Wilco Ed 👍

Thanks Haig, but Don't ask me how 🤔
It's lonely up here, Oh! the burden of command!! 🤣

Go for it Ed,
she looks a little naked 😮 fore and aft!

LifeColor accurate naval paints and original paint scheme prints do?
Snag; sending paints through the post or courier services!
RATS!!😭

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Thanks Ed,
I've been wanting to visit Andalusia and especially the Alhambra fortress for a long time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra
We'll be based in Malaga and I intend to visit Gibraltar, Cordoba and Seville as well as Alhambra - the last Moor bastion in Europe. Those guys were so clever then - but now ☹️
What the **** happened?
All the best, cheers, Doug 😎

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

🔗

Hi wmbc40,
You can find the mag tomarack mentions here

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Model-Boats-Magazine-years-1999-a...

Have fun, don't forget to post the Build Blog 😉
Cheers Doug 😎

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Model-Boats-Magazine-years-1999-all-months-fantastic-condition/113691043248?hash=item1a7883a5b0:m:mIG_RQZ3iebZnrdal68hhGQ&var=413816087910

🔗

Absolutely Magnificent, museum 'As built' quality.
Something for us to aspire to.
Hat off Sir 👍👍👍
All the best, Doug 😎

Have fun Michael, don't blow yourself up. 😮 I'd miss your blogs 😉
Very generous of Gary, hat off to him 👍👍
Would still like to see his promised refutes to my queries though.
Cheers, Doug 😎

Thanks Ed, I'll do my best.
and from what I've seen of the paint jobs you've done on Brooklyn and co you are just the right guy to do my flight decks!!
BTW: for the first two weeks of April I will be soaking up some sun in southern Spain / Gibraltar and I ain't taking the PC with me 😉 So I'll be incommunicado!
All the best, Doug 😎

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BTW rolfman,
What went wrong with your holiday?
My sister was in Larnaca for a week about three weeks ago, and apart from the fact that it was a bit chilly (no problem getting a sun bed on the beach😉) she thoroughly enjoyed it.
Cyprus is also on my To Visit list, but not before the cricket season starts, there's a good wicket in Larnaca I hear!
Cheers, Doug

Ed, FIRST rule of survival in the military NEVER VOLUNTEER!!
Or, as the Sarn't Major / CPO Quartermaster sees it;
'I want three volunteers -
YOU, YOU and YOU'. 😁
PS; thanks for your generous offer, I'll be sending you the decks shortly 😉

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Hi Ed, that bug has been sorted now (squished😮), so over the next week or so I will update the How Tos for batteries to reflect the current technologies. And explain the terminology involved; including those that are little more than marketing gags!
I did mention to Stephen last year, when I previewed the new site, that I would wish to do this.
Cheers, Doug 😎

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'Up the Swanee River' .... without a paddle!? 😁
'Old man river, he just keeps rolling along'

Swanee; ranks are based on contributions so I suppose you'd have to post your aircraft under 'Fleet Air Arm' or 'Royal Naval Air Service'!
3 A/C for Flight Cmdr, 12 for Squadron Leader, 36 for Wing Commander, 360 plus for Group Captain etc.
Then we could see about adding 'Admiral IC RNAS' for you 😂
Cheers, Doug.
Admiral, C.O. Naval Leg Pulling Dept.
PS I've got a job coming up painting the runway markings on a 1:350 Colossus class carrier. Interested? If it works out next job would be either the KM Graf Zeppelin or USS Enterprise.
Application with references by PM please. 😉

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Exquisite! 😎
Esp. the diagonal planking, what a shame to have to hide it under admiralty grey paint🤔
I also have many John Lambert plans, esp. his WW2 weaponry series, but he never popped round to help me 😭
Hat off for a really excellent museum quality result, Cheers, Doug 😎
BTW; apropos Operation Chariot; I have a 1:350 kit of Campbeltown I'm considering 'kit bashing' as she was modified for the raid to look like a German Torpedo Boat.
Then converting to RC a la 'Plastic Magic'.

