Yes Roy. Saving those servos is a great idea. The ones I mentioned have a built in direction and speed controller. They work out great for powering a small boat. I removed the gear between the output shaft going to the potentiometer. Fwd, stop, rev (with speed control) all built into a single unit.

If using a servo to operate something like a radar bar, the pot can be used to tweak the speed.

I also use a servo to operate a dpdt center off switch that operates a linear movement with stop switches.

Lew

Hi all, I never throw out servos, just strip out the motors as they are good quality, and/or the gear box. With a bit of cutting of plastic gives a low speed continuous drive gearbox for driving a radar unit powered by a single dry cell.
Rotary connection can be with a fine piece length of piano wire which hardly shows.

Older servos can be updated with a change of connection lead. Servo lead extension wires are very cheap and with a bit of checking and identifing old servo leads connection. On all rx's that take current standard servo leads the negative is toward outside of the rx case, next and central is the plus or positive wire and innermost is the signal wire.
Sanwa have the plus and minus swapped and also Fleet but they went further by also changing the shape of the connector, which in my opinion was just to be awkward.
I would cut off the old type connector and cut the extension in half and join the wires as appropriate. Ideally use heat shrink tubing to insulate the soldered joint.

Catching up to servos on sale now which in general are more powerful. The small 9 gram servo at around £1.50 each if sourced on the Internet gives half a kilo thrust at 1cm and can operate most rudders on displacement boats on a 750cm hull.

For sail winches I use standard metal gear servos with an extension arms. The old sail servos apart from a double drum winch which is still in use at 60 years old(!) is a good one.

I had a Fleet sail winch bought new which never worked properly despite the owner of Fleet actually blaming the traffic on the road outside and refusing to do anything about it. Also the 27Mhtz short aerial gave ultra short range as well. The Fleet pre-proportional sets were very good so a bit mixed about them as a manufacturer.

The Futaba receivers with lots of coils to set up were too much of a problem but the transmitters were super. Matched with a Micron receiver they were excellent, that was a kit to build yourself and worked every time. I made 3 of them.

I suspect that most receivers were really for aircraft and receivers with an electric motor drive had not been taken into account. The old esc's had a large voltage drop 1.4 volts in some cases and the motor drive current had to go through the 2 o/p transistors which means 10 amps at 1.4 volts is 14 Watts of power lost to the motors but dissipated across the o/p transistors as heat and needed a big heat sink.

So I do not use these as I can get a 10 amp esc with no heat sink the size of a postage stamp for the price of a servo. The good bit is that everything seems to work together a triumph of all working from the same specs. There are some very small anomolies in servo neutral positions regarding the mark/space ratio of the servo position which could have a 500 microsecond difference.
That is why transmitter servo neutral may differ between servos which will need a small adjustment.

The transmitted frequency will vary in different countries but virtually all 40Mhtz in the UK came in as 35 Mhtz sets and have a 40 mHtz inserted. Witness my Fleet Plainsman (40 Mhtz) Tx. has a 35 Mhtz label on the base.

There is something to check with old electronic RC which is 'black wire syndrome'. I had a transmitter which was a problem, eventually I found the negative wire from the battery pack after stripping back the insulation, was all black. It was basically open circuit.

I replaced the wire and then found another and now it works without problem. I am guessing that it is a soldered joint that starts the black wire problem. Most commercial batteries are welded and I have not seen a problem with them.
I would welcome opinion on this.
Roy

First radio was a Heathkit 4 channel system (1972). Had to assemble it including all the components, some standing on end to conserve space. No IC's. The radio is packed away somewhere, but the servos are the drive motors with a built in speed controller curcuit. They are in my 1/35 scale LCM 53 years later.

Lew

As I recall our first radio was a McGregor unit but I don't believe it was proportional. Single channel as well. I remember the advert "Wee McGregor is in control" Early '70's when my father was stationed at RAF Woodbridge.😊

The capacitor can be thrown out as it does not belong.
Looks a little sad but a good clean will improve it no end. I think the 'Standard' is the best of Taycol motors, enjoy it!
Roy

Taycol Standard?

I have just received my first Taycol motor, that I purchased on eBay for the princely sum of £18.94 including post and pack.

Unfortunately it was delivered by EVRI - a courier that does not have a very good record or reputation in this area.

The package was late arriving and so it arrived when I was away, and in true local EVRI fashion it was dumped on the doorstep in the pouring rain and left there unattended over the weekend!

