Electric shifter
 

I am currently in the process of rigging a single engine boat and will be using a foot pedal
for the throttle. I was wondering if there was such a thing as an electrically operated shifter that would use buttons instead of a shift lever.
I will be using a bravo xr drive

Re: Electric shifter
 

Could be done with solenoids with not trouble. I would think a solenoid that operated the linkage would do the trick. Obviously a roll your own solution. I would try to incorporate a spring type of drive for some "cushioning" effect.

Why are you using a foot throttle? Type of boat and speed?

Re: Electric shifter
 

Would Merc's new "drive by wire" work? Now that I think about it, it wouldn't without Smartcraft.

Re: Electric shifter
 

The boat is a 24ft Progression with a hp 500
I feel more comfortable driving with a foot pedal
The area where I was going to put the shifter is a little tight so I was hoping to eliminate a ****er.
I am not familiar with mercury drive by wire
Is that something that could work in my situation?

Re: Electric shifter
 

I should think that the old electric shift unit that Merc. used on their TRS/MerCtrans installations in the late 70's - early 80's would adapt very well to push/pull a bravo secondary cable. There's GOT to be some OSOrs out there with one of those kicking around that they are not using. (I had one till about a year ago) --- JP

Re: Electric shifter
 

mathers micro comander. can do throttle and shift. they are owned by zf now.

Re: Electric shifter
 

Have you ever tried driving a boat with a foot pedal in rough water? There is a reason you don't see them in offshore.

Re: Electric shifter
 

Thanks for all the feed back so far
I am using a foot pedal because I have problems with my right hand
It is difficult for me to throttle for extended periods of time
I will look into the trs and zf
I forgot to mention that I don,t want any lever just some buttons

Re: Electric shifter
 

Mathers and a host of other big names in cruiser controls offer remote station shift and throttle stations. The primary use of these units is multi-station controls (one for cockpit, one for flybridge, one for wing station, etc). To make these work properly, they had to develop a central unit that operates the cables, and then remote stations that send the signals via electric cable.

Dunno what your budget is for this, but the electronic controls are pretty cool. Would be easy to rig buttons, etc, to make it function the way you want.

Re: Electric shifter
 

My budget defenitaly would not allow for anything that crazy
I was told that the trs setup was used to move a valve or actuator inside of the transmission and probably would not be strong enough for this sort of application, although I wil still if I can find one to look at .
thanks for the input

Re: Electric shifter
 

Honestly, you're going to have bad luck with a powerful mechanical actuator hooked to a Bravo shift. A Bravo has to be spinning to shift out of gear, so if you ever stall the motor in gear (backfire, etc) then you will tear the heck out of the linkage if you push the NEUTRAL button and the actuator gives a good hard pull. Or you'll have to set a stall limit on the actuator, which might keep it from breaking the linkage, but may also prevent a necessary shift in a precarious docking situation.

And anybody who has spent much time shifting Bravos in and out of gear knows that they shift better by "feel" than by "force". I think you are asking for problems unless you go with an expensive actuator box that is tuned to the application.

A hydraulic trans is your best option.
A TRS application would indeed lend itself better to what you want to accomplish.
Or add a tranny to your Bravo. Need to move the motor forward and get new rear motor mounts (and a custom driveshaft) but is do-able.

Re: Electric shifter
 

I did not think about all of those scenarios.
looks like I will be using the mechanical shifter
It will be in a slightly awkward spot but definitaly useable
thanks for taking the time to write

Re: Electric shifter
 

Mcollinstn, your reasons above is why I thought a spring type drive for the actuator might be better. The solenoid would pull or push against a spring that does the shifting. The spring weights could be tailored for the desired amount of push or pull. If the spring tension were light enough the drive will shift when it is ready.

Re: Electric shifter
 

Can you move the shifter to the left side of the wheel?

I forget who has left handed controls, but been told they are the best setup. ;)

Re: Electric shifter
 

No room on the left side
I have room on the right side , it will just be back a little far but defenitaly useable
I have the rest of the dash layout exactly the way I want it
If I wanted to I could move the shifter foward but than I would have to move other stuff around.
If there was an easy way to adapt an electronic shift I would be interested
thanks

Re: Electric shifter
 

Hey cooter, I'm in massapequa. Not so far. We are under development for an item such as you desire. Give me a call , maybe we can get together and solve your problem. 516 799 6029.

Re: Electric shifter
 

o.k thanks

Re: Electric shifter
 

Bad,

I think you are definitely on the right track with that idea, but you're gonna have a hard time matching a solenoid to that application. It would take some hero-massive sized solenoid to handle a Bravo shift. Something like a 70 pound pull and 3 inch stroke. With heat overload breaker on it. My guess is a 40 amp unit. Sounds expensive. Maybe not, though.

Re: Electric shifter
 

There's my cue... I raced with a pair of Konrad 540 drives most of last season. A#1 says it, mine show NO signs of internal wear, and need nothing over the winter to prepare for next season. I doubt that many race teams running other brands of drives can say the same thing. Tough stuff.

Now, if Konrad had a Shiftable drive, and better yet one with electric shift capabilities, Cooter would be in biz. Stay tuned... :cool:

Brian

Re: Electric shifter
 

PhD,
I bet it could be done with air pressure and a relief valve. Build pressure until the shift point at which time a relief valve stops the pressure build. A reservoir tank could be incorporated to hold a residual quantity of air. Wait, those little Hilti gun loads...

On second thought maybe a mechanical linkage attached to a handle might work.

Probably more fun to build something that will confound you all summer.

Re: Electric shifter
 

Anybody have an old Chrysler with the pushbutton transmission
That is more what I was hoping for.
I appreciate all the feedback and I am sure something could be either designed or purchased if I had the time or alot of money which I don,t have
I already own an Its and a imco lower , I am looking for a xr or equivelent upper
so Konrad is out of the question although I have heard excellent things about them
As I mentioned earlier the boat is approx 4500lbs and I am running a stock hp 500
hopefully all the pieces will stay together

Re: Electric shifter
 

Cooter01, I think the key here is transmission. A transmission shifts by sliding a positioning valve back and forth, changing fluid direction, thus changing gears in the tranny. Moving a positioning valve is a lot easier to do than moving a mechanical arm with gears on the other end. A mechanical shifter is where "feel" comes into play.

Good luck on your project.

Brian

Re: Electric shifter
 

I will make sure to slow down long enough to wave hello