Forum

LiPo

Please can I get some advice on LiPo . I intend to buy a 3300-5000mAh battery to run an offshore power boat model. I will be taking the battery with me to Hungary to use on my local river which I have found is ok as hand luggage properly protected from short circuit. My problem is that at present, I only go there three time a year so the battery would remain unused for 4 months at a time. If I leave the battery with a safety charge, will it last for four months unused or will it fall below the critical voltage. If it is felt that it will not hold the charge, I will have to carry it with me forward and back. Thanks.😊

6 years ago by MouldBuilder

Blog

Just another, Smit Nederland Build!

Well, The Tug Atlantic was a no go! So, I ordered the Tug Smit Nederland! This is going to be a nice build. I have many idea's in mind! I'm going to incorporate independent throttling! also independent smokers will be used as well! Her lighting will be tricky. But with help from others on the website. I'm sure I'll be able to put running light! Her main power will be two 12 volt ! But they will work independently of each other. Via a switch! Kind of what's known as a guest switch! Well that's it for now! ETA of arrival is Oct'3 for the kit! Kit coming from across the pond! Stay tuned to further updates!👍

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

Re: Futaba F-14 Conversion Problem!

Hi Ed, Going right back to the beginning of the tale of your F-14:- I think the trouble started when you bought all the parts separately instead of as a complete System set, with RX, servo, and all the modules, as I mentioned then when you complained that no or RX were included! If I understand Colin correctly he was advised that buying the Navy Set ensures that the add on modules function. Scouring the Ripmax/Futaba documentation the only provisos I can find for the 2.4Gig upgrade are; an 8 channel TX and an 8 Channel RX, the 3008 which you have👍 The TX manuals also seem to indicate that both 40Meg and 2.4Gig can operate together!? Not sure I believe that! Switching between them without changing the wiring I might. Don't have the add on module manuals yet though. Maybe you can scan or photograph yours and post them? Cheers, Doug 😎

4 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: NON SMOKING EXHAUST WITH AIR INJECTION

Thanks for the info Martin, looks interesting. Might have a look on Ali Express and see what's available. I did manage to get the 'model Y' working in the HSL with the twin pump set-up but the problem was the same as before, with the exhausts on the waterline. If the boat was dead still and level it worked fine, but the moment either exhaust went under water it stopped working and the smoke just came out the opposite side. I hadn't fitted it properly and had wires and bits everywhere and all the stuff necessary would not have fitted anyhow. You need an air pump, voltage reg, smoker and water pump, plus all the hoses, so it's a lot of bits to fit into a space that's 2"W x 4"L x 2"H. Basically, to make it work as it is, I'd need the twin pumps (to keep the tubes clear (as in this vid), plus the water pump, plus a smoker, plus a smoker air pump, plus all the plumbing ( see drawing) It might not be a problem if it didn't have twin sound units and all the other bits and pieces, plus the drop floor in the wheel house which takes up heaps of space (not to mention 2x 2s LiPos, 1 3s LiPo and a 3v dry cell pack for lights/small air pumps. I might just leave well enough alone for now and have a look at your suggestion for the ST, which although not having much room under the cockpit floor, might have space for a small unit like that. Had another idea along similar lines, using ready wound coils on a base, packed with cotton and slid into a small alloy tube with end caps. They would be small and very basic and you can buy coil selections with various ohm ratings. I found the new coils I bought (50-85w are way too grunty and suck 3,7A at 2.46V - 41w (good smoke), but the first one I tried in the alloy box (40-80w) was only1.6A at 2.46v - 18.9w (good smoke) so there is a lot of experimenting that could be done for the best coil type. We have now (1 DEC) have had 15% GST (grab and snatch tax) put on all online O/Seas purchases, - incl freight (this labour govt is giving money away flat out so they have to steal it off us somewhere else) so this is going to add a big cost to R/C modelers here. Prices round the country are going to go up on every NZ online store as well. All because of entitled shop owners whining because they can't rip as many people off as before, - seem to think it's their right not to have any competition, - supposed to be a free market economy!?? (funny the govt is not targeting their online purchases, - only private sales ) If these useless t..ts get back in next time I might consider becoming Australian!!😠😠😠😠 My favourite $2 shops will probably be $3 shops now!. All that means I'll be buying less online now ( will now be an arm and 2 legs now) so I'm glad I bought all my expensive bits (TXs etc) years ago! JB

4 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: WTC design.

My servos are small but the 40MHz receiver is like a book cabinet. What size, voltage, type and quantity of have you used Martin. Peter.

