Forum

Arduino Transmitter link up

Am looking into a new project. I would like to use an arduino board to switch lights on and off to start with. Using the on the tx in one direction for on and opposite direction for off by jabing it a set number of times for each set of lights is this possible Or can the arduino be used to programme an ic to do this job. Is this possible for a beginner with arduino or is it too complicated. All advice and ideas welcome. Am trying to avoid relays and make my own circuits instead of using action quad switches.

4 years ago by Elsrickle

Blog

Re: 16 Channel Expander!

Remember my 16 channel expansion module? Well, a new one is being sent back to me. Along with a 16 channel switch unit! And a new 40mhz receiver and 40mhz crystal set! Let's not forget some capacitors that I need! At this rate, I could have purchased a real Tugboat! It turns out the modules worked. But, are being replaced with new ones! Just in case! All of this because I wanted. Dual Throttles on a single ! But, in the long run her performance. Will be exactly what I want!

4 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

LATEST SMOKER EXPERIMENTS, REDUCING SIZE & NEW BITS

Picked up some bits today from the vape shop and managed to score a complete battery module (with good 1s LiPo) and a vape tank base (to screw the coil/element into and that into battery base) for free from their spare bits collection. I bought a 3 pack of coils to play with also. The battery module even has a rotary wattage selector which works (for more or less smoke or different wattage coils) even has a timeout control and LEDs which all work. I managed to get it apart after a bit of experimenting (found the ends were splined and pressed into the alloy tube body)- nothing a small screwdriver and hammer could't change😁 I modified the wiring to accept Deans type plugs for future use, as the unit was solid wired and no use in that form. As the smoke comes out the air inlet using my method (model x method), the whole coil and vent must be inside a sealed tube, air fed into the mouth piece (ing out of the tank) and forced down the tank and out the exhaust outlet/s (the tank will be stuffed with cotton wool around the coil with a clearance left for the smoke to escape.) This version might have to be totally enclosed and air fed in through a tube, as there is no mouthpiece. I think I'll be able to get the size down to around 40x40 and work horizontally which is sort of what I'm aiming for. The timeout electrics on the unit aren't really necessary and the micro button for activation would require a servo arm to operate it (maybe holding right on-center off) but the timeout would be nice to incorporate in the system somehow for 'startup smoke', I wouldn't even need another battery as this one works real well and still putting out 4V (think the unit was replaced because the micro button press cover was broken,- nothing else wrong). It will be interesting to see how this version will work. After this will be further tests using pre-wound coils in similar containers. I can sense Martin getting excited already😂 Young guy running the vape shop was really interested in what we are doing with the coils, and was very helpful (also flies quads so he's in the R/C hobby area which helps) JB

4 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

Anchor Winch

This is now the the mark six version(previous versions scrapped) after various attempts I found the use of magnets for the clutch the most reliable. The drum with the chain has a metal disc made from top of soup tin as this was thin and light, superglued to drum with a small brass nail in to give extra security. A brass rod going through the chain drum also protrudes through into the drive drum for a short distance top keep things in alignment. A brass ring is also soldered to the brass rod to keep chain drum in firm position, the drive drum is also recessed for this ring enabling magnets to close up to metal ring. The servo is used to disengage the magnet allowing the anchor to free fall in lower position servo neutral position brings magnet back to chain drum holding anchor taut then when the servo is push forward it only slides on linkage and the motor turns to raise the anchor. The motor is a small geared motor of about 100 rpm and has a esc fitted for better control when inching home the anchor. Both magnet and servo I operate from tx . Care has to be taken to get the adjustment on the linkage correct and the chain drum must spin very freely. I also had to change the servo to a 3kg servo to beat the magnet pull and fit ball joints on linkage for better adjustment. My anchor was 4grams and that seemed the lightest the drum would move freely with. However the motor can lift 40 grams as that what I tested the lift at. Also did 100 non stop free fall drops and lifts to check reliability and everything was firm after my test.

5 years ago by Elsrickle

Forum

LATEST SMOKER, E-CIG ELEMENT

Hi Jb, I thought you'r comment:- "(it's actually quite addictive)" very funny. Smoking is addictive Vaping Is addictive Making smoke units is now addictive. LOL! you'r hooked LOL! You can get a on patch to help to stop smoking. You can cut back on the nicotine percentage to stop vaping. But what can you get to quit making smoke units. ? Maybe a power cut LOL!!! Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555

