Wireless remote for Timber King B20

[peterduncan]

Does anyone know how to wire a wireless remote for the up and down movement on the head. I am using a remote that is used for a winch. There is a red and black wire for the power , a yellow and white wire for the up and down and a blue wire which is the antena. ???

[Larry]

The other end of winch wireless remote is the receiver section.  The receiver operates two solenoids for the winch in/out.  Wire your carriage head up/down motor through those solenoids.

I did my remote throttle on my mill in a similar fashion using the winch with a bell crank to operate the throttle.  I lost the remote several times and finally sawdust found its way into the buttons.  Converted to hard wiring.

[Tom the Sawyer]

I, too, thought that a remote control for the B-20 would be such an improvement (about the time I was struggling with my cord reel... as I recall) and had read that others had done it.  I read those threads, purchased the parts and tackled it, although I am not an 'electronics guy'.  It worked, but it wasn't reliable.  I would lower the head make the cut and then, when the head was at the other end of the mill, sometimes it wouldn't work.  I work for clients, and time spent tinkering with the mill was unacceptable.

I fixed the cord reel and converted it to a plug so that, if the remote quit working or the battery died, I could plug the cord back in and continue milling.  It was plugged in most of the time.

The system parts I purchased were for momentary operation, like a garage door, you press a button and the door goes up.  The B-20 requires a continuous signal, you hold the toggle switch forward to raise the head, back to lower the head (either to where you want to stop, or where the set works stops it).  I was holding the button down, although I think it was designed for momentary operation (again, I'm not an electronics guy). 

I decided to order a remote system designed for winches where you would normally hold the switch down until the required movement was done.  I hooked it up, and can hear it clicking but the head doesn't move.  I followed the meager instructions but the mill schematic is not a winch.  I am sure that someone who understands the electronics would be able to figure it out easily, that's not me and I don't know anyone who will look at it. 

Forum member Redbeard, did the conversion (with assistance of a former member named Steve) and it apparently works flawlessly for him, so it can be done.  He used a two channel system (head up/down).  I bought the four channel system (head up/down) and anticipated adding a remote throttle control to my Kohler.  Redbeard and Steve were pretty patient with me, explaining, looking at photos, etc. and everything seemed to have been done correctly, just not reliable.

I hesitated to post this, it is more fun to post triumphs instead of failures, but we can learn from both outcomes.  The PC board parts I could find seemed to be of 'minimal' quality (it won't cost you much to try) and I couldn't find higher quality, if they exist.  It is too bad that TK doesn't take this on as an optional upgrade.  There are a lot of B-20s out here.  I have replaced the cord reel, again, and it is still plugged in.   

[Kbeitz]

Does anyone know how to wire a wireless remote for the up and down movement on the head. I am using a remote that is used for a winch. There is a red and black wire for the power , a yellow and white wire for the up and down and a blue wire which is the antena. ???

You need this part to make it work.
Your yellow and white wires will hook up to the wires in place of the toggle switch wires.




 



 

[Tom the Sawyer]

Success at last.

There are many benefits to wireless operation of a B-20, due to issues with the cord reel.  I have had a couple of failures but I kept trying. 

I found a 4 channel, wireless remote control board with two transmitters on eBay for $12.20 with free shipping.  Considerably less than some of the others I tried, this one runs on 315 Mhz and claims a range of 200m.  It has a jumper so you can select momentary or continuous operation.  I have two of the channels wired for my head up/down circuit.  The other two channels will be for a remote throttle actuator. 

I wired it in, mounted it in a gray, all-weather Carlon, box and found that it works - every time.

I have used it on a job and it worked as expected.  I have checked the range and it will work from 150 ' in all directions.  I have one remote transmitter mounted with Velcro on a wooden block on the control station, the other is clipped to my apron.


 


 

[redbeard]

Happy for you Tom, wish I had more electronic knowledge to add too conversations. My remote has worked for me for several years now and I use the manual switch which I mounted next too debarker switch a majority of the time especially if I travel the head more than 2". The remote works great for raising blade to clear cant while my off bearer removes lumber if Iam milling 7/8" or 1" lumber the remote is reasonably reliable.
I do like to position logs fairly close to operator station so I can reach manual switch which is 100℅ reliable. Might have too follow and install a 4 channel upgrade soon. Steve is still my go too electrical trouble shooter. We both work for same day job company. He is retired from sawmilling but enjoys talking mills. He still wants too build a multi functional swing blade, bandsaw and chainsaw bar Slabbing Mill all in one package.(sgchwend) his forum name if anyone wants to check out his posts and pic gallery. He really did a nice job automating a brand X swing mill and a Mighty mite bandmill.

  

 

[ozarkgem]

Happy for you Tom, wish I had more electronic knowledge to add too conversations. My remote has worked for me for several years now and I use the manual switch which I mounted next too debarker switch a majority of the time especially if I travel the head more than 2". The remote works great for raising blade to clear cant while my off bearer removes lumber if Iam milling 7/8" or 1" lumber the remote is reasonably reliable.
I do like to position logs fairly close to operator station so I can reach manual switch which is 100℅ reliable. Might have too follow and install a 4 channel upgrade soon. Steve is still my go too electrical trouble shooter. We both work for same day job company. He is retired from sawmilling but enjoys talking mills. He still wants too build a multi functional swing blade, bandsaw and chainsaw bar Slabbing Mill all in one package. (Geschwend) is his forum name if anyone wants to check out his posts and pic gallery. He really did a nice job automating a brand X swing mill and a Mighty mite bandmill.

  

 

Couldn't find anything under Geschwend. I have a Mighty Mite and am interested in the mods he made.

[Ga Mtn Man]

Tom, glad to hear you found what appears to be a reliable solution.  Be aware that there are a lot of devices out there that operate on that frequency that might cause interference with your remote.  Just make sure to test it when you set up at a new location before you start sawing.

[Tom the Sawyer]

While searching the internet I also found, what appeared to be, the same unit but operating with a frequency somewhere in the 400 Mhz range.  Almost all of those would have been shipped from China and I was looking for someone in the US who could provide quicker shipping (it was about 6 days).

Reliability is very important when all of my work is for clients, with them there.  I now have a three way control system.  The original is the cord reel, activated with a momentary switch mounted on the console.  I also added a toggle switch to the mill head so that I could adjust the height when I was closer to the head than the console.  It was also my backup for when the cord reel screwed up.  By adding the wireless, I can disconnect the cord reel plug (which saves wear on the cord reel).  If the wireless fails, or I am in an area where there is an interfering frequency, I plug the cord reel in and use that.