Our local postman found it this morning and put it in the shed for us (the designated "safe place" that EVRI should have used) with a note to let us know that he had placed it into safe keeping for us but that it was already soaking wet! Very kind of him as he has nothing to do with EVRI ......and I wish I didn't either !

If it had been sent by GPO it would have got here much faster and been given a lot more care - it would not have been dumped on a wet doorstep and left unattended !

Anyway, the seller did pack it well and as I cut away the Gaffa Tape wrapping that totally mummified it, the water run out and the soggy corrugated card that was wrapped around it was gently scraped away with my thumbnail.

I believe that the motor is a Taycol Standard?

I am not into electronics, but I guess that the cracked cylinder on the front of the motor was a type of "capacitor" that had been fitted to try to prevent interference from the motor affecting some other electronic device - such as a radio control receiver?

Because the grey coloured "cracked cylinder" clearly looks like it is "past its best", I doubt that removing it is likely to have any adverse affect?

The motor will be allowed to dry-out gently and the "capacitor" will be removed before I strip and clean the motor to tidy it up before adding any power to see it if actually runs.

Bob.

Meccano/Mamod one. I've not seen the Meccano vertical boiler.

Hi are you talking about the Meccano/Mamod steam engine? Or the old vertical Meccano one?
Roy

It is interesting to see these older models when they come round. I always look out for them on displays at the fairs, not that I am in the market to buy just interested. Although I am occasionally offered things like the Meccano steam boiler a friend passed on to me earlier this year.

Hi Colin it is a 3 pole motor and runs very smoothly from a few revs to full speed. This one was from an Indian Meccano type constuction set called Mek-a-Tek.

Their are no more, a friend bought a job lot of 50 on ebay and I had the last ones.
Roy

I too like the look of that motor. How many poles has it got on the armature?

That looks really nice Roy - I have not seen one of those before - and your bearing repair will keep it running for some time to come.

I have not been able to find any 1/16" Paxolin anywhere online yet - the thinnest listed is 3mm, (which would be OK) but that is mostly out of stock everywhere too.

The search is far from over, but my initial findings are that it is not going to be quite as easy to buy some Paxolin as I had hoped it would be.

I have also checked under the brand name Tufnol but again, the thin sizes are proving a little illusive.

When I was a young lad Paxolin was very cheap and plentiful and was used for circuit boards (and even flat plate engine mounts for control line aircraft) etc. Now it is getting harder to find and is more expensive!

Bob.

Hi Bob, re bearings.
In my collection of motors I have 2 similar motors to old Taycol and Trix. Where they came from not sure maybe India but I have seen one which was in a boat made in UK in 1948.
They have a vertical magnet and the end plates of thin aluminium are held apart by aluminium tubes, it is very crude.

I put in a bearing very simple, just close fitting brass tube and an outer tube for strength.
I disembled the motor and used a tapered reamer to slowly open the hole to be a push fit for brass tube bearing. I also soldered on a backing brass washer for appearances sake. They have worked very well. I superglued them in place.

The motor is surprisingly powerful for such a crude design.

Roy

Hi Roy,

I am looking forward to finding a Standard Taycol motor to play with, but to date I have never had one in my hands to take a good look at.

Having 10 Taycol motors to play with must be a real joy!

The Taycol site suggest that they were all made with plain bearings that could just be a hole on the Paxolin end plates, but in some cases up to three layers of round Paxolin discs were held inside a moulded end housing.

With this in mind I have been encouraged to find one of my own to play with as I should be able to make most of the parts/bearings needed from 1/16 Paxolin sheet in my shed.

Apparently, excessive "play" in the bearings on some models simply required the Paxolin end plates to be replaced as the hole that the shaft passes through had worn into an oval shape!

I have also read that those that have the three layers of Paxoin discs held in a cover mounted on the end plates can be alternately rotated to extend the running life before they have to be replaced.

With so many sizes of miniature ball bearings being so readily available these days, it would also be quite a simple job to drill a bigger hole in the end plates and insert one to convert the motor to be ball raced, although I understand that the factory never made Amy motors that came with these ball bearings from new (?).

Bob.

Hi Bob, my 'Standard' has what look like bearings, large black plastic ones.

I think it is the combination of copper on copper that is the problem and the oil adds to the lovely smell!

I had a re-count on boxes of motors it is now 10.
Roy

Hmmmm, I thought the brushes would be the "achilles heel" of these motors as they look like they are a circular assembly of copper strands that press against the unusual circular disk commutator plate.

