Forum

New Smoke Generators

HI to all, I hope everyone had a good Christmas... I have started a new line of smoke generators here In Australia, At the moment I have 2 sizes available and more on the drawing board. These new units will run on 12 and draw about 1 amp using oil based fluid. Two Sizes SG-1 80 x 45 x 50mm outlet 1/2" This unit Is design for the smaller craft or small spaces a neat little unit that performs great runs for 25mins on 1 fill of the tank (25mls) $65.00 SG-2 100 x 65 x 60mm outlet 1/2" Designed for the larger boats with a bigger tank and more powerful fan unit runs for 40min on 1 fill of the tank (35mls) $75.00 Both smoke generators can be connected directly to your power supply or to your motor for control of the fan speed ( Just need to make sure your speed controller can handle the extra power) you can set It up for 1 stack or 2 with 1/2" copper pipe fittings from your local Hardware shop.. Kit Includes : 1 x Smoke generator 1 x Smoke fluid (100mls) 1 x wire (300mm) 1 x nuts & washers Check out the short clip of the smoke generator SG-1 at youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3vpE0-ovlA or on my website www.modelboatsandfittings.com email: *Removed, PM Only - Admin*

13 years ago by shane

Forum

Anteo 2 Tug

You can power a brushless from lead acid batteries electric is electric. Lipo batteries are often used because of their ability to provide power with a relatively low weight and can dump LOTS of amps. As Colin pointed out 2 6volt batteries in parallel will provide 6 and cannot be tapped for 12v to obtain 12v the batteries need to be in series and 6 can be tapped off but will only provide the energy from one of the two batteries.

5 years ago by Haverlock

Blog

Engine Room Refit!

Captain's Log: I have decided to use 6 . For the main motor and smoker! I have ordered the main motor. And have received it. Waiting to order the smoker I have removed the main motor and smoker. Both of which are 12 ! I have put them to the side. As I already have a buyer. For both the main motor and smoker! I'll be ordering the smoker this coming Friday. I should then receive it by Monday afternoon!

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

6 of Course of Course!

Hi Joe, Thanks, took me sometime to figure it out. Think she'll run just right. With this configuration and weight! Cingers Frossed...…... Ed

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

6 of Course of Course!

Ed, Good to see you found what you need. I like to use the 6 in my tugs as well. My original thinking was that I like to keep my 550 motors running at a lower rpm. The tugs should be slow and powerful, not a speedboat! Good luck completing the work. Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Blog

6 of Course of Course!

Captain's Log: The right battery for the job! I found a battery that and amp's are just right! The most important thing the right weight! The battery weigh's in at 3 lbs. 1 ounce. Which is just right for the Brooklyn! Give or take a once or two.... But, can be adjusted to trim the water line! The battery is a 6 volt 8.5 amp battery. Which will power Brooklyn for 2.5 hours. Or 1.6 hours with her smoking unit on! Brooklyn will run on 5.2 amps with the smoker. Or 4.0 amps with out the smoker! Unfortunately you live and learn. I tried using the batteries from. Serenity, she's 12 2.5 amps! This was no good, not enough power! Also the 12 batteries weigh too much! So, A 6 volt battery was the way to go! Next is replacing the motor and smoker! Am expecting the motor this morning! Will soon order the smoker! And again she will be completed. For a spring launching!👍

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

Fan Surround

Michael, Thank you for your interest and the questions, I appreciate it. 1. With regard to the rubber stopper, good question. I have not done a lengthy test as yet, but will do. My thinking was that it would not effect the rubber as heat generated seems to be concentrated on the oil. I like the idea of a a metal cap, you have given me an idea, I have some small plumbing pieces that may work. it would be good to eliminate all flammable materials! 2. Varying the smoker with the engine speed has not been one of my goals, here is my thinking. I plan to use this unit on a steam tug, steam boilers seem to put out a constant smoke as the burning does not vary on a steam engine, the steam is just regulated. Hence, I have not done this, many commercial units offer this. I recently purchased a commercial unit for over $100 USD and was not happy with the output, that is why I started this build. From my video you can see how the smoke shoots out. I wanted to slow it down so it just puffs. I have experimented with lowering the fan voltage, but it cuts out below 3 . The attached sketch shows my experimenting with allowing some of the air from the fan to npbe redirected out. The tin that I soldered up is shown, took a lot of effort, did not work as planned. I did like the fact that it looked like a whiskey still. 3. Yes, there are smaller fans available on line. I was just using some salvage ones I had - 28mm square. I may experiment with some small fans if budget allows. I am now retired and counting pennies... More on the puffing aspect to come... Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Blog

6 of Course!

