Response

Re: Enclosing the controls.

Hi Alan. You are correct, I had tucked that leg of the alongside the ESC and probably would have used that position but I'll take your advice and move it away as far as practical. I'll put it in a thin plastic tube at the front of the enclosure so it will be correctly distanced as you rightly suggest. I had not considered that any nasty RFI from the ESC (or any other acronyms 😉) would be an issue with 2.4G kit. The other leg of the is passed through a hole in the side wall of the well deck into the hull cavity and extends forward, it's also above the waterline too so that should be OK. The wires will be at 90 degrees to each other which I know is desirable too. BTW. I have developed the fan cooling of the motor a bit more so I'll post an update on that soon 😁. Thanks 👍👍. Rob.

3 months ago by robbob

Forum

What type of antenna is this?

The wire running between the masts is what radio hams call an inverted L, it is tuned against the hull of the boat and the seawater and unlike a half wave dipole it only needs to be a quarter wave long, or less with a loading coil and an tuning unit, often built into the transmitter. Common on many fishing boats in the days of the Trawler band, which is the frequency band a bit above medium wave. Trawler Band was also nicknamed FishFone.If you mean the loop on the wheelhouse, that is a Radio Direction Finder which became very popular just after WW11. This information comes to you courtesy of my Radio Ham partner.

3 months ago by Nerys

Forum

Receiver

You're talking about using one of these? https://www.rcworld.co.uk/acatalog/2-4Ghz-400mm-Extended--Pair-P_RA2_4G_400.html or on ebay... https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Futaba-2-4ghz-400mm-Extended-RX-/1504309322 So long as these are the advised spec by the manufacturer, why worry about the impedance? You might be interested in this discussion I had a little while ago on the Single Channel site about replacing 2.4Ghz s - points Martin made include: "......I tested all my detachable 2.4 GHz antennas and found quite a wide range of frequencies they were best tuned for, ranging from about 2.1 to 2.6 GHz - but they all work fine and have pretty good SWRs at the 2.45 GHz point. What was more interesting was testing various antennae that I've received for various pieces of kit over the years that run at 433 MHz, 5.8 GHz and the GPS frequencies of 1.2 and 1.6 GHz. Many of these are just 2.4 GHz antennas - I even have one that is labelled 433 MHz, but is really a 2.4 GHz and quite useless at 433 MHz!......." ".....It is important to realize that all the coax cables we use (all relatively light and thin) are all quite lossy at 2.4 GHz, so you shouldn't make the non-transmitting (intact cable) part any longer than it needs to be. if you have a foot or two of coax feeding the active part of the antenna (the modified bit at the end) then you can easily lose half of the available signal....." http://mode-zero.uk/viewtopic.php?f=52&t=389 I would also add that polarisation may become important when you have an close to a horizontal reflective plane like a lake. I suspect that you might get a lot of the signal coming at you horizontally polarised, which a vertically mounted won't like. For video output from a boat I've been using the circular polarised s that the drone operators use in an attempt to maintain signal at distance - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-4GHz-Circular-Polarized-clover-leaf-Antenna-set-with-short-connector-RP-SMA/253889968333?hash=item3b1d0578cd:g:YkEAAOSw5LZcZF3Y:rk:3:pf:0

3 months ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Receiver

The modern digital radio control Tx/Rx is attached directly to the device. I assume, as normally is, that the Tx/Rx connection impedance is 50 ohms. A quarter-wave vertical is also 50 ohms. Can one extend the using 50 ohm co-axial cable so as to leave Tx/Tx in hull and place on top of a mast?

3 months ago by SpiderBruce

Forum

Receiver

Hi there, I presume that you are referring to 2.4ghz radio system. I have various models using 2.4ghz and have not had to extend the reciever on any of them. Most only have about 50mm above the deck and I've been in full control up to 300 mtrs (28 acre lake) with the older 27mhz. Or 40mhz I have to have a fully extended to get a good reception at distance. Hope that this will help you. Cheers Colin.

3 months ago by Colin H

Response

Davits and falls

Hi Doug, Happy New Year. Boats all done and lashed down. Dreadnought had multiple s slung between the masts. As far as I can make out they were connected onwards to a fitting just about at deck level right at the stern and also I think below the forward jack stay. I would have expected there to be connections down to the bridge or the housing forward of the after funnel. None of the photos I have are clear enough to show all the rigging, so some extent I am going to have to guess. She must have had signal halyards from presumably the main yard, but again where did they come down to. The bridge does not have much open space around the main house, so they must have come down to the upper bridge to presumably a rack? Any ideas? I have fitted canvas dodgers around the bridge, but am not too happy with them. At this scale very difficult. We have good shipbuilding weather, -12c at midday today. They are ice fishing on our lake. Take care.

