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Old 06-04-2012, 23:51   #1
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Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

finally (almost) finished my dual rudder servo pendulum windvane self steering unit...all stainless steel, possibly a little heavier construction than necessary, sea trials next few weeks. Its been quite a challenging project.





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Old 07-04-2012, 02:17   #2
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Re: heres a photo of the dual rudder servo pendulum windvane self steering unit i bui

Could you post a larger photo?
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Old 07-04-2012, 05:03   #3
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Re: heres a photo of the dual rudder servo pendulum windvane self steering unit i bui

i tried to make it larger but it keeps getting edited down to a paltry 8 kbs - if anyone can explain in simple terms how to paste a decent photo onto the site I'll gladly give it a go.
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Old 07-04-2012, 05:53   #4
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

Maybe you are posting the thumbnail. Click on the thumbnail to expand the picture, then load. I would like tom see it also. I have built a servo-pen myself.
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Old 07-04-2012, 06:08   #5
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

If all else fails, you can post it on ImageShack.com
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Old 07-04-2012, 19:54   #6
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

cant believe im smart enough to build this ridiculously complicated windvane but too dumb to figure out how to post a damn photo of it - apologies i'll have to come back to this later, wasting too much time
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Old 07-04-2012, 20:06   #7
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

might have got a bigger photo into the equipment photos file on the forum - if you find it and they're ok let me know and i'll post a few more detailed ones fyi
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Old 07-04-2012, 23:15   #8
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

Found the pictures in your gallery. Let's see if I can post one:



Seems to work fine for me.

Nicely done on the windvane. Did you mill the gears yourself? Look to be made from delrin or UHMW, wonder how well they'll hold up over time?
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Old 08-04-2012, 07:16   #9
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

i think the gears are high density polyethylene . off the shelf, half the price of steel gears but with no corrosion issues - i designed them to be pretty easy to swap out so i'll probably keep a spare set and see how they go - the small gear connection is a hose clamp drilled to take a 1/4 in bolt so i'm hoping that will be a pressure release point if necessary. its also an easy option to swap in steel ones - pretty common manufactured item. Wont know whats going to give til it gets a bit of a hiding but we should get some dirty weather soon so i'll get it out for some sea trialing and post on progress over the next few weeks.
cheers (if you get a chance i'd like to see any photos of your windvane - my design is still a work in progress and im always looking for improvements...)
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Old 08-04-2012, 08:35   #10
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Nice work. Please keep us upto speed, especially on the wear rate of your gearing. I would love to have some real world comparisons of high density plastic gearing versus metal gearing.
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Old 08-04-2012, 10:08   #11
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

Looks very nice indeed. Will it be in the water any time soon? Can you post some hands-on sort of review then?

I run into people who will be selling a new type of windvane here. I was going to go for a Windpilot unit but now I will hold on and see how the new things perform.

(I may be able to test their product this summer. If so, I will post a review at CF.)

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Old 09-04-2012, 18:19   #12
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

yeah I got a lot of help from the book on self steering by the guy who dsigned/mfg the windpilot and my unit is pretty similiar except for the $10,000 price tag - no offence to windpilot, they're worth it, I just dont have those kind of bucks to throw around.
i got it mounted up yesterday without the paddles and she locks in place nicely, its designed to clip onto my aft ladder. Wind warnings in my bay today so didnt want to do the first baby steps in a sh#tfight, have to wait til later in the week.
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Old 13-04-2012, 23:35   #13
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its alive, mwah hah hah hah

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Old 14-04-2012, 00:00   #14
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

so did it work?
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Old 14-04-2012, 00:14   #15
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Re: Dual Rudder Servo Pendulum Windvane self steering

it does the work of ten fat lazy men
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