Captain's Log: Well I found a 6 volt 8.5 amp Battery. For my Brooklyn to use! Just have to order her main motor and a new smoker! Both of which will be at 6 ! Now, if I've done my math right! And all I use is her main motor. I would end up with about 2.5 hours of run time! But, if I use her main motor and smoke. I will end up with a little over 1.5 hours of run time! I was lucky in that I have a buyer. For her old 12 volt motor and 12 volt smoker! They have about an hour of use! Not exactly what I call used. But, Have to sell as used equipment!

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

Can't stop adding stuff

Doug, Those little cpu fans are perfect, plug into a spare channel and you get the 5 easy. What gauge train are you building smokers for? Joe

5 years ago by Joe727

Blog

Build

The heating elements in the hairdryer had two different wire gauges as elements. I removed the lighter gauge thinking they would probably draw less current. I am attempting to use 6 as that is what my boat is. 1. First Photo: Took a length of element and stretched it out as shown, started with a longer piece about 8". if you are at 12v probably longer. Use some alligator clip jumpers and attached to one end, ran it to negative terminal of my 6v SLA. Took another jumper and attached to a point on the wire, say about 7". JUST TOUCH the other end to the battery positive to see if it glowed, it did not. So just moved about 3/8" at a time till it glowed - See Photo. CAUTION, make certain you have a nonflammable surface to work on, I used a tile scrap. IT GETS HOT FAST AND WILL BURN, DON'T ASK ME HOW I KNOW. That's why I just touch the terminal till it glows then stop, let it cool for a while. 2. Cut element to length, than take your 16 gauge wire and the crimp tube shown in earlier post. insert both into the tube and crimp it. I used a side cutter and carefully just squeezed enough. Make sure that the element will not pull out. Do the other end. Because I am using only 6 , I had flattened out the wire to give me more wraps on the wick. See photo and note. 3. in the lid of the box, I located the fan at one end, the exhaust stack at the other. Drilled a hole matching the fan opening and secured with two screws, drill small pilot holes so as not to crack the plastic. Drill hole to match brass tube OD, tube is about 1" long or so. Super glued brass tube in place. Excuse the sloppy copper sheet work on the inside of the lid, it was an experiment at the time. I added this a a bit of a heat sheild as the wick and element would sit below this. 4. Next photos show the interior of the box, not the best photos of the process as this was already built.... The mint tin set inside the plastic box was an idea to do two things; first isolate the heating element from the plastic,and two, provide a smaller vessel for the fluid. You may want to just use a metal container instead of the plastic box, again I was just using what I had on hand. The wick is laying in the tin with the element propped up at on end to keep it out of the fluid. Photo shown does not show much fluid in place. This needs some work, but worked for this test. Experiment, just be sure that the lower portion of the wick is in the fluid and the element wire wrap is above the fluid level. For the test, I used some mineral oil and a bit of glycerin, smoked very well. it's late so I will run it and photograph tomorrow. Cheers, Joe (Excuse the Imperial rather than metric)

5 years ago by Joe727

Response

Cracked Battery!

Hi Doug, No, I mean $40.00 for all three Batteries! But, I'm still looking! I found one for $23.33. It's 6 at 8.5Ah and it weighs 3.1 Lbs. Which is just the right Ballast for Tug Brooklyn! Also ample power 1.5 hour run.....👍

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Blog

Weight Too Much!

Captain's Log: After careful consideration. I have decided to use only one battery at a time! This being 6.5 lbs. is way too much weight. Her bow is too low to the waterline. She get's thrown off by the weight. So, one battery at a time will be used! Now, having lowered the . From 12 to 6 is a problem. See her main motor and smoker. Are 12 each! So, now I have to replace. The main motor and the smoker. To a 6 volt system! This is not so easy. If any of you are familiar. With Dumas and Harbor model products. You know this ain't cheap!😭 Luckily, I will be selling both parts. Together next month! As both parts are in new condition! I will then order a 6 volt main motor and Smoker! Oh, each battery will give me about 1.5 hours of run time! And that's not bad at all..... NOTE: I'm only losing $10.00 on the resale of her Motor and Smoker!

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Hello all, since I keep the weekend for me I thought I'd try hooking up all the lecktrickery for my brushless motor. It's one of they outrunning tiddlers. I have a 3S LiPo which is firing on all cylinders at 3.79 per. I plug it in to the ESC, some Chinese one I got recently. I soldered wires to a T type plug that fits the Overlander battery pack. I'd already soldered the 2mm connectors to the other end of the ESC wires and protected them with heat shrink. Plugged tested (6.2 ) Nimhs into Rx and it starts flashing, then plugged ESC into a channel and the motor, yes , the MOTOR starts beeping! How the hell can that happen? I plug the battery in and the motor beeps even quicker! What on earth is happening? Needless to say, no rotation, buzzing, whistling, just beeps from a motor, clear as you like! Please help. I am already teetering on the edge of getting rid of all my working stuff as it takes up space and is such a damned faff! But what I have, I would like to work. Just long enough to prove it all. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Blog

New Batteries!