Apparently, replacement brushes can be made from rolled 60 gauge copper mesh sheet rolled around a bar the same diameter as the guide rods and then soldered onto the feed wires.

Strangely, these brushes need to be oiled to prevent premature wear (!), something that would never be contemplated with any other type of electric motor?

The other area of wear would presumably be the bearings (or the lack of them) as the shaft simply runs through the 1/16" Paxolin end plate.

The larger motors have three layers of Paxolin sheet to make up the bearings, so as long as I can find a motor with the windings in good condition, I should be able to either make it run, or keep it running with simple shed-made replacement parts?

I am really looking forward to finding a good used Taycol motor to play with.

The bigger motors would probably be the best, but I do like the sound of the "Standard" motor when it is running, so one of those would be very appealing

Bob.

Hi Z, I have never thought of replacing the brushes. I only keep the motors as a collector would.

I think you could try a set of round section carbon brushes, mount them in a brass tube with a spring under compression to keep them against the commutator. Might have to drill holes in the sides as there is not much room.
Roy

I will give that some thought Roy as it is a possibility with plenty of space available to accommodate it in some of my larger Classic Model Power Boats.

Meanwhile, I need to find out how to make a pair of brushes for a Taycol Standard as I like the sound of this motor (very therapeutic) and the brushes will be the first thing I will need to replace when I find one.

How would you replace them on your Standard motor Roy when they are needed Roy?

Bob.

Have you thought of featuring the Taycol motor in the model but having another motor driving it through the other end of the shaft?

It could easily be hidden but driving the Taycol motor. So no interference from power to the brushes.

You can hide things by matching colours and painting unwanted things "out".

Roy

Hi Roy,

After reading some more, I think I will stick with modern electric motors to power my Classic Model Power Boats - but I would like a Standard Taycol - just to play with and listen to (I like the sound it makes) ........and from what you say - enjoy the smell too🤣

My guess is that the brushes would be the first things to replace - what do you use to make them from?

Bob.

Hi Z, the remark about the optimal placing of the coil giving a different speed, I do not think this is correct.
Other smaller Taycol motors with a reverse coil have a smaller winding for reverse.

Note that a lot of the fibre support plates are all much the same size and the Standard has double plates rather than a thicker plate.

I read many years ago when they were on sale that there are red and blue painted motors to denote different voltages. Mainly 6 volts and 12 volts. I can't prove that though.

I sometimes have a Taycol hour and get them all out to play!
Roy

The Standard seems to run unevenly but good torque. The Double special is only about 60 or so watts and weighs rather a lot.
A pity we do not have You (smelly) tube then you would get the full effect!
Roy

Taycol Double Special.

It turns-out that there are a lot of Taycol motors on YourTube to watch and enjoy, I wont post any more, but these give a good oversight as to what is available to view.





Bob

Taycol Standard.

This YouTube clip of a new Taycol Standard being unpacked from its box and being stripped and reassembled is very interesting.

The sound of the motor running came a quite a surprise - really nice.

The one that I was looking at on eBay sold for £16.00.

Bob.

https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview/relatedvideo?q=Taycol+Electric+Motors&mid=3F6F0F0B97D9F6A7434B3F6F0F0B97D9F6A7434B&FORM=VIRE

The one that I was looking at on eBay sold for £16.00.

Bob.

Hi Roy,

It would be good to have a list (with pictures if possible) of the Taycol electric motors for those of us with little or no knowledge of them as they are an interesting part of our early Radio Control Experiences.

They have a good reputation for being durable.

Back in the day they were considered to be quite an expensive option to power our Classic Model Power Boats with, but in fairness, most of us preferred to use a glow engine so that probably had an effect on their popularity too.

I will see if I can find any information about their range and different models that they made as it would be nice to run one.

This link looks like it could be quite informative:-

http://www.taycol.tk

Bob.

Hi Zooma, just search Taycol electric motors. The one at £40 is over priced. What with them being heavy postage is a bit high.
The Standard is the powerful one of the smaller ones.
The permanent magnet ones will have lost a lot of the power of the magnet, due to time. Using additional small extremely powerful magnet like neodimium may help.

It works for the Trix electric motor enough to make the motor reverse while running.

If you look on web site "Dodgey Geezer" you can learn all you need to know. Although improved now, I worked out the way to reverse them using a full wave rectifier. There are pictures of a 1 : 4 gear reduction unit that is a photo of my one.

