I have 3 of the Multiplex Cockpit MMS in my “stash”. Two of them I bought about 8 years ago, almost new. My intention at the time was to fly one, use the other as a backup for my other, original Cockpit that I had since 2000. It has been thru hell, as it was my RC combat radio, and in the course of a match it would get exhaust blown on it, sticky substances stuck to it (we would coat the wings to help grab and break streamers) and I know it was dropped more than once. I converted it from the stock 6 cell pack to a 2 cell li-ion pack, and when I quit flying rc combat, I used it for some of my old timers. It sat, unused for a few years as my attention turned to rc boating, and a few years ago I converted it to 2.4 using a Frysky internal DHT or “hack” module. I still have it as a backup to my Taranis, and it still works. The DHT module was designed to allow people who have older radios with no external RF module to be able to convert their existing transmitters internally. Unfortunately, FrSky discontinued the DHT module, but it now looks as if they have a replacement on the way, an XHT module, that works the same way, just updated with a “smart port” feature that I’ll never use. However, it means that people with older transmitters can upgrade to 2.4 again, however once that’s accomplished, that radio will only be able to use recievers that will work with FrSky’s ACCST protocol.

Hi Martin. I think I still need to play with my CG on the PT. I’ve seen videos of others and they either act like mine or plane at a slightly steeper angle and handle better.
The two women fishing had a pretty good time watching us run, we did sailboats first the first hour we were out, the women fishing were itching to see the PT and some if Larry’s fleet run, so we obliged. Being former aircraft maintainers they asked some very intelligent, technical questions about the boats. It was a very good day😀

Had a small group of us meet at Josey Ranch this past Sunday. We ran from 900 am till noon-thirty or so. I took the PT15 out and she seems to handle a bit better, still wants to “dig in” when powers down a bit, I’m thinking move the C/G back a bit more and switch from nimh to lipo will put here where I want her. We had 2 older women fishing right next to us, we talked about fishing, aircraft, (one, maybe both worked for Delta as maintainers) boats and fishing..it was a very pleasant day!!

North Texas Model Shipwrights fun run Josey Ranch, Texas May 31st 2020

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To:Fleet Admiral, RNHQ Munchen
cc: all active and reserve Night Watch fleets
From: Lt.Hargett, Commander STANFORT

It is with great pride and satisfaction to be able to report that the PT15 has passed her sea trials and acceptance inspection. She ran with a 6 cell nimh pack for today’s tests. Seaworthiness was very good, maneuverability acceptable. It looks as if a slight upgrade in power would be in order, so she will probably be upgraded to a 2 cell lipo soon, which will necessitate a ballast change aft, but our chief engineer has signed off on her “as is”, so she will be added to the roster immediately, and added to the Texas Navy inventory. The issues she had earlier have been addressed, and as promised, patrols will start soon.

LT Cash Hargett
Commander, STANFORT

So. The Awning. The thing that keeps me up nights. Wasn’t really happy with it anyway. The frame was a little tweaked, it had too much peak in the middle, and to make matters worse, the sticky back material for the “canvas” kept coming loose. So, since I didn’t take the Hawk out this morning, (late night slept in) I decided to fix the thing once and for all.
I had purchased some new stock for the railings, it’s closer in diameter than the first brass I used. However, I had to reuse one piece as it’s made from longer stock then I presently have. I made a jig from 1/4 inch balsa sheet, made my frames, lined everything up and soldered the whole mess together. After I checked fit on the superstructure, I then had to apply the “canvas”. I was wondering what to use, cloth, Monokote, etc, then I remembered that I have a roll of sticky back sailcloth, as I have used that to repair rc boat sails where the rigging goes thru, and it’s used for the battery hatch on my DF65. I made up the top, installed it, then used another piece as a “headliner” to keep the tabs from working loose. Has a wrinkle in the aft port side, but..it looks good enough for government work, and better than the last monstrosity I built.
Next, guns, fittings and electrics!!

Peter, that’s a cool story, sounds like some of the nicknames we gave USAF bases, most of which I can’t post here being not quite family friendly🤣

To:Fleet Admiral, RNHQ Munchen
cc: all active and reserve Night Watch fleets
From: Lt.Hargett, Commander STANFORT

This weekend at an undisclosed location we will be conducting sea trials of the refurbished Texas Navy PT15 after her difficulties earlier in the year. Once power and weight/balance check out, she will undergo several high speed runs, if successful, she will be accepted and added to inventory western fleet, her commander will be myself. LT.JG Errol Cat will have his own command soon. Although all was quiet due to the effects of the worldwide biological disaster, Texas has started to reopen...but I fear the Oklahoma Rabbit Regulars are as of this moment one step ahead. Intelligence suggests that with the stem of civilian traffic due to the crisis of the past few months, their numbers have.....multiplied. Will report SITREP and sea trials results soonest.
Respectfully,
Lt Cash Hargett
Commander STANFORT

Hi Peter, sorry for the late reply. The Deans PBR has a molded hull, deck, fwd superstructure and upper radar(?) housing. I think it’s radar, not sure. Y’all have to remember, I’m a groundpounder, my main interest for years was aviation. So, sometimes I work on a naval project and wonder what the heck it was that I just built and attached to my boat🤣
There’s also a couple of moldings for motor mounting and rx/esc mounting. Since I went with a brushless motor I had no need for the molded mount, and the jury’s still out on the electronics moldings.
Cash

Thanks Martin. I’m thinking I’m not real happy with the canopy though. Might make another...but thanks for the kind comments. This boat has more going on in its construction than I originally thought, but I’m bulling through it.