4 months ago by Gdaynorm

Blog

1/12th scale Cygnus GM32 Fishing Boat ''EXUBERENT DH142''

But not without incident ! On getting her out of car I snagged the 'Y' on top of 'A' Frame and that said goodbye to that and my dressed ship flags 😭 but apart from that all was good.

12 months ago by Ballast

Blog

1-35 Scale Schenllboot By TeeJay

Hi all this is my first blog, last year I post my intention to do a project about an RAF D boat that my Father served on and as a precursor to that build That I was going to do this S/E boat as the hull design is shared by both, and as plastic kit modeller the kit great the first stage was to put together the decks and superstructure as normal, with the exception of all the bits that would be easily broken as most kit aircraft modellers s and guns tend to brake ,so long ago I got into the habit of making these out brass rod or bar using a mini drill and a set of needle files, holding the drill in my left hand and the files in my right, when started this I saw the number of stanches I needed so I came across this little beauty a mini bead lathe it is a great bit of kit and not expensive less than £50 and plenty of types and accessories available so all the stanches s hand rails, gun rails, horn, and some of the components for the rudder and tiller were made on this lathe. so good time being had in my first radio control boat. the next post will show all the parts for the rudder/tiller setup ( I have reposted blog because I think I did not do it properly first time round)

7 months ago by teejay

Response

BRAVE BORDERER

Good to hear you are making progress with the noise. My ESCs are not programmable as far as I know (There may be a card somewhere). They were cheap Chinese waterproof car/Buggy ESCs with Fwd and Rev which I wanted for independent drives but for the price and how well they work, you can't beat them (about NZ $20 each) They have a very soft start (you can count the revs) programmed in as std, and the only problem I have found is that they sometimes won't go straight into reverse without quickly nudging forward and back, (just need to drive in a scale manner and it's fine.) I'll put a pic of the unit and motor in (also a brushed one I am using in the MTB (x2) which work perfectly only NZ $9.00) They have braking, FWD, FWD+REV and batt type adjustable by jumpers. Throttle set-up is simple with full FWD and partial Rev set by the sticks. Both types are 30A and never even get warm. I purchased some fans for them but have never used them. The brushless units have a fan plug on them. The squealing I have may just require a switching frequency change on the ESC (8kHz/16kHz -more RF noise on 16kHz but more efficient) but I don't think I have that option (do you have that option to try on your set-up ? might be worth a crack). The sound units muffle it a bit anyhow. Boat runs at 10mph (GPS) flat out (looks way off scale) but only needs about 1/4 - 3/4 throttle for normal cruising. Will try to put up an external vid soon. Transmitter is easily modded to twin throttles,- excellent cheap set for boats ( later model has internal )

8 months ago by jbkiwi

Response

BRAVE BORDERER

If you are using 2 ESCs/BEC/UBECs with 2 plugged into 1 receiver you should remove the red wire from one of the plugs and tape it back to the lead, as both plugged in will possibly supply too much voltage for the receiver (you are getting double the voltage from 2 different sources) and this can cause the ESC to stutter . You should have no problems with Brushless out-runner motors as with the correct match with the ESC they should be as smooth as brushed. I have dual 2000kv 28/45 in-runners (with water jackets) and twin ESCs and 2 sound units using 1 receiver in my 64ft ASR model with no problems regarding proportional control (fwd or rev). I had a 28mm O/R in a Maiami ASR and it would crawl along (but the high noise was ear wrecking so have changed it back to brushed for now. I do have a similar slight high pitched squeal at certain speeds on one motor and this may be caused by the particular motor not 'syncing'properly with the ESC (Chinese cheap ESCs and HobbyKing /made in china motors) but short of changing that motor and ESC I am just putting up with it for now. The high pitched sync noise is fairly common and sometimes not fixable, (a number of my larger planes do it and its audible from 100m away (also amplified by a hull,-nice sound box). it can depend on the way a particular motor is wound (no 2 are identical) or even magnet placement/timing, as the may be hand wound by 2 very nice Chinese ladies at different ends of a bench ( just read some of the Hobby King motor reviews ) You could try changing the frequency on the ESC if it has that option as a higher motor Kv sometimes requires a higher frequency. Also make sure your ESC is set to the correct battery cell count. if it has an auto setting that should usually work best for general applications unless you are running fancy motors. Regarding interference, make sure you keep your as far as poss from the motors and ESCs (even on 2.4 - I put mine right up in the bow) and there should be no problems. I have had 2 twin engined boats (my MTB & ASR) 1 brushed and 1 brushless running side by side 10" apart using the same radio for both (same type of Rec in each boat) with no problems at all. The bow down is probably prop shaft angle (the shallower the better) but if you are using counter rotating props you could try swapping props (inward rotation to outward) and motor rotation to see if it makes a difference. Also with 2800Kv motors you should be using small props (around 28-30mm diam 3 blade) as these motors are made to rev) as on a 2s battery they will be turning at around 20,000 dry and perhaps 18,000 wet (depending on prop) and if you load them too much they will cook with no cooling (assuming they are around 28mm dia ?) Only other thought - silicone couplings will squeal real loud if they slip.

