RMG winch- to do or not to do?

[The OZ]

OK, I am a rookie in this class. Need some input from experienced sailors. This is my question- to disable the battery use limit or not?
MY mentor, Bob Greer, has been wonderful helping this hearing impaired person set up the winch for me, more than once. I can't hear the 'beeps' at all. Yes, I do recharge the boat batteries before sailing as well as the tx.

[bodacious]

Dick...If you are using 6volts I would leave the battery "sensor" on. If you are only using 4.8volts I would turn it off. On the lake you sail on it is a long walk if you do run out of battery power. Freshly charged 6volts with a high capacity should last you all day at the local arena and probably all day at a daylong regatta, especially if you turn the boat off during your "breaks "..... DB BODACIOUS!

[PegLeg]

Unless you like to hike, leave the battery limit alone and purchase some NiMh batteries. Besides, not having to walk a lot, risk grounding damage etc the use of the battery control allows you to steer clear of other boats and avoid some really ugly damage.

I sail <u>ALL</u> day on a 2700 Mah "A" size pack of NiMh cells.

Battery trechnology is changing really fast. I saw some 2300 Mah "AA" size NiMh batteries at Wal Mart for less than $4.00 each. I also learned there is a new AA size battery available at 2800 Mah. I'm told that these cost about $10.00 each.

The "standard" NiCd cells will not hold a charge very long and develop a "memory" problem after a short while. NiMh on the other hand does not lose significant charge when not in use. NiMh also does not develop any problems with "memory"

If you can find either a "Batteries Plus" or "Interstate Battery" store near you they will make up anything you might need for an EC-12 for about $30.00. I recently purchased a 6 cell 5/4A size pack having 4000 Mah capacity for another boat for $32.00, A 5 pack of 2300 Mah AA size would have cost $25.00 complete including the shrink wrap.

My Tx uses 3 year old 1300 Mah AA size (NiMh) batteries. They also last all day without any problem whatsoever. The only time the meter goes below "green" is when I forget to turn it off over night.

Good Luck

[}:)]

[cgdm1168]

The Nimh's have gotten even cheaper at Wal-Mart. I picked up 4pks of 2500Mah at my local store for $11.96 each. These are powering both the boat, and transmitter for a full days sailing without recharge. While I haven't checked the total duration time, neither my transmitter gauge, or boat's battery indicator show any lose of capacity after 4 hours of continuous sailing.

Chris

[yachtie]

What winch do you use?? If you have an RMG, Rob now has a digital voltage display unit you can put on the deck. No need to wonder any longer about "how much juice is left?" - just look at the display and hey presto the actual amount left in your batteries.

On the question of what batteries to use, i have given up on rechargables and now use throw away alkalines in a six pack in the boat. Sailed last Saturday in 14 races and there was still 7.8 volts at the end of the day. Helluva lot easier and simplier than mucking around with discharge and recharge time issues. These batteries cost me $10 NZD for 30 so that works out at less than 2 bucks a day with o hassles[:D] Some of the others there had numerbattery issues all day and when mixing up charged/uncharged ones issues got even worse.[:D]

Chris
NZL1 Longtack
&
NZL110 Swept Away

[Rob Guyatt]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by The OZ</i>

OK, I am a rookie in this class. Need some input from experienced sailors. This is my question- to disable the battery use limit or not?
MY mentor, Bob Greer, has been wonderful helping this hearing impaired person set up the winch for me, more than once. I can't hear the 'beeps' at all. Yes, I do recharge the boat batteries before sailing as well as the tx.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Rob

[Rob Guyatt]

The bloke who invented this bleeping winch should have known better than to rely on sound signals alone for setup mode control and execution. Having started my working life as a Boilermaker Welder you'd reckon I'd have an appreciation of hearing impairment.
Sorry Oz. There is a simple solution to your problem that can allow you to "see" the winch beep. Simply add an LED and resistor in series across the motor terminals. Contact me directly if you'd like more details.

Rob

[greerdr]

Welcome aboard mate!Dicks winch appears to have insulating material around the motor terminals..should I trim some off?

R.C.Greer

[Rob Guyatt]

Yes the insulation should be removed to fit the LED leads. Insulation is not a good idea anyway. I recommend that the only insulation used is a squirt of water repelling lubricating spray into the motor periodically.

Attempts to seal the motor are never successful and will only make matters worse. It does two things. Gives the skipper a false sense of security whereupon it's thought that no more maintenance is required and secondly, it allows any moisture that gets in to stay in there longer causing more corrosion.

Leave the motor to breathe and protect it with products such as CRC or RP7. WD40 can be used in the motor but keep it away from the pot insulation and wiring. Keep all these sprays away from wiring and the pot insulation.

Cheers

Rob