Captain's Log: Well, I order new batteries for the Tug Brooklyn. I placed the order about a week ago. I received them last night! Before I continue let me say this. I was using the Batteries from Tug Serenity AKA Jersey City! Those Batteries are 6 at 2.5 Amps! For a total of two! I saw what I thought were the same battery. Only at 6 at 8 Amps. For a total of 12 at 8 Amps! Well the batteries are huge! I had to take all of the Forward ballast out of Tug Brooklyn! Even then she's a bit bow heavy. But, I really want the extra Power! Because Tug Brooklyn is a 12 Volt Tugboat! Take a look at the Batteries side by side. It's a good thing there's enough room in her forecastle! I'm putting the Batteries end to end and they fit! Oh, the Batteries weigh 6.5 LBS!😱

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Blog

Deck, servo mount

Put together a pilot house based on some tugs I've seen. Just freelanced it as I went. I build a lot with styrene so I am used to just cutting and building. I use liquid styrene cement that fuses the materials together. See photo, will trim it out as I mount it, need to add some detail at roof and some Navigational lighting. Put on on 3mm plywood deck, same as hull bottom. The deck is also curved (proper term is SHEAR) and I started to build up some wood edge at the opening. Will sand everything well, then start sealing and priming all surfaces. Made a bracket for the rudder servo mount and an adjacent platform for the ESC and RX. Ordered two 6v 5ah SLA batteries. I will wire in parallel to stay with 6v and get 10ah. I like to stay with 6 as I want the motor to run slow like a tug should. Will wire in an in-line fuse. Haven't decided where I will put switch, up high somewhere to avoid water. I will show the wiring once I get to it. This build is going fast because it's a simple design, just what I was looking for. I work on it late afternoons and into the evening while I watch basketball games. About 4 hrs a day. Looking forward to building the hatch and getting some primer started tomorrow. Regards, Joe 👍

5 years ago by Joe727

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Steve, have you calibrated the throttle first? (read 2 and 2.2) on the instructions, You have to give the ESC a full, low and mid-point throttle position before you can start the programming. Plug in motor and ESC BEC lead into throttle position in REC. Turn on TX and give it full throttle. (make sure motor is held firmly as it may kick hard if started) Program - plug in batt wait 2 secs for beeps then wait 5 secs for musical tone (now in program mode) wait for 1,2,3 or 4 beeps (asks which program you want and will keep cycling through till you chose one) as soon as you hear the no of beeps for the program you want quickly pull the stick to the bottom and wait for the reply,- it will now cycle through the programs in step 3. Choose the one you want in the same manner as the last selection but by moving the stick to full throttle (if you miss it it will cycle round again) Hold it there and it will reply (musical beeps) wait and the program will return to step 2 and you can select the next setting to enter and repeat the process. Safest to set Auto battery and then the others as per chart especially min batt . Once happiness filled, follow the Program Exit instructions (step 4) Also as 'RN' previously mentioned, if you have a Futaba, you may have to reverse the throttle to make it all work. When finished, unplug batt, turn off TX, re start everything (TX, Batt/RX) and check. AS A PRECAUTION,MAKE THROTTLE NEUTRAL BEFORE RE STARTING IF YOU HAVE SET FWD AND REV, OR LOW IF NOT. BE AWARE THROTTLE MAY BE REVERSED ALSO). You may have to have a few goes but you will get there and realize it's not that difficult after all . if in doubt just un-plug the battery and start steps again. Just think of it like the ESC is asking you "do you want this"? at a particular set of beeps, and you are replying by moving the stick, or ignoring that question and moving to the next one. if you are using a pistol grip TX just let the trigger go and it will give you neutral/center (as per instructions 2.2

5 years ago by jbkiwi

Blog

Wheelhouse

Hi All Cracking on with the wheelhouse and playing with the LED lights. I drop the wheelhouse lights from 4.5 to 3 which made them look a bit more yellowish. Canabus

5 years ago by canabus

Blog

fuses

Schnellboot Radio control setup 3 Mtroniks M400 marine Motors (running at 12V, at maximum efficiency it will run at around 20,000 Rpm and pull around 4 amps. Start-up current depending on prop size (30mm on 4mm prop shaft) would be around 10amps (6-12 ) 3 Mtroniks Viper marine 15 ESCs connected using Mtroniks W-tail mixer with 10-amp fuses used between ESC and battery’s Batteries are 1 Carson 2100 MAH High performance NiMH battery pack 2 Vanquish 22oo MAH NiMH battery pack All Batteries are 7.2 V I have tested the set -up all the ESC are synchronised, and all seems well on the bench but when I try it in test tank all the fuses blow, and I check all connections and there are not short circuits on the connections or switches can anyone help

5 years ago by teejay

Forum

Smoke/steam output for models

Well Doug I have got one of these vapour cigarettes, free of charge, but need to get a power supply for it, it runs on 6 , will add some pictures when it arrives tomorrow, apparently it has adjustable air flow and has a 25ml reservoir for the oil. Cheers Colin.