8 months ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Launch ELAINE,

Hi John, I wouldn't attempt to replicate the old bottle TX. Who knows now what was in it anyway? The whole shebang sounds like a 'Homebrew' to me. (Nice drop o T-Triple-X anybody?😁) Once you've figured out the frequency band the RX is on making a transistorised CW TX on the same band is relatively easy. Tricky bit will be duplicating the 'modulation', i.e. how the control functions are actually triggered at the TX 😲 @ Colin; do you have any pics of the RX? Or any 'actuators'? Any sign of the ? Cheers, Doug 😎

9 months ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Mahogany in Scale

Gents, just put the Sea Hornet in the build blog section, but whether it gets seen or not, I don't know. If the IC engine is an easy runner, Colin, run it on a water where the turds can't stop you. A navigable river or canal or just run the bugger till someone can prove (PROVE, mind) that you can't. Then just run it till the fuel runs out, reluctantly apologise and leave. BTW, I won't be showing video of this as I have no mobile phone beyond an emergency one that don't do pictures of any kind. I have a video camera somewhere that has dead batteries and a power pack, but where I sail there ain't no power! Doug, would the ED be more like 27 meg if it was 6 foot long? I think it gets damned close to his ceiling if you try to put it up at home. So, chaps, Sea Hornet/Chris-Craft Special Runabout over on the Build blog section ifn you'm interested. Cheers, Martin

9 months ago by Westquay

Forum

Mahogany in Scale

I can't wait to see it either Colin!😉 Martin: "plus a 22 1/2 volt, the same size as a PP3. Not sure what you'd do for that!" - 3 LiPo 2S (7.4V) in series should do the trick 👍 Or 2 x 3S (11.1V) or a 6S if you can find one! 8ft ! if a full wave antenna that puts the operating frequency at about 120MHz. if, as more likely, it's a 1/2 or 1/4 wave antenna it would be 60 or 30MHz. The latter being most probable. Cheers, Doug 😎

9 months ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Mahogany in Scale

Oh PLEASE buy it, Colin. Sounds marvelous. Far too few diesel powered boats about and that RC sound s wonderful. I have an old chum who still has a 10 channel reed set of E.D. RC gear which still works. He says he had to fly with a plastic trimmer screwdriver in his hand to constantly retune the pots whilst flying! It has an 8 foot and stands on the ground while he has a hand set wired to it. Doug could get that going. T They say you can't get the batteries, but a box of ten PP3s is a 90 volt battery. That's what my old REP set had, plus a 22 1/2 volt, the same size as a PP3. Not sure what you'd do for that! Cheers, Martin

9 months ago by Westquay

Forum

Frozen TV screen

Tried all those Doug. No set top box. Left off but heard a slight crackle after I switched back onwhich gave me the idea. Pulled out and gave it a good wiggle putting it back in. Thanks anyway Mate Regards John👍

10 months ago by onetenor

Forum

Frozen TV screen

O.K. Fixed it. Waggled connector

10 months ago by onetenor

Forum

HMS HOOD by Trumpeter

Almost at he end of what has been a long, sometimes frustrating, but very satisfying build. As the masts and spars are very thin, using my usual fishing line as rigging was going to cause problems with getting anything like the correct tension. What I ended up with was 0.45mm nickel silver rod. The fineness of the rod gave it a natural 'sag' for radio s and it is rigid enough for stays and supports. Hope someone finds this useful. Steve

10 months ago by cormorant

Forum

Crash Tender davit info...

