We’re excited to announce a new product today: the Thruster Commander! The Thruster Commander is a small control unit and accessories to make it as easy as possible to start using our thrusters. It’s the perfect test tool in the shop to get them up and running but it also has the capability to control multiple thrusters on a kayak, standup paddleboard, or just about any project you might have in mind!
Check out the new product video for a detailed explanation and to see it in action!
In addition to the control unit, the Thruster Commander includes two potentiometers and knobs that are used for input. There are two output channels and they can be controlled independently or they can be mixed together to provide smooth speed and steering control. Check out the new product video below for more information!
That’s all for today. Be sure to visit our stands at Underwater Intervention in New Orleans from February 6-8 and at Oceanology International 2018 in London on March 13-15!
Great idea. Will replace the arduino setup I had for our kayak controller.
Assume it handles ramping up and down smoothly for speed control so there are no harsh changes on input?
Yes, changes in PWM output are limited so that it takes about a second before the PWM signal reaches full speed. While this limits wear on the motors, they’ll still give a bit of a kick when you’re starting off.
Very nice device!
Does the Thruster Commander have some kind of lov voltage alarm or cut off, to prevent running the battery too low?
Hi @Mikxie - It doesn’t have that, unfortunately, but that’s a great idea! There aren’t any free inputs on the microcontroller used on the Thruster Commander so we’d have to make some more substantial changes to add this.
I would recommend using a simple lipo battery alarm.