4 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

MFA 919D series geared electric motors

MFA aren't what they used to be. They just seem to sell a few motors and and a few other bits and pieces. Gears ans belts. I still have an old catalogue of theirs from years ago. When they used to sell model boats and a whole assortment of model parts as well as model planes. Shame they have gone that way. Even model shops are few and far between and most of them do not sell much in the way of model boat stuff. TJD models are just over a mile or so from me and they are mainly planes and cars and plastic models. They have about 9 or 10 model boats and hardly ant small accessories.

4 years ago by BOATSHED

Response

Re: Smoker system

I think I will dismantle the battery unit as it is very heavy, the weigh about 70 grams and the case is 150 grams so I am going to dismantle it and house it some other way, Its usefull to keep the electronics as you can vary the power output therefore the amount of smoke to a point where the boat would dissapear in a cloud of smoke.

4 years ago by mturpin013

Response

Re: Arctic Convoy

Marky you can always use the old trick of two micro switches operating from a servo to switch between the power - giving you two speeds - not sure how you get reverse - sure Martin or Doug can produce a wiring diagram - that would save a few bob - keep the costs down..........Means you have to have two identical low voltage packs though.........

4 years ago by redpmg

Response

Re: SEAPLANE TENDER, CHANGE OF ESCs

Haven't found a programmer yet Peter but that's not to say there isn't one, although they work perfectly for what they are designed for. I bought some small 30A brushless ESCs a while back and when I asked the seller if there was a card for them he told me they didn't make one . With a bit of detective work I found a card under a different brand name which works fine. Pic is of OCDAY branded ESC and unknown card which works. How I found it was through an ad on Banggood, which showed the same ESC in a different colour and brand but with a card, so I found the same card elsewhere by itself and took a gamble and bought one, and it worked! Fans aren't too much of a problem as I use quite large main (and they only draw about .02A) so the 2200MAh don't even notice them (probably don't even need the fans, just something I put on 'cos I could'). New ESCs are 60A so they are not going to worry about a 2.5-3A motor draw max. Did think about water cooling but the extra pipe work wouldn't fit without a lot of reworking space, and it's a plumbers' nightmare already. I'll probably use the cheapos in the Maiami which I was thinking of converting to twins and giving the balsa hull a bit of fairing and maybe glassing. Really have to get rid of some planes to make room for any new projects, and finish re-doing the Graupner Optimist, and jazzing up the Fairacre launch a bit. Enough there to keep me busy for next winter. Will just be working on the smoke devices on and off for now, as I'd like to get a compact version going well. JB

4 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Arctic Convoy

Sorry for not replying sooner, been having internet problems and its still acting up,am going for it ,am making a list of what I need and hope Santa 🎅 will be Good to me ,I have a few 6v motorbike in the shed that I thought I might use . A question ,should the propeller be RH or LH ? or does it not matter . Cheers Marky

4 years ago by marky

Response

Re: Oceanic

Hi All Ah I to remember the programme featuring Indonesia Floating Power Stations on Mighty Ships. Am on dodgy ground here as I am using my memory, I seem to remember it was a refitted tanker or bulk carrier refitted with a number of Wartsila Diesel Gen sets and a Sub Station. All towed by tugs and anchored close in shore. As has been said, not by Oceanic in this case. Doug agree with the HO scale. That would also fit as I think it was built from a German Kit More onto refit to follow in a Refit Blog. Just a taste for a starter. Have just done a test tank float out, as she is a bare boat with only two motors on board. Definitely unstable with no ballast, five cans of beans later and she is something like in trim. That gives me approx 2Kg of gear/ to play with. Now drawing up a Bill of Quantities for the refit.

4 years ago by ikseno99

Response

Re: Arctic Convoy

Agreed Nerys👍 A good case for some hefty SLA ; payload instead of ballast 😉 Marky; If you are going RC, which I sincerely hope you will, DO IT NOW!! Looking at the build article I noticed that the builder actually fitted the motor and shaft to the hull base before he even fitted the frames! So do it now before you start skinning the hull, unless you've got very long thin fingers and thumb😁 I would also plan where to put battery and electronics trays at this stage, taking into account hatch access and balance. So far so very good👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

4 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

LATEST SMOKER, E-CIG ELEMENT

That was one of my thoughts Graham, ease of access to the tank etc for filling or servicing the coil. I'm still looking for small alloy or metal boxes or cans to try ideas out with (like the old alloy film cans, -have one somewhere just don't know where). Might have to start trolling on EBay etc or maybe the car accessory shops. For the latest effort I just need a can slightly larger than the tank (room to fit tinfoil round tank for heat dissipation) or I could wrap the tank in silicone tube and run water through it. Gets too hot to touch after a few mins on 2v, needs to be kept away from leads and etc. Could easily warp the hull if sitting against it! Introducing air from the bottom of the can might help cool it as well as pushing the smoke out. JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Egret Cabin Cruiser

Looks like a fun build! Can’t wait to see her completed. What and esc do you plan on using?

