OK, this one goes out to the engineering minds in the audience, with an emphasis on electronics.
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IMPORTANT: low cost is essential
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It's gonna cost about 7 or 8 grand to bring in electic power at the LNP pond project. That idea is on hold for a couple years (or more?) I currently use a portable gasoline generator that I normally keep at my principal residence for emergencies. I want to get it back home where it belongs.
I have access to another (quality name brand) gasoline generator at a very fair price (friend bought it for a one-time emergency. I bet it hasn't got more than 20 hours on it). It's got an electric starter and battery tray. It's 4500 Watt peak (I believe 3.5 or 4K continuous). This will be fine for my application. We haven't yet discussed bottom line price, but I'm thinkin $300 - $400.
The difference is the electric starter; this is critical. It will allow D-ski to handle kickin' 'er over. But...my mind is taking this a little farther.
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I want to build a small shelter like a well-ventilated power house. I want to locate it 50 or 75 feet away from our little shed/cabin and run power in.
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Here is the catch:
In order to start it up, one would have to go to the shed, set the manual choke, kick it over, and back off the choke again. I want to be able to start it remotely, from inside the shed/cabin. In my feeble engineering mind, I see a 12V plunger solenoid attached to the choke lever and wired back to the shed/cabin. Does this make any sense? If yes, where would I find the correct unit? I've searched 12V magnetic solenoids, and my head is spinning. Any other thoughts?

Old school...back in the day cars had a choke stat,that was heated by the exhuast.When cold it would close the choke and as the exhuast got hot it opened it.The old chryslers were totally mechanical and the ford and chevy had elec assist.If it were me I think Id go to a junk yard and see if I couldnt find a used chysler unit to play with.Mount it to the muffler with a hose clamp and see if it backs off quick enough.Youd have to modify the rod but that shouldnt be a big problem if you have a coathanger.youll find it on the intake right next to the carb on the right side.

Brettski, Can you bury a ¾” PVC pipe from the generator-house to the cabin? This would be used to carry wiring, etc. to locate the on/off switch, starter button, and choke in the cabin.

Affirmative Dwight; that's the plan.

I would keep the choke manual so you have total control of the starting and warm-up functions.

You can buy the type of cable used for lawnmower throttle etc. off a bulk spool pretty cheaply. Since your cable and wire path will be moisture free this stuff should last as long as you care use it. It would be smart to keep any turns in your PVC conduit to 45 degrees or less if using glued connectors.

I may be more concerned about cold starts than you are; living there in the semi-tropics like you do.

Just my thoughts....

I considered the super-long manual cable thing. Is that really practical over a distance of 50 - 75 feet? (maybe 100) It sure is the simplest, most idiot-proof option (I think...?).

B'ski,
I've sold the bulk choke cale w/casinig and 100' would have too much friction to work unless the run was very, very straight. The wire is just to small for a long run.(more than 10')

Try the junkyard visit and pick up a manual thermostatic choke and a doorlock solenoid. I think you will find manual choke way to slow to release even next to the muffler but the doorlock solenoid to be super simple to rig up with a double pole-double throw switch used to reverse the current on the solenoid. Instant on-off for the choke and a simple push button for the starter. I would add a kill switch as well though. 12 gauge wire would be fine for a 100' run. BTW keep a product called Seafoam in your fuel---you will never have a fuel related problem if you do, about 1oz Seafoam per gallon.

Rainman...
I like your doorlock solenoid idea. Tolerant of the voltage/amperage output of a starter battery and it would have to have some type of pre-fab yoke for attaching, too. Hmmmm; good suggestion.

Bretski,if you get a door solonoid get the switch and connectors too.That way you have everything you need except the wire runs.by the way what engine is it?

Couldn't the cost of bringing electricity in be amortized over a period of 5-7 years. You basically would pay like $80-$100 a month for electricity whether you used any or not.

I guess I dont have any old-school engineering skills and dont really know what you guys are all talking about?

I can just imagine what the Fruitcake Lady would have said about that.

All kidding aside, I think it's do-able with a simple remote start or gate latch kit.