5 years ago by Colin H

Response

aeronaut classic

Hi Sandgrounder There are a number of speed 400's with voltage range from 4.8 to 7.2 . The revs range is between 16,400 to 22,000 rpm. So 28mm brushless like a Prop Drive V2 2836- 1800kv(shaft 3.175mm) on a 3S Lipo battery with give you 19,980 rpm. ESC 45Amp. Prop 30-32mm 2 blade. If it's tight of battery space Hobbyking have small ones you can parallel together like the Turnigy 3S 1500mah 25C (73 x 33 x 27 mm). Regards Canabus

5 years ago by canabus

Forum

Smoke generator

Hi Dick, No I haven't made one! I purchased mine from Harbor Models in the US! You didn't mention how many your tug will be! But what about something like this! https://www.cornwallmodelboats.co.uk/acatalog/graupner_2324.html#SID=253 Cheers, Ed

5 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

BTW Martin, going back to your original post- "Plugged tested (6.2 ) Nimhs into Rx and it starts flashing ..." Did you check that the RX is Bound to the TX? E.g. by trying it with just a simple servo before messing with the ESC? Doug

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

All hooked up, nowt happens...

Sounds good to me Selwyn 👍 That board is a sensible (essential) idea in that setup. Stops a stronger battery trying to charge the weaker one.👍 I have several Action Electronics modules as well (duplicated some 😁) They're good, well made stuff. Anyway, your brushless ESCs will 'see' 12V so setting them up as running on NiMh should do the trick. if you set them up as 'LiPo' they might think it is a 3S 11.1V battery and try to let the go down to 9V before cutting off!! Not good for the SLAs 😡 IF they assume it is a 4S 14.8V Lipo they will cut off at 4x3.0 i.e. 12V which will drastically shorten your run time; you'd have to keep the SLAs near fully charged (13.6V) all the time. Bon chance mon ami, let us know how it goes. All the best, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Blog

The wheelhouse navigation light.

This is a small item but very visible on the wheelhouse and since the standard for this item has been set I have to follow suit. So first of all get some 3mm blue LEDs ordered and then it’s on with preparing the white metal body. I used by hand as suggested a series of drills increasing in diameter until 3.1 dia was reached but only 2/3 down the length from the front the smaller hole (1.5mm) was bored right through for the wires to exit. Arrival of the LEDs, first check the LED using my power supply, just over 3 seems to illuminate to the correct level. Next was to remove the shoulder on its plastic casing so the whole body does not exceed 3mm over its length and lightly abrade the outside to give a diffused light. Next cut the LED legs to 2mm from the plastic casing noting which is positive, next prepare the wires. I used Futaba servo wire cable 22awg which is very flexible and with the white signal wire stripped off leaving a red and black wire. These were tinned and cropped to 2mm and then quickly soldered to the appropriate terminal. Next check the LED still works! first hurdle over, I now needed to check the that when the LED goes into the body it doesn’t short out so checking the diameter over the widest part which is over the soldered terminals this was 0.1 below 3mm. I decided that shrink sleeve was too thick so I mixed some epoxy resin and coated all around the terminals, this proved to be satisfactory in both non-conductivity and dimensionally. Now the final test, using some aliphatic wood glue I slid the LED into the body whilst it was illuminated as it was a tight push fit, bingo it’s still lit – leave to set. I used aliphatic glue, as it would be easier to remove should I ever have to change the LED. The body still needs painting white but this will be done with all the other fittings at a later stage.

6 years ago by mturpin013

Forum

Equipment wire

Hello, try looking for old 25way data cables at your local car boot sale. The cores are multi-coloured and very thin. Most LEDs only use a breath of current to drive them so you won't start a fire! Here's a tip about dropper resistors for LEDs: put them at the power supply end where you can tie them down securely. Also, the formula for finding the resistance you need is: R equals (supply) minus needed by LED (Vf) divided by the required LED current (If). So, say 12V supply, 2V LED wanting 15mA = 12-2=10/.015 = 666.667, so you'd use the nearest value above, which would be 680ohms. Easy! The size of the resistor in watts/milliwatts is found by I(current) times E(), so 10X.015=.15W, or 150mW. Hope I'm not teaching an old sea dog new tricks! Starting a new Firefloat - oh boy.😲