Response

Re: Exhaust Smoker

Hi Graham, I think the pumps I am waiting for are the the same as you've shown here (round micro air pump), saw a diapragm pump somewhere but can't remember what site (Ali Express I think) There are some very flash ones but they are above $50 for the basic one (might be a mini piston pump I think) American lab equipment co from memory. Re sounds, the ones I use are car versions by GT Power which have around 50 car sounds loaded, and a few make good boat sounds. Unfortunately they don't have sounds for Napier Sea lions or Rover Meteorite V8 fireboat engines (but there is a V8 sound which I use in the ST and MTB and another sound in the HSL which are quite suitable. There are diesel sounds good for tugs etc and various others. The start up and shut down is a cool feature. They are about the only thing I've seen that's half decent, as they are actual sounds, not artificial. I think they run off an internal SD card and the sounds (from start up to full revs) are split into lots of small WAV files, and when the throttle is at a static position, the sound in that file keeps looping till you move the , (quite subtle on a lot of the sounds) You can hear them in the ST vids. I was thinking, if someone was clever they might be able to get the proper sounds and write a new file, (you can plug the unit into your computer and open the sound files as well as some adjustable features). probably have to figure out how the files are linked to the player in the unit and how the TX signals them to play ? JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Texaco tanker (North Dakota)

Not to be outdone esso gave on bullet holes.

5 years ago by Colin H

Response

Re: Yorkshire Man Tug

Hi Guys Regret to say, Doug that I have never made it to Ostmark yet, although I now the Airport, Hauptbahnhof and Muchen Ost quite well. Not figured out so far how to pack a model so I could join you for Bier and Bavarian Hospitality. Had some of that in Frankenwald this September. Now to Yorkshireman Tug, Rocky. I run one of the early ones with the rubber belt reduction, driving each shaft, controlled by a P94 on individual s. Plus a bow thruster, rudders on right and Thruster on the left one All powered at 6 volts from a couple pf 6 volt 14 Amphr sealed lead acids, no need for extra ballast with those babies on board, It all works fine and after a little refresh after a lay off she will behave very well. Even giving enough confidence to take a hand off to consume refreshment, liquid or solid!! Happy sailing

5 years ago by ikseno99

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, first test run

I get easily confused in my old age Doug😐 I've got 2 cars, an auto and a manual, - I've noticed lately, when I shift to P for pass there are funny noises, (noticed the same when shifting to R for race) and in the manual, why does it make funny noises when I pull the back to drive off?😮 Confused😐

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: DRIVING 2 BOATS AT ONCE

Re - Small table to rest the trannies on What Doug said Ken,😀 Was easier before I changed to twin throttles as I had each boat on a separate . JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: DRIVING 2 BOATS AT ONCE

Hi Red, I mentioned earlier running two boats off 1 TX where I had 1 boat on the left (throttle and rudd) and the other on the right (with the RX in each boat bound to the same TX). Was that what you were thinking? You have to split them at the TX otherwise you'd end up going all different directions. JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Two boats with one transmitter

This vid is cut down from around 20 mins Doug. Each boat is totally independent of the other as one is on the left using one RX (elevator and rudder channels) and the other on the right using a second RX (throttle and aileron channels) I think everyone has the idea that they are on the same ? The eyes do go a bit wonky as the camera is only a small keychain camera (pre Go Pro days) which we used to mount on planes etc, and the boat movements are quick. You can always change the playback speed (on the left of the You Tube logo) JB PS I'm sure I saw a red star on that carp!

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: DRIVING 2 BOATS AT ONCE

Jb, That could be great fun, one two channel boat on each ! Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555

Forum

Vale of Glamorgan Model Boat Club

Hi Nery's ,I personally Don't need walking aids but my wife uses a and can manage the short flight of stairs upto the upper level ,going towards Gloucester there is a lovely garden centre that has a lovely cafe and has the biggest scones I have ever seen .have a nice trip. cheers Marky

5 years ago by marky

Blog

Futaba F14 Dual Thottle Installed!

The F14 is quite a nice controller. It's extremely expandable from 8ch to I believe 32ch's! I'm going to expand mine to another 12ch's! For a total of 18ch''s maybe! The controller doesn't come with well written instructions. But, You can make out what to do to the controller! The modification from double to dual throttle and . Was fairly easy to do! It's all plug and play! It's some what intimidating. To look into the controller. And see all those wires. But if you take your time. it can be worked on with no difficulties! It took me about half an hour. To do the modification! But, I can't test the controller. Because it comes without batteries! I was trying to source them form. Cornwall model boats but they're out of them! So, I'm going to have to wait. To see who I can order from! Patients is a Virtue!!!!👍