In your case Doug, I'm not sure even water is a strong enough diluant! Years ago I was living with my parents in Devon. They had a Radio & TV shop and I used to put the TV s up for my Dad. In those days I got bad hayfever and I was up on a roof with a 4 and Amp. array when I started sneezing. I counted 27 sneezes whilst holding this array. So bad was it that for the first time I also got a form of Asthma with it (they are connected), so there was I on somebody's ridge, a leg either side, sneezing loudly and wheezing worryingly just about hanging onto four bloody 18 element TV s. The home owner came out to see if I was OK and then her father-in-law came out looking hot and bothered. Neither realised what I'd seen on my way up the ladder! That's Plymouth Brethren for you! Cheers, Martin

11 months ago by Westquay

Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

Doug, if you have an Orange Rx. like mine, the bit where the plugs go is on the end face, so when you tip the battery wire on its side to plug in, the red wire is indeed uppermost, the black wire, bottommost. The Spektrum Rx. has the plug bit in the top face, so the uppermost, red lead goes through a right angle and goes downwards, but yes, in the middle. I made sure of the polarity first, but that bit you mentioned meant nothing to me, just symbols. I didn't want to trust them if I didn't understand them. The bind plug did indeed go in the slot marked bind. On the Orange Rx. it says BIND/BATT. I didn't plug any servos in as it isn't necessary and I didn't have them to hand without fishing them out of the restricted space in my Vanity model. I have now watched so many you-tubes and read so many instructions that I can assure you I got the order right. Bind plug has never been out of the Orange Rx, except to assure myself of good contact. Battery pack plugged into AUX> socket, flashing yellow light, Tx. tother side of workshop, pull on trainer switch and turn on power. Beedlyboop noise, light on right hand side of array, but NO flashing on Tx. Hold trainer switch till will to live starts to ebb, give up. The Spektrum you show, Doug is the same, albeit with different s, but the guy assures me it bound to his DX5e before he sent it to me for the trial. Your Orange however is very different from mine. Mine, as I said, has the pins poking out the end and the writing where your pins are. Yes, it has an S in the case, which I read meant signal, not that I knew what that was. it is a much smaller box than yours. Now you can see why I spoke of uppermost as my battery cable has to go on its side to plug into my Orange and in that position the red wire is indeed, uppermost. if you see the normal position for the Rx. to be flat on it's back with the pretty stuff on top. So, what else can it be? I will try what you suggested about the metal free garden, tomorrow and after that we will have to wait till the Fly Sky arrives, estimated E.T.A., early next month. Your PTB looks very bare. Had you always intended to strip the tubes and rudders too? Now, you have to paint the insides a nice neutral colour, like Spitfire Cockpit green, which is also Jaguar cockpit green, but Maseratis were silvery grey. Don't ask how I know...long story Cheers, Martin

11 months ago by Westquay

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

To save time, I have decided to treat myself to another Rx. This one claims to be compatible with my very type of Tx. so I have great hopes for it. it's cheap enough to take a punt, but it will be the last attempt. if this one don't work it's back to the 27meg and a wee green flag off the 6 foot . Cheers, Martn

11 months ago by Westquay

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi Pete, Glad you have learned! I too have learned as well. My Southampton didn't come with lights. So, your Richardson tug. must look awesome on the water at night. Oh, 2.4ghz is way better than 27mhz. This is why, I changed the reciever to my Southhampton! And the long just doesn't look right! Ed

12 months ago by figtree7nts

Blog

MFA 850 motor

On closer inspection of the MFA850 motor I can see 2 caps in side the motor connected between the terminals and the motor body / can. The only thing I can add is an additional capacitor of 0.047uF connected between the terminals as belt and braces. Otherwise move the and hope no more paint accidents happen.

1 year ago by Novagsi0

Blog

1-35 scale S100 schennllboot blog

Hi all this is my first blog, last year I post my intention to do a project about an RAF D boat that my Father served on and as a precursor to that build That I was going to do this S/E boat as the hull design is shared buy both, and as plastic kit modeller the kit great the first stage was to put together the decks and superstructure as normal, with the exception of all the bits that would be easily broken as most kit aircraft modellers s and guns tend to brake ,so long ago I got into the habit of making these out brass rod or bar using a mini drill and a set of needle files, holding the drill in my left hand and the files in my right, when started this I saw the number of stanches I needed so I came across this little beauty a mini bead lathe it is a great bit of kit and not expensive less than £50 and plenty of types and accessories available so all the stanches s hand rails, gun rails, horn, and some of the components for the rudder and tiller were made on this lathe. so good time being had in my first radio control boat . the next post will show all the parts for the rudder/tiller setup

1 year ago by teejay

Blog

Rudder servo in place!

