RC designer/consultant needed

[floater121]

As part of an ongoing media art project called The Floating Cinema, I have been using an RC interface to control the movements of a specially designed floating platform (8' x 15') which is moved through the water by a pair of electric trolling motors. I have been doing this project for a few years, but the people who have been helping me with the technical design may no longer be available.

Over the next months I need to redesign part of the system and I am seeking someone who has the skills to help me make the necessary changes to the existing rig. Although this is NOT a commercial project I DO have limited funds to pay for a designer's time. I am based in Brooklyn, NY and would prefer to find a someone within a couple of hours drive from here, as this equipment is not as small and easy to ship as is typical RC gear, but I am also open to working with an interested person based anywhere in the US.

I would be glad to lay this out in much more detail to anyone who responds to this post. You can also check out The Floating Cinema at the URL below.

Thanks for your attention,

Jon Rubin
www.floatingcinema.org

[Rex R]

so basically what you have is a movie screen that floats? which aspect needs redsign? drive, control, or something to do with the movie aspect.

[floater121]

When I first developed this rig it was necessary to modify two electric trolling motors so they could be steered and their speed could be controlled remotely. The speed control was fairly straightforward, but accurate steering required mechanical modifications to the trolling motors and was never dependable.

Recently Motorguide has released a digital steering trolling motor that is controlled through an electronic cable from a foot pedal or through a VERY short range ISM radio. I want to adapt this motor so it can be controlled by my existing RC system. I have all the equipment in hand - but it would require someone to modify the transmitter/receiver to supply the correct signals to control the motors.

I hope this clarifies the scope of the work which needs to be done.

[Rex R]

the scale folks who build tugs etc. use independant speed controls (one for each motor,one channel for each) to provide that sort of steering. any idea how many amps those motors pull?

[floater121]

Rex,

This is the way we went with the initial modification - installing our own speed controls, etc. But the new Motorguide motors have everything built in and it is just a matter of sending the correct data packet down the wire to make it turn, speed up or slow down. I wish I were more of a technician so I could provide more detail, but I'm pretty confident there should be no need to modify the motors in any way.

Jon

the scale folks who build tugs etc. use independant speed controls (one for each motor,one channel for each) to provide that sort of steering. any idea how many amps those motors pull?