Alright; time for another kick in the thread...
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The generator with electric start has been scored and sitting in the garage. With some helpful PM guidance from Tom G, I played my gennie cards out on E-bay and purchased a Coleman with a Subaru Robin gasoline engine.
At this point, I am sending out a call to one of our newer members, Lee Smith. Lee has shot thru the ranks of PB expertise and made a meteoric ascension to become President of the PB R/C toy Chapter. I would like his thoughts on this choke thing.
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As noted on above posts, I would still like to install this generator in a small powerhouse and be able to start it remotely. It has a manual choke lever; it will be the only remotely controlled device issue that I have not yet solved. I still see an opportunity to use a DC servo of some sort.
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A close-up of the choke lever in the open/run position.

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A shot of the surrounding hardware.

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The throw of the choke is 2.750" to the right (in an arc) to be fully closed for the starting position. I tried cold starting the engine without the choke; no go. It cranks right over when the choke is fully closed. Then, I immediately shifted it all the way back to the left to the run position to see if I could work with a full on/full off control (no intermediate positioning). As soon as I pushed it all the way back to the left to the run position, the engine ran fast/slow/fast as it adjusted the carb. Not real good. My point: I need the intermediate adjustment of the choke for my best performance. This means an adjustable remote control.
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OK Lee...any ideas? Anybody else?

I wonder if a linear actuator would work for you purposes. I have seen small ones on eBay that have been taken off of equipment and were reasonably priced. Maybe try a Google search for "LINEAR ACTUATOR"

Brettski, the rear window actuator in our '03 windstar(ford) van moves the window about 21/2" in and out and can be interrupted at any point in the stroke.It is 12v. and works from a rocker switch.Perhaps a local auto parts store or junkyard could supply? hth Tom

A long cable will still work. It want push but it will pull. Simply add a spring to the choke lever so it returns to run when choke cable is released. You're cable mechanism will need to have a stop or detent if you don't want to manually operate it until you here the engine smooth out and just fully release it by hand. Small wire rope can be purchased from a farm store or building supplier you want need a casing on it. I can also rig up a remote wireless controlled actuator I do this on my rockytopper campers. I found these actuators on line prices start at 59$.

http://www.firgelliauto.com

Rocky, I still like the cable approach myself. You explained it a lot better than I did, though.

I fear that Brettski is losing touch with reality having that shiny new motor-generator unit. As you know his concentration does wane on occasion.

Brettski, Please report back with your final configuration, when you get there.

Brettski:

I shall apply my prodigious brainpower to the subject matter and come up with an RC solution for you asap, although it might end up being just about the most complicated possible solution ... LOL.

Jeepers ... from obscurity to a PB guru in a matter of months ....I love it.

Oh, and just so I have it right, you need to do 2 functions .. remote start/ stop and choke rich/lean is that correct?

Also, can you run some wire from the house to "the generator house" or will this be done by radio function?

One more thing, how much pressure does it take to move the choke lever? Trying to determine of a standard servo (generally pretty cheap) will have enough power to do the required mechanical action.

Last question, are you able to splice and solder .... because I might already have found a solution if you can. Involves taking an off-the-shelf "servo Tester" which supplies a "fake" rc signal to drive servos without running a transmitter and no receiver is needed. Take the output of that servo tester, extend the wires from your house down to the genset to control the servos directly. Servo testers are about $20 each.

Do I have a clear picture of the requirements?

Lee

If it involves quantities of heavy steel (rebar, I-beams, cold rolled sheet stock) he will love it.

(don't forget the generous coating of concrete)
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Only one function...the choke lever, but it would be a push-pull function. The remote start/stop is easily covered with a wired switch that will run thru underground conduit.
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There will be an underground conduit to carry wiring between the gennie-house and the shed that contains the controls.
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I cannot quantify the physical load required, but it is pretty darned effortless and smooth. There are a couple of intermittent detent positions, but they are also smooth and minimal (I assume that over time, this may change as things get "used", but I am pretty anal about keeping things clean and tuned). I can't imagine we're talking much more than a couple of ounces of required force.
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no biggie...bring it on. Remember, tho, that this is an area with vibration from the engine.

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(edit; Since I have you R/C engineering this thing, are there any simple gauges or registers that could be included with the servo unit that would allow me to read the positioning of the lever? I would be satisfied with a couple of LED's that indicated full-on or full-off.

Fulfilling your wish is my sworn duty as President Brettski.

If we are only talking about one control with low activation forces, this will be staightforward and above all, as cheap as I can think of.

I'm a scrounger too. As a kid, my fellow radio/electronics buddies would walk the back lanes looking for discarded TVs, radios, appliances ... anything we could strip for parts to build stuff ... the scrounging is a big part of the fun. That's why I like ham radio fleamarkets.