Great Scott!!! That’s cool! So, I’m assuming you can “Fire” the guns while playing music in the background? Thanks. As if I don’t have enough projects going on, now I’m wanting to build an 80 foot ELCO with “American Patrol” playing as the .50s blaze away. When my wife asks me why I’m in the shop so much, I’m blaming you🤣🤣

Seriously, that’s nice work. Saw your guns video too, you have a serious skill set sir.

Hi everybody. We were going to try to get together to run boats this past Sunday, but the weather did not cooperate, so I did some building instead. The PBR is close now, some more details then it’s final install of the radio and esc. The only thing that put me off was the use of white metal for the awning frames. I can understand using white metal for many things, but not the frames, radar support and mast. The stuff is too fragile for those applications, so I made the frames from brass. After it was all said and done it looked okay, but I had set it too high, so I had to break the frames loose from the superstructure and trim then reglue. The awning material is a self adhesive material that I’m not in love with, might try something else. I’ve made some mistakes along the way, but she’s getting there. I need to sand the frames where they are glued to the sides and touch up the paint.
Cash

Nerys, might be your phone, if that’s what your using. I updated both my iPad and iPhone to the newest update and they are both acting a little jinkey. Battery usage is weird, some other things going on with texts and notifications, etc. Supposed to be a fix in the works...

Hi y’all. Got a bit more done this evening after work. Now, this boat is designed to have 3 distinct hatches to access electronics and power. The aft hatch is for battery access, the middle for esc and receiver, and the superstructure is removable to access the motor. I started working on the superstructure, there’s a molded cabin that is cut and trimmed to fit, and to this you add panels that, according to the instructions, are not glued to the electronics hatch, but help hold it in place when the cabin is installed. Uh-huh. As I was building this thing, and it’s been on my mind for a day or two, I wondered why not glue the panels to the hatch AND the cabin and make the whole thing removable? To be honest, the only real reason one would need to remove either is to replace or troubleshoot the rx, esc or motor, or maintainance, and it would be much easier to remove them as a unit.....so that’s what I did. I trimmed the mid hatch down so that it just clears the side of the deck when lifted, and extended all the panels so I could glue them to the hatch and cabin. If I had thought of this earlier in the build it would have been easier and neater, but I still think it looks okay, and seems to work well.
Cash

“ Cash; Didn't Errol once have plans to fit a 12 pounder on the foredeck, but had to settle for a 20mm Oerlikon? 😉
😎 “

Fleet, that’s why he was pining for the PT..40mm Bofors plus torpedoes 😁

I gave Errol a credit card, but he got behind on the payments! 🤣 That’s why he’s in the Texas Navy, needs to learn discipline...

Martin, I’m about 15 hrs into the PBR, I’m figuring 20-30 hrs more....maybe 2-3 added to fix what I foul up🤣

Hi y’all. Don’t know how many of you kept up with the “Night Watch” thread last year, but those of you who did know that the Texas Navy had its hands full...shoot, we lost our admittedly woefully obsolete flagship, the San Jacinto, and the heroic actions of my second in command, LT J.G. Errol T Cat (feline division). You may also know that we gained a new flagship in the form of a Robbe PT15, which is still undergoing sea trials before her final acceptance inspection. What you did not know is that Errol has been chomping at the bit for his own command. He wanted the PT, but I said no, you’re a cat!!! A few weeks later, someone made a purchase on my EBay account and the Deans Marine kit ended up on my doorstep several days later. Think I need to change my password...
All kidding aside, I had been wanting another fast warship in my fleet, and since the PBR is a smallish boat, it will fit in my car and on the shelf nicely. Also, since I have a partially started Deans Wacht am Rhein kit in my stash, I figured this smaller and supposedly less complicated kit would help me get used to the way the Deans kits go together....I mean, how hard can it be?🤣
I won’t bore you with step by step details, I’ll just go over a few things I changed and some interesting building points. Now, this is an older PBR kit, apparently they’ve updated the instruction manual and possibly a few other things. This kit has a decently molded abs hull, cast fittings, full size plan and printed sheet plastic parts. Some people don’t like anything that’s not pre cut, but the printed parts don’t bother me at all, as I’ve built model planes from print wood kits. Only 2 things made me a little uncomfortable. The manual is..well, a little hard to read. There’s pictures, but they are a little grainy, and some of the building sequences seem to jump around, or in one case was duplicated on 2 pages several pages apart. The other thing was the white metal rudder. Not a fan. We’ll get to that in a bit.
The sequence of assembly is pretty straightforward once you figure it out. Cut trim the hull, add reinforcement strips to the upper inside, then add the stuffing box, rudder, well deck, battery hatch and radio hatch. Due to the way the decks are stepped, you end up with 3 different hatches-one to access battery, and two to access the radio and motor. Only problem I ran into that wasn’t of my own making was that the starboard aft of the hull, just before the stern, had a very thin spot, which started to crack. I just added a scab patch inside and continued on. Also, I changed up the motor mount as I am using a brushless outrunner for power. That also necessitated shortening the shaft and stuffing box.
The rudder I used came from an Aquacraft Reef Racer that I had scrounged some parts from. The shaft was a bit too big, and the rudder is molded around it. I bend the original shaft so I could get the leverage I needed to work it free of the rudder without damage, I then installed a brass shaft that I nicked and inserted, then finished off with thin ca. It worked a treat!! I made some mods to accept the thicker tubing and shaft, and installed it.
So far so good. Although it’s not the easiest kit to figure out, once you get the aft well deck installed things seem to fall in place, and the construction goes fairly quickly from there, I’m at the point where my next steps are the hatches and superstructure.
Cash