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Sounds good to me DELVEIN 👍 PLEASE start a Build Blog about your project.
I'm sure it would be an inspiration to many members, not least me 😉
I propose to fit the centre motor as a simple brushed job with independent control, as RHBaker did with his Brave Border MTB. Centre motor for cruising and manoeuvring, two outer brushless for full power 'action' manoeuvring. So far I've only renovated the hull, way to go yet.
Looking forward to the vid of your Sea Trials👍
Cheers, Doug 😎

Women and children first Commodoro!!😉

Tried some Test edits of the battery related How Tos yesterday, to prepare for later updates and corrections.
Now the links to these articles don't work at all (all lead to Home page!) and I can't continue the updates. ☹️
Doug

DRAFT; TO BE REVISED ;-) (RN)
The first rule of battery testing is to make sure you test the battery with LOAD.👍

To test a batteries energy properly a load of about 0.5A to 1A needs to placed onto it while taking the voltage reading. if the battery voltage drops right off when the load is placed onto it, then the cell need charging up. if the voltage only drops a little bit then the chances are the battery is fine.

DRAFT: TO BE REVISED ;-) (RN)

Batteries can give you many different outputs (!?) depending on how they are wired up. As long as you don't have to worry about weight you could try endless methods of wiring different types of batteries to get a desired output.

Wiring Batteries in Series
Wiring batteries in series is a great way to increase voltage, as you can see on the diagram below the voltage is added up in each cell which then equals its output. The mA/h does not change when batteries are wired up in series.

The only problem with batteries wired up like this is that they are prone to faults, were you end up with a 'dead cell', this means that when you are charging/discharging the pack there might be one cell that doesn't hold its charge as much as others bringing the overall capacity of the battery down.

Wiring Batteries in Parallel (DON'T DO IT!!)
When batteries are in parallel the mA/h will increase (not the voltage). Remember:- the mA/h does not mean the current going through speed controllers etc. it is only a guide to the maximum current a battery can except where it will last for one hour.

Theory About The Whole mA/h Thing!
Just think of the batteries being a tank of liquid, when the liquid runs out the battery runs out. Below are four diagrams:-

The height of the liquid in the tank increases the pressure/voltage at the bottom.
The area of the liquid increases the overall capacity of the tank/battery.

The number of amps the motor can draw is not limited to mA/h of the battery, the mA/h is only a guidance figure to tell us how many hours it will take before the battery/tank runs out.

If you really wanted you could let out 10 Amps worth of liquid, just that the battery wont last very long unless it has a larger capacity.

In Car Terms
The diagrams below explain the differences between the size of the tanks and the distance that can be traveled.

5 Gallon Tank = 1000mA/h Battery

10 Gallon Tank = 2000mA/h Battery

If you have a car with a small fuel tank it might do say 100 miles at 50MPH. if the same car had a larger tank it may do 200 miles at 50MPH.

The size of the tank does not effect the speed the car does, but it will effect the distance it can travel.



Golden Rule
DO NOT MIX BATTERIES OF DIFFERENT TYPES!

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DRAFT; TO BE REVISED SHORTLY (RN) ;-)
Wiring Methods

Wiring can be a little tricky, especially when there are more functions than just power and steering. To wire correctly you should first check:

- What is to be wired up.
- What voltages are going to be needed.
- if there is any equipment that is not compatible.

Receiver
Where possible try to have a separate battery for the receiver and not power it through B.E.C. circuits in speed controllers. There is a simple explanation for this.

The speed controller works by switching on and off and different rates. Depending on the rate of switching the motor will speed up or slow down. it is this fluctuating current that is not good for the receiver if its using the B.E.C. *Edit* More modern electronics are not affected so much by this, but if you start to experience problems with reception it could still be something to consider.

The receiver should be placed as far away as possible from other electrical equipment such as motors/servos. Also DO NOT CUT THE AERIAL ON THE RECEIVER. The receiver aerial is a set length and can affect signal quality if made shorter or longer.

All motors should have suppression to avoid any interference with the signal. There is a section in the knowledge base for this if you need to learn more.

Lighting
Lighting equipment is running at a constant current and can be placed off any battery without it affecting anything else... BUT if it is put onto the same battery as say a drive motor, the lights will dim everytime power is asked from the motor.

If LEDs are being used you will have to be careful about the voltage. Three things can be done to ensure the LEDs are getting the right voltage (usually between 3.0 to 3.5v).

One. Use a voltage regulator.
Two. Put resistors into the circuit.
Three. Put the LEDs in series with each other. Each LED is about 3v so two in series would need a total of 6v.

