cheaper large instrument displays - mast mount

Upnorth said:
Would it be worth having some sort of poll to see about how many mast displays may be required. It would give me and anyone else, looking to source a case some idea of the possible volume. I think I can find a home for four.
Click to expand...

Good idea................no idea how you create a poll though !!
 
OK..............Your starter for 10.........well actually I want 2!

ps How about each time we add our wants/wishes we do the maths along the way.............

So total so far is 2!
 
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http://www.ybw.com/forums/showthread.php?328981-cheaper-large-instrument-displays-mast-mount/page2

Sorry to come late to the party, I just found your excellent project. I dabbled in DIY boat electronics at www.djerickson.com/bbus/

If you take apart quality marine electronics, you see custom molded cases, custom gasketing, lots of stainless screws, and good design to keep water out of everything. I'm impressed by most commercial products in this respect.

I too had a hard time with the enclosure on my BoatBus project in the pre-GPS early 90's. I put it in a 4 sided teak box with a plexiglass front and aluminum back, but it wasn't at all water tight. I used it in an open cockpit and stowed it below when the weather got bad. It was in service 2 years when I changed boats. It would be better under a spray dodger, but still, water is always a problem. When I bought my new-old boat, ('68 Apache 37) instead of running lots of wires, I put a used Garmin GPS168 plotter-sounder in the cockpit. It has 90% of the instruments I needed in a little $400 box, with all that nice Garmin waterproofing and connectors. I stopped building DIY boat electronics and moved my nerd efforts to other areas. Boat-electronics-wise, I'm pretty retro. For wind direction, there is a Windex. For wind speed, hair and face.

Back to the project at hand. I read most of the blog, and see your roadblock around a waterproof case. Mast mounting is about the worst place for a display as far as water, salt, sun, etc. But I understand the utility of it for racers. The good news is that you need few buttons and cables at the mast.

I'm no ME, but I do know that raw 3D printed parts are quite porous. SLA parts are not, but cost more. There are tricks to making waterproof 3D printed parts. Both SLA and 3D printed parts are poor for UV resistance, but paint can fix that.

Has the group considered an off-the-shelf enclosure?
IP67 enclosure with mounting features
Large cutout for the display, heavily sealed acrylic/lexan/glass on the inside or outside of the cover
IP67 pushbuttons
IP67 cord grip for the cable

Here are parts I found with a quick search. There are more out there.
IP67 enclosure, beefy construction, gasketed, 12 x 10 x 7" $53.12 qty 10 at Digikey.
http://www.serpac.com/userprints/i352s.pdf
IP67 rated pushbutton $2.50 qty 100, various colors
http://www.digikey.com/product-detail/en/GPB556A05BR/CW158-ND/2349753

Cheers,
Dave Erickson
www.djerickson.com
 
Derek and All

This last post went by me and I am only now finding it............. As some might have noticed I am not for letting this project drop......!!

I agree that this area is the roadblock and maybe the Ip67 enclosures mentioned above is a way to go?

What we need is a prototype, a dummy mock-up somebody can fiddle with to see what dimensions work etc.

I am happy to purchase enclosures for a trial run, is anybody able to provide the prototype gubbins or the dimensions which would enable a mockup to be made?

OR ANY OTHERS IDEAS?
 
A first post from a new member.

My expertise is not electronics but rather sailmaking, boatbuilding, and other endeavors.

I read through this thread this am, and agree that the progress is pretty amazing and that the project needs to be brought to a working state.

The first obvious thought is does anyone know Shaung? He along with a few others, especially AngusMcDoon, was instrumental (pun intended) to this project. Has he been contacted? Does he need to be debriefed, bailed out, organs donated to, bought out, or otherwise motivated?

Otherwise, it seems that all the relevant parts and pieces have been specified for the electronics, the software, and the enclosure up to the point of a prototype being produced and tested. There are alternatives for the enclosure as djericson has pointed out. I'm wondering whether someone good with organization and words would be willing to summarize the project to date, an executive summary, if you will, so that the enclosure issues could be "boxed" up by the remaining interested parties.

Additionally, this summary could be posted on Sailing Anarchy, the Panbo forum, or elsewhere, with reference to this thread, in the hopes of gaining some co-conspirators.

Thanks for the attention and the tolerance of my presumption in barging in 60 odd pages deep.

Rob
 
I still think that a perspex window with poly/epoxy resin and filler moulded to it would make an acceptable box. When I have the funds/time I plan to give it a go :)
 
This is my second attempt to post with some luck I have now worked it out.

I have been following this thread for a while and have found it realy interesting.

One posibility for your box could be this one from Amalgamated instruments, link below

http://www.aicpl.com.au/brochures/entp427b.pdf

It looks to be about spot on for hieght and lots of room for width.

