address that you subscribed.
> > Text in the Subject and Body of the message will be
> > ignored.
> >
> >
> > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
> > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
> >
> >
>
>
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Yahoo! Games - play chess, backgammon, pool and more
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>couple of reed switches or hall effect sensors to
>detect the magnet? The reed switches or hall effect
>sensors will be detected as digital/discrete inputs.
Good idea, and would probably work better with two reed
switches and two magnets, offset radially along the boom.
This way you get a separate output for each direction.
Reg Neale