Haven’t posted much here lately, went back to work on the 1st, just now getting back to some sense or normalcy...even though most people who know me well would say I’m not quite normal..or not quite right, take your pick.🤣
Anyway, the day before I started work my buddy Fred and I ran boats at my Churches pond, aka the “Cottonwood Creek Baptist Test Pond” I made a little video of our day, hope y’all enjoy...and yes, Fred and I kept our distance from each other.😊
Cash

Vacutug, Vacutow and Graupner SAR rescue at our Church Pond, April 30 2020

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My word, what a nice job. She looks the part that’s for sure. Outstanding!!
Cash

You got it. I was referencing Hee-Haw, and BR549 was a fave band of mine..give yourself a big ol’ Hee-Haw Saaa-lute

You’re good!! But only halfway there. Here’s a few hints. Early 70s American prime time TV. Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs.😀

Y’all may or may not get this...🤣🤣

Doggone it Martin, that’s a a shame your controller flamed out. You did a nice job on her. I’m telling you, you’re a better man than I. Around 12 inches up is my limit on smaller boats. I feel the frustration quotient magnifies exponentially as the boat gets smaller.🤣
Keep plugging at it, I’m sure you’ll get her figured out.
Cash

Hi y’all. I need to tidy up my wiring, and build a housing for the boom bell crank, but I’d say she’s a couple of hours out from her maiden. I got the radar fixed, I found some servos on Amazon that work well. They are Feetech FS90R continuous rotation servos, 13.89 for the pair. They are closer in size to mini than micro, so I had to modify the radar housing to make room. They also have long leads, so instead of making up a lead, I took the pins out and was able to run the wires down the mast and use an extension to the receiver.
Bouts are made up, I also need to put her Texas registration numbers on her..
TX0000BR549 🤣
I’m linking a video, see what y’all think.
Cash

Robbe Paula III with Paula IV Updates, or How I Spent my Covid19 Vacation

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Amazon sells a 2 pack of continuous rotation micro servos. I should see them tomorrow. I’m going to test them see how they respond to running slowly for a good bit of time, I’ll post y’all my findings. I might, just might, get the gumption to do surgery on Paulas mast and radar and get it functioning again...

Hi y’all. Past few days I’ve been fitting out the Paula with her mast assembly, the winch is installed, I built up a hook and did some odds and ends. I mounted all the rest of the gear, and everything worked...except the radar.. it wa working yesterday..but no more. Deader than the parrot in Monty Pythons skit years ago. Deader than Chivalry. Oh, I did all the checks, made sure I had in the right channel, swapped channels, used a test servo to verify, checked plug, even went to the trouble of taking the pins out of the connector and installed them manually, all to no avail.
I had used an old Hitec Feather servo as the drive, and I’m pretty sure this was an old combat model servo as the lugs were cut off. Anyway, it’s dead. And it’s glued into the radar housing, no way to replace it without major surgery. I may try it again, but for now the leads are cut and the radar bar is glued in place. I’m thinking between the conversion to constant rotation and my heavy handedness performing the conversion, that the motor simply gave up. But. I have learned something, and I think I can make it work more reliably in the future. Skippers going to have to have a good set of binoculars and keep an eye on the weather..🤣

Uhhh..y’know, I’ve got friends that, if they saw that thing in the water they would try to catch it, clean it, cook it and eat it!!🤣

Looks like you’re having fun!! Airboats are tricky little beasts aren’t they? I have a little Hobbyking Swamp Dawg which is okay, but in windy weather she’s all over the place.

Hi Ed, the work on your launch is outstanding! I have a kit in my stash with a tallish mast that I haven’t started on yet, part of the reason is the mast, as it makes transport a little difficult. I was looking at your electrics, are you running battery power to a main bus or terminal block, and using a common ground? Anyway, nice work sir.
Cash

Ed, she’s looking good. Good job on the mast!! If you don’t mind me asking what light controller are you using?
Cash