BogMonster Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I'm going to order a Lodar wireless remote for the new 110 because the Milemarker one is a bit poo and sometimes gets a bit flaky at middling to long range which can be annoying as that is where I often use it for pulling in the ground anchor. I see the Lodar 9000 is supposed to be waterproof - has anybody tested this (tested as in parked their vehicle in a river)? is it really waterproof? The base unit is supposed to be IP67 which is completely water and dust proof, and the remote is IP65 which is dust proof and splash proof (IP classifications here) but I wondered if this was true. The best place to put it would be under the bonnet as that is where the solenoid pack is located and should offer the best reception, second choice is under the drivers seat as I have taken the power feed from the underseat fuse box and the wired remote socket is in the front of the seat base - but both of those places will/might get wet and obviously there is not a lot of point having a winch that can run underwater if the controller is broken PG Winches seems to be the cheapest at £160 ex vat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted April 17, 2007 Share Posted April 17, 2007 I've got the 8000 version [earlier model] haven't water tested the handset part & don't intend to, my reciever/control unit is attached to the underside of the left wing top forward of the heater air intake grille, I placed it on the outside marked the bolt locations on the tread plate & drilled through the treadplate with a 8mm drill IIRC & the wingtop panel with a 6mm drill, once the unit was attached, I filled the 4 holes with black silcone sealant, not had any problems with recive from 300 odd foot [winch cable is 150ft wire rope] albright solly is directly below & it was easy to connect up. mine came from P G Winches too, have a look here www.lodar.com hth Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmatt Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 I've got the 8000 version [earlier model] haven't water tested the handset part & don't intend to, my reciever/control unit is attached to the underside of the left wing top forward of the heater air intake grille, I placed it on the outside marked the bolt locations on the tread plate & drilled through the treadplate with a 8mm drill IIRC & the wingtop panel with a 6mm drill, once the unit was attached, I filled the 4 holes with black silcone sealant, not had any problems with recive from 300 odd fott [winch cable is 150ft wire rope] albright solly is directly below & it was easy to connect up.mine came from P G Winches too, have a look here www.lodar.com hth The REciver unit is waterproof. mine has been up on my ladder rack for two years with no problem also look where they fit them on the large wreckers and hiab wagons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted May 6, 2007 Author Share Posted May 6, 2007 The Lodar 9000 is now in and fitted and its bl~~dy brilliant. I haven't tried it winching in anger yet but a quick test with it loose under the drivers seat saw it working fine out to 60 metres in front of the vehicle, so the 200 foot range quoted is certainly not exaggerated and I think it would work a lot further if placed in clear view rather than low down inside the vehicle. Most of my winching is 20-30m from the vehicle so it is perfect for that. I fitted the head unit (which is a lot bigger than the Milemarker wireless remote controller) underneath the driver's seat as the new 110s have the "engine compartment fuse box" under the seat and since the wired controller plugs in to the front of the seat base, all the necessary wiring was there in place ready to go. I don't know whether it is waterproof but it certainly looks it, a good solid plastic box and a single multi core cable exiting the bottom of the unit through a proper sealed gland. I fitted it on the front of the seat box with three number plate sticky fixers which should be plenty strong enough and it means if I do need to move it at a later date it will be easy to do. It comes with quite a lot of cable (didn't measure it but probably 6 ft + ). The controller is a big thing too but chunky to use and easier to use than the MM one in a gloved hand. Response is instant probably not more than 0.1 sec between pressing or releasing the button and the unit responding so there are no concerns there. In high range on the winch (which is about 50ft/min for respooling) a quick tap on the button moves the cable about an inch so it is plenty controllable enough for respooling, and in low range it moves about not very much at all (just before anybody else chips in ) There are no switches on the unit which removes the problem of remembering to switch it on, you press the green button on the handset and the transmitter and receiver both fire up, you use the in and out buttons to winch and then when you press the red button it all shuts down again - and the receiver shuts off automatically after 30 min of no signals from the transmitter, for extra safety and to avoid draining the battery. Came from PG Winches and probably set a new record for post to the Falklands, I think I confirmed the order on Monday, it was posted Tuesday and arrived here on Friday, not at all bad for half way round the world :) apart from not checking his emails sometimes Phil is excellent to deal with and also happened to be the best price anywhere, £30 or £40 cheaper than most places. Anybody who has never tried a wireless remote really ought to, it is (for those who are old enough to remember!) a bit like when the first video recorders had a hard-wired remote control trailing across the living room floor and then suddenly you got one