5 years ago by Cashrc

Response

Re: MORE SMOKER STUFF 2

RE its a great deal of experimentation you are doing JB Looks complex Red but it's probably that it's all spread out and messy. Not that expensive really as the smoke unit in the vid (modified Heng Long with fan) cost around $10, the voltage reg about $4, water pump around $4 a length of silicone pipe and a bunch of JST leads,- around $4 and the 2 air pumps around $6. The metal box for the Vape coil version was $10 and the guy in the vape shop gave me the coil FOC, so all in all, not a huge amount. I don't smoke or drink so I'm happy to spend a few $$ to try an idea which might be of use to others. Graham has sorted the electronic version which is excellent, and I'm trying to sort a cheap more 'mechanical' system for those who are high tech electronically challenged like myself😮 Re force air methods,- I did think about the small CO2 cartridges (soda syphon) through a valve but they might be a bit dangerous. Also thought of aircraft retract pump up cylinders but they cost lots. Really just have to find a good small high pressure pump with a good output (either that or make something) Also thought about compressed air in a can (for electronics cleaning etc) but that's $20 a can! and you still have to figure out how to connect it (plus the room factor. If you have plenty of room in a boat to fit a bit of gear it's no problem, but with say, twin engined models in the 3ft range with a few extras, space gets a bit scarce (see pics of my attempt at trial fitting this version in the HSL,)- major rewiring and re routing plumbing etc (looks like a bit of room by the smoker but the go either side) JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Vietnam River Gun Boat (Pibber)

Interested in your build of the Pibber River Gunboat. I have the Pro Boat version which performs well. Would like a bit bigger hull as there is not much room for normal size . Which hull did you use? Also interested in the Patrol Craft Fast ( Swift boat)of the Vietnam era

5 years ago by TP87

Response

Re: YET ANOTHER SMOKER VERSION

All too true Martin, I sometimes think about selling all my models and spending more time with my real boats, as it is far less stressful, and I can get all the necessary bits locally (or on line locally), (sort of like BIG modelling without the stress. You also can fish, sail, or float without having to think, "did I bring the TX, " etc, - went down to the pond this evening -30km round trip,- got there and found I'd brought one wrong battery and the pond was starting to fill with weed now they have removed the carp, 😠😠😠😠😭😭##!!***. You don't have to worry with the real boat, - boat lashed to trailer,? check, trailer properly on the tow ball,? check, gas, life jackets oars and anchor? check, bag with phone, necessary bits, check, and off you go (most of this stuff is always in one place ready to go, and lucky I only have to go 300m to the ramp, and can zip home if I did forget something). You don't have dozens of mini problems like models, much more basic. We need less stress not more, and sometimes hobbies can be more stressful than the real thing (ie guys who crash $30,000 jets!). The only thing I have to wait for is the weather. Beautiful calm day today, should have used a real boat! but I did video the eels which greet you at the pond😊. Should make you f-eel r-eely calm😂 JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Gun, Decks and Capping Strips

Yep that makes sense Steve, but I still wouldn't do it that way with that wire! It'll most likely kink while you're trying to fix the stanchions and the remainder are flopping about the shop!☹️ Had similar experience using tinned copper wire on my 1/72nd scale H class destroyer😭 Eventually I sequentially fixed and pushed/pulled the wire through stanchion by stanchion rather than waiting until they were all fixed. Periodically I had to stretch the wire between two pairs of pliers to de-kink it, which was a pain in the nether-lands!🤔 Took a while on a 1.35 metre deck 🤔 But I cheated by making the main deck in two sections; midships so I could service , distribution board, ESC, smoker and stern section to get access to motors, rudder and auxiliary sound and switching modules. B and X gun platforms were a bit tricky too! Apart from 'kinky' railing - so far so good Steve👍 Cheers, Doug 😎 PS and BTW, having gone to all that trouble threading metres of wire round the railings - I used them as the + and - supply rails for bow and mast lights! 😉 3V 'rice grain' bulbs in those days. Will be replaced with LEDs during current refit.

