Hi,
I just wanted to share some info on a project that I have been working on for the last month.
Background.
I have a Supra Launch 22 SSV from 2001 that did not include a Perfect Pass.
Last year I was in the US ( I am from Sweden ) and managed to pick up a used Perfect Pass system off some mechanic (I believe) that took it off a customers boat doing some kind of upgrade I guess.
Anyhow the system should have been complete but there were one thing missing, the RPM-wire.
And since I was planning on using the system in RPM mode this was a bit of a bummer. The guy then posted the missing piece all the way to Sweden and it got lost by the post service (or something, it didn't arrive).
Instead of purchasing a new RPM wire I thought I could use the transom mounted paddle wheels, which at least proved the Perfect Pass system worked, but the paddle wheels didn't. I got speed readings all over the place.
I then thought that instead of purchasing an RPM wire I could mimic the Paddle wheel signal from GPS using an Arduino. And it worked great.
I picked up an Arduino Uno, a ublox GPS board, two boxes and a couple of wires, resistors and transistors to finish out the project. All in all I spend around 50 USD.
I just finished hooking this up to the Perfect Pass and now it does work great.
The Perfect Pass gets a speed signal, a PWM-signal with the same frequency as it was used to from the Airmar paddle wheel, and it is updated 5 times per second. The speed signal seems accurate enough and the pulls have been more consistent than ever. There were a few bumps on the road but now it seems to work great.
Very happy with the project and the result.
If anyone is interested in a cheap-ish GPS-upgrade for a Perfect Pass system I would be happy to share the code and design... Without any promises of success...
Mike
Threaded Mode