They are a bit fussy with radio, I think with 2.4 Ghtz and a switch or mechanical controller they may work. They generate a lot of interference with the sparking on the commutator, but always worth a try.
Roy

Hi Roy,

The only Taycol motor I can see on the UK eBay at the moment Roy is this one.

It is described as being a "Taycol Standard".

I know nothing about these motors (or electronics for that matter) but what looks like a capacitor(?) appears to have seen better days as it is split and cracked.

Bob.

There always seem to be Taycol motors on sale on ebay. Currently there are a pair of Comet motors in tatty boxes. There were the first of the Taycols but had permanent magnets in them.
I have one in my collection and still working and even has that lovely smell of electricity oil.
Roy

I have some still working DEAC batteries. I bought them new when we used to have Government surplus shops.
Anybody remember working through all the bits and pieces piled high and sold cheap?

I used to look for electric motors, often cheap, but ex-aircraft were often 24 volts, but excellent quality.
My first speed controller, well not exactly controller. It was sequencer which had 2 latching relays slow, fast, reverse, slow, forward. It was adapted from data processing equipment.

There were two coils on each relay and I had to rewind both coils on 2 relays, they latched and unlatched 4 contacts.
One relay dealt with direction the other switched dry batteries from parallel to series connection then back.

There was a simple bit of electronics that pulsed both coils each time but only one had work to do. I was amazed at how reliable it was.
Still got the relays and the Kako 4 motor.
Roy

That is a really nice piece of nostalgia that you have there luckyduck. I was especially interested in your mention of the original Taycol motor still working perfectly.

I must find myself a nice working example of a Taycol motor to fit into one of my Classic Model Power Boat restorations as it would be a nice "time related" way to power one of them.

Strangely, almost all of the old hulls that I have picked-up to restore either had (or used to have) ic engines in them. I was hoping that something I took on would have a Taycol motor in it, but nothing has turned-up in need of a rebuild with one fitted in it yet!

Bob.

I think I can probably go back older in an original RC unit than most of you. My uncle built a model of a coastal Shell tanker in the late 1950's (bread and butter scratch built using red cedar), with radio control by Radio and Electronic Products. I only ever saw the model working under RC once at Blackheath pond in London around 1960. He entered the model into the Boat Show model boat section in 1960, and came second. For my 21st birthday he gave me the model and its second place penant, both of which I still have, and in the last year or two I have finally installed modern RC. Otherwise the model is original still with its ancient Taycol motor which works perfectly.
Because the receiver was reed based, it never worked properly, and even the electronic boffins at A&AEE Boscombe Down (an experimental RAF base in Wiltshire, England) could never get it working!! Finally though it has had some outings this last year, and still draws admiring looks

I am having some problems finding any pictures of my first 4 channel SANWA transmitter from the early 1970's, but I have found this later picture of one from the early 1980's.

The style of the radio did not change a lot, but if I remember correctly, the 1970's version was better looking with a sliver and chrome finish?

I also found this version of the Excellence 2 which I think is even more recent - possibly from the late 80's/early 90's?

.......but my search for some pictures of the early SANWA 4 channel radio from the early 1970's continues.......

Bob.

When we got married and moved to Exmouth in 1971, I was expecting my Aerokits Swordsman, and my pair of Vic Smeed powerboats (Remora and Suzie Q) to get a lot of use in this coastal town.

Imagine my surprise when nobody in the immediate area was interested in model boats at that time, but very much into model aircraft !

After many trips to Woodbury Common to chat with the r/c modellers who were flying their aircraft, any doubts about missing some local water that was in regular use for model boats was dispelled - there was none, and nobody locally ventured into the sea with a model boat either!

After some time, I eventually built a Keil Kraft Super 60 to learn to fly with on Woodbury Common and needed a 4 channel radio to go with it.

At that time the local model shop (Exmouth Models) was just around the corner from where we were living, a very well stocked little shop with an enthusiastic owner but they were not allowed to stock Futaba radio due being close (!) to Exeter where a model shop already stocked the brand! (that wouldn't happen these days!).

The owner needed to be able to sell radio control so he decided to give the new Japanese SANWA brand a go as it looked smart and had good write-ups.

So my first 4 channel radio with proportional control was a SANWA, and it looked very smart and well made. I was delighted with it as it was the poshest looking radio I had ever seen or owned at that time.

Sadly, I cannot find any pictures of this radio to share here, but it was all silver and chrome and felt really good in the hand and had a very powerful output!

Most of the local flyers had also chosen to support the local model shop and also used SANWA r/c, but anyone that didn't was not too keen to stand close to anyone that did!