I placed the rudder servo forward of the gear box. The folks at dumas wanted it placed. Against the coaming that runs along the opening of the hull! I found this angle troubling! The servo would be on a 180 degree angle. Which would be hard to get to. What if I don't have a screw driver. that's small enough to get to the screws! So, the servo has been placed next to the gear box! On a 90 degree angle which makes it extremely accessible. I have also placed the receiver. On the coaming using double sided tape. I placed the on a piece of wood. I placed on a 90 degree angle! On my last Tug I put the receiver. On the motor mount floor. And the against the coaming!

1 year ago by figtree7nts

Response

Shoreham life boat

Good action shots of the real thing in action. See how they raise the whip s and mast after launch. Must be interesting in a real blow. Thanks for sharing

1 year ago by Dave M

Response

HMS Dreadnought

Drawings I have give her five turrets, one forward of the bridge, one each side amidships, and two aft of the superstructure, and a small structure between the two aft turrets. My photos show a large structure and the forward of the two aft turrets possibly not there at all. Highly unlikely to get an photo, as there would have been very few aircraft overflying any warships during her lifetime, but maybe someone has a view from astern? My photos show he in a very dark grey, looks even darker than Home Fleet grey.

1 year ago by Gdaynorm

Forum

Motor problem

the good news is, (I should have mentioned this earlier), the contributors here are generally experienced, and have done it themselves, so rest assured everything you get is proven, you just need to pick out what is best for you. Some other forums are not as lucky, as you get a lot of "do this, try this", you go out spending the dosh, and the "advisor" when challenged has not actually done it himself, its just a load of crap.😡 really annoys me that this happens, and sometimes people on model shops can be just as bad. A mate of mine took his sons "toy" boat to a local model shop last year. His son had outgrown it, my mate wanted to paint it, make it his own, and ditch the "toys r us" running gear. I didn't know he had done this, when I saw what had been done, the money charged, we marched back to the shop, I gave the "expert" the crap back, and got a refund. 2nd hand 27mg 2 channel rx with the chopped to 6 inches, a 4x1.5 aa battery holder for main propulsion, and a really tired 2 channel acoms 27mg tx £75😡 I found out when he asked me why the lights don't work from the tx like my boats, he had asked for this, 2 channel set, hmm.... later that month, with a 7.2v nims and a dx6 with now 6 channels, less than £50, experts eh! I know there are good, but this shop or at least the guy working there wasn't one of them

2 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

rotating radars off mast

Hi Seafarer, a few basic questions! Mast for what boat/ship? Dimensions / pic or sketch of the mast? Space for drive motors/gears/pulleys etc? Hint: for the radar on my 1:72 destroyer I used an old servo; disconnected the feedback, and removed the mechanical end stops so it rotated continuously and drove it with a single 1.5V dry cell (alkaline), lasts for years😉 But in my case the scanner sat on the director tower on the bridge, not on a mast, so simple direct drive coupled to the servo (hidden in the ridge) output shaft with shrink sleeve. Does a sweep in a little under one second. What type of radar are you trying to simulate? Cheers Doug 😎

2 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

s etc.

This is the pic I thought showed a revoving scanner.

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

s etc.

The pic I have was on the net, and here is what I think it looks like.

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

s etc.

Hi Norm, have seen nothing like that in any photo I have? Don't believe it was like that anyway, very impractical 🤔 Maybe it's just a fuzzy pic of the DF . I also note that the DF is not there on some photos. So; another case of 'you pays yer money and yer tales yer choice'! Yes, wire antenna only on the last three masts. There was nothing strung between the forward masts and the aft masts for four reasons: 1) the span is too long, 2) they would not want to roast the island crew when transmitting Hi power HF from the starboard antenna in particular, 3) neither would they want to irradiate the ammo for the flak guns! 4) the forward masts were reserved for the vertical antennas. This gave the system the so called polarisation diversity; vertical is better for short range ground wave and the horizontal for filling in the 'skip zone' of vertical antennas. That is the gap of a few hundred miles between the short range ground wave and the long range sky waves. Bet you really wanted to know that didn't you?😉 Naval ship antenna layout design was part of my job for 30 years. Cheers Doug 😎 PS there would have been no halyards on the tilt-able masts. These are on the two fixed island masts, on the Signal Deck.

2 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

s etc.

I have just gone through all my pics. On one there is what looks like a 'mattress' style rotating atop the stbd forward mast. I think I shall string wire along the rear three masts both sides. Does that sound likely to be accurate? My wife and friends tell me to forget total accuracy as no-one seeing the model will know any different. Trouble is, I shall know.