I'll toss together some links and a description of how to do it shortly.

Choke position info can be done too, but rather than doing by feedback, we'll do it by "dial position" which you can then calibrate to visualize the control position and provide you with smooth activation through the whole control range of throw.

I'm wondering how to disable the system for local vs remote start & operation. IE: when you're doing your tinkering by waterside.

Stand-by to stand-by.

Lee

OK Brettski, here we go.

Concept I'm proposing is to use a "servo tester" to run the model servo, which will have an extension on the servo output arm to obtain the full 2.75 inch throw required. A model airplane engine throttle cable and ball link control system will be your flex link from the servo to the choke lever.

To make it remote, you'll make an "extension cord" to run from the house to the miniature nuke power plant at pond-side by cutting the output wires from the servo tester and splicing in fairly large guage wire, run it out to the power generating station. Then hook up the other end, into which the servo will be plugged. I recommend maybe number 12 or so wire just to keep the voltage drop as low as possible. If the servo is too weak or slow, add another cell to the tester to compensate.

Thinking about it as I type, a better way would be to buy a servo extension cable like this one http://www.cheapyharnesses.com/page04.html and you can solder it onto the " big extension cable" and then you wouldn't need to modify the servo driver at all and void the warranty. That way only a couple of bucks would be at stake.

Your need to operate either locally or by remote could be solved by just unplugging the servo driver and taking out to the power generating station building, buying off the security guard to gain access, and then plugging it in out at the site to control things from there.

Vibration is a problem, but the same is true in model airplanes and soft mounting methods are possible to minimize but not eliminate the effects of rattling back & forth for hours on end. The best protection is to consider the servos are only around $10 so when (not if) one of them packs in, it won't be total financial disaster.

The length of flex cable selected will allow you to mount the servo in a location where vibration is at a minimum. The only problem with using flex cable is the long throw required ... 2.75" might be long enough the cable bows out rather than moving the control at full throw. If that's the case, I'll show you a stiff pushrod to use.

Choke position. Look at this link and you'll see the knob on the tester has a number scale. That can be plotted to use as a guide to "where you're at." http://graphics.hobbypeople.net/gallery/518105.jpg

So away we go with the links:

1- the servo tester from Tower Hobbies. A large, reputable supplier for all things RC. http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXVK79&P=ML

2- the "standard size" model servo can found on EBay for $7 each or cheaper, here's the "expensive version" for 9.99
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXUK84


3- flex cable for the linkage http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD862&P=7

4- control cable ends & mini ball-links
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXFPW8&P=7

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD897&P=7

Hope that is helpful Brettski.

Sorry I wasn't able to involve any rebar, diesel locomotives, slaves that built the pyramids, or concrete in this solution!

Lee

Dwight, I don't think he likes our ideas or doesn't belief we have the credentials worthy of consideration. Some folks just have to see it for themselves. Here it is in living color. And if that's not convincing enough the second one is at 70 mph. I don't think vibration will be an issue. In fact we can move the entire generator house with it if he wants.
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l179/rockytoppers/?action=view¤t=MOV00790-11-1.flv

http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l179/rockytoppers/?action=view¤t=MOV00610-11-1.flv

Rocky-T....I was lookin' for the big crank and waitin' for Jack to pop out. Actually, that's pretty slick, man. Can you get me rigged on the choke control for under $50 with that stuff?
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Lee...this is why you're the President of all things R/C on PB. Thank you. Never mind Rockytopper. Him and Dwight get together and start drinkin' Coronas. Next thing ya know, your garage roof is liftin' up like a missile silo and your bass boat trailer tips up to 70 degrees. Hit the button, Max!
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There will be a 12 volt DC starter battery with the gen-set inside the powerhouse. I would be looking to tap this battery for the necessary power to run the servo. Will this still work with your plan?

Not required Brettski. The power for the servo is sent down the line from the servo driver. Its all self-contained.

Yes, you could use the 12 volt batt, but then you'd need a voltage regulator to provide the required 4.8 volts to the servo. Direct connect to the 12 v batt would fry it.

Lee

Sorry Bski my approach would run you about 100$ including the 12 gage wire, 59$ actuuator, and 5$ toggle switch. The pull cable & spring is well within your allocated budget. You best buy a cheap pair of fish scales and see how much force that choke mechanism requires and provide that info to Lee. The servo might not have enough guts to do the trick. I know all of my lawn equipment has noticable friction in the choke and run levers. Good luck my friend.