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

Krick and Hobbyking

Hi guys and Gals. I do not blow the trumpet for suppliers too often but I just have to mention the superb customer service I have received from both Krick and Hobbyking. 1) Krick. The Dusseldorf model from Krick I am currently building has a superstructure mainly formed by one piece of blow moulded clear Lexan which incorporates all of the windows also. The windows are covered by preformed on masks which are supplied on a pre-cut sheet. Just peel and fix. Well, I peeled and fixed a few a little out of place. They were so difficult to remove that I damaged the corners. Not much good for spraying. I wrote a note on their web site asking if they could give me a price for a replacement sheet. They wrote back the next day saying they would replace it f.o.c. True to their word, it arrived today, three days after my request. Well done Krick. Good products too I might add. 2) Hobbyking. I like Hobbyking. The products are good but their customer service is excellent. Over the last couple of years I have made many purchases and two have gone wrong.The first was a Li-Po battery. One cell was down when it arrived. I went to customer service on the web site and it asked me to take two pictures, one of the battery serial code and one of the battery connected to a monitor showing total voltage. I did this at 2pm. At 4pm I had an email approving the claim and a replacement was sent the next day. The second claim was this week. My relatively new Frsky Taranis X9D Plus (six months old), strangely started turning itself on, beeping, and the screen flashing and then off again repeating this every 30 seconds. The only way to stop it was to remove the battery. I wrote to Hobbyking on Sunday advising them of the error. On Monday I had an email asking for a video of the problem. I sent this on Tuesday. On wednesday they responded by saying that they had not seen this problem before and to send the unit back to them for replacement. They sent three emails over two hours today. The first said that they had received the faulty unit and that it would take around two weeks to assess and respond. Well that became one hour. They wrote again and said that the claim was valid and passed on to sales for replacement. Sales wrote one hour saying that a replacement was not immediately available and a full cash refund would be made. Five days and sorted. I can now buy a replacement. It would be good to hear of others good outcome supplier stories, or in fact the horror stories too.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

Extra channels

Re - I still don't understand why JB needs two RXs in his boat either. I'm supplying a free shovel Doug (shovel-Doug- get it.😂) The reason I have 2 RXs is that the new compact sound unit has a main power in and a 'throttle' lead to the RX (self contained module with speaker). The 'throttle' lead is Siamesed with the ESC throttle lead then to the RX. The other unit is a multi function module with a separate speaker, and for the throttle, it has a port for the throttle lead from the RX which then goes out a port in the other end for the ESC throttle lead. I am using a converted Mode 2 TX (twin throttles) so 1 ESC/sound for STBD is on r/h (ex elev) and the Port side is on the left hand (ex Thro). If you plug the new unit into port no 3 (throttle ) and the other into the elev channel you get some sort of feedback (even took out the Pos wire,- still does it. Solved by using ch3 on the second RX, Can you dig it? I didn't get where I am today by not confusing people!!😁 JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Extra channels

HI Martin, I took the liberty of changing ESCs to RXs (Receivers) to avoid any confusion!😉 Looking forward to the answers - if any! You can get modules to control all sorts of things via one channel, i.e. one or pot. I first did it myself some 30 years ago by building a four function relay board and used the AUX pot on my old Sanwa Conquest TX. There are many Nautical modules around providing 8, 16 or even 32 now I believe functions. Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Re: Futaba F14 Dual Throttles!

As you wish Commodore😁 Dual throttles on a big boy is one thing. I think you might find the response much quicker and more dramatic than you expect on a model though. Up to you. You can always change it later. I'm going to upgrade my Southampton with independent engine control as well. BUT: I will do it with a dual ESC and rudder mixer board. Then I can operate both motors and rudder with one thumb on the right . Leaving the left hand free to fiddle with function switches (or the Bierkrug😋). Attached is the data on the mixer board I will fit. I will probably start with Mode 4 to see how it goes. Then maybe experiment with Mode 3 for spinning on a dime😊 Cheers Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Fast attack craft

Hi Martin, "At the moment I don't know if I have enough bits and pieces to make it radio control," After you've looked let me know what you might need.👍 I've got a stash of so many bits and pieces I'll never be able to use them all I suspect! Loads of 27 and 40Meg stuff for instance, including Mini and Pico RXs. And more servos from micro to macro than I can shake a at! Be a shame to waste them🤔 Cheers Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Work with Balsa wood

Hi Red, Now that you have explained what a "y" is, no the subject of this thread was working with Balsa and as I have not used Balsa wood for so many years I was just sharing my thoughts and experiences, as I might help the newer members that have not used this wood before. As more experienced modellers I think that we tend to lose sight and forget the new guys to the hobby. There is nothing worse than trying to understand some of the more complex stuff when you can't understand the simple stuff first. Anyway enough woffel , the servo has it own built in speed controller. When you strip off the gears and remove the rest you are left with this (see photo) Motor and speed controller. The pot you can use to zero then any movement from the TX will dive you forward and reverse. You can replace the pot with two equal resisters ( I think it's 2k2 not sure at the moment. I don't know what other motors you can use it on that is to technical for me. Also if you remove the motor you can then connect led lighting circuits to it. You can see this on utube. Martin555.