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

LATEST SMOKER, E-CIG ELEMENT

Hi Martin, that looks pretty flash! I have ordered a tank (Vaporesso brand) to try ($25) but it looks like I will have to modify it to fill it up. My idea is to have a small self contained unit that can be filled without having to remove it, no chance of leaks, and easy to replace elements. Only problem I can see with the sealed tanks is re-filling them (having to remove hoses etc) whereas this will just have a plug/dipstick in the lid to fill it, 5 sec job. Most of the better e-tanks seem to be pyrex so you can't drill holes for a fill hose or tank adaptor. The 'throw away' $2 e-cigs might be ok as you could just rotate and fill a bunch of spares (still have to unplug things though) and you have to break into them to get to the element and wire up an external power source, (the small on board would not last long enough). Also the elements in some are very cheap, just a few wraps of wire round a chunk of cotton string, as against the nice stainless screw in Vaporesso one I have ( which are only $5 each) and appear very solid. Thought about the rebuildable ones, but again, too much mucking about, -although the ready made coil rebuildables don't look too bad and coils are cheap. This all costs money (and a lot of time) so I'm not going to get too carried away, as I want to make it quick and affordable for others who might want to give it a go. Still a lot of refining to do yet but between Graham and myself I think we are making good progress and having a bit of fun as well. Always nice to have an idea actually work😊😁 JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Southampton Tug Boat

Hi Nerys, yes you are right, Southampton is a RTR model, about £150, rc gear is ok, but not the best quality, I have 3, one has been converted with 7.2NmHd and Futaba rc. The other 2 i am waiting for the radio's to fail, but they have been converted with 7.2 , also 1 of them has been converted to Wyforce, this was the basis of the model, but, i suspect they could not get a licence to copy the name. Hope this helps Mark

5 years ago by jarvo

Forum

JUNO

Info from Buxton Model Boat Club member and builder Dean. Juno is quite a basic flat bottomed boat, mainly due to my very basic modelling skills, and is intended to be a bunkers barge. She is roughly 1.24 scale, approximately 43 inches by 8 inches and is made from recycled and up cycled materials wherever possible. She has a single rudder and propeller, powered by a single motor from a drill, and two 6v lead acid . She is a totally freelance design, but I took inspiration from Humber barges such as the Humber Princess, which I used as a rough plan for the deck layout. As a foot note to Juno, when I built her, I also built a second hull at the same time almost identical, but with a different deck layout. This became Elsa, my steam dredge barge.

5 years ago by philcaretaker

Forum

BUXTON MODEL BOAT CLUB

Deans Ferry and Fuel Bunker More info on Juno as requested from builder Dean - Juno is quite a basic flat bottomed boat, mainly due to my very basic modelling skills, and is intended to be a bunkers barge. She is roughly 1.24 scale, approximately 43 inches by 8 inches and is made from recycled and up cycled materials wherever possible. She has a single rudder and propeller, powered by a single motor from a drill, and two 6v lead acid . She is a totally freelance design, but I took inspiration from Humber barges such as the Humber Princess, which I used as a rough plan for the deck layout. As a foot note to Juno, when I built her, I also built a second hull at the same time almost identical, but with a different deck layout. This became Elsa, my steam dredge barge.

5 years ago by philcaretaker

Response

Re: Buxton Model Boat Club

Hi Martin ,ref Juno - here is a response from our club member Dean who built "Juno" Juno is quite a basic flat bottomed boat, mainly due to my very basic modelling skills, and is intended to be a bunkers barge. She is roughly 1.24 scale, approximately 43 inches by 8 inches and is made from recycled and up cycled materials wherever possible. She has a single rudder and propeller, powered by a single motor from a drill, and two 6v lead acid . She is a totally freelance design, but I took inspiration from Humber barges such as the Humber Princess, which I used as a rough plan for the deck layout.

5 years ago by philcaretaker

Forum

Blackpool Boat Show 2019

I go for the traders mainly, saves paying p&p, and you can cherry pick the items you want, also some deals going on, Component shop had a few show prices. I bought 2 x 12v-10amp pb for only £13.15 each, a good saving, I think Iain has done a great job with the show, and free parking, all you had to do was write down your car reg number, simples.😐 Cheers, Peter

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Blog

Fitting sub decks and Sea Trials

The fore sub-deck is glued onto the bulkhead assembly, prior to fixing it into the hull. This is a straightforward operation, but some sanding of the sub deck is needed, particularly around the bow. With short strips of square balsa glued onto the hull sides between the deck beams, to support the edges of the foredeck, the whole unit was again dry fitted. Happy with the dry fit and armed with various clamps and clothes pegs, I glued the assembly into place. (Once again, apologies for the lack of photos as I did this before deciding on doing the blog). Before fitting the aft sub-deck, I cut out an opening to get to the tiller if necessary. The opening will be disguised later in the build. Sea Trials. I decided on lead acid , as the weight would go a long way towards ballasting - she sits very low in the water. Jotika advised 60mm 4 bladed props, which were duly fitted. As I have already said, I use a Taranis radio and this has the advantage of being able to set up a differential drive between the motors and rudder in the transmitter. As you can see on the video, she turns in her own length. You will also see from the video the 'deck cargo', or cardboard box full of the white metal fittings. This gave me a better idea of how much more ballast I would require for the finished model. I did have a scary moment when the 'deck cargo' shifted and she took on an alarming list to port! I thought I would be a contender for the 'Titanic Award', presented annually by our club for the best sinking. However, with nerves of steel, I navigated her safely back to the slipway. I was most pleased with the way she handled and moved through the water. The motors and props supply more than enough power and she will require very little more ballasting.

