I’ve got my tiny AV running fine and use an RHQ10003 ride height sensor as the WAS. Works a treat, but I’m running this on a little golf buggy.
Helping someone automate their first tractor and this RHQ just looks really flimsy when applied to a full size tractor working on rough hilly terrain.
Does anyone have any suggestions for something a little more rugged.
I am fairly sure I’ve asked this before and was advised to stick with the RHQ (@Alan.Webb ??) , but having actually looked at the tractor today, I agree with the owner that it doesn’t look like it will last a week. Also, it’s going to be tricky to mount and stands a good chance of getting caked in mud.
Said owner is looking at a linear potentiometer which I agree looks more suitable, but it also looks like these are multiple hundred quid.
May I ask again (and I promise this will be the last time I ask), what are you guys using on your big vehicles?
I think I shared a picture with you where I had snapped the RHQ backwards in the mud over the axle and it lived. They are designed to live on the underside of a car and last hopefully the life of the vehicle so they are pretty tough. They need to withstand a luxury rover owners lack of undercarriage maintenance, summer and winter temps, snow and ice, mud and grime already.
There are probably other sensors, I have a linear to try out but it does not look as robust. But may be easier to install behind the steering ram.
The pros of the RHQ are, about 30 bucks, small size, commonly easy to get, can be rigged to most situations.
When you think about it tractors usually get grimy and muddy in layers. Most deposits are from dusts and liquefacted materials , flinging and flying. If you really mired the tractor deep or hit debris the RHQ is probably not your biggest worry. Plus its plastic, it lasts almost forever in the ocean!
Or make a metal arm on one or two ball bearings.
There are more ideas, but here is one. WAS housing for Honeywell RTY series
The thread is from before July 2021 so thread pictures can not open.
The most robust seems to be installing a rotary sensor into an axle kingpin. This is what most factory fitted systems seem to use. It hides the sensor very well, but does require a machine tools to modify the axle and some axles will be more suitable for this than others.