6 years ago by b111yboy71

Forum

Brushless motors (again)

depending upon the type of motor cooling it can be a problem. Most brushless motors are out runners so the case rotates! in runners are usually for higher speed applications (or driving a gearbox). if you have an idea as to the size of IC engine the boat was intended to have then this list may be a help .049 or .051 = 100 watts 0.10 = 200 watts 0.15 = 300 watts 0.25 = 500 watts 0.32 = 640 watts 0.40 = 800 watts 0.45 = 900 watts 0.51 = 1020 watts 0.61 = 1220 watts 0.75 = 1500 watts 0.91 = 1820 watts Since Watts are * Amps ( I know this is not accurate for a reactive load like an electric motor but its a rule of thumb) This gives you a ball park next point is the KV ( revs per volt) of a motor. The higher the KV the smaller the prop. Finally buy a Watt meter they are not expensive and give you a chance to " fine tune" a setup. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FT08-RC-150A-Hight-Precision-Watt-Meter-and-Power-Analyzer-w-Backlight-LCD-U3F1/223101148808?epid=23023179441&hash=item33f1dd5e88:g:LYAAAOSwV3pba1JA:rk:11:pf:0 Car ESCs ( usually) have a reverse function while the airplane versions do not. They are generally cheaper than boat specific ESCs.

6 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Voltage increasing via regulator

OK, Understood, I think! If you just want to boost the bow thruster why don't you just fit a small 12V (or 11.1V LiPo) just for that? Frankly I might start with an 9.6V batt before I jump from 7.2 to 12V. I assume it's just either On or OFF, i.e. no ESC. As you can see from the specs of your Booster, as the output increase the deliverable current (for a given input ) decreases inversely, as I predicted! Ya don't get summat for nuttin! Soooo, you need to carefully check the specs of the thruster motor; max voltage, current at maximum efficiency versus applied! That will tell you the max battery that you can safely and most efficiently use, and you can check if your booster can deliver the required current at the voltage needed. I'd just use a separate battery and a servo operated micro switch, but then I'm just a dumb engineer!😲 Bon chance mon ami👍 Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Voltage increasing via regulator

A somewhat confused question if I may say so Eric!😲 You can't 'regulate up' only down. The regulator's job is to produce a constant lower voltage from a range of higher voltages. I often use one to produce 5V for the RX and servos from a 12V SLA drive battery. A little 3 legged device (type LM7805) which looks just like the power FETs in a high current ESC. My version of a UBEC! 😉 What is this 'regulator' you have? Type number? Manufacturer? Photo? To get 12V from 7.2V you would need to use a Voltage converter (also known as an inverter). This works by converting the DC input from the battery to an AC voltage which can then be increased using a transformer. More elegant (and expensive!) versions use a transistor oscillator and amplifier. This uses hi-power transistors instead of the transformer. The AC output of the transformer (or amplifier) is then rectified back to DC. All this is very inefficient which is why it is normally only used for very light currents, where the losses are not so significant, and when there is no other alternative, not often the case! You can't beat the physics and you will never get the same power out that you put in. This leads to a basic design question:- What is the total current consumption of the load? I.e. the motors. A simple example:- Let's say that at 7.2V the motors draw 10Amps total, i.e. 72W (or VAmps). Assuming a utopian 100% efficiency at 12V this would equate to 6A. Due to the three stages of conversion; DC to AC, transformation / amplification of AC to 12V, AC back to DC, you'll probably be lucky to get an efficiency of around 60% to 70%. Thus if you stick 720W in you'll get around 430 to 504W out. Not much of a gain is it!🤔 Your battery would be exhausted in about 2/3 the time it is now 😡 If your motors draw more than 10A the problem just gets worse. So what is it you really want to do? If you just want to up the to your motors stick a 12V SLA or an 11.1V LiPo (3S) in and hope that you don't cook your motors! Frankly I don't really know why you're bothering, tugs aren't sprinters! If you want more pulling power with the existing setup try experimenting with prop sizes and pitch. Will probably achieve much more than fiddlin' about with voltage converters. BTW: All this assumes that the RX has it's own separate 5V battery supply or from a BEC in the ESC. Some clarification needed from your side. Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Margaret's health

Thanks Doug but can't see a current rating. Just in and out. I thought about 10 Ohms but your numbers are right . is 5 amps a bit high. it's only for up to 4 Nimh AA cells after all or are you playing safe? Sorry I don't know how I missed previous answers. A similar one shows 400 Mah. |But thinking back I think the original was 7.2 v @w250 Mah. I only think though.

6 years ago by onetenor

Forum

Old outboard motor...