5 years ago by cormorant

Blog

Bulkheads and motor fit.

And it was all going so well! If all else fails, read the instructions and look carefully at the drawings. Having removed deck camber beams, mid deck bulkheads and longitudinal stringers from the CNC sheets, I glued the assembly together and taped it to a flat surface to dry, as per the instructions. However, as you can see from the two magnified sections in picture 1, the deck camber beams and stringers are not flush. I only became aware of this after glueing the assembly into the hull and trying to dry fit the aft deck. Once again, the trusty Dremel with cutting disc attached came into its own and I managed to rectify the problem - not without difficulty. Before glueing the bulkhead assembly into place I fitted the motors. As I have already mentioned, with the propshafts parallel to the hull, there is very little clearance for the motors. However, with the offset shafts on the 2.5:1 540 geared motors, this was not a problem. I used vac formed plastic 'cradle' motor mounts and standard universal couplings. I am now a great believer in using proprietary silicone sealant to fix the motors onto the mounts. This not only cushions vibration but allows tweaking of the final line up, which I do by eye. Before the sealant sets, I run the motors and further tweak to get as little vibration as possible. See pic 4. With motors in place it was time to fix the bulkhead assembly into the hull. Instructions suggest using slow cure epoxy, but I used Gorilla glue, which does the job just as well, without the trouble of mixing. Included in the bulkhead assembly is the servo tray for the rudder and with that connected and the power plant -two 12v 7ah lead acid - in place, sea trials were fast approaching.

5 years ago by cormorant

Response

Re: Milford Star

Did check out and can fit ok will show when battery boxes go in

5 years ago by Elsrickle

Response

Re: Milford Star

Hi Elsrickle, Nice choice of boat, have built the Caldercraft Sir Kay, which I believe is the same hull as the Milford Star. Be careful of moving the motor forward, I believe the short prop tube is so the motor can make more room for , Caldercraft are pretty good on their instructions.😐 Cheers, Peter (Rooky)

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Directory

Yorkshire Man Tug

Yorkshire Man tug kit by Model Slipway, one of two tugs sent to the Falklands, sister ship Irishman. Powered by two belt driven motors, two 12v -7 amp , spectrum radio DX6i, motors on individual sticks. Peter (Rooky)

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Media

40'' Seaplane Tender, first test run

Finally, had a decent day (if you can call calm but fully overcast decent) and managed a try-out of the ST. Unfortunately had the pleasure of some yappy kid asking a thousand stupid questions, then his grandfather started, while I was trying to set it up. Got so distracted I ended up breaking the mast while trying to grab the boat and answer rapid fire questions. Trying to do a video and the kid's yelling behind me, and the grandfather just let him carry on.??😠 Don't mind kids being interested at all, but some are just a pain in the 'transom' Anyhow, enough grumpy old man stuff, -boat went pretty much perfectly and is plenty fast enough, and also very economical on the , (Vid was twice as long before editing) and when I stopped they were still at 3.9v/ cell (they are only 2200MAh 2s ) and were only 4.1 at the start. All in all, distractions and a bit of mast damage aside, I'm quite happy with it, (did hit the jetty at a 20deg angle at 2/3 throttle while taking photos, - going for that last shot -😀 bounced off without a mark, - lucky the jetty piles are slimy and I build tanks !)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: ELECTRIC EXHAUST SMOKE AND WATER VERSION 2

Re Get the Patent first JB,👍 But how will I stop certain 'reverse engineering experts' 😉 copying it Doug. Perhaps call it a vape machine to put them off the scent😀? 'Thinks' blast! I've already told them how I did it. Never mind, now we'll soon be able to buy one off Ali Express. Once had an idea for a pen with a triangular letter opener on the top end. Years later I went to a pop-up Chinese nic nac sale in a rented warehouse, and guess what was there??!!!☹️ They are obviously employing psychics to walk around jotting down peoples' ideas😮 I also still have 5th form (1968) sketches I did for a hybrid go-kart using a Briggs and Stratton motor driving 2 alternators charging twin 12v driving electric motors on the back wheels with chain reduction drives, WHO KNEW??? JB (the too late inventor)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, on the water at last

Good piece of water you have there JB - what is it dam or river ? Was at Beale park in UK when a fellow was demonstrating his gas turbine powered Bluebird K7. Only just got on to the plane and had to shut down - short water - looks like he could have run it successfully there. Tender looking great on the water - glad you have her running before you added much more detail. From the pictures of the bow wave it looks pretty much like scale speed - seems to be the same as in pics of 206's final run. What sort of endurance on the exactly ? Now onto the next model then?????? PS what about a ducted fan Bluebird or Crusader..........

