All right, I'm an utter newb at electronics, but I volunteered to be the electric guy for my team anyway. So I kind of get the gist of the diagram I've been given but I don't really know what a KSI Interlocks is (it says that outside of a dotted-line box around the keyswitch) nor do I know 6AMP Diode Reverse Protection is or does.
Also, what kinds of things did you guys use for the manual disconnect? =X
Congratulations for taking on that role in your team!
Since I'm not looking at the same diagram, I could be wrong, but KSI is probably Key Switch Indicator or Key Switch Ignition.
The diode is like a one-way valve for electrons. It's not "required", but prevents damage in case the power connections are ever accidently connected in reverse polarity (backward).
Popular manual disconnects are switches and circuit breakers. The circuit breaker combines the switch and the fuse functions. However, they can also corrode inside and cause headaches. Since they aren't easy to inspect, I lean toward a separate fuse and switch. Anyone else have opinions about this?