Hi Doug, I do have a Hobbyking CNC ally one and now have a brushless inrunner for it. I got it when they were very cheap a while back. Wouldn't pay what they now want for them and Graupner are always way overpriced. I could be tempted with 7 quid for a Hobbies one though, just to see how it goes together. The K&O are gorgeous but collector money and the Alterscale are dummies, albeit nice dummies and also bloody expensive. I sliced the little vintage jobby I bought down the joint line with a fine saw blade in the minidrill today and all is well. it just needs new wires and some grease when I can find some good styrene/nylon grease. The motor is a two magnet Kako, many examples of which I have in store. Even has a nice little built in switch. I reckon 3 is probably all the transmission can take. The gears are not, as I assumed bevels, but 2 spur gears! I now have to find a way of making the prop shaft stay on the motor shaft! I'm loving this restoration stuff. Painted the red on my Star yacht today with my best chisel headed sable and got a special 1/4 litre of the emerald green mixed in HMG enamel (the very best there is). Tried to win a lovely Starlet off ebay, but some sod beat me to it last minute. I hope it leaks Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Mtronics and Lipo's

Basically ads is correct, but that's only half the story! The clue is to look for 'LiPo Safe' when buying ESCs. That tells you it has a programmable Cut Off voltage setting to prevent damage to your battery. Default is usually 3.2V per cell. Absolute minimum is 3.0V. Below that you risk irreversible damage to the battery due to chemical changes that can't be reversed. The alternative is to fit a battery monitor which can trigger an audio and/or visual alarm to warn you to 'make nearest port best speed' before your battery is deep discharged, from which it will not recover! Some ESCs have a programmable function which allows to preset a reduction of the max power to the motor (instead of a total shut down) to give you the chance to get home before disaster. PLEASE don't ask me which ones. Check the specs carefully before you buy. Many current TX/RX sets will tell you on the TX display when the battery are low. Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Cygnus GM32

Hi Cygnus GM32 I am using these Hobbyking ones https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbywing-quicrun-60a-2s-3s-waterproof-brushed-esc-for-1-10.html Links to setup the ESC on Lipo and Niamh. I have used them on 12 , but, they will not work on 6 . You can crash straight from forward into reverse !!! Running a 70mm 3blade on one Hellen fishing boat (weight 14 pounds) and a 60mm brass 3 blade on the other Hellen.

6 years ago by canabus

Forum

EarlyVosper M.T.B by Simplas

"Maybe but ballast ,is ballast,is ballast. However it's achieved." Sure John, but at least a heavy battery is useful load and not 'just' ballast.😉 Have no idea what shaft power the Fuji produces (only know their excellent 35mm film😉) but the Taycol Supermarine is rated at 22.5mHP (22.5/1000HP) at 3.5A, 4000rpm. Efficiency 52% 🤔 so you have to stick twice as much electrical power in to achieve that! Sooo, given that 1HP = 745.7 Watts - And electrically P=IxV (Current x ) 22.5/1000HP = (745.7*22.5)/1000 = 16.778W so ~33.55W in. Thus if I = 3.5A they must have done that test / measurement at about 9.6V. The Supermarine also runs great at 12V but maybe not with max efficiency!? With a spec weight of 2&1/2 lb i don't even want to get into Power to Weight Ratio, although I measured Colin's motor at 947gm = 2.0877776229lb 😉 But then, some of the motor had corroded away As I'm currently renovating a Supermarine for Colin H. This makes me start thinking about rigging up a test jig so I can see what it actually produces!!! Always up for a challenge 😁 Got nowt else to do 😁😁 Would be useful for other motors as well if I can get it figured out😉 Happy fiddlin' folks, cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

S.H.Grainger Formula Powerboat

Hi Steve im not sure now regarding motors as they have water cooling cans on but Surfury runs from memory a 1075kva motor Turnigy 160 A speedo watercooled on 2x2s 5200 lipo`s in series ie 14.4 with 52mm mocom Alum prop approx 3hp. I think the Tornado has approx 2045kva motor same speedo + lipo`s x 50mm nylon prop both do scale speed to as fast as 40/61 IC and look great on our choppy water with just prop and rudder in the water. Both motors will take 6s if you like ballistic? All gear from Hobby king. Try the IC first, post some pics please

6 years ago by vortex

Forum

Robbe Paloma

Just wondering if anyone's got any experience of building one of these boats. I've managed to get one brand new in the box. Wondering if 2 x 555 motors will be enough for it running on 11.4 . Any information gratefully received. Regards Mike.