with an infra-red remote - a quantum leap in usability and I'll certainly never look back and I doubt the wired remote will get too much use, though I will keep it for emergencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted May 6, 2007 Share Posted May 6, 2007 I'll 2nd BM's comments mines the earlier version, doesn't have the green button on the handset, but works just the same, good to read it arrived in record time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_LLAMA4x4 Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 P G Winches indeed sell them at a very competitive price..... If any Forum member is after one of the new generation Lodar remotes then give me a call as I can sort out a better price for them that will save them a bob or two.... David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeds Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 What would be the situation if you have two winches? Would you need 2 seperate control units using two sepearte frequencies? Regards Leeds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Says on the website 'mulitple winches' so I reckon that if one winch was isolated then the remote could operate the 2nd winch, best to contact them & find out for certain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmatt Posted November 18, 2007 Share Posted November 18, 2007 Says on the website 'mulitple winches' so I reckon that if one winch was isolated then the remote could operate the 2nd winch, best to contact them & find out for certain. either that or would you have the next unit up which could operate two valves or solenoids, so one set of controls operate winch 1 and the other winch two. a smaller version of the hiab type units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David_LLAMA4x4 Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 either that or would you have the next unit up which could operate two valves or solenoids, so one set of controls operate winch 1 and the other winch two. a smaller version of the hiab type units. Best way is to use a 4 channel Lodar that basically has 2 x in and 2 x out buttons to operate bothe winches from the one control... Cheaper than buying 2 seperate by a long way - by my pricing it save s you about £90 to go for the 4 button controller over using 2 x two button ones... David Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmatt Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Best way is to use a 4 channel Lodar that basically has 2 x in and 2 x out buttons to operate bothe winches from the one control...David thats exactly what I ment! just couldn't explain it that well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dlander Posted November 22, 2007 Share Posted November 22, 2007 either that or would you have the next unit up which could operate two valves or solenoids, so one set of controls operate winch 1 and the other winch two. a smaller version of the hiab type units. Got one of those four button loda controllers on the dlander and its fab you can operate both winches at the same time from in front or behind the truck, because of this i have mounted the reciever on the rear bulkhead behind the passenger seat, so it sits in the middle of the truck. Not had any problems with reception and would highly recommend them. No water ingress probs at all even with dropping it in the strata florida! I run allbright waterproof solenoids and a pair of 8274's the front one having a twin motor conversion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Posted November 23, 2007 Share Posted November 23, 2007 Tested to destruction Okay thought I'd let you know I have been using a Lodar for a year now, since coming into ownership of an 8274 both supplied by Gigglepin. I'd never used the wander lead with the winch, so had no idea really how hard they are to use, when out on your own, with an unforgiving inward runover like the warn winch has - I'd say its dangerous without a remote. The lodar packed up the other week - checked with Jenny at Gigglepin and yep - it was one day past a year of ownership I checked on the Lodar website to see what the problem might be, as the handset had been eating 9v batteries at the rate of one per outing - not good when you need to winch and the battery is dead - only really got caught out once. They had a comprehensive instructions on how to test the controller - which I'd also fitted upside down on the front left wing. If you ever have to crack one open, you realize why its waterproof - tight is not the word, even with the 6 screws undone, still needed to prise it apart. With it all attached, they have a test sheet to run through (if yes then its not that etc)- I know I had power and earth to the unit and the solenoids all worked fine. Ah no light coming on controllers PCB test lamp -> unit dead return to supplier. What a cracking product - comprehensive diagnosis sheet and best of all has a standard 2 year warranty Now have a new one to fit (Sorted out very quickly via Jenny at Gigglepin), just need a few hours spare to get on with installing it. Hopefully before going to Wales next week. I did notice when marshalling at Slindon the other week that Rob Jones and John Hall used a Lodar - well John had the handset in his top pocket. So thought okay these guys probably dunk their truck much more than I have ever done in the crud. Had a good look for their controller, they have it mounted on the ceiling of the cab. Assume as need to run wires front and back for both winches - or maybe this is where they had the solenoids too. Perhaps I'll install it same time I put on my new X-eng ground anchor mount B) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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