Sound/speakers
Speakers generate sound using a fluctuating current through the coil. it is recommended that all sound devices are run off a separate battery to avoid interference. Another problem with speakers is the magnetic field. This can play havoc with the signal, especially analogue radio sets, therefore the speaker should be as far away as possible from the receiver and have magnetic protection if there is no choice.

Relays/switches
A switch is always a good idea so that the boat or anything else can be switched on and off easily, but they should only be used if the current is low going through them. To reduce the amount of problems that could occur it is recommended to do without a switch if possible. A switch for the receiver is fine as it is only low current. For drive motors it is better to have a straight link onto the battery.

Fuses
Fuses are always a good idea to ensure they blow up before your boat does! Make sure you use the proper car type fuses for high current applications (blade fuses).

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Nice job 👍
Only 3 months!? Not bad😉
Look forward to the Trials vid.
What are you using for drive? 3 props, one prop ?? Motorsß
I have a 1:35 PTB I'm renovating and converting to PT109.
It came with two small brushless and props.
I'm going to try to fit it with 3 shafts.
Hope it works out half as good as yours.
Cheers, Doug 😎

Hi Brianaro,
"Someone has spent a lot of time building this website and put masses of thought into its content. Why? They can’t earn a fortune doing it, I guess they do it for the benefit and enjoyment of the users and visitors.
It’s a shame this point has been missed and the reason we visit the site overlooked."

This is exactly what I emphasised some days ago.
But then; I suppose you didn't read it cos there were some Smileys in my post.
Cheers Doug 😎

DRAFT: TO BE REVISED AND UPDATED SHORTLY!! (RN)
There are many people who are new to radio control, or may have had a model for a while and want to make it electric/remote controlled but don't know where to start. Hopefully I shall explain some basics here.

I will start off with a two channel controller. You can get these from hobby shops or other RC shops, you can also buy them (usually a little cheaper) at boat fairs. it may be much better to buy a new one at first so that you get most of the RC parts in the same box as a complete set.

Most transmitter/receiver sets such as Hitec or Futaba include the transmitter, receiver, the batteries to go with them and servo's. The style of transmitter is seen here showing the control layout.

The channels match up on the receiver and the corresponding equipment should be plugged into it.

The wiring can be fairly easy to setup by just following the diagram shown below, providing the speed control has B.E.C. (Battery Elimination Circuit) you will not need the separate battery for the receiver.

It is advisable that you incorporate a switch and a fuse in either wire coming off the battery. This will reduce the risk of future smoking electrics if things go wrong! 😊

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DRAFT: TO BE REVISED AND UPDATED SHORTLY!! (RN)

Lead acid batteries should not be discharged and kept charged up as much as possible. Discharging these batteries will reduce their capacity. if they are kept for any length of time without a charge, they will not charge up again.

To charge up these batteries use the same formula.

However lead acid batteries can cope with heavy currents and it is sometimes a good idea to charge them up with a higher current. Now and then charge them up with double the current as usual and for half the time.

So for example, a 5000mA/h battery, should be charged on 1 Amp for 5 hours.

Winter Storage
To ensure they will be fine when next used make sure they have a top-up charge every couple of weeks. Half the length of time of a normal charge.

DO NOT HAVE THE BATTERY ON A CONSTANT TRICKLE CHARGE!

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DRAFT: TO BE REVISED AND UPDATED SHORTLY!! (RN)

Ni-Cads should be discharged before re-charging. The discharge rate can be any number of amps really, but ensure the battery stays cool, half an amp or less would be quite adequate. This can be achieved by placing a car bulb or some other lamp onto the battery. Once the light has gone out, the battery will be ready for charging.


Slow Charge
To recharge a NiCad battery check what mA/h the cells are. if the cells are for example 500mA/h this would be divided by 10 to get 50mA and charged at this rate for 10 hours. This will ensure the battery has the correct amount of energy as it should have, however it is sometimes a good idea to give the battery an extra hour.

Fast Charge
Fast charges are worked out the same way but so that you can work out the charge current for 1 hour. This means that what ever the mA/h rating the battery is, is the same current as for charging for 1 hour.

Fast charges deteriorate battery life and capacity, therefore they should not be done on a regular basis.

