Wasted $300 on a remote control system that was junk

I bought a cheap wireless remote for my overhead crane off eBay last month. It lost signal twice while I was lifting a 2-ton beam, scared me half to death. Has anyone else had bad luck with those budget remotes?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_jamie1mo agoMost Upvoted

Betting the interference from the crane motor itself is what kills those cheap receivers... they're not shielded for industrial noise at all.

baker.holly1mo ago

Jumping in here - the crane motor interference idea is close but it's usually the VFD (variable frequency drive) that causes the most noise on those cheap receivers, not the motor itself. I've had a couple jobs where a client insisted on a bargain remote and the VFD just wiped it out completely around 15 feet away. The motor windings can throw some noise too but it's the VFD's high frequency switching that really fries those unshielded boards.

gray_morgan1mo ago

Jamie, baker.holly is right - the VFD is way worse than the motor for interference.