5 years ago by redpmg

Blog

40'' Seaplane Tender, on the water at last

Finally got a reasonable day and got the model on the water for the first trial, - goes pretty well (see vid) A few small trim tweaks and she'll be set. Very economical on the as well.

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Irshman Tug

Going astern Doug, Oh, no,no,no, that would be unwise, putting the forward would take her off the ballast line, she sails in perfect trim, will take her sailing, and get some photo's to show how she sits.😐 cheers Peter

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Forum

Irshman Tug

I would think that going astern could be quite heart stopping as well😮 Maybe you can shift the forward a tad? Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Irshman Tug

Thanks Doug for your kind comments, she runs just like the original Irishman, she has 2 x 12volt/7amp , and with that weight, the freeboard at the stern is about 1 inch, looks wrong being that low, but am assured it is correct, very frightening turning hard port or starboard, she want to ship water on rear deck, and as you can tell by the dust on her, I don't sail her much.😐 cheers Peter

5 years ago by Rookysailor

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, new build. mods and improvements.

Ahah a Vampire no less - have about 6 or 7 hours flight time in a DH Vampire T11 courtesy RRAF . First jolly as a raw recruit - was told by pilot - I'm the Captain and will leave the ship last - but if I say "Eject" and you say "What" you will be talking to yourself........... Love them Went up to 49,000ft - wallowing well - then vertical dive . Reading the dymo tape on the dash "Thou shalt not exceed 550 knots" as the ASI crept up to 600 with the canopy shaking like a leaf ....... Pulling out at 20,000 but only leveling out at about 10,000 but was too busy staring at the floor unable to move - don't know how many G - but sure it was in excess of limits....... Could not wait to go up again........... Have a plan for a ducted fan Vampire - but gave up flying years ago when distracted for a second by a stupid question - the newly built Bipe tried to demolish the wall of the ablution block (the only building on the field). Eyesight also deteriorated afterwards and now after a double cataract op see better than in my youth - but responses are no longer up to scratch........ As to Lipos - have a couple of hard celled ones like giant AA , one soft cell 7.4v and two small Lifes 6.6V? Not used any one of them yet - electrics & myself do not get on - years ago trying to put courtesy lights in my Cortina Mk1 GT was called for lunch - and then promptly asked if the car should be smoking like that ...... The Cressida was very popular here , the one you have is a great version. Invited especially to the local launch of the Cressida as the company I worked for had a fleet of 600 odd vehicles........ and I was responsible for the transport division........

5 years ago by redpmg

Blog

TX - RX Arrived

The F-14 Controller works as it should! My for the F-14 arrived today. I checked them and they were fully charged! The F-14 is a spectacular controller. It going to be a very useful tool in my RC arsenal!

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

Night Watch

Excellent Sub.👍 I'll discuss your suggestion with FOTS and request him to liaise with you with a view to incorporating your programme into his Training and Manoeuvres Plan. Just watched three hours or so of the Parliament TV, House of Commons debate. https://parliamentlive.tv/Commons Johnson's statement and Q&A session!🤔 My God! What a rabble, with a few notable exceptions☹️ I'd rather face the shore in the Dardanelles Strait than go through that again!! John Bercow was brilliant though, I'll miss him. Then came Statement of Business for tomorrow and subsequent weeks. No sign of new appropriations for the RWN I'm afraid🤔 FLEET//😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

HMS Prince of Wales

Not so much as forgot the camera,forgot the 😭,After being asked by she who must be obeyed "do you have everything". Alas not me dancing it takes me allmy time to lift my legs😂I take it they had to wear modesty pants in case anyone is easily offended (q)"what's worn under a Scotsmans kilt? (a) nothing its all in perfect working order .😊

