Dear Robot Shop,
My name is John and I run a manufacturing facility in Maine. I have a piece of equipment that runs two normally closed four way switches to operate hydraulics. Each side moves left right up and down, two sides. The little industrial box I have is constantly having issues, the electrical wires that run into the control board constantly have issues, and all of this stuff is expensive when it goes down. Add in the fact that I have a fairly young crew and even with it’s simplistic nature, it takes a little training for them to get down how to operate these switches. So I had the half crazy, half awesome idea of replacing the “controller” with the two sets of four-way switches with a PlayStation remote control. I figure that having a wireless remote running on Bluetooth or RF or something with an ability to program the buttons on the PS remote makes sense. So the toggles, the left side operates up down left right, the right side same thing, and the buttons can be set for double or triple redundancy. So I need to know which controllers to use that won’t become obsolete, what receiver to use that I can set up - possibly using a computer to set the buttons, and then installing it in the box where the wires run into that control the hydraulics. I’d be happy to take and send photos of what the inside of this box looks like. My feeling is that I don’t need to reinvent the wheel, just steer it in the direction I need so it works with what I have. The guys will instantly know how to operate the equipment, and if a remote breaks, no big deal as the are plentiful and inexpensive, just grab a new charged one and bring it out as a replacement. So seemingly simple from my side… I’m hoping you folks can guide me towards a solution, if this has been done, maybe instructions… ask questions, request photos, anything. I know this will work and am determined to resolve this, I just need some guidance and a push in the right direction. I will say, this is a good idea, it would be great for someone to put together a simple program to do this, as all those industrial remotes and toggle switches, etc are so expensive… so if there is no exact drop in solution, this idea is a very easy thing for someone like me to stand behind and invest in. As in, a lot of money can be made for simple modifications using a system such as this for use in industrial, manufacturing environments. I’d love to have this Bluetooth, but am open to thoughts here. Line of sight can be an issue, though I can deal with it. No one will be farther away than 25 feet using the controller. Thanks in advance, John