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

Bridge detail

That 'huffduff' is going to be very difficult to make!

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

s etc.

Hi Just had a conversation with Dave Wooley re your question. it is likely that there would have been dipole s permanently rigged between the masts on both sides. Any signal halyards would have been closer to the upright with the s nearer the outer edges. model looking good

2 years ago by Dave M

Response

s etc.

Hi Norm, A horizontal 'long wire' antenna is strung between the 3 aft masts only. Feeder cables at the island end. in the attached photo you can just see this. The little black 'blobs' are the ceramic insulators between the tensioning cables and the actual antenna wire. The forward masts were rigged as vertical whip antennas. Often the long wire was for transmitting and the forward whips for receiving to minimise co-location interference between them. The fact that one is horizontal and the other vertical gives an additional 20dB decoupling between them, making HF reception (e.g. orders broadcasts from shore stations) much more sensitive. The forward port mast also seems to have an 'H' shaped direction finding antenna on top! Formed by four dipole antennas in two H shapes joined in the middle. The so called Huff-Duff antenna, for HFDF. Cheers Doug 😎 Correction😲: Forward starboard mast has the DF antenna!!

2 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

HMS Illustrious Aircraft carrier

s and signal halyards fitted to main mast etc. My Norman Ough drawing shows s strung between the four a side masts. Would they be permanently rigged to all of them?

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Forum

Submerine

Hi Tony You have not said if the model performs normally as soon as you are back on the surface, but if it doesn't I have the following suggestions. I like Mtronic and have used them in many of my models but they can (as do several other manufacturers), in the event of a power wipe out, go into reset mode and this can result in you losing the fwd/rev function. The ESC has reset to minimum throttle stick down and only one direction as a result. I guess its pot luck whether this is fwd or rev but rev seems to be the most common. If you replace the BEC with a battery to power the rx this may help. You do need to disconnect the red lead from the ESC to the rx and still need to switch on the esc after the rx. If it has reset you need to reset the controls whilst the two lights are flashing by pressing the ESC button and moving the sticks to their full extreems. You will need to have capacitors across the motor terminals and also between each motor terminal and the case. Your rx connecting wires and should be as far away as possible from the high current battery wires and the wires from the motor to the ESC. Doug has already suggested re rerouting the and as you have this suggests a weak signal. Have you done a range check with the Tx down? You should be able to have control from at least 20' without any interference? Please let us know how you progress.

2 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Submerine

Thank you for the reply already running on 40Mhz skysport transmitter also is running outside and E.S.C is a mtroniks viper marine plug in and play but still have the problems as previous stated Tony

2 years ago by tonyp

Forum

FLYSKY FS-I6S TRANSMITTER

I have just ordered one to raffle for my club. We have similar FlySky sets in the club and they are suitable for all model boats. The set up is straight forward and all the controls you need such as end point and throw are available and as you say touch screen. You can also mix two channels to work off one stick (mainsail plus fore sail). No protruding to get damaged and two buttons to switch on or off. There are reviews on U-tube and one did complain about the shape not allowing the set to stand on its base. This is possibly a benefit as there is no chance of it being knocked over. There is also an add on to allow a mobile phone or tablet to be attached above the Tx. There is two way comms that allows monitoring of the rx battery so I am guessing more comms can be added to work with the phone/tablet screen. I'll know more when I get my hands on the kit and will then post more details. The earlier versions need a software update so check that yours has been updated if you are not computer savvy. Spare receivers are also cheap to buy.