5 years ago by Martin555

Forum

Charity shop find.

Hi ya here are a couple of pics of the bow thrusters that I am using in the Seaforth Clansman - as I have said - the one at the front :-) - is linked in with a Y lead to the rudder - the stern bow thruster is on its own on the transmitter (I think its channel 2) so, therefore, I can control the model by making it move sideways across the lake and also spinning it on the spot. Both thrusters have independent speed controllers.

5 years ago by JOHN

Forum

Hints and Tips.

A small tip for applying windows easily. Just wrap a piece of masking tape (y side out) to a balsa and it makes a perfect window placer if using the cyno type plastic glue (or any fast set glue) Put the glue on, place window, hold till set, carefully roll off the 'y '. JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Sternwheel paddle boat 1 hp

Brilliant Rooky👍 Question! Is it direct drive from the wheel? If so how does the speed controller work? Heating in the wheel for faster? Servo controlled sharp ? 😮 Freezing for slower?😁 Or vice versa? Or does he charge the battery via a generator? BTW: where is his life jacket ? SOLAS regs don'tcha know Warrant! Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Hints and Tips.

I’ll buy what I need, but I am a CASO at heart (Cheap *** Studebaker Owner) so I will recycle things such as pushrods and clevises. When I flew RC combat I built models en masse, so once I was done with that I found myself with a lot of cut down pushrods around 5-6 inches long. I’ll take those, cut them in half and use small carbon fiber or fiberglass tube cut to length and ca the cut pushrod halves into the tube, making a very stiff, strong light pushrod. If the pushrod half’s slip too much in the tube, then before gluing, I’ll tweak a slight bend or nick the metal so it gets a good purchase inside the tube then run thin ca into the joint. Never had one fail. Also, baking soda and thin ca acts like concrete, makes a decent filler but can be ugly if over done. Don’t breath the fumes!!! Sometimes I’ll have small parts that need to be painted, and my lack of patience makes want to paint the thing in one shot. If it’s a part where the bottom is glued down and won’t be seen, I’ll tack glue a scrap piece of balsa to the bottom, paint the part then gently put the in the vise to keep the assembly upright while the paint dries, then break off the and glue the painted part in place.

5 years ago by Cashrc

Forum

Night Watch

I agree with CPO, soon to be Warrant Officer, Rooky that the show was not up to standard. I heard someone saying how disappointed he was a couple of minutes after arriving. I did not think there were as many models on display, I didn't think there were as many trade stands and I heard several people say that the 'Bring and Buy' was far below what it normally is. Attendance looked as if it was down too. In fact getting around with a wheelchair was quite easy. On the positive side I thought there were some excellent models on display though as a ' and string' lover I thought there was quite a lack of sailing craft. At any show, there is always a preponderance of motorised craft but I do regret seeing less and less scale sail around. To me, the best sailing exhibit was a model of an Albert Strange yawl and by the same builder, three models of Thames A Raters showing how they developed around 1900 under the influence of Linton Hope and Dixon Kemp. However, to me the show was not entirely lost as I picked up a moulded hull from Dave Watts, 'Mastman' for my next project a 1/24 Thames Sailing Barge. Altogether, I'm glad I went, I was a bit disappointed, but whether that will influence my decision to go or not go next year, I'll have to see. Happy show going, Nerys

5 years ago by Nerys

Response

Re: 40'' Seaplane Tender, new build Y

Yes, all channels are as they would be normally and both RXs operate identically. You could have a servo plugged into Ch2 on one RX and a pump on Ch 2 on the other, and when you moved the they would operate as one (probably not a lot of use) RXs need to be independently powered also, not linked in any way. As I previously mentioned, you still only have the same No of channels as your TX. You might use it for eg where you have run out of channels but want to have a crewman steering a fake wheel or tiller at the same time as you operate the rudder, or anywhere you might want 2 things operating from one (or switch) simultaneously . Could save a bit of complicated wiring or running 2 boats (one from each ), you can park 1 and run the other and vice versa or if you have good coordination, run 2 together (might put a clip up to demo, - have one of the MTB and Maiami running together). JB

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Response

Re: Evolution

"You can now see why I am on medication LOL!" Cause or effect Martin? 😉 BTW Can you put a of inches or something in the photos to give us an idea of the size of the monster? 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Mixing throttle and rudder

