SuzukiChopper
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Oct 10, 2004
- Messages
- 782
So last night I was checking out some of the projects on the Classic Mako website and came across a fellow that had purchased an electronic helm control. It was something like $5k for this thing. This got my little mind thinking about the Hydro-Electric shift in my '72 Johnson 100 and about how many times I've read about people having problems with that little feeble switch inside the control breaking, hard/impossible to find and in the end retrofitting a toggle switch on the dash to control the gears. A new thread posted today made me think even more about this.
It's not exactly SAFE to go the toggle switch route, and you have to get in the habit of checking for neutral before starting and making sure you aren't full steam ahead on the throttle. I compare this to 'I'll save some dollars and install a remote start for an automatic transmission in my manual transmission car because I *ALWAYS* leave it in neutral when I'm not driving'. Unfortunately that one time you forget because of some external influence, things go bad.
While reading this new thread I had an epiphany and know how the switch issue can be solved, won't be affected by the elements like a mechanical switch would be and in turn would be relatively cheap and safe solution to the problem. What I would like to know from my fellow iboaters is not only how many people have Johnny/Evinrudes with the hydro-electric shift... but also how many other motors use an electric style shift. I'm thinking about developing a solution to this problem but because my control works fine and the switch, although somewhat worn, is still working like it should... I don't want to miss out on fishing. However, if someone knows where I can get a cheap control or has one they're willing to donate (would be returned with the retrofit in it) then I'd be able to proceed.
I'm going to do some bench tests to make sure the idea will work as I think it will, but would like some feedback on whether or not it's worth my time other then for my own sake.
It's not exactly SAFE to go the toggle switch route, and you have to get in the habit of checking for neutral before starting and making sure you aren't full steam ahead on the throttle. I compare this to 'I'll save some dollars and install a remote start for an automatic transmission in my manual transmission car because I *ALWAYS* leave it in neutral when I'm not driving'. Unfortunately that one time you forget because of some external influence, things go bad.
While reading this new thread I had an epiphany and know how the switch issue can be solved, won't be affected by the elements like a mechanical switch would be and in turn would be relatively cheap and safe solution to the problem. What I would like to know from my fellow iboaters is not only how many people have Johnny/Evinrudes with the hydro-electric shift... but also how many other motors use an electric style shift. I'm thinking about developing a solution to this problem but because my control works fine and the switch, although somewhat worn, is still working like it should... I don't want to miss out on fishing. However, if someone knows where I can get a cheap control or has one they're willing to donate (would be returned with the retrofit in it) then I'd be able to proceed.
I'm going to do some bench tests to make sure the idea will work as I think it will, but would like some feedback on whether or not it's worth my time other then for my own sake.