2 years ago by Dave M

Blog

Hobby Engine 'Richardson' Tug Upgrade

This is the beginning of a ‘diary’ of events. it involves a small Tug, the Hobby Engine Richardson and my attempts to improve its performance. This is my first attempt at such a project and would not have been possible without the assistance of certain members of this site. For those not familiar with this model here are the basic details......... Pic1&2 At 1/32 scale ( 1 metre = 31.25mm; 1 inch = 2 feet 8 inches), it has a Length of 54cm (21.25 inches) beam 17cm (6.75inches) height to radio top 37cm (14.5inches) and weight at 1924grams (4.5 lbs) with standard battery and fittings. It comes with 2.4 digital radio, 7.2v 800mAh rechargeable battery and charger. Features include:- Twin 280 motors, functioning internal lights, external lights, smoke and horn. So some (such as Rallyst) have quite rightly said “Why change it”? My answer is that I can never ‘leave well alone’ , that I found the transmitter controls rather ‘rough’, the battery life too short, the horn sound very weak and the smoke almost non existent. Plus the fact that it has been reported elsewhere that the steering when going astern was very hit and miss. So I started to take it apart! Pic3 It is easy to remove the Wheelhouse by sliding the dark grey locker at the front of the wheelhouse/bridge and the stairway. Once the unit is released, the white electrics connector underneath can be difficult and needs very gentle prising with a small screw driver. The other two plugs come easily. This is where members ‘Jarvo’ and ‘RNinMunich’ came to my aid............. However, some of the screws are obvious but others have been well hidden. They are to be found under some of the fittings on the deck. Pic4,5,6,7. The next move will be to remove the deck, but that is for next week. What am I hoping to achieve.....well from zero knowledge I would like to have engine sound connected to the throttle control, good horn sound, better control of steering when going astern and a six channel receiver with new transmitter that feels good to use!

2 years ago by NPJ

Directory

(Naval Ship) HMS Erebus

Scratch built using Admiralty drawings from Greenwich and miscellaneous photos. Hull carved from basswood, as are her boats. Guns turned brass, main armament mount in basswood turret. Bridge tower anf funnel tinplate, rigging and s steel guitar strings. Sails well and steers remarkably easily considering her beam. Logged hours on construction 611, not including research. (8/10)

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Directory

(Naval Ship) HMS Ceres

Scratch built using Admiralty drawings from Greenwich and miscellaneous photos. Hull carved from basswood as are boats. Rigging and s steel guitar strings. Flage halyards thread. Sails very well and remarkably stable for such a narrow ship due to bilge keels. Hours logged on contruction 885, which includes research on line. (8/10)

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

Decks

Thanks, yet again. I'll keep them as I have shown, but will extend the wire to the edge of the flight deck. Your pic showing them lifted on rising posts fits perfectly. She is actually nearing completion. Main job is all the rigging and s. Am making twin bofors to go in front of bridge. Now have searchlight on Port bow platform. Scale about four foot six diameter.

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Response

Decks

Searchlight fitted. I wonder if it was the only one. I have been assuming boats were handled by the aircraft cranes, but that could only apply to those stowed in the bays within reach of said cranes. She must have had some sort of retractable arms that either turned out or were run out. I have come to the conclusion my model will have to be a bit of a hybrid of dates. The best pic I have of her masts, rigging and s is of her in the Pacific, with damage to the bridge showing from the kamikaze attack.

2 years ago by Gdaynorm

Forum

Tank Steering

Hi Doug Twitchy servos suggest a bad connection, either bad crimp or dirty contacts. This can also apply to the small feedback servo wiper inside the case. Can be fiddlesome to clean but if you can't source a replacement you may have no option. if I have a duf servo I usually strip and keep all the bits for spares. Your non worker could be from one of the early offerings that required negative as against positive pulses. if its that old it is likely to be very slow. The motor and gears should be ideal for a radar scanner. Sounds like a Bonner offering, possibly used a split power supply. There is no mention of short range in the specs and as its possibly aimed at aero and drone markets I doubt if it has restricted range. Like you my scale boats are very precious and I like to keep them close to shore so range is never really a problem, just make sure the (s) are above the waterline, especially if sailing a yacht!. Dave

2 years ago by Dave M

Response

Decks

Still up! Here another pic showing the port quarter 1954. The square platform is still there and as I suspected it's for access to the mast ATU and tilt unit for maintenance. Further aft is a round platform with what looks like a single 40mm. A lot more clutter has been added by this date! 🤔 The island has grown as well! Shame it was lovely large photo, I had to scale it down to get the site to accept it 😭 And now, definitely goodnight! 😎