Anyone who was not using SANWA radio was likely to get "swamped" if they stood too close to anyone that was using SANWA radio, but this turned out to be a problem with the other older radio sets and not a problem with the SANWA radios.

As time went on and the new model shop in Exmouth continued to flourish they began to stock and sell other brands alongside SANWA radios and they didn't seem to be affected by any "swamping", so the problem was eventually considered to only affect some of the older radios that were being used.

The 35meg radios that were used for flying model aircraft at that time needed to use their own matching brand of crystals, and experimenting with fitting alternative brands did not always end too well (!), so everyone used crystals that were made by the manufacturer of the radio type they has chosen to use.

The introduction of 2.4 gig radio control systems really did make the use of radio control systems so much easier and comparatively trouble free.

Bob.

As far as RC gear, I had a Derek Olley switch job which was excellent. Then an Acoms set and possibly another. Then I saw the Micron 6 ch. 27Mhtz FM kit. I bought and soldered up a 6 ch. Tx. and a rx. I subsequently made 3 more rx's and also converted the servo o/p sockets to current type.

At the time the Futaba rx. was all tuning coils and my one was 'difficult' The Micron rx. was excellent and easy to set up and use. This was all 27Mhtz FM and I have a few pairs of crystals for FM.

When the 35Mhtz band came out I bought a 27Mhtz FM Futaba M3 with rx. lovely thing and still use it. The rx. not so good.

The FM Futaba rx I sent off for repair to a specialist company for repair or to get it working. Putting a note with the Rx that it was 27Mhtz.

I got it back quite quickly but it did not work. I phoned the company and told them and also said it was tuned to 35 when I has specifically said it was 27. The guy at the other end hotly denied it and went on a bit about the company etc.

I let him finish and asked him, "Did he want the 35Mhtz crystal back that was in the rx.?"

It was retuned after I sent it back but it was nowhere near as good as the Micron one.

Roy

Hi I started doing/learning electronics when I joined the RAF. It was valves back then. You get assessed as to what you can do and I was allowed to choose. I just wanted to work on aircraft and I opted for radar.

It was fascinating when I left I joined what became a computer company but I was an electronics specialist. About 1964 transistors were starting to appear in data processing equipment, although very expensive, due to a high failure rate during production.

Then a few years later the DIY electonic magazines came out and I built a model railway controller with all sorts of extras, still got it.
After that I was hooked. It is open house if anyone wants any of the old power transistors OC29s etc, I have a lot I will never use.
Roy

My introduction into electronics is when I asked my father for my own radio to listen to, he bought me a book on how to build a crystal set. After successfully building the set I was given a present of a Phillips Electronic Engineer Set, that started me on the downhill path into electronics.

Ah.... the old days! Back when we took the creative path. Still some kids do that, but there are too many "easy" paths which has lead to the downfall of many hobbies.

Lew

I was an electronics hobbyist in my early teens and I would buy magazines like 'Wireless World', Practical Electronics', Elektor' and 'Everyday Electronics' and built stuff for fun and to learn the basics of electronic design and construction.

One issue of Practical Electronics in June 1968 really caught my imagination as it featured a design for a radio control for a boat. The boat they used for the project was the ever popular AeroKits 'RAF Crash Rescue Tender'.

Now at the time of publication I was barely thirteen years old so the electronics were way beyond me at that time but the article inspired me a few years later to construct the Crash Tender as a project with a school friend.

I didn't build the radio system for it but I bought a MacGregor DigiMac 1+1 system as it was far cheaper and easier than trying to build an ancient design.

I still have that magazine, the pages are yellow and faded, a bit like me 😆, and it makes for quite nostalgic reading for me!

I found some pics of the MacGregor system on the web just now and as I remember it the items in the pictures are exactly what I had in my boat.

A few years later I sold the lot and bought a tape recorder.......but that's another story!😁

Thanks for that RodC.

I still have the original plans that I built my first Susie Q from (and the two Model Maker magazines that featured it in 1965), and one of my many future projects is to build another one!

These original plans have faded badly over the years due to the way that they were printed at the time........and they still have the original 5 shillings and 6 pence price printed on them!

Suzie Q first appeared in the March 1965 edition of Model Maker and was featured on the cover of the April 1965 edition the following month along with the second part of the build review.

I chose to build my Suzie Q from plywood and not build it as an all balsa wood model like the prototype as I wanted mine to run with an ENYA 19 Marine glow plug engine.