I did this, well sort of, by using the settings in my transmitter, which at the time was a spektrum DX6i. You use dual rates, and exponential settings, I would imagine most modern 2.4 sets have this feature. In simple language, dual rates (D/R) will limit the throw, so by experimenting you flick the switch, and all of a sudden you have limited the throw of the rudder, flick it back for slower speeds and you have full movement. Exponential (expo) nulls the centre movement, and is generally on the same switch, so it makes the (rudder) in your case less sensitive, so easier to use at higher speed. Just remember though, most transmitters and receiver have aeroplane terminology, so, if your rudder is right , this is labelled as the aileron in the instructions, menu and so on

5 years ago by pmdevlin

Forum

Fishtailing

Hi Ron, In that case just try widening the neutral point on the rudder servo channel. It will make the servo less sensitive when the is centered. This is done at the TX, check your manual - a Spektrum TX I presume? I have the DX6 and the same RXs as yours. Cheers, Doug

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Martin Westquay's Piper Cub ;-)

It's amazing how many people do other kinds of modelmaking but rarely say anything. I just started a Facebook page for a laugh called My Other Slot Car's an Aeroplane and it has already proved really popular! One guy has a serious obsession with and tissue Keil Kraft kits! Nobody knew! Only one has admitted to modelboatitis though. Martin

5 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Motor reversing

Hi Doug, Bought some 40Mhz crystals in France - much lower frequency than you could get in UK . I run a 3 channel Hitec single with them - meant to be a 35Mhz radio.What frequencies are available in Germany ? Apologies for going off topic again.........

5 years ago by redpmg

Forum

Martin Westquay's Piper Cub ;-)

Ironically, not with skis, but floats. He sent me drawings of more makes of float than I could shake a at! It seems De Havilland were major float makers. Who knew? Trouble is, we rarely get snow and if we do get a flurry, the wind blows it away and the track to the flying club would be closed. Martin

5 years ago by Westquay

Blog

quite a while since last update

it been quite a while since the last update, holidays, work, sun shine etc all got in the way we have done some amount of work on the model in past few months mostly around the running gear and some electrics Made up a platform on which all of the main electric components will sit on, these include the 2 batteries (6 volt for the steam and lighting) 7.2v for the motor. also on the platform will be the smoke/steam generator, motor, ESC, receiver and at the back the Servo for the rudder. platform made out of MDF and sealed up and then re-enforced with wood strips before fixing the platform inside the huil (permanent fixing) did a "Bath" test to add ballast to the hull as you would imagine that it rides high without anything expect for the platform/batteries and paddles. used Car wheel weights as ballast as you can go done to the nearest gram with those as well as on on where needed. once ballasted (not fully as need to put superstructure and deck fittings on before the final a ballast glues (epoxy) the platform, into place (with the ballast under it) we can still put extra to the sides and bow/stern worked out where the Servo is going to go, fitted that to the rear of the platform and used 2 rods to goto the rudder arm added 3 switches to a small shelf on the platform, these will be the main ESC/Motor Power switch, one switch for the steam and 1 for the lights. Also ensured we can get to the 2 battery leads fore charging Added the Navigation lights (and wiring) to the wheel boxes as well as wiring up the small set of lights we have in the engine cover. as we are looking at a removable deck (so the whole thing comes off rather then just sections of the deck)on it if we need to get to the stuff like battery/motor etc we can. looking for a solution pointed me to look at the metal clips that are used to hold car speakers into place in car doors etc, basically a slide on spring clip with a hole one side and a grooved hole the other to screw into. drilled the hole in the deck where needed (8 holes in the main deck and 2 in the stern for the rudder area.) drilled holes in the GRP platform on which the deck rests, clipped the metal clips to the hull/desk rest, i have glued some small metal washers to the top of the deck to protect it then we can basically screw the deck to the hull (and remove) without damaging the deck or hull and we are screwing into metal clips and and pulling the deck to the metal clips next thing to do is look at fixing the wheel boxes to the deck, the a way of fixing (but being ale to remove) the house house if needed. then lights and wiring of as we are looking at getting lights to the wheel house as well as a few other places at the same time putting other the deck fittings (Mast, work/life boats) etc once all that done a final ballast, tighten all of the various bolts/screens, charge battery and test sailing (could take a while as working on this slowly)

5 years ago by barryskeates

Response

Re: Fitting shafts and motors

Hi Pete, "I have wired them the same polarity because I use a dual ESC so I can just swap the wires over for one of the motors." Hmmm! OK, but it is bad practice to mix up the colours; i.e. you would end up with the plus volts on a black wire and ground on the red!😮 The load (i.e. motor) should always be wired to indicate the required supply polarity. Makes troubleshooting much easier and helps to prevent accidents or magic smoke.💥🤕 Super Glue is just the 'street name' for Cyanoacrylate glues. Must have missed Mike's comment 🤔 Don't know what Loctite is made of but it smells quite different🙈 Cheers, Doug BTW: I have one of those Dual ESCs as well👍 It's destined for fitting to my destroyer or maybe the Southampton tug. I also have an Action Electronics dual ESC which has a built in rudder mixer. This might help the destroyer steering more than the Hobby Wing cos it only needs one for control of both motors and rudder with motor assisted steering!

