KevB
Active member
I know it's been covered before on here but as prices have been coming down drastically on GSM mobile relays I thought I'd order one and give it a go.
We don't generally get to the boat till late evening and in the winter months the boat can be freezing and take 40 minutes to warm up so is nice now to be able to turn the heater on an hour before we arrive. This £29 device does the job perfectly and MUCH cheaper than Eberspachers own version.
From start to finish the install took about half hour.
I ordered this from amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Garage-Door-Hardware/Senders-Gate-Opener-Remote-Switch-Control-RTU5024/B01CKXSJRU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488811235&sr=8-1&keywords=gsm+garage
And a pay as you go SIM from TalkMobile
https://talkmobile.co.uk/order-payg-sim
The reason I chose TalkMobile is they give the longest period where the SIM stays active if not used. TalkMobile use the Vodafone network.
And lastly this app from the play store for my android phone to control the relay via a nice user interface.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jinge.gsmgateopener_rtu5024
I have an Eberspacher 801 controller and all that is required to install the relay is connect 12v + from the relay to the yellow wire, pin 2 to the controller.
The install goes like this...
Add credit to SIM card and install into relay, If you have a spare mobile put the SIM in this first so it registers with the network otherwise you may have to phone Talkmobile to get the SIM online.
On my control panel on the boat I have a spare 12v switch. Connect 12v + and - to the input on the GSM box to give it power and then link from the 12v + input to the 'common' position on the relay. From the NO (normally open) side of the relay, connect a wire to the yellow wire, pin two, on the Eberspacher controller. That's it.
The relay can be set to stay closed (on) for a set period of time from when you activate it or until you tell it to open (off). You set this configuration by sending it a text message, which is detailed in the instructions.
So now via a one button touch on the app on my phone it's sends a text message to the relay to tell it to close, this puts 12v + up to the yellow wire, pin 2 to the eberspacher ecu which turns the heater on. I get a text message back from the relay saying the command was successful. If by any chance I need to turn the heater off remotely, using the same app on my phone it sends a command to open the relay which removes the 12v+ from the yellow wire which then causes the heater to go through it's normal shut down procedure.
The way I've connected the relay to the eberspacher controller means they both work independently of each other, so if the heater was turned on using the eberspacher controller I can't turn it off using the mobile phone and if the heater was turned on using the phone I can't turn it off using the eberspacher controller.
This works fine for me as all I do when I get to my now nice warm boat is turn on the eberspacher controller and turn of the GSM relay via the switch on my switch panel. The Eberspacher controller now takes over and the heater continues.
When I leave the boat I turn off the Eberspacher as normal and turn on the GSM relay via the switch on my panel, ready for it to receive my next text message to turn the heater on when I'm next on the way to the boat.
Hope all the above makes sense.
Kevin.
We don't generally get to the boat till late evening and in the winter months the boat can be freezing and take 40 minutes to warm up so is nice now to be able to turn the heater on an hour before we arrive. This £29 device does the job perfectly and MUCH cheaper than Eberspachers own version.
From start to finish the install took about half hour.
I ordered this from amazon
https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Garage-Door-Hardware/Senders-Gate-Opener-Remote-Switch-Control-RTU5024/B01CKXSJRU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1488811235&sr=8-1&keywords=gsm+garage
And a pay as you go SIM from TalkMobile
https://talkmobile.co.uk/order-payg-sim
The reason I chose TalkMobile is they give the longest period where the SIM stays active if not used. TalkMobile use the Vodafone network.
And lastly this app from the play store for my android phone to control the relay via a nice user interface.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jinge.gsmgateopener_rtu5024
I have an Eberspacher 801 controller and all that is required to install the relay is connect 12v + from the relay to the yellow wire, pin 2 to the controller.
The install goes like this...
Add credit to SIM card and install into relay, If you have a spare mobile put the SIM in this first so it registers with the network otherwise you may have to phone Talkmobile to get the SIM online.
On my control panel on the boat I have a spare 12v switch. Connect 12v + and - to the input on the GSM box to give it power and then link from the 12v + input to the 'common' position on the relay. From the NO (normally open) side of the relay, connect a wire to the yellow wire, pin two, on the Eberspacher controller. That's it.
The relay can be set to stay closed (on) for a set period of time from when you activate it or until you tell it to open (off). You set this configuration by sending it a text message, which is detailed in the instructions.
So now via a one button touch on the app on my phone it's sends a text message to the relay to tell it to close, this puts 12v + up to the yellow wire, pin 2 to the eberspacher ecu which turns the heater on. I get a text message back from the relay saying the command was successful. If by any chance I need to turn the heater off remotely, using the same app on my phone it sends a command to open the relay which removes the 12v+ from the yellow wire which then causes the heater to go through it's normal shut down procedure.
The way I've connected the relay to the eberspacher controller means they both work independently of each other, so if the heater was turned on using the eberspacher controller I can't turn it off using the mobile phone and if the heater was turned on using the phone I can't turn it off using the eberspacher controller.
This works fine for me as all I do when I get to my now nice warm boat is turn on the eberspacher controller and turn of the GSM relay via the switch on my switch panel. The Eberspacher controller now takes over and the heater continues.
When I leave the boat I turn off the Eberspacher as normal and turn on the GSM relay via the switch on my panel, ready for it to receive my next text message to turn the heater on when I'm next on the way to the boat.
Hope all the above makes sense.
Kevin.