I can't find spools of continuous throttle-type cable.

I see it's spec's at 42 oz - in. As is ft/lbs, are we talking the nutz to move 42 oz 1 inch? That doesn't seem very flimsy...right? What is the operating temperature range? What's gonna happen when we go to operate the servo one morning when it's 10 degrees outside?
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I have to think that a pushrod linkage will be warranted in this application. Thoughts?
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Finally, describe to me how this little setup is powered.
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Thanks for taking this time. I goofed with model aiplanes and boats when I was a kid. It still intrigues me.

Brettski, You don't need throttle type cable since there will be a spring pulling the choke back. Just get the lightest woven wire cable you can find at HD or Lowes or Jakes Hardware & Squash Emporia. I have a short piece of 1/16" stainless woven wire cable that would be perfect for your application. You just need to find a small spool of it for the distance you need to cover.

How would you thread or guide it between the two buildings?

If it was me I just run it in a seperate conduit in the ground along side the wire conduit. you could run it with the wires but If i did that I would sure get a coated one. Even then you might ware a hole in a wire eventually so I would pay the extra and seperate them.

Ahah, Im an enjineer, at leest last I chekt. My egspert addvise:





















Jus go out to the shed and manuelly do it!

Seriously, I gotta believe you can get a 12 volt solenoid or servo motor cheap. Don't some ventilation systems in cars have servo motors that operate the damper flaps to direct air to various vents on the dash? I think some of these are electric versus vacuum operated. Bet you can get one at a junk yard for about 5 bucks and all you have to do is wire it with a switch. I would drive both ways so it would positively put the choke both on and off.

Brettski, do a google on "automotive blend door actuator". These are small 12 volt electric servo motors that open and close the blend door on auto ventilation systems. On my Chrysler it is under the dash and not hard to get at. It is a rotary actuator so you would have to connect a bellcrank or lever arm to it so that it could drive your choke lever back and forth. It must have an automatic shuttoff when it gets to full stroke either direction because when activated they move one direction and shut off. Probably is set up so reversing polariy runs it one way or the other. You may be able to take the plastic part that the motor drives out of the dash and modify it to hook up to your choke lever thus not having to make a mechanism. Should be able to find these buy the dozens in the junk yard.

Brettski:

As it turns out upon closer reading of the literature about the servo driver, it does indeed require a separate 4 cell battery pack to power it. I'd use 4 or maybe 5 AA or D size cells and put in an on/off switch.

The battery powered servo tester sends power and position data down our previously discussed extension cable to the servo and causes it to move, just like in your model airplane setup when you a fun-lovin' youngster.

I've flown model airplanes in -20 Celcius weather and while slow and unhappy, they did indeed operate. I've also crashed airplanes in the same temperature too. These same servos were used in the large C band satellite dishes to operate the antenna polarization controls down to -40 C. Mind you, next to zero load on the servo to just flip a small length of wire 90 degrees inside the feedhorn.

The torque rating of the standard servo is 42 ounce-inches. In other words, will push or pull 42 ounces if the servo arm is 1 inch long.

Extending the servo arm so it completes a 2.75" arc may cut that value down by more than half ... which should still be more than sufficient to move the choke if it moves as smoothly as you described. Some of those large model airplane control surfaces can have significant loads on them at high speed.

If the "standard servo" isn't enough power, bigger servos are available, or it could be run from your 12 volt gen-set battery through a voltage regulator to get down to 6 volts, which is generally considered to be the "practical max voltage" for these servos. I don't think that is needed though and the wiring becomes a little more complicated.

I suppose in its most simple form, you could just have return spring on it and run a length of binder twine up to the house, run it through a window and you pull it to bring the engine into full choke position and let out line as the engine warms up.....

Anyway, looks like you've got no shortage of suggestions, if I can be of any more help after you've made up your mind, just whistle! Happy to help.

Lee

Brettski...I get cable&lined housing in bulk.Please get a little more specific about distance and Ill ck when I get to work.I think it comes in 50 ft lengths but it could be a 100.

OK I just looked and the housing is in 50ft rolls and the solid wire comes in 50 or 100ft rolls.The good news is a 100 ft of inner wire is about 10.00.The bad news,the housing is about 35.00 per 50 ft.Let me know.