6 years ago by chippy

Forum

LiPo batteries

Hi Doug and all. Delay in answering your post as for some reason, my phone was useless on the internet. I did not see your post about checking the capacity percentage until I returned home, so that is why in April my checks were not complete. On my return to Hungary a couple of weeks ago, I checked the batteries and they were both at 3.85 per cell and at 51% capacity. When they were new, they were at 31% capacity. My new smaller batteries were also at 30% capacity and when I left on a storage charge, they are also at around 50%. The new, lighter 4S batteries are 1800mAh. On the first full charge they only gave me 89% capacity. I used them both, unfortunately they lasted about 6 minutes each, and recharged. This time they charged to 99% and lasted 10 minutes. Hopefully they get a little better after a few uses. I am now back in England and when I left, all of the batteries were at around 3.86 per cell an 50% capacity. I will check again at Christmas but I will have to see if the Danube freezes to see if I can use the boats then or not.😉

6 years ago by MouldBuilder

Forum

Graupner Jumbo 540 motors

Doug, The 6volt battery is currently an NiMh battery not an SLA. The problem was that according to Mtroniks the minimum voltage to the ESC to adequately run the BEC connection is 6. That is why I was getting erratic control when the battery voltage was 5.6 . The action speed controller will work 2-12 and I am going to use a separate receiver battery as suggested by Dave Milbourn just to make sure. Regards Will

6 years ago by Will-I-Am

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Cheap motor for a quick fit, but what prop gents?...

Mornin' (😲) Martin., First off; the Hornet ain't mine, wish it was 🤔 I had a look on the Lesro Models site to get an idea of what the prop would have to shove! Was surprised to see it is my hull with a different lid! The current kit is 80 quid BTW. To the motor / ESC; Yeah, you could use an 11.1V LiPo on that motor. BUT your ESCs probably are not LiPo SAFE! Which means that they won't have an automatic shut off or slow down function for when the battery is getting near it's Suicide voltage; roughly anything below 3.0V. Some say 2.7 but I don't risk that. So you would have to be cautious on the first runs and frequently check the remaining to learn how long you can run before you risk damaging the LiPo. If you can squash it in how about a 12V 10 cell NiMh? That should give you a good turn of speed with the 35mil prop. Bit heavy though🤔 I use an 11.1V LiPo in my Sea Scout with a 1000kV brushless. i.e. ca 11.100 rpm full bore, and that lifts her snout quite well as you have seen. Hope you find the motor, you seem to make a habit of 'mislaying' motors! Have you found the Supermarine yet? Apropos Supermarine; I've just been asked to renovate one 😉 Looking forward to that so I can see it's coil construction first hand. Will help me refine the mod instructions for you.😉 ESCs; mail me any printing on them and photos and maybe I can identify them and their capabilities. The switch makes me think maybe they do have BEC! The leads don't go nowhere cos it's only there to switch on the ESC / BEC. in my experience only ESCs with BEC have such a switch. Easy way to find out; set up an RX with a servo, plug the ESC lead into the RX, stick a battery on the ESC WITHOUT motor, switch on the TX and the ESC (move the switch to the end where two wires are connected) and see if the servo responds to the TX or any LEDs flash on the RX. Or just measure the across the red and black wires on the RX plug! If the ESC has a heat sink I don't think you need worry too much about current capability. Use your natty new Wattmeter to measure the current drawn by the motor as you run it slowly up to full speed. 😉 Don't think you need worry about either; all but the teeny weeny ones (like the fingernail size 3.7V ESCs I just bought for my Plastic Magic ships with only a 1S LiPo supply) can normally handle at least 12V, it's current that usually kills 'em😡 Sorry; Your electro-boards are still here, haven't been too mobile lately🤔 So I ordered some prepaid DHL labels (arriving Thursday) and will then get them to collect your parcel from me. Will email when they're finally underway. Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Response

Range Safety Launch?

Hi The 382 was a Fire Float Mk1(40 foot) (No. 90) converted in Feb 1950 to a Seaplane Tender. Max speed 21 knots. The MFA 800's are 5167 rpm( unloaded) @ 12 / 5.3 Amps. Replacing these with 3639-750Kv brushless on 2S Lipo batteries(7.2 ) would give you 5400 rpm( unloaded). 2S 4000mah 25C Lipo's(one for each motor) weigh 221 grams each. Canabus

6 years ago by canabus

Forum

Martin's Taycol Conversion Boards

As to knowing the bigger motors, I have never run the Double Special and the Supermarine was normally on a single 6volt Lantern battery. Only occasionally on 2 lantern batteries to appease my Dad's need for speed, but an oyster bed was not really big enough for 12 and REP single channel bang bang RC! Beyond that and the wonderful noise it made, I know nothing, I'm afraid. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Martin's Taycol Conversion Boards

Fantastic stuff, Doug. That gizmo on the right with 0.05 and 6.0. is that Amps and ? is that really just 0.05 amps with the motor running?! Does that really mean just 0.3 watts? Would the model even move? Ah, but then that's off load, innit? Stick a 35mm 3 blader on it and what would it draw in the wet stuff, I wonder? OK, I'll get a bloomin watt meter. Least I can do I suppose Impressive on the videos, too. Ain't it quiet? My Taycols growl at me, but then so does the Mrs.! I'm gittin' excited now. You have to need some brass bashing, so I can thank you properly for all the work. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Graumpner eqivilant replacement

