Radio interface design is right on the button

When BHW Group designed a new FM radio control system for powered winches, the company turned to membrane keypad specialist Custom Keypads to provide the user interface.

When BHW Group designed a new FM radio control system for powered winches, the company turned to membrane keypad specialist Custom Keypads to provide the user interface.

Used outdoors in all weathers, the keypad has to provide reliable and efficient operation in very testing conditions.

The use of radio control for winches is now very popular particularly in vehicle recovery applications.

With radio control, the winch operator can stand close to the breakdown some distance away from the recovery truck and is not limited by the length of the cable as he would be with a conventional wanderlead.

In plant and machinery loading applications, too, radio control is useful for when a driver needs to be on the plant being loaded to steer and also release the brake on the machine.

Originally, BHW Group used a proprietary third party controller with its winch control system but found this to be unsatisfactory.

The company decided to design its own radio control system that would incorporate the best of existing systems with the addition of new features.

BHW Group consulted many users of its previous generation controllers and determined that a membrane keypad solution would be more serviceable than traditional switches and would provide reliable operation in all weathers.

The keypad would also be more attractive aesthetically.

The operating environment for BHW Group's FM Connect radio is frequently very hostile and the product is designed to overcome the shortcomings of existing designs and provide the user with a high level of reliability.

All the electrics on the receiver printed circuit board are embedded in resin to prevent water ingress and LED indicators are included for diagnostic fault finding and to show low battery conditions.

The vehicle-mounted receiver panel also features a duplicate of the transmitter keypad so if the battery should fail or the transmitter is mislaid, the winch can still operate.

Eric Ayres, BHW Group Managing Director, commented: "Custom Keypads provided the membrane keypads for both transmitter and receiver and these were manufactured to meet our exact requirements".

"The end result is attractive in appearance and provides the toughness to ensure a long operational life".

BHW Group's FM Connect radio control system transmitter is a straightforward three-button handheld device that enables the operator to wind the winch in or out with an emergency stop button.

The receiver panel is identical in layout with a larger surround area.

Both transmitter and receiver membrane panels can be custom printed to incorporate end customer logos and individual markings.

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