subzero

AHHHH so THATS what teenages are for!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Screw Loose

Hmm all systems ready to go on Sunday, and its tipping it down !

But saying that after the set up on the morning before that could of been a good idea! I thought everything was sorted and working, hmm !?!?

You know when you have one of those days when everything you touch goes wrong, well that was me on Sunday. I put the battery in, fired everything up and the forward planes didnt work correctly. After much head scratching and annoyance, I noticed the frame had become detatched from the hull itself!

So that was that, then to make matters worse one of the speed controlers went on the blink! I changed the channel on the reciever, nothing, checked to make sure the radio gear was working, it was !Now I am thinking the Speed controller is damaged ! Odd since its brand new and I have only used it once ! Anyways I removed it, tested it nothing, then it started turning itself on and off ! Hmm turns out it was the on off switch ! Poxy thing! And to make matters worse I soldered the wire on again,only to find out the other was hanging off as well! I didnt see them due to the shrink wrap they have on the contacts !

Probably contributed to the twitching I had bother with in the past Anyways an easy fix to say the least

But after that I decided to leave it for the day, when your lucks against you I dont want to risk anything further, and given the weather on Sunday I would of been better off being inside the sub than on the bank I think!

So better luck this weekend

ps

I noticed the lid has warped on mine, its now got a lip round the side of the hull on the port side. I know they warp sometimes, and mines now bending in on itself. ( the lid I mean )

I understand you can heat it up with a hair dryer when you have chocked it into its correct position ? Is this true or am I imagining it
Anyone heard anything similar ?

Paul

ajg141

Paul

I'm sorry to hear of your tribulations. I've had mine too this week. After getting the periscope mechanism working satisfactorily at last (similar problems to you with dry solder joints under the heatshrink) I managed to burn out another front plane retract comtrol board plus the centre relay and resistor! My fault I reckon as I had connected the battery up the wromg way - my cataract op hasn't improved my eyedight as much as I had thought - that's my excuse anyway. By the way what was the value of that resistor? And who are RS where you got them from?
As regards your query about using a hairdryer to remove the hull warp - yes it can be done and I have tried it succesfully on smaller boats. I am sure Mankster can give you better advice on this subject though as I think I recollect him having used this technique before.
Aren't submarines fun!
I do hope everything goes well and that the weather is better when you try next time. Ours was brilliant on Sunday when I ran Sir William Wallace for the first time (see that posr on this site).

Andrew

Screw Loose

Thanks for the help Andrew. I know how you feel when you burn something out, its the "Ahh crap whats happened !?!?" feeling ! But the board for the planes isnt too bad to repair. I would certainly try to repair it, if Engel are going to charge for a new one.

I got the resistors and relays etc from RS as you said. They are an electronic company that sells just about everything ( And I mean everything ) that industry requires. And is VERY usefull for building oddball boats like ours, when model shops just scratch there heads, and other companys can be problomatic in sourcing parts.

There website is www.rswww.com

But Maplins ( Maplin - 500GB Seagate FreeAgent Hard Drive ) can be usefull as well. they are handy for getting individual parts, but they sometimes dont stock a great deal even though its on there website. Our branch, there shelves must be bare !

I am trying to think now what value the resisitors were, I think they were 45ohms. But PLEASE DONT take that as being correct, I will check tommorrow. And the realays you can get from Engel direct, but I know RS have them. The only problem is with RS is they can be pricey, but the gear from there is generally top class. In my experience anyways

I will get to the boat tommorrow and check the value of the resistors, and check my relays. Will get back on here then.

Did the mechanism jam or something ? Its a pain sometimes that thing !

Paul

Mankster

Polyester hulls, especially long ones do shift a bit. If you put the top on and tape it down for a couple of weeks, its should keep its new shape. I think the manual reccomends the top hull is fitted to the bottom when storing the boat.

Screw Loose

I have just checked the resistors and they are 37 Ohms. And they are Ceramic make up I thnk.

The relays I have found are hard to narrow down to specfic type. I think there only about £3.00, but I would just take one in to the shop.

Sorry about the delay in answering, but unfortunately I had an accident yesterday and broke my hand. Bloody dog tripped me over and down the stairs I went !

So much for taking it to the lake ths weekend! Hands in plaster dont control andsets very well!

Paul

ajg141

Thanks for the info Paul and I'm very sorry to hear about the broken hand. I should think it will make lifting the Typhoon a bit difficukt too in the meantime. I hope you recover quickly.

Andrew

Screw Loose

Well today started soo well! I got the boat powered up at home, perfect. It all worked a treat!

Gets it down the lake, everything seemed fine, and of course this was the first time its had a public outing. But on its last trial it worked like a dream, so I though that maybe the same would happen this time !

It went in the water, and apart from a list it had, due to me forgetting to adjust the balast, it was ok.

I submerged it, fine. A little stern first but easily fixed. Sent it out in the lake, done a few circuits and it seemed ok.

But then it started getting a little sluggish, now anyone out there thats never had a sub before would think "ahh the bateries are going!" But I was thinking, "either the motors are not working or its sinking !"

So in it came, and now in a mild panic I was watching the stern getting lower and lower !

So I shouted of my able assistant and out it came, and me saying " hurry up, before something gets too wet !" And quietly enough so no one else would hear !

Anyways on the shore, I removed the lid and full of water ! Well only the bottom, covered luckily ! Turn out the seal on the lid has split! So that got ripped off and now its residing in the bin ! Poxy rubber o ring, about as much use as a chocolate poker !

So just ordered neoprene sheet, and some rubber washers for the screws in the lid ! Luckily all the electrics are fine, apart from the forward planes which needsome serious attention. But thats for another day!

Paul

subzero

Hi Paul,

Sorry to hear about the nearly sunk sub, still no damage by the sounds of it, anyone that hasn,t done the same thing hasn't lived, I once had a microswitch stick ( welded itself together more like ) it was on the compressor,

I kept blowing ballast ...it kept taking water on board..up and down like a Bl...dy Yo-Yo till I got it out...and smashed the switch to stop it.



Now i use 20 amp micro switches !



R U going to the Harrogate show ??
Regards Sub.

Screw Loose

That must have ben a nightmare Sub!

Mlakes me wonder why we get such boats

Further to the sink report before, I have just pressure tested the boat again. And it turns out the prop shaft bearings have come loose. Not just one but both. Seems the twin pack just didnt cut it today!

So now its getting stuck in with resin! And the neoprene sheet is on order !

Back to the lake Tuesday or Thursday. And if it goes again

Paul

ps I was thinking about going to Harrogate Sub, depends if I can get down there with this broken hand. I am off work so dont want to take the mick