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

Fitting shafts and motors

I have spent the last couple of sessions preparing and fitting the prop shafts, mounts and pump plate. First was to prepare the wood profiles, paint with sanding sealer and then prime them. They look a lot neater sprayed grey than just plain ply wood. I checked the two motors and found that the suppressor was not of the correct value. I removed it and replaced with the normal 47nf capacitor across the terminals and 10nf from each terminal to the casing. I then connected the wires to the terminals. I built the assemblies, fitted the motors and placed then in the hull. I then inserted the shafts and connected them to the motors via solid connectors. I prefer solid drive connectors where possible as I believe this should reduce vibration which is often introduced through universal joints. When I was happy with the alignment, I glued the shafts in place with Acrylate. I then fitted and glued the water intake pipe also with Acrylate. Next came the pump plate. This plate also has the rudder servo secured to it. After assembly, this was also glued to the hull. Next job was to fit the rear deck support and the bead on the outside which will eventually hold the rubber fender strip. The pencil taped to the flat at a distance of 12mm was used to mark the outside of the hull similar to marking the deck support line before. It was now time to prepare the two deck levels. Strengthening braces of ply wood were fitted all around. This has resulted in quite a strong unit. The instructions say that the fitting of the decks is next. I think they have forgotten all of the working features of this build. If the decks are glued now, there is no room for fitting in all of the gadgets. I will wait until I know what is required. Next time I will start the preparation of the cabin. This part contains most of the fire monitor servos and piping, radar and search lights plus general lighting. Very busy.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Blog

Fitting the Rudders

There are four rudders on this boat. The design for these is a vast improvement on the Aeronauts Pilot Boat I recently completed. The first stage was to drill all of the required holes in the hull. These include two for the anchors, two for the prop shafts, one for the water inlet tube and four for the rudders. As this is an ABS hull moulding, drilling is not usually too much of a problem but due to the cost of the model, I decided to protect the insides around the holes with tape to decrease the possibility of cracking. I start the holes off with a 3mm drill and then increase to the final size which in this case was 4mm, 6mm, 7mm and 4mm respectively. I gently filed around the holes to get a nice slide fit and correct alignment of the tubes. The deck lies on a support rib which will later be glued around the inside of the hull. The instructions highlight the build of a simple device which will hold a pencil at a height of 7.5mm. A pencil is taped to a straight piece of wood of about 30cm long with a suitable spacer in between which was 3mm in this case. You can then place the to contact both sides of the hull and then draw a constant line at exactly 7.5mm down. Simple but effective. This will form the height guide for the deck support. This line was also continued around the bow of the ship which will form the bulwark later. The next job was to prepare and glue the side supports inside the hull for the rudder tube support board. Next job was to glue the support board in place. I did not notice at this time that the support board had quite a bad bend in it. The bow was upwards which resulted in the two centre tube alignment inserts being above the end of the tubes. The solution was to glue the two middle alignment inserts under the support board instead. A little awkward but the result is good. The rudder tubes were now fitted and glued to be water tight with Stabilit Express glue. This is good for water tightness. I painted the four rudders matt black and then protected with Lacquer. Although the instructions state that the rudders should be fitted and set up at this stage, I have decided to leave this for as long as possible to avoid damage. The next job is to fit the twin motors and prop shafts. This is a job for next week.

5 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

Fairmile c class maiden voyage

Exactamente John, 👍 You beat me to it! I'm experimenting with the P94 to improve the 'cornering' of my long thin, 10:1 LoA to Beam ratio, destroyer with twin 540s, and will use one (or the Brushless P40 version) in my triple screw PTB. Beauty of the hardware mixer is that you can switch off all the aircraft / heli mixer functions at the TX and just use one for both rudder and throttle! 'One thumb control'. Much easier and cheaper than buying a dedicated TX etc. 😉 OK; if you want independent control of centre / outer screws you need an extra ESC (disconnect the 3rd output of P94) and a second throttle . But you can still use the P94 to spin the boat 👍 NiMH vs SLA? 👍 Going LiPo would improve the power/weight ratio even further 😊 Cheers, Doug 😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Fairmile c class maiden voyage

Nice work, looks great and runs really well. Have you thought of using twin ESCs on the outboard motors and converting the left (elevator - mode 1 set or vice versa for mode 2 ) to twin throttles. Most TXs are easy to convert, just a matter of removing the centering spring and making another ratchet plate for throttle use, - then plug your second ESC into the previous elevator plug on your RX . Would make your maneuvering easier in tight spots with a long narrow boat (plus adds to the scale effect.)