The plans also show the grid lines that I drew on them as I scaled it up ready to build a 36" version in the future (never got built), but more recently I spoke with Will who also produced some drawings for a scaled-up variant that may get built.

I hope it does as a 36" Suzie Q (Big Suzie) would look good and should go very well.

The prototype Susie Q was run on a single channel radio system, so it is definitely a model that is "at home" in this section of Early Radio Control Experiences 👍

Bob.

Sadly I know that feeling only too well Ed.

Old age reduces your reflexes, power and speed - and that's even before we get started with any version of Top Trumps for any physical (or mental) age related problems that we have picked-up over the years.

I still race 1/12 and 1/10 r/c cars most weeks to keep my hand to eye co-ordination as sharp as possible.......but always come home with a sense of sadness when I think about how much better I would be if I were 50 years younger!

........but also quite pleased that I can keep up and sometimes even set the pace!

Bob.

Zooma please note

Hi Bob, no chance, it took good reactions then and I have slowed down a lot
Ed 🤣

That is a true classic EdW, and quite a rare beast.

Have you ever been tempted to fit it into a boat and give it a run to remember what it was like to drive with all those switches?

Bob.

I started with an OS Pixie single channel radio and then progressed to 10 channel reed set, this gave 5 servos.
I still have the radio. Pictured below is the transmitter, receiver and a servo.

Thanks Fogwall,

That is a nice picture of the MacGregor Digimac 111, three stick radio that I was given back in 1971/2 when we lived in Exmouth.

It looks just like it did when my wife gave it to me for Christmas that year.

I also had one of the "new" Futaba radio sets that came out in the late 1960's, I remember that mine came with a pair of 17M servos. The "M" was thought to signify that it was waterproof for Marine use?

It also came with a pair of linear servos! Rather than having a rotary output, the output arms slid backwards and forwards.

The linear servo was not an idea that lasted too long as Futaba dropped them quite quickly in favour of the rotary servo that has since become the standard for all servos that come supplied in radio outfits since then.

When you look back at these two early proportional radios, the modern radio case shape has become much nicer to hold - both these two early sets were quite narrow in comparison.

I think the manufacturers were still thinking about the single channel radio cases they had been using before making these early proportional radio sets?

Bob.

I used to live in Hampstead and there are several sailing boat ponds there. One of them was renovated with 4 inch diameter piles along the bank. This would be in the early 60s.

I saw a young man with all his family there to watch the launch of his kit built ASR diesel powered boat.

The radio control was press and hold for left. Pulse release and hold for right.
He started the diesel and set her off in the water, but she was fast and this was the first (and last) run.
He pressed the switch, the boat went left and into the wood piles along the bank travelling along it and hit most of the wood piles on the way!
The model was destroyed in no more than 10 seconds and sank.

I suspect eagerness had taken over from testing, very sad but I always wondered if it put him off?

Roy

As we are discussing radio gear, my first radio was an ABC mini sonic, 27mhz, super regen (meaning I couldn't use it if there was anyone else sailing within range). One button for left, right, and throttle. I bought it with help from mum & dad for ten quid from the Model Shop, Manchester. I think it was on Deansgate. We lived just outside Stockport at the time.

I made a plywood box (like a shoebox, but with a swept up bow), put a little mabuchi motor in it and saved up for a 6 volt lead acid battery. I used to take it to the lake at Poynton and was amazed that it actually floated and I could steer it around, though it was very slow, but I don't think I could have kept up with the steering at anything above walking pace.

Hi Bob. I think this is what you're after. I remember them well. It was considered a bit of a weird arrangement by my aeromodelling mate as he seemed to think it implied a pilot with 3 hands 🤔. The later ones were of course more conventional.

The first Christmas that I enjoyed with my wife was in December 1971 and she bought me a McGregor 3 channel radio set to use with my Susie Q that I was just completing at the time.

This was an unusual set that actually had three joysticks !

The two regular positioned joysticks for throttle and steering were in the usual positions, but a third joystick was positioned below them and would have been perfect for adjusting the trim control flaps fitted to the transom.

I can find no pictures of this radio - can anyone help?

Bob.

Hi again Fogwall. I used to have a Kinematic actuator, they were very interesting. It went missing 30 years ago now.
However, 2 weeks ago a recently met (again) son of a friend said he was clearing his dad's stuff and said would I like this?
It was a Graupner Kinematic all nice and clean with instructions in it's original box. I was very happy!
I will post a picture soon.
Roy