sdg0080

So I started in in glassing and building the arches aka double barrel for my tach and speedo... well I decided I didn't like the way my thumb looked so I figured I'd modify it with a hole saw... yeah so once I got the bleeding stopped for the most part I didn't get much done. Btw when not using a drill press use caution with a hand held drill.

sdg0080

So I finally made some progress today. I know it doesnt look it but I've got severl hours of sanding and filling done there. Its almost ready for vinyl. Started on the side console as well. Won't be long and ill have the one side done.

professor_speed

Looks great cant wait to see the boat finished

Kyain

yea imma make you make a road trip to maryland to give me a hand with stuff as well lol... I got a 2nd coat on my bilge at least, god it looks so much better painted

sdg0080

Well I'm glad you guys like what I've got done so far. Just wait until I get it wraped.

Kyain

Not to nitpick, but it's not a very good description of a relay, and by that description it's very limiting what you can do with them. (i.e. direct hatch actuation for instance)

standard 5 pin bosch relay
pins 85 and 86 are a coil. Requires a power and ground to activate the relay, and takes an extremely low current to pick the relay
pin 30 is COMMON (and actually what your load should normally be connected to)
pin 87 is normally open... if there is no power across pins 85/86 then there is no continuity between pin 87 and pin 30. If you apply power to the coil, the contact moves internally (this is the click you hear) and you now have continuity between pin 87 and 30
pin 87a is a normally closed... if there is no power across pins 85/86 then THERE IS continuity between 87a and 30. When power is applied to the coil the contact moves and it loses continuity (because the contact moved over to pin 87)

I broke it down just in case you or somebody else working on a project like this doesn't really understand how powerful relays are. You can drive motors forwards or reverse (or actuators) with a pair of relays.

That's why your load (not power) should be connected to pin 30.

On a 2 way rocker switch you have 3 contacts, the center is the common and then it would get continuity to one pin or the other when you roll it. So in this example, you would put 12v to the common pin of the switch, and then your contacts would go to pin 85 on each relay (top contact to one, bottom to the other). You would then ground pins 86 on each relay.

You would put 12v power on pin 87 of each relay, and then ground pin 87a of the relay. Your 2 motor wires would go to the common, pin 30. This keeps both wires at ground on the linear actuator/motor. When you roll that rocker switch up or down, it will activate that relay it's tied to, which now switches 12v power to that line. That's how you alternate the current through the motor to control devices

Sorry for the slightly off topic, just hopes it can be somewhat helpful. I started out like you, custom car stereo and then moved into really advanced alarm systems (snake pit certified), to designing my own interfaces, and now I do control systems for multi million dollar power generation setups for data centers, hospitals, you name it. If you need ANY help with design, trouble shooting, or for another mind to give you ideas on how to accomplish something, let me know

Also one other person stated how 240v 5a is something like 100+a at 12v is incorrect. Amperage is amperage under any circumstances. The voltage rating is it's insulation rating and how much voltage can safely pass through it without shorting out. The current rating is a fixed value on how much current it can take. The only thing that changes in what this switch is capable of is it can supply more wattage at a higher voltage compared to a lower one. When I'm doing testing on these systems at work the amount of cable I need depends on the amps I'm running. I can run a 2.7 megawatt generator at full load with a single cable per phase if it's 13.8kv (13,800 volts) but at 480 volts it takes 9 cables per phase to be able to handle it (though the cables have far less insulation then the medium voltage cables)

sdg0080

Sweet no problem man. I went to school for electrical engineering. I was trying to be as simple as I could but you are right on yhe money. I also simply used the formula for watts on the switch. Like I said though it is by no means meant for high power applications. I will say its been a while since I've gotten to play with much electrical engineering goodies... lol you're far more up to date with that than I am lol. I originally specialized in induatrial motor control. But again that was early 2000's. Sadly other than house hold and automotive not much use for it in my career. But it did make a world of difference when was wrenching. Now its mostly for my tinkering and hobbies.

Kyain

ahh ok, so you're actually quite past the basics... I have a tendency to get pretty deep on that stuff because I've taken on a few apprentices back in my day when I was doing car audio and customization. Once you know a relay you can practically make anything work anywhere

not sure how up on things you've been with audio but do you have any recommendations for a good marine system? I've been contemplating calling up a buddy at memphis audio but I can also get some ridiculous deals on kicker too. I also can't decide if I should put the sub in the cuddy, or do like 2 10's in a custom downfire box under the rear seat. Lose a tiny bit of storage but I'm ok with that. My boat is just as barren on the inside as yours (actually a bit more so at the moment) so I got a blank canvas to do whatever I want with.

sdg0080

Alpine pdx amps are incredible. I've got two in my avalanche and love them. Small foot print big power class d amp. Oddly s/n ratios are really good for class d. Kicker is so over played I just am sick of every one on the lake with kicker. Honestly most marine stuff isn't much different from car stuff. No amp is water proof so...lol if you're. Mounting amps and subs in the cabin go with whatever you want. I'm going to run normal car speakers in custom pods. As long as you are not mounting them where they will constantly get soaked they will hold up. High end stuff is built to marine specs anyway. Just avoid paper conea and cheap foam surrounds. Memphis is good stuff if you can get a deal on it go for it. For low end hz im in love with sundown audio. Yeah I did really well in school I had an incredible teacher, ray ludwig. I don't know if he's even with us anymore but my god that man knew his sh*t. I'd be an engineer but I do less work and make more money doing what I do now...lol I spent years trying to keep it simple for explaining relays... most people are leary of them but very simple and useful devices. Hey if I want to move some serious amps ill just run my 4/0 wires lol... too bad they weigh a ton. When you start building don't be afraid to be different. Every single boat interior looks the same. I'm so sick of boring I mean look at the hot rod world no two will ever be the same so why should we settle for that?

sdg0080

A very simple but easy to follow diagram of a power window lift motor for anyone wanting ti wire up a lift actuator relay box.