Hi MikeP The Torpedo 800 is 5167rpm@ 12 and the diameter is 52mm. Canabus

6 years ago by canabus

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi Doug, I'm going to work on the Brooklyn's light's. After I complete her! The wires are going to be in her main cabin. So, will work on the lights last! Will be using two 9 for two separate lights!👍

6 years ago by figtree7nts

Response

Gina 2: A Messy Business - Hull Restoration

Evenin' Mike, Glad you found it interesting😉 The details of the motor conversion are in my Sea Scout renovation blog but the essentials are- All modern ESCs provide a DC output in the form of pulses which are rapidly switched on and off ( several thousand times a second). That's what you can see in the scope pics. The scope timebase (width of one horizontal division) is set to a little less than 1msec so you can see how fast the pulses are switched and how the pulse width (ON time) varies. The inertia of the motor keeps it going during the few milliseconds of 'Off' so the ratio of ON pulse to OFF determines the speed of the motor. The signal from the TX varies this ratio by varying the ON pulse width of the ESC output in proportion to the throttle stick position. A Bridge rectifier is simply 4 diodes arranged in a square (see pic) so that it has 4 terminals; +, - and two AC (~). When an AC signal is applied between the two ~ terminals a DC voltage of constant polarity appears at the + and - terminals. The rectifier sees the ESC output as an AC signal and produces a DC output at the + and - terminals. All I do is apply that constant DC voltage to the field coil of the motor, thus creating a constant magnetic field as if it was a permanent magnet. This means doing a small mod to the motor to separate the field coil from the brush gear and rotor (armature) coil. 3rd pic shows normal wiring of the coils in series. Meanwhile the varying pulsed voltage goes to the brush gear (and thus armature coil) driving the motor just like a normal 'can' motor. No rocket science just a neat trick 😉 The scope just shows the varying pulse train from the ESC to the motor. Zero is on the horizontal centre line of the screen and shows when the voltage pulses are positive (upper part of screen) or negative (lower part of screen) and the motor reacts accordingly. The slight overshoot is probably due to the reaction time of the diodes but the motor doesn't notice that - it's too 'lazy' 😉 Here endeth today's seminar 😁 Hope it's demystified things a little. Cheers, Doug 😎

6 years ago by RNinMunich

Forum

Which motor

Hi Neil I have a 49inch tug which uses a 540 motor with 2.5 to 1 reduction box. 3inch 4 blade prop, On 12 pushes along nicely and with a 7amp hour battery gives about 2 hours sailing, total sailing weight is 21 kilos. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Which motor

Hi Neil, I use MFA/ComoDrill Torpedo 500. On my Tugs and they have enough power! I use the 2.5:1 g/box at 12 . It gives about 13350 rpm's http://www.mfacomodrills.com/gearboxes/918d_series.html Cheers, Ed

6 years ago by figtree7nts

Forum

LED Tug Mast Navigation Lights

Hi, Doug: Sorry about that. Where power enters the circuit board the reading is 8.08 , same as the 7.2V battery pack when it’s fully charged. That sounds like something from an Abbott & Costello routine! 😎😎

6 years ago by PittsfieldPete

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

But, Haverlock, you get a charge lead with it. I just can't help wondering whether the usual 5 on the other end isn't too high, but, like I said, my wife's efags and her phone are charged from the same source...her laptop. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Charging NiMhs, one for Doug?...

Hi Doug, the battery in the new FlySky Tx is a 1s LiPo, so 3.7. it's 800 Mah and the set comes with a charge lead from a USB port. But they're 5 , aren't they? So wouldn't that damage it? And they don't cut off when charged do they? Chris's efags are done that way as is her phone and I had a 4 port USB thingy in the glove compartment of me Reliant Fox for Chris's fags and phones. Now I have a neat tower of 6 mains sockets and 4 USB ports and they are down as 5 too. I have it to use shorter leads on all my small power tools and to charge stuff. As long as I'm not risking frying a LiPo, I'll be happy! Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Spektrum, new, useless...

Doug, the loaner was bound to the guy's DX5e in DSMX, but I will keep saying for pmdevlin's sake that both Orange Receiver and my Tx. says compatible with both protocols, but the Spektrum loaner wouldn't bind. I bought a 6 volt Rx battery pack especially for this and it's giving just over 6. I bought 4 new Duracells for the TX. (all said above), so all is well on the front. The Orange in fact is OK for 3.7-9.4 it says. I did all you suggest , but no flashing lights on TX and no end OR change to the frequency of, flashing lights on Rx, either of them. Doug, isn't your stabiliser Orange Rx. also compatible with both? When did orange go single protocol, I wonder. Martin

6 years ago by Westquay