"so much to do, no rest for the wicked, "
Know what you mean DG!🤔
Good luck with your endeavours👍
Doug

Thanks JB,
I looked on eBay and found 7 hobbywing ones for £15.00 including postage so bought them. Should arrive Monday.
Also looking at a couple of 6v ESC's so I will be able to reverse the thruster.
Thanks for the tips I am loving this learning curve into wider world of electronics.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Colin, same thoughts as Doug, some pics of adjustable voltage regulators and the 5V-6V UBEC I'm using. You can get UBECs up to 12v 8A+ but the cost goes up a bit. Try Ali Express and just type in UBEC and you'll see a lot of options. You would have to do any reversing on the output side (see an idea I put in the 'how to' section using a toggle switch and servo)
JB

"...PS Welcome back DG..."

Thanks - but I may only be around for a short time - so much to do, no rest for the wicked, etc, etc...

Hi Colin.
Ref Radar "what speed should it rotate at?"
I lot would depend on the scale.
On my HMS Cottesmore at 1/48 scale I have it rotating at approximately one complete revaluation every two seconds.
If you look on my Cottesmore's log you will be able to see it rotating.
That might give you an idea as to your decision.
The top rotating scanner is approximately two and a half inches if that helps.

Martin555.

Thanks Dg, I'll have a look in my electronic bits box to see if I have any. I like the idea, it looks neat and easy to install.
Cheers Colin.

".... is it possible to to reverse direction through this as the bow thruster needs to be reversible. As for the radar motor I had thought about resistors..."

Resistors get a bit hot, and need to be a bit large.... I tend to use diodes for voltage dropping. One set will conduct current one way - put a parallel opposite set in if you want current to flow both ways.

Just set up your system with whatever controls you want - RN suggests an esc for the bow thruster - and if the output voltage is too fierce, make up a little voltage dropper cable. Here is a pic of one of mine - a few diodes in some heatshrink...

Thanks Doug,
Will have a look at the details, but looks like quantum physics to me. I'm only a humble engineer with little knowledge of the world of electronics.
I usually have to work from pictures.
I have just tried the radar motor and it looks fine on 1.5v, what speed should it rotate at?
As for the bow thruster, do I use an Esc. or a reversing switch.
The lights have been connected via a switch.
When I was trying to set the rudder servo I was using my servo tester as I always have, but when I did it with the rx it over rotated and jammed??? Never had that problem before.
Will get back to you on the commander refurb.
Cheers Colin.

Evening Commander (😉)
First the 6V loads-
What you need is a 6V voltage regulator tacked on to the 12V supply.
Simplest way is a 3 pin IC regulator (looks like a power transistor😉) from the L78xx series.
The xx stands for the output voltage, so here L or LM or MC 7806.
Thing to watch for when buying is their current capability, most are only 1Amp. There are some around for 1.5A or even 3A. Check your usual component supplier, or Google around (don't let Caroline catch you 😉)
Attached is a datasheet for a 1.5A version. Fig. 3. shows how to wire it into yout 12V supply.
Don't worry about the capacitors. They are intended for mains derived supplies to suppress voltage transients on the input, which you won't get from a battery. The cap on the output is to suppress transients from the load when you switch it on. Not worth worrying about if the thruster motor is small. But if you happen to have a 0.1uF (100nF or 104 code often printed on the ceramic) ceramic plate cap kicking about ... NOT an electrolytic can type!💥
https://www.google.com/search?q=0.1uf+capacitor&client=firefox-b-d&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=aT8JdfspcXDrEM%253A%252CkimvVilj_2DqfM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kQAb-VMPkepdmZJ-2Vd36rwOQKpWA&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiKpbOmxqbkAhVIYVAKHTOBC80Q9QEwDHoECAcQHA#imgrc=aT8JdfspcXDrEM:

Bow thruster-
Just use a small ESC same as for propulsion.😊
What current does the thruster motor draw?
Radar motor won't drink a lot I would think.
Mine (converted servo) runs on a D size 1.5V dry cell for months! I don't bother with an RC switch for radar, just switch on (by inserting the battery!😊) at launching. Cheap n cheerful but woiks!

BTW; if you want to turn on the proverbial sixpence (that's dime for our colonial brothers😁)
fit a stern thruster as well, wire it's motor back to front and feed it from the same ESC via a Y cable. Don't disappear down your own funnel though 😮😮

Another way is a so called Universal BEC.
This supplies power to the RX and connected loads. Some can cope with up to 5A.
Google UBEC.
Minor snag is that all the ones I've seen so far are 5V! Might be enough ?
If you go this way disconnect ALL red power leads in the cables from ESCs to RX IF they have BECs, or they'll fight each other!
Cheers, Doug 😎
BTW How's your Commander Commander?
I seem to be missing some refit progress reports 😠
(Drums fingers on desk while pouring a tot of calming Pusser's Rum!)
OK Grauer Burgunder actually😊
PS Welcome back DG👍

Thanks dg, is it possible to to reverse direction through this as the bow thruster needs to be reversible. As for the radar motor I had thought about resistors. Electrics aren't my strong point, I can cope with the basic drive motor and direction servos, but this model is a bit too complicated for me. I have already blown an esc while testing this evening as the rudder servo over rotated and jammed.
Cheers Colin.

Where there are a few light duty motors on a boat running at a lower voltage than the main battery I first use a voltage step-down regulator to determine the desirable voltage - something like this:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Component-New-Buck-Module-Voltage-Regulator-Power-Panel-Step-Down-Converter/372713065954?hash=item56c76e0de2:g:CR8AAOSwatddLAVs

They are cheap enough to leave in circuit - but if you want the lowest cost I use a series of diodes in the power line to the motor - each silicon diode drops voltage about 0.7 of a volt. 8 diodes would give you about 6v from 12v....