I contacted them and received the following quote (not is is in $AUD), you would need to add postage.

TP427-BOX-B-KIT TP427 enclosure base - black ASA, tabs & screws: $30.50 TP427-FRONT-C Front panel - clear polycarbonate with screws: $8.00 TP427-SEAL-B TP427 BLACK SEAL(GASKET) FOR WEATHERPROOF ENCLOSURE: $4.50

Hope this is helpfull.
 
bendyone said:
What about this company, I live local so could look into it further.

http://www.evatron.com/index-pag-family-cid-2-l-2.html
Click to expand...

EDIT: Don't bother reading this, just me being thick :)
Those are no good as they have cable gland knock outs which are purposefully very weak. Although waterproof they are not designed for somewhere like a mast where a small knock even from a rope might open up a 1" hole in the box.
 
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lustyd said:
Those are no good as they have cable gland knock outs which are purposefully very weak. Although waterproof they are not designed for somewhere like a mast where a small knock even from a rope might open up a 1" hole in the box.
Click to expand...

Dont know why you say that as a quick review of the above link has some that i thought were quite suitable.

These ip65 boxes are very similar to ones we use from RS in our business for fitting electronic control boards including lcd displays and used in a damp humid environment with plenty of heat cycling and potential for sucking in moist air on a cooldown.

No knock outs quite thick walls infact.

You have more chance of a rope getting round it and ripping it off your mast.

They need hole cutting through thick walls to provide for good stuffing glands to be fitted.

I found one from RS that was perfect for mounting three Nasa Instruments along side each other.

It has been on the top of our coach roof and withstood quite a few greenies right over the top.

No sign of any condensation

As a precaution I put a silca gel bag inside and that gets dried out every winter.

Also make sure you get tight fitting cable stuffing glands and if in doubt seal with a bit of silicone sealant inside and out.

Make sure any project box you get has a good strong lip seal with a one piece continuous rubber seal set into a channel and that the lid has a matching protrusion that sits directly on the seal. Lid must be screwed down tight, do not use the push and turn sprung loaded type.

Steve
 
OK so how about this, an aluminium or stainless sleeve box is made with the fixing bracket on the back and then one of the plastic boxes slides in.
This would give the mechanical protection as well as the waterproof protection.
 
I tried to post to this thread earlier, but it went into moderation limbo, I assume due to my being a new member.

So, I'll try again. IMO this is a very worthy project that is still in the early development stage. Other than Shaung's proto, apparently only Tom_Brewis has a working model. Instead of beating around for an enclosure, IMO it's more important to test the proto aboard in any kind of enclosure, even a mylar bag duct taped to the mast. Once its working as envisioned the next order would be to design and and build a pc board to replace the breadboard, and work out the other details that would comprise the "guts" of the unit. At that point enclosure solutions can be addressed. One possibility for custom enclosures might be pultruded fiberglass rectangular tubing, A 4"-6" piece of 1/8" wall 1.5" x3" or 4" might work well, end plates are easily fabricated, and cutouts for a window and gasketed access are easily made with average shop tools. Mounting tabs can be fabbed and epoxied in place. They even might be better than "pants" looking -whatever that might mean ;-).

I'd go on, but don't know whether this will go thru...

Thanks,

Rob
 
bendyone said:
OK so how about this, an aluminium or stainless sleeve box is made with the fixing bracket on the back and then one of the plastic boxes slides in.
This would give the mechanical protection as well as the waterproof protection.
Click to expand...

this is what I probably proposed in one of the initial posts. Just a simple ip 65 rated cheap enclosure with transparent lid. Then as anyway a mast bracket will be needed to mount it, attach the enclosure behing the aluminium, make a matching hole only big enough so that lcd display can be seen. The box would essentially be hidden from view, just the numbers from the display visible. With some basic metal work skills should come up pretty good looking solution?
 
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testmonkey said:
this is what I probably proposed in one of the initial posts. Just a simple ip 65 rated cheap enclosure with transparent lid. Then as anyway a mast bracket will be needed to mount it, attach the enclosure behing the aluminium, make a matching hole only big enough so that lcd display can be seen. The box would essentially be hidden from view, just the numbers from the display visible. With some basic metal work skills should come up pretty good looking solution?
Click to expand...

Would this do http://www.boss-enclosures.co.uk/documents/version_pdffiles/7200-214.pdf Also available in the same size in ABS. See this link http://www.boss-enclosures.co.uk/Enclosures/Heavy_Duty_Enclosures for whole range.

Problem I see with an off the shelf box is the waste of space. The box referenced above will take the display board but with an inch extra each side, and depth is probably twice what is necessary. Still with demand currently less 10 units...
 
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