B'ski,

May I suggest you look at outboard motors? Either on line or at a local marina. Most every electric start outboard in the last 20 years or more has an electric choke. Push a small button, the choke engages, turn the key and the motor starts. Release the button after a few seconds and a small spring not much bigger than a ballpoint pen spring returns the choke butterfly back the the open position.

Outboard motors usually run in the warmer months so you may have to hold the choke button in for a extra few seconds in the colder months. All it would take is 2 wires, probably 18 ga. or 16 ga. at most and a momentary contact switch next to wherever you put the starter switch.

Just splice into the 3 wires on the back of the key switch mounted on the generator and run them the 50 or 75 feet or whatever length you need thru your underground plastic pipe alongside the 2 wires for the choke. Connect an additional key switch and a choke button wherever you want your remote start location to be and you will be able to start the generator from either location.

If you have a marina nearby or know of someone with a junk electric start outboard you could probably get the choke selnoid pretty cheap and the necessary wire, key switch, choke button switch and needed connectors shouldn't cost all that much.

Simple, proven effective and cheap. Good luck.

Don't re-event the wheel, just go buy one they already make a remote start and choke for this application.
http://www.hayesequipment.com/portable_generator_wireless_remote_start_kit.htm


I got to thinking "HOW do RV generators remote start and choke?
Quick search found the above.

Awe, RT, you took all the fun out of this!


That's the way to do this if they make one to fit your generator. I don't see a price on their site either.

Do you guys want me to delete the post before Bski sees it. Then tell him about it later after he digs all those ditches buring wire and cable or stringing hay twin thru the trees?
Theo you have the power you make the call on this one. I like the guy so I can't bring myself to do it. I just want to be the one to post in his thread about getting it installed "Good job but why didn't you just buy one of these". We can all laugh about it at the convention this year.

Thanks pal....but....go ahead and ditch the post. The $399 price tag buys alot of trips in the rain to the powerhouse to push the button.

I can see I've been a bad influence on you, Bski.

I hear a loud squeaking noise........ some one get an oil can

it's gas
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When the remote starter costs nearly the same as the generator, I start bloating.

Brettski,
Check this out. I bought a RF remote to start my generator but mine has an electric choke. You could just add a servo (12 volt) as Lee proposed to the other output and need no wires underground.
Total cost was $16.00.

http://cgi.ebay.com/2-CH-RF-Wireless-Rem...1742.m153.l1262

That's pretty slick, BS. I would actually need 3 channels (I think...?). One for the on/off function, one for the starter function (would that be momentary?), and one for the servo to the choke (also momentary?).
Help me remember how this stuff works.
The relays are just switches. They supply no power. They only control the flow of power that is sent thru them from an external supply. Right?
You have experience with a similar unit that is single channel. How did you hook it up? Do I read the description on this unit correctly?...each channel is adjustable to provide switching in either press on/press off, or momentary press on and release to turn off.
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This new twist really intrigues me...thanks.

The receiver is powered by an external 12 volt system. The relays power the circuit (check current rating). I used the battery on the generator for that purpose. My Generator has a push button start (Normally Open circuit) so it was fairly easy to wire up. I only have a toggle switch for the on off switch (I leave it on all the time). They have a impressive range also, It works up to 600 feet away.
My original reason for purchasing this was for an electric gate I am installing but had to experiment with it first.
Here is another transmitter/Receiver combo that may meet all your needs. There is a wiring diagram with the below link.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RF-Wireless-Remote-C...1742.m153.l1262

OK, I'm really liking this idea...
I gotta explore one of my previous questions again. I did a lousy job expaining it.
If the receiving unit is powered by a very specific 12Vdc source, and the relays are rated to handle 10A/120Vac, 20A/12Vdc, then the relays are not supplying power to the circuit they control, right? The relays are nothing more than a switch. The circuit (that the relay switch controls) is unpowered until an outside power source is introduced to the circuit (a source voltage that is within the relay's capacity of 10A/120Vac, 20A/12Vdc). If I am wrong, then why would the receiver specify a power source of 12Vdc, but offer an entirely different range of handling capacities for the relays?

It takes a certain (low) voltage (and so many small amps) to throw the relay, but the switch that is closed can handle a different, usually heavier load (higher voltage and/or current).

