Turbocharger Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Without a great deal of expectation I bought one of the *REALLY* cheap winch remotes on Ebay - under £7, delivered from Hong Kong. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/251413258029 Here's a mini-review, but I'll say I'm impressed overall. Range: I have to say, it's really good. I wired it up today and spooled out the winch. I think my rope is 150ft and it works waaay beyond that. I paid out all the rope, then carried on walking and it was still working beyond the point where my eyesight could distinguish if the rope was moving, I'd say 400ft ish? Wiring: Five wires. Power, ground and an aerial, plus a wire each for in and out, which go to +12v when the remote is pressed. I've wired it to see the full current of the winch solenoids, but mine's a Milemarker so that's only 4A ish? It's not sympathetic but it's working ok. Handset: it's not exactly milled from billet stainless, it's a moulded plastic housing with two buttons which make a bit of a click, and the red light comes on to show it's transmitting. It would be easy to use with gloves on, no idea how waterproof it'll turn out to be though. Usage: press the button and the winch moves. There's a slight delay to start (and also to stop!) which would seem like an eternity if it was crushing fingers etc, but it's well under a second in reality, much less than an 8274 running on anyway. The handset even came with a battery in it. For £7, delivered, I can't see how they do it but I'm a happy customer and I'd buy again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonr Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I had two of these in the past. First one developed a fault (which I'll come to in a sec) after a couple of months so replaced with the second, which developed the same fault after several months. The fault was that sometimes, when you release the button, the motor would just keep running. No amount of pressing or releasing buttons would stop it until you disconnect the battery. My suspicion is that under some circumstances, the microcontroller in the receiver crashes and freezes in whatever state it was last in. I suspect this is down to low voltage or spikes coming through the power supply. It may be that the capacitors used to decouple the supply are cheap enough that they eventually fail, or just a poor supply design. I the supply could be isolated with a DC/DC converter and a big electrolytic capacitor as a buffer - but the remote then ceases to be such a bargain! Having talked to others, many have suffered the same issue, though the time to failure is variable. I decided it was too dangerous to risk another - and bought a Lodar unit from David Bowyer. It on the other hand has never failed me! Si 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 I notice they sell worldwide, I wonder what frequency they work on and if it is legal in the UK? Might be useful for some other uses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Sparkes Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I notice they sell worldwide, I wonder what frequency they work on and if it is legal in the UK? Might be useful for some other uses I think the 'simonr (and others) experience' has given it the kiss of death as far as winch safety is concerned. Adjacent to "what frequency ... Might be useful for some other uses", the question I had thought of, but neglected to ask, is that were alternative frequencies available and user selectable (ie, a channel switch)? Especially given the range (signal strength) of the remote, I did wonder what would happen if half a dozen users turned up at an event proudly bearing their new remotes, only to discover that one remote could control 6 winches at the same time. The language would have been interesting!! As ever, thanks to all for the vicarious education! :-) Regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickeyw Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 That looks the same as one I bought from Goodwinch for a fair few £ more. I too have experienced the delayed response, but not the range that John mentions. But most worryingly I have also experienced the fault Simon did It only happened once, but that was enough to put me off using it for anything other than re-spooling the rope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Turbocharger Posted April 7, 2014 Author Share Posted April 7, 2014 Okaaaay. Looking like less of a bargain so far. It's wired via a winch master switch so I can "reboot" it if needed - but obviously that'll be too far away if there are fingers entangled somewhere. Has anyone bought one of these and used it for a reasonable period without finding this fault? So far, the failure rate vs sample size isn't exactly giving me confidence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L19MUD Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I have one on my recovery lorry which is probably used every couple of weeks or so and been used for the last two years. As it is on the lorry the remote isnt subject to mud/water other than a battery change it has worked perfectly (that's jinxed it...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Okaaaay. Looking like less of a bargain so far. It's wired via a winch master switch so I can "reboot" it if needed - but obviously that'll be too far away if there are fingers entangled somewhere. Has anyone bought one of these and used it for a reasonable period without finding this fault? So far, the failure rate vs sample size isn't exactly giving me confidence. got one on my trayback. its been ok used most weekends for a year. and ive buried the winch and solenoid housing in mud and water many times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 .....Adjacent to "what frequency ... Might be useful for some other uses", the question I had thought of, but neglected to ask, is that were alternative frequencies available and user selectable (ie, a channel switch)? Especially given the range (signal strength) of the remote, I did wonder what would happen if half a dozen users turned up at an event proudly bearing their new remotes, only to discover that one remote could control 6 winches at the same time..... It would theoretically be possible for them all to work on the same frequency without interfering with each other if they were somehow to tag their messages with for example the serial number of the device they wanted to talk to. I sent a message to the seller asking them about the frequency and if they interfere with nearby units ... will see if I get an answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 i know i've tried to use my remote on a mates winch and it didnt work, it also wouldnt work on the winch on a trailer i hired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 I don't suppose there is a label stating frequency on yours is there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 i'll take a look tomorrow... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CwazyWabbit Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