Winter Storage
While these batteries are not in use it is best they are stored in their discharged state.

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DRAFT: TO BE REVISED AND UPDATED SHORTLY!! (RN)
NiMH batteries should not be discharged fully although it wont do them too mcuh harm if this happens. They are not very good for high load applications and tend to deteriorate quickly if put under any load.

To charge up these batteries use this formula.

These batteries should not be placed under any 'fast charges' as they deteriorate too quickly for the amount of amps put through them.

NiMH batteries seem very popular these days as it is a new technology and a lighter weight battery than others. The battery is also recyclable, and eco-friendly, but all this doesn't make it a practical battery to use. it is recommended due to the deterioration rate of this battery to stick with NiCad's for higher current applications.

Winter Storage
These batteries should be kept charged up. A charge for half the time of a normal charge every two weeks will be sufficient to keep the battery in its best condition.

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Hear hear Michael👍

DRAFT: TO BE REVISED AND UPDATED SHORTLY!! (RN)
LiPo Battery Charging

- Use specific Lithium Polymer charger only! Non-compliance may cause a fire, which may result in personal injury and property damage.
- Do not let the voltage on the cells drop more than 2.75v / Cell. it is recommended to unplug the battery after use which would stop any further discharge of the pack!
- Never charge batteries unattended. Whenever charging Li-Poly batteries you should always remain in constant observation to monitor the charging process and react to potential problems that may occur.
- if at any time you witness a battery starting to balloon or swell up, discontinue charging process immediately, disconnect the battery and observe it in a safe place for approximately 15 minutes. This may cause the battery to leak, and the reaction with air may cause the chemicals to ignite, resulting in fire. Since delayed chemical reaction can occur, it is best to observe the battery as a safety precaution. Battery observation should occur in a safe area outside of any building or vehicle and away from any combustible material.
- Use caution to avoid puncture of the cell. Puncture of cells may cause a fire.
- Wire lead shorts can cause fire! if you accidentally short the wires, the battery must be placed in a safe area for observation for approximately 15 minutes. Additionally, if a short occurs and contact is made with metal (such as rings on your hand), severe injuries may occur due to the conductibility of electric current.
- in the event of a crash, you must remove battery for observation and place in a safe open area away from any combustible material for approximately 15 minutes.
- if for any reason you need to cut the terminal wires, it will be necessary to cut each wire separately, ensuring the wires to not touch each other or a short may occur, potentially causing a fire. if you accidentally cause the battery to short, place it in a safe open space and observe the battery for approximately 15 minutes. A battery may swell or even possibly catch fire after a short time.
- Never store or charge battery pack inside your car or building in extreme temperatures, since extreme temperature could ignite fire.


Charging Process
- Never charge batteries unattended; Charge in an isolated area, away from other flammable materials; Let battery cool down to ambient temperature before charging.
- Do not charge batteries packs in series. Charge each battery pack individually. Failure to do so may result in incorrect battery recognition and charging functions. Overcharging may occur and fire may be the result.
- When selecting the cell count or voltage for charging purposes, select the cell count and voltage as it appears on the battery label. As a safety precaution, please confirm the information printed on the battery is correct.
- Selecting a cell count other than the one printed on the battery (always confirm label is correct), can cause fire.
- You must check the pack voltage before charging. Do not attempt to charge any pack if open voltage per cell is less than 3.3v Example Do not charge a 2 cell pack if below 6.6v; 3 cell pack if below 9.9v.
- You must select the charge rate current that does not to exceed 1C (one times he capacity of the battery). A higher setting may cause fire. The below chart is calculated at 1 x capacity of pack. Example: 1800mAh: charge below 1.8Amps; 2200mAh: charge below 2.2Amps; 3600mAh: charge below 3.6Amps First Discharge: Keep the run time to 6-minute sessions with 15-minute breaks.


Storage & Transportation

Store battery at room temperature between 40F and 80F for best results; do not expose battery pack to direct sunlight (heat) for extended periods.

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Agree Alan,
It was a lot easier / quicker to find all sorts of things before.
The Forum used to be categorised; Electrical Related, Site Related, Specific, Boat Related Non Modelling Chit Chat, for example. Now everything is in one 'bucket'. ☹️
Doug

Hard work biscuit!?