It's analogous to a simple light switch in your house. Closing the switch requires a flick of your finger. Once closed, the switch can handle 110 VAC at 10 or 15 A - something the activating device (your finger) can't handle.

Yep, that's the way I remember relays. I just got a little confused with the BS (response).
I'm still cookin' on this one.

Dont forget about the robotics concept.

I really like the remote idea. Combining the remote with the DC servo that Lee Smith recommends is a front runner. The only problem with that package, tho, is the loss of the adjustable positioning control that the hardwired option offered. Losing the adjustments of different choke positions could be a deal breaker. It is possible that I may have to use both the remote and the hard-wiring to achieve the ultimate package. Or...maybe cash it all in for a raincoat and a pair of size 12 Froggy boots.

Huuummm more thinking to do. Good thing I've had lots of coffee this morning.

Off the top of my head, actuating the servo with positioning information will be a "doozey." (as my Grandmother used to say)

I used one of these remote units to build a "I've fallen and I can't get up" alarm for my mother-in-law. It activates a modified security alarm with auto dial-out capability to dial up to 5 phone numbers in sequence and play a pre-recorded message that she needs help. Beats paying a $150 a month for a monitored service, and it does the job reliably.

When activated by the remote unit, a small DC motor is driven back and forth which moves an Infrared LED across the front of the intruder alarm, which it thinks is some scumbag breaking into your house, and it calls the authorities to come and bag the guy up and take him to the morgue.

There may be a way to do some "technology transfer" and get closer to solving your problem Brettski. The motor could be used to drive the choke lever maybe.

Let me have a few more cups of Java and see if any great revelations come my way today.

Lee

Prowling around on EBay, I noticed this .. which provides a variable output voltage from 0 to 5 volts rather than a relay closure. Voltage is increased or decreased with a pair of "up/down" buttons.

The published "power required specs" are weird though .. says 36 volts .. which logic would tell me is a max, with it most likely running on 12 volts.

http://cgi.ebay.com/RF-Wireless-Dynamic-...1742.m153.l1262

B'ski, I just don't see a problem. You have a wife. Just tell her to go start the generator. What could be easier?

Dave ... let me guess ... you're single right?

Here's what I've come with so far Brettski ....


Here are a few links to a servo driver which will take the switched output of the RC receiver and run a servo to any position throughout its range of movement by means of pressing the "up/down" buttons.

Cost is $20 from these folks http://www.york-electronics.com/index.htm

You can jump right to a nice little video which explains & shows it works ... you can ignore some of the advanced features like servo sweep ... most of what you'll want to see is in the first half of the video to get the idea.

As the builder is pushing on the buttons on the servo driver, envision yourself pushing the buttons on the RC unit from inside the house, and it doing the pushing of the buttons on the servo driver via the relays on the board of the RC unit. The servo responds to your commands via the servo driver into which your servo is plugged as per the video.

You'll need to solder a pair of wires onto the "up/down" switch contacts of the servo driver circuit board, and then attach those wires to the relay contacts of the RC receiver.

http://www.york-electronics.com/videos/ytv_wmv_cycler.wmv

Here's a suitable RC unit which uses on/off functions rather than the one I mentioned earlier with variable output voltages, this one was mentioned by a previous poster. http://cgi.ebay.com/RF-Wireless-Remote-C...1742.m153.l1262

Took me quite a few hours to track this little unit down Brettski, I hope it isn't too complicated for you ... just thinkin' out loud, if the soldering onto the circuit board is going to be troublesome for you, I'll bet the builder of the servo driver would solder on some pigtails for you if you asked.

There still is the matter of getting this to run directly from the 12 volt battery in your gen-set, but we can work on that later. In the meantime, this could be run by 4 D cell flashlight batteries for a very long time.

Regards,
Lee

Well, now I'm reduced to replying to my own threads .. LOL

Since doing all that other websurfing, I stumbled across this RC unit which will work from 12 volts directly, do away with the RC servo, and allow you to control a DC motor position directly.

Here's the link to the RC unit. http://cgi.ebay.com/12V-DC-motor-bidirec...tem150225796442

You'll use that to drive a geared DC motor like this one with an arm added to run to the choke lever. http://www.allelectronics.com/cgi-bin/item/DCM-276/400400/5_RPM_GEAR_MOTOR,_12VDC_.html

A much simpler process all round ... what's the expression? Too late we grow smart, too soon we grow old?

How's that one sound Brettski?

Lee