5 years ago by marky

Forum

York model boat club regatta

Here we are, a year later and we went again to the York model boat regatta at Laytham Camping and Caravan Park. It was time to give my first boat its maiden voyage. You may have seen the boat in my harbour, the Freeman 22 Norfolk broads’ cruiser which now belongs to my grandson. I managed to finish it for his 6th birthday hence the name (Tyler JWT 6). It sailed very well and achieved a realistic speed, turned well and reversed-turned very quickly. I am going to make some adjustments to its weight distribution because although built to specification I felt it sailed too low in the water and slightly bow heavy. So the solution is to remove one of the 6 cell NiMh which is only there to balance the weight, the powering single battery will now be located in a central position slightly towards the stern. I’m now looking to join this club which has been really welcoming in a fantastic location. PS hopefully video to follow

5 years ago by mturpin013

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Fast attack craft

".....it seemed to generalise without mentioning the the decisive parameters involved, including cost difference!..." Um. Tricky to cover everything, in a 4 sentence comment! There seems to be a grave shortage of balanced advice in all aspects of modern life - though no shortage of advice per se at all! In a field where technological change is proceeding it is even harder to gather a useful view. Comparisons which were true one year are incorrect the next, and I suggest that it would be very useful to update any advice on the board which covers .... Luckily there is one reasonably independent place we can go for a balanced view - the market. Although it is not perfectly unbiased, we can deduce that if some battery technologies are surviving in that marketplace there must be a demand for them, and hence that these technologies are likely to be the best available ones for some specific task. We only need to determine what that is. As a quick example, if you look at a major UK battery supplier to the model hobby - Component Shop - you will find available: NiMH - both standard and low self-discharge LiPo LiFe Lead Acid (sealed) Alkaline (probably Manganese) Silver Oxide All of these will be the 'best choice' for some application. Our interest is probably mainly with the first four. There are many battery features to take into account. The energy capacity that the battery contains is one common figure, usually measured in amp-hours, but most people do not realise that that is only correct for a particular delivery rate. To make a motor go fast you need a battery with a high current delivery rate - able to put out a lot of amps over a short time. Dry , for instance, do not usually have a high delivery rate - hence the poor performance available to us in the 1960s! My top-of-my-head generalisations are below, though I am sure exceptions can be found in all cases! 'Robust' refers to a mix of physical strength and resistance to misuse, such as over-charging or excessive drain. I will try to use the words 'capacity' for the amount of energy stored in a battery, and 'delivery' for the maximum rate at which that energy can be released... SLA Very robust. Cheapest for high amp-hour capacity at 6 and 12V. Can do high delivery as well, Very heavy. Use for displacement boats, where the ballast weight is a positive benefit. Can do heavy discharge as well, but many small SLAs are designed for emergency equipment use, and expect to support a light discharge over 10-20 hours. NiMH Fairly robust. Quite cheap for medium amp-hour delivery, and reasonable capacity. Low self-discharge costs are dropping and that technology seems to be expanding in the market, though they tend to be low amp delivery types. Some types can compete with Lipos for high amp delivery in the 30-40A range. Fairly heavy. Make sure that you buy a high-delivery type if that's what you need for motors. Low self-discharge types are good for emergency flashlights and RC transmitter/receivers... LiPo - Less robust. Best current choice for high amp delivery with low weight. Only readily-available type offering current delivery in the 100+ Amps range. Light, and available in very small sizes. More expensive than NiMH, high capacity very much more, and you need a special charger, though these can be quite cheap nowadays. You should really be using a charger optimised to your battery type anyway. Remember that each LiPo cell is 3-4V, not 1.2V... LiFE - Similar to LiPo, but more robust. Slightly lower voltage, but very flat volt delivery. Typical current delivery in the 30A range rather than 100+. More expensive than LiPo at the moment, but may displace them eventually. LiPos are essential if you are using a very high consumption motor - perhaps a racing boat? But when using such currents you usually require cooling systems and quite a specialist drive train. Brushless motors can take high currents, so LiPos are often associated with them, but you can use any battery with any motor if you want - just so long at it delivers the amps! There is no reason why you should not use brushless with SLAs, or LiPos on a low-drain application - though a LiPo may be more expensive than you need for that... NiMH are perfectly capable of making a boat plane - IF you ensure that the max amp delivery is adequate. You can, for instance, buy NiMh designed for wireless phones with max output 500mA or less - these will disappoint you if you try to use them for motor power! A handy rule of thumb for estimating optimum battery discharge is to look at the capacity in Amp-hours. A low-drain battery is probably designed to put that out over 20 hours, so divide the Ah by 20 to get an estimate of optimum current draw. A high-drain battery is usually designed to output over 1 hour - so divide the Ah by 1 to get optimum amps. That's only a generality, of course, and the battery spec sheet is the definitive place to look... "...more likely that HE had shares in a LiPo company to be able to afford them back then..." When it comes to electrical equipment I do have connections. 😊 If you think LiPos were expensive in the 2000s, you should try buying NiCad pen cells in the 1960s. Probably the most unusual battery I have used was a pack of saline/manganese oxide cells from ex-RAF life jackets, where the battery was open to the water underneath the boat and you could speed it up by scattering salt in front of it....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