2 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

The electrics, drive & radio

The switch panel and wiring loom was made, tested and dry fitted a while ago and so it only needs securing to the bulkhead with four fixing screws, the two NiMh batteries were strapped down to the bearers with cable ties as close to the chines as possible and the XT60 connectors mated. I have read that placing the heavy batteries as far away from the keel as possible improves the handling, all other heavy items are centered along the keel for symmetry and should help the boat to sit evenly in the water. I’m not sure if I will need to do any ballasting, hopefully the maiden voyages should give me an indication. The prop shaft was greased and fitted, and with the prop, thrust washers and lock nuts in place, the clearance was adjusted and locked with some Loctite so the motor could then be installed. The initial motor alignment was made with a solid coupler which was then replaced with the universal joint, I took the precaution to grind a flat on the motor shaft so that the locking grub screw has better grip on the shaft. The grease tube was then fitted to the shaft clamp and secured to the side of the switch panel. The ESC was fixed to the back of the bulkhead with another couple of cable ties and the input cables, again XT60 types, and the three pole XT60 motor connectors mated. I have also fitted a Turnigy in-line volt, amp and watt meter in the circuit before the ESC so that I can log readings in case of spurious fuse blowing issues or unexpected battery life problems. The water cooling tubes were then run from the water pickup, through the ESC and then back to the transom ‘exhaust’ outlet, all water connections are fitted with spring clips to ensure water tight connections. I have used quite a large bore silicone tubing to ensure maximum water flow and made sure that all bends are kink and compression free. The R/C receiver is fixed to the rear cabin wall with some Velcro pads for easy removal, the two s were fitted in some plastic tubing at 90 degrees to each other as recommended for 2.4 gig systems and as high above the waterline as possible. The receiver is connected to a separate 4.8 volt NiMh battery via a changeover switch that also has a charging connection and LED power indicator, and I have also fitted a battery voltage indicator, just because they are cheap and convenient although the R/C system that I have has telemetry that reports RX voltage as standard. The battery charger I have chosen can handle the 16 cell series configuration of the drive batteries and so they can be charged in-situ when the main power switch is toggled over to the charge position. The RX and lighting batteries are charged separately. All of the servo and lighting switch cables are routed through the hull to the receiver through pre drilled holes in the bulkheads at high level for neatness and to retain the integrity of each compartment just in case 😲!!. The servo and cables and the water cooling tubes are strapped to a supporting bar between the bulkheads for neatness and security. With the TX switched on first, the RX is then powered up and the main power switch toggled to the ‘operate’ position, the ESC then gives a reassuring series of bleeps that confirm that all is well. The ESC was set up using a Turnigy programming card specifically for that model of controller and if required I can tweak the settings once the boat has had a few sailings. The last things to do now are to fit some strong magnets to hold the hatches and roofs down securely and then finally raise the RAF ensigns 😁

2 years ago by robbob

Forum

Lindow common.

I sailed on Lindow Common from 1963 until about 1967/8. Most Saturdays there was a guy there with a Gannet powered boat that was similar to a Sea Queen, the radio was huge, about a 12inch cube on the floor with what seemed about an 8foot . I had a sea scout with a super fury, but no radio, just a touch of rudder and let it go,and go it did!! I think the whole lake was lined with timber and it seemed huge but when I called in there a couple of years ago it seemed much smaller than I remember. I to progressed to single channel bang bang steering with a number of boats that were really a bit too quick for this type of basic radio, the first had the transmitter housed in an OXO box and the receiver in a soap box. Happy days

2 years ago by Graham

Forum

DJI Phantom 2 v2.2 drone

DJI Phantom 2 v2.2. Anyone fly one of these. Here are the specs of the one I am looking at. But seems due to all the bits it has to carry the total flying time is 16 mins .. Is this long enough for a general flight ? Any here are the specs DJI Phantom 2 v2.0 Fully kitted out with Live video feed to the controller, has the excellent Zenmuse H3-3D stabilised gimbal fitted and has the brilliant Gopro hero 3+ black edition included for excellent results. It has an immersion RC 600mw video transmitter fitted for long range transmission and this is fitted with a Fat shark omni directional higher gain antenna. The controller has a Flysight black pearl monitor fitted with the latest folding sunshade. As it has dual 5.8ghz recievers and 32 channels it has twin antenna mounts on top of monitor and there is a fat shark omni directional antenna to match the one on the video transmitter on the drone and also a 5 turn helical directional antenna for solid video at extended distances. The monitors inbuilt diversity reciever will auto switch between antennas to get the best signal. This comes with all original boxes and 2 sets of propellers one of which have never been out of the box. This drone has the heads up display module already fitted to give you live flight data and heading to find back to home if orientation is lost. As with all Phantoms this drone has auto return to home and land so if connection is lost it will fly back to land at its take off point. This drone includes all chargers etc so is all you need to get flying and capturing great footage in a single kit. I have flown this out to 997m during testing and it is faultless in its reliability. Three flight batteries are included to keep you flying longer. This is a very capable machine that has done some epic flights. I am happy to demonstrate it flying etc as it has never been crashed or abused. So what would you think was a fair price to pay for this drone ????

2 years ago by none

Blog

More work on solent lifeboat

Hi heres more pic of the detail work and i made the s to make them look like the real thing as well with the rest like hand rails the hatch's . cliff

2 years ago by Mataroa