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Forum

Brushed to Brushless upgrade

".....brushless motors the main question is speed controller as I would need forward and reverse...." Simple answer. You can get reversible brushless ESCs. However, watch out, as boats are a minority interest and many cheap reversible brushless ESCs are designed for car use. These may have a 'braking' feature, which means that the controls work like this: forward = forward backward = motor braked quick forward and backward again = motor goes in reverse which is optimum for cars, but cumbersome for boats. A proper boat designed brushless ESC will be fine, as will be a cheap car one where you can turn off the 'brake'. RNinMunich recommends the Quicrun series of Chinese brushless ESCs, but of course products change all the time. So check that the ESC you are after is reversible, and has a 'no-brake' setting.... Rather more complex background explanation. This is my understanding of how one particular 'brushless' system works - there may well be other technologies out there... : 'Commutation' is the process of switching each coil in an electric motor on at the right time to get attracted to the nearest magnet and off when it passes the magnet, so that the armature will rotate in one direction. In a brushed motor this happens mechanically, and we don't need to worry about it. If you want to know a bit more, get a Taycol motor and start reading papers like this: http://what-when-how.com/electric-motors/commutation-electric-motors/ In a brushless motor, commutation is done by software inside the ESC. So the ESC is essential to a brushless motor - it won't run without one. What the software in a brushless ESC does is start the motor with a pre-programmed series of activations of coils. Once spinning, the software detects the generated back-emf as a magnet passes each coil, and uses this to work out the motor speed, timing, and hence which coils to activate next, depending on the throttle signal. Obviously, this happens very fast. If the motor went round slowly, the generated back-emf would be very low, and the ESC would have difficulty detecting it. So a typical brushless motor has a minimum speed which is quite high compared to a brushed motor. In a sensor motor, the ESC can be much more precise about timing because it reads it off the Hall-effect sensor. It can also run at much slower speeds. But the extra kit, and the low production levels mean that these are going to be more expensive motors. For a brushless ESC the starting process, and the reversing process, are much more complicated than they are in a brushed motor. In each case the software has to try to detect what the motor is doing and adjust the timing to get it running in the right direction 'blind', with possibly odd feedback from the coil back EMF. For a brushed motor, the ESC just reverses the polarity and the mechanical commutation automatically applies a force in the direction you want. The result is that brushless starts can be a bit jerky, and brushless reverses need 'setting up' with a process of signalling from your transmitter or using a program card. Since cheap brushless ESCs are often turned out with little documentation, making them reverse can sometimes be difficult for an inexperienced purchaser.

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Ace Nautical Commander

Twin systems are much sought after by scale boat enthusiasts - and command a high price everywhere. 27Mhz / 40Mhz systems are sought after by submariners... I have not needed a twin-, but I have thought that if I ever did I would simply make one. Much cheaper! The pots don't need complicated self-centering, they just need mounting sideways and having a joined to each, with perhaps a friction pad. You can buy commercial dual s of course - at a high price - but I suspect that anyone with a lathe could make ones equally as good. And then you could have a cheap 2.4Ghz Tx with a unique fitting...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Motor, speed controller

All got off ebay. The drone boys use this sort of thing extensively. Go there and google the items below. I have added approximate current prices - but I can recall getting some items considerably cheaper.... FPV Mini Digital Video Camera - about £6 Eachine RC832 Boscam 5.8G 48CH FPV Receiver Combo - 5.8Ghz Tx and Rx - about £14.80 7 inch Professional FPV Aerial Photography Monitor For Ground Station - about £17.50 FPV-Pro-DVR-Mini-Video-Audio-Recorder - about £11.30 Plastic-FPV-PT-Pan-Tilt-Camera-Platform - 99p! I also got an extra - about £10, a nice plastic box - about £25(!), and various connectors, switches, etc. The box contains a gel battery for the video, which can power the main R/C transmitter down the connector line - that's what the buttons and voltmeter on the panel are for... Note that the video transmitter runs hot - most of them seem to - which is fine on a drone, but thermal control needs some consideration on a boat. You can see a little heat-sink that I added.... P.S. Oh, and you'll need to arrange a 180 deg servo for the panning... P.P.S. You might want to consider a clover-leaf aerial. That enables what they call 'circular polarity' transmission, which is really useful for drones when the transmitting aerial is performing contortions in the air. For boats, a vertical aerial pumping out vertically-polarised waves may suffer from 'bounce' off the water surface, which turns the reflected waves horizontal. But these are very cheap anyway, and can be experimented with - a bit like different propellers...

