Build a Controller for the 165 or 182 Gantry Crane

I thought it would be difficult to build a 165C replacement controller until I looked closely at the wiring diagram.  You may recall that (contrary to the 282) you can rotate the cab and raise or lower the hook simultaneously; you just have to be careful not to push the wrong two buttons or the motor will stall.  Well, I decided to improve on the controller design and reduce the switches from five to three and eliminate two of the button combinations that stall the motor.  A further improvement is to add a Light Emitting Diode (LED) on the controller to indicate when the magnet is actuated.  This provides an indication that the magnet is on.  I also decided to terminate transformer power at the controller instead of the crane.  Refer to the diagram for wiring details.

 Parts needed are:

1 ea terminal strip with 6 screw posts (output to crane)

1 ea terminal strip with 2 screw posts (input from transformer)

1 ea single pole, single throw switch.  This turns on the magnet and the cab light as well as the LED on the controller.  (part C in the diagram)

2 ea double pole, double throw, center off, momentary switches.   (part A and B in the diagram)  Switch 'A' in the "UP" position raises the cable and lowers the cable in the "DOWN" position.  (You can't operate both functions at once as in the original controller because the switch turns one off while it turns the other on.)  Switch 'B' in the "UP" position rotates the cab left and rotates it right in the "DOWN" position.  (This also eliminates another button combination that would stall the motor.)  You can operate both switches together in either both "UP" or both  "DOWN".

1 ea red LED with limiting resistor

1 ea Utility Box 3"x2"x1.5" (or whatever size you wish)

Note:  Since we now are supplying power to the controller, we don’t use the terminals on the crane base at all.  However, you MUST connect controller wire 6 to the crane ground.