qwakers Posted April 7, 2014 Share Posted April 7, 2014 i suspect they're made in batches on slightly different frequencies, so the chances are low that you'll ever meet another on the same frequency.... but the last place you want to find out is at a winch challenge event when your hanging from a tree....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sj_4x4 Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 I've got one on the wifes 90, it allowed both "in" and "out" buttons to be pressed at the same time, resulting in a blown winch motor, I modifined the handset by fitting a sprung rocker switch and it's been fine since. I have seen the running on problem on a friends setup, turned out to be somone else on site with the same unit. Personaly I run a Lodar, used and abused an never had any issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanuki Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 i suspect they're made in batches on slightly different frequencies, so the chances are low that you'll ever meet another on the same frequency.... Which is OK until one of us radio-ham types happens to be on a nearby hilltop running 400-watts PEP into a gainy antenna rather close to the frequency of your remote... or you find yourself winching near to a police/fire/ambulance/utility-services/MoD repeater-station. [At my last house I could - if I pointed the beam in the right direction - trigger the PIR sensors on a neighbour's security lights a quarter of a mile away by whistling into the microphone.] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Noisy Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 Had a situation with a £7 cheapo where it engaged spool in when it got wet Buried the winch hook in the ally fairlead (messy result) and popped the winch fuse. I had only fitted it because I needed a solution for spooking in on my own and guiding the rope onto the drum nearly, as I only had a hard wire switch on the dash panel Promptly ripped out the wireless trash and fitted another switch in the vehicle grill, problem avoided. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 hmmmm, not very confidence enhancing... i have one, i only tried it maybe 5 times, it will only ever work when going out which is rather useful, although the reciever is still fitted maybe i should remove that before i hit a pay and play site and somebody starts winching my bumper in on itself without knowing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discomikey Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 i relocated the solenoid under the bonnet and also relocated the wanderlead plug into my slam panel, a neat install and can be used from both in and out the vehicle, although i have been tempted to add a dash switch too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dirtyninety Posted April 9, 2014 Share Posted April 9, 2014 We have used several of these units, they quite often come bundled in when you buy a new cheapish winch. I've seen them interfere with other peoples winches at pay and plays quite often. I personally don't like using them, they are too unreliable. To spool in our ropes we generally wrap a tree strop round a tree and winch towards a tree. Keeps the rope nice and tight to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UdderlyOffroad Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 D'oh! Just bought one of these, as a replacement for the damaged wired controller on my 2nd-hand winch. Ahh well, will run a switch in the cab and only use this one in emergencies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickwilliams Posted April 10, 2014 Share Posted April 10, 2014 If you want to be sure that this type of device is really safe for use, then you need to check that it has been CE marked under the Machinery Directive with the certification/declaration based on EN ISO 13849-1. Last time I looked, even Lodar's units did not meet this standard. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deep Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Interesting thread. My Runvar winch came with a wireless remote, which I use all the time in preference to faffing about with the wired one. I've had no problems at all, no run-on, just perfect behaviour and the range is very good. Now I know to be cautious, ta! The winch comes with a remote solenoid. When I get round to fitting it properly under the bonnet, I'll hide the wired remote there somewhere too. I do have a master switch under the bonnet to prevent accidents and discourage vandals. Then it will be easy to grab the wired remote at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr Noisy Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 It seems all the cheaper ones have some kind of delayed shut off which is a bit alarming at times. And otherwise, if you wired it so the receiver was actually in the cab it would be better, at least keeping it dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 If you want to winch so hard it drops the voltage and winch 'out of line of sight', the Lodar has been fine. It's 4 button and runs a horn in the cab so Terry can get my attention I tried a Maplins garage door opener which is okay if you can keep the voltage up. We couldn't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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