5 years ago by DodgyGeezer

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

Hi Doug. I have the centre brushed motor on the LH , separate from the brushless which are on the RH. The LH side to side is now the rudder. The article is by Glynn Guest and is in one of this years magazines. It is called something like Modes. Sorry cannot be more specific as the mag has been passed on to other enthusiasts. Enjoy Malaga, should be ice free by now!

5 years ago by Rowen

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

Hi Doug, I have now introduced the ELEVON function on my twin, independently controlled screw models. That puts both motors on the RH (up/down) for simultaneous speed control and LH/RH differential operation for side to side. Tried to explain it in more detail in a recent Brave Borderer blog update. It is also covered in a recent Model Boats mag article. With twin, independent motors find it so intuitive that I like it. Previously had one motor on LH and the other on the right. Found them difficult to synchronize and then steer accurately. Pity my only tests are on the bench as no sign of ice free water here yet. Will report water tests in due course Rowen

5 years ago by Rowen

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

Hi JK, Mode 1, Mode 2? Pooh pooh! I have the German branded version of the i6, also a Spektrum D6 and a Graupner MC-10 40Meg set (for my subs😉). I use a simple convention on all of them. Throttle and rudder are both on the right , channels 1 and 2 respectively. ALL aircraft special functions and mixers are switched OFF. Connect ESC and rudder servo to the corresponding outputs at the RX and away you go. Regardless of which Mode the TX thinks it is. This means that I can control the boat with one thumb. Leaving the other hand free for the special function pots and switches, or the Bierkrug😋 I sail at the Ostpark Lake here in Munich, sitting at the edge of the Biergarten on the bank of the lake 😁 See pic of my usual corner. My TX can be set to either Mode 1 or 2. I left in Mode 1. Mode 1 or mode 2 doesn't matter, unless some sets have the self centring built in on the left. Even these can be swapped over to the right. Or use the left thumb for navigating! Only minor irritation with this setup; on all the modern 2.4Gig sets designed for the fly boys, is that on switch-on the TX still demands that the throttle,which it 'thinks' is left , is pulled down or it won't boot ☹️ Safety feature for aircraft motors! No chopped fingers😮 Haven't found a way to switch this off yet. It's embedded in the firmware.🤔 Cheers, Doug😎

5 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

Which mode you use is purely personal. I use mode 2 for aircraft use and mode 1 for marine. Normally there will be one with a ratchet for throttle, this can easily be modified to spring loaded.

5 years ago by Wingcoax

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

I think you can buy kits to spring load the second on certain transmitters

5 years ago by Hillro

Forum

Transmitter Mode 2

I think your Tx is the same as my Turnigy i6 and they only have spring loading on one

5 years ago by octman

Blog

Wheel Boxes and deck holes

Forgot an item on the last update, I fitted the pipes and ladder to the 2 funnels. This week:- My dad did a load more work on the wheel boxes, mainly adding the "steps" and portholes to the boxes. Cutting thin steps, a touch of Gel superglue to pin in place and then wood glue to secure it in place. found an issue with the 2 boxes not being 100% matching and "straight" so to speak so a bit of messing around to get each step to fit. Once all the steps fitted and glue dry, the undercoated and painted with a number of top coats of a cream colour. we did not fancy trying to cut/drill holes in the 4 side boxes for the portholes, so purchased some plastic on portholes, painted them a brass colour, painted the glass black and then stuck them onto the side boxes. we cut the 3 holes in the deck for the engine cover, and both the front and rear funnel mounts. lined the holes with wood so that the mounts and engine cover fits over the raised ridges snugly thus giving us a form of waterproofing as well as access holes for the battery and smoke generator. Made up the rear Capstan and front anchor winch (not pictured). also cutout the remaining rear deck section to go over the servo and rudder area. finally dry fitted all bits thus far to give us an item as to how its going to look.

5 years ago by barryskeates

Forum

Turnigy Standard 9x transmitter

hi what mode do you have the radio set ie glider /heli/prop? as it is this that sets the use of the switches, i have a 9x my self and purchased mine for the same reason as you as was using 12 channels for one of my tugs using all 8 channels plus a 4 channel switcher on the right . you are best setting the mode to prop (will see plane icon on screen) to give you best use of all the switches and then you will have use of three switches as i had lights on one, radar on second and water pump on third. hope this helps

5 years ago by kmbcsecretary