Hello all,
I am new arduino and I came here out of need to create a thing. I would like to build a sensor that tells me when the rudder on my sailboat is centered. As such, I would like to calibrate it by turning it all the way to the left, press a button, center it and press a button, then turn to the right and press a button. After that, it should mark with an LED readout what position it is in.
What kind of sensor would I use to do this?
TIA,
-caolandix
There are many possibilities, depending on how the rudder is constructed and controlled.
Post some pictures, following this image guide.
You could use a potentionmeter or a rotary encoder (then tend to be unaccurate), or you can use a laser and a light receiver (place the later at one end, the light receiver that the other end, it the laser hits the sensor, the position is reached). You could also find a mechanical approach to this.
When I had a sailboat I put a bit of sticky tape on the wheel at the centre position.
The rudder angle on a sailboat is not very useful information. I would not invest much time identifying it.
...R
Hi,
This might help;
http://archive.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_112519/article.html
http://archive.siliconchip.com.au/cms/A_112550/article.html
It is an indication of one approach, realizing the corrosive environment.
google; arduino rudder position schematic
https://signalkool.com/2016/03/part-1-arduino-rudder-reference-led-gauge-for-raymarine/
Or search for this in YouTube; rudder position indicator arduino
Tom... 
caolandix:
What kind of sensor would I use to do this?
A turk's head knot on top of the wheel.
Bluewater cruiser for several years, and never had the need for a rudder angle indicator.
Fancy things are for powerboats.
Leo..
Wawa:
A turk's head knot on top of the wheel.
Much better than my sticky tape
...R
Do you really want to know the (centre only?) position of the rudder, or what point the rudder is in to make the boat go dead ahead? Because the two are not the same. On top of that a sailboat under sail is of course most of the time not going in the direction the bow is pointing.
Yeah I get that. I am interested in seeing where it is at all points, not just dead center. I already worked out the solution with a mechanical engineer who works on windmills who had a very similar issue.
Thanks!
I once had a slow motor boat and it was important to get the rudder in line with the keel before going astern, otherwise the rudder would have bent things.
If the turk's head knot is not nerdy enough, install a pull thread sensor, wrap the thread around a suitable axis in the steering gear.