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Fast attack craft

"...I charge them up occasionally and as luck would have it we recently had a power cut so I was able to power up a couple of car headlights so That we could see...." A very clever idea! You can get car accessories like immersion coils for boiling water, which may also be useful in the future. I have a number of old Uninterruptible Power Supplies sitting around with dead - these will run off 12v car very nicely and give me 240v if I need it - though at the cost of some efficiency. The last power cut we had here was 2 days ago, and if we keep running our energy strategy in the way we are currently doing, I expect they will become a regular feature of life. Luckily it wasn't long, so the web servers stayed up on their UPSs.....

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

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Fast attack craft

Thank you DG, That explanation has made it clearer to me. I still have a few sealed lead acid that are mainly used just to weight things down with. I charge them up occasionally and as luck would have it we recently had a power cut so I was able to power up a couple of car headlights so That we could see. We used one and the other we took around to an elderly lady who lives on her own, plus a flask of hot water for her to make a cup of tea. So now I make sure that they are charged more often now. They certainly came in handy then. Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555

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Fast attack craft

Hi Peter, "One thing this conversation has resulted in is a much better understanding of alternatives to LiPo. " Thanks! Then I have achieved my objective😉 What irritated me about Dodgy's initial post on the subject, and apologies to Dodgy if my response was a little over the top, (must remember not to answer such posts so late at night🤔) was that it seemed to generalise without mentioning the the decisive parameters involved, including cost difference! Sure there are better low discharge NiMhs thse days, but at higher cost, as I believe I mentioned. E.G. for the fast electrics market. LiPos have also improved their safety record tremendously (thanks partially to the Boeing Dreamliner mini disaster) in the 15 years that Dodgy has apparently been using them. Seems more likely that HE had shares in a LiPo company to be able to afford them back then😉 In fact most of the earlier problems with Lithium were with Lithium-Ion. Was a big nuisance when we wanted to export some of our mobile/portable tactical radio kit. Had to send the separately under special (expensive) conditions 😠 Seems about time I updated the Battery charging sections in the 'How Tos' on this site to match current products! Been meaning to do that for yonks. So much to do, so little time 🤔 Cheers, Doug

5 years ago by RNinMunich

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and Charger!

And other supplies were ordered today! I also had to order some metric drills. I only had a few american standard drills! I also ordered some wood glue! I know I should of asked before ordering. I ordered some Admiralty Glues Water Resistant PVA Wood Glue 200ml! I hope this was a correct purchase! The should be here in a few days time!

5 years ago by figtree7nts

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Fast attack craft

Any battery when abused causes problems - even good old Ni-cads - there were a few pictures of exploded boats in MB magazine - one a Sun tug split in half when the owner tried to fast charge non fast charge Ni-cads. I had a melt down with two dissimilar Ni-cad packs using a Graupner servo type switch speed controller - the smaller pack burst into flame - fortunately on a test rig. Possibly what is different about Lipos is they take far less abuse than the other types - so if you are careless with your it would probably be safer to avoid them... Has anyone any knowledge of the Lipo's which look like double sized AA ? I have 4 and a charger - not sure how to use them ........

5 years ago by redpmg

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Fast attack craft

Basically for the benefit of the new guys to this hobby. It is important that you know what type of you have and how to look after them properly. If in any doubt then please seek advice. We have some very knowledgeable members on this site so don't be afraid to ask. Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555

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Fast attack craft

"...The point I was trying to say is that if you hear all the bad things about exploding/smoking then nine times out of ten it is not suitable for the job or someone trying a short cut to charging..." Lipos are not continually exploding - if they were you would not find them on sale for long. But they do require close attention to the rules and the rules are somewhat different to those that people were used to with NiCads, for instance. They can easily be damaged if you do not treat them correctly. All have an optimum application based on their characteristics - Lead Acid , for instance, are great at providing working ballast for tugs and will tolerate a lot of abuse...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

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Fast attack craft

Hi Jb, Yes I agree that you require a certain amount of knowledge about the equipment that you use and the health and safety side of things. The point I was trying to say is that if you hear all the bad things about exploding/smoking then nine times out of ten it is not suitable for the job or someone trying a short cut to charging. I have heard many stories of this happening but someone new to this hobby will think that it is to dangerous and look for a different hobby. I think that the important thing to get across is using the equipment properly rather than going in to the in' and out's of the very technical descriptions of various bits and pieces. I am probably not making it any clearer what I am trying to say. Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555