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[GrafVonJon]

Hi all,

New here, so first of all hello.

Thinking about starting off in the hobby with an RTR and then work up to a kit andpossibly a scratch built boat in a fee years if the hobby sticks.

Considering the Thunder Tiger/RC Systems line of scale fishing boats after seeing the write ups on here. Is this a good choice? It seems to have enough detail and looks nice. People say it handles and sails nicely too. Any idea on the kind of range you could expect from it? I dont want to have to sail it right next to me by the shore!

Also where can one sail a model boat? We have a boating pond here in the park, but I was also hoping to sail it in a local duck pond, and also an amenity lake near where I work. Are there any laws or restrictions? Or, if I'm considerate, is it ok to sail anywhere within reason.

Thanks

[Klunk]

The best thing is to tell us where you are (General area will do), If the lakes / pond are on private land, allways ask the landowners permission first. if it is in a park then be very carefull! If the lake /pond is fenced you could actually be braking the law if you go over the fence! bEST THING IS TO FIND THE LOCAL BOAT CLUB, there is a list on the website here of local clubs!

[DickyD]

Weloome to the nut house, hope you are not allergic.

Thunder Tiger fishing boats seem to be great boats, several of our club members have them.

The range on the radio is fine, as long as you keep the boat in sight anyway.

Cant say about where to sail as you dont say where you are but you will have to abide by counil bye-laws and any rules laid down by the owner of the water.

[mikgo]

Hi
I can recommend the Thunder tiger boats, I have 2 of them and they are excellent the range is the same as any other model boat. They look good and sail really well in all conditions. And you can customise them if you so wish.

[tony52]

Here's one I snapped at the End of Season event last Sunday held by the Bury Club, North Manchester. This is Thunder Tiger's 'Kingfisher'.
Boat gave a respectable speed and account of itself. The owner was 'made up' with the model.

Click on the image for full sized picture.


Hope this helps
Tony

[GrafVonJon]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Have been to my local model shop and had a look at the Thunder Tiger King Fisher, they have the Lobmaster too but I prefer the King Fisher.

The guy in the shop told me all the radio equipment sold in the UK is the same and that the range is a theoretical 1.5miles either side of the transmitter. Now, is this correct? I doubt I'll ever need to test this, and now have no worries about sailing it out into the middle of the boating pond.

It has raised a question or two though:

1) there is a post on on here (by Portside II) who was pleasantly surprised on opening his Lobmaster box, that the transmitter was an upgraded 40mhz version, and better than the usual 27mhz stuff Thunder Tiger used to use. post is here... http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=15008.0)
Can someone explain the difference please? Bear in mind I know literally nothing about RC hobbies of any kind.

2) Does anyone know if there is a difference between the Thunder Tiger models and the RC Systems models, regarding the radio? IE is it something simple like one brand is newer than the other and this might effect whether I end up with a 27 or 40mhz radio?

3) If the range is as large as the man in the shop says it is, what happens if there is another boat user with 1.5miles (or say a few hundred yards to be realistic). Will they have control of my beloved boat!?

Thanks in advance, I'm sure there's a ton of good advice to be had here.

Also, I'm in the Yorkshire area. I think my nearest boating pond is a place called Rowntree Park in York, if anyone knows it? I was hoping I could sail my boat in various village ponds as and when I found myself there, I presume they won't be privately owned but belong to the council. I might knock this idea on the head though given the advice.

What about public waterways? Could I sail it on a local canal, marina or river (if I dare put it in running water)?

And what do people reckon about small mountain tarns in the lake district? I quite fancy the idea of camping by a tarn, whiling away the hours before sunset with my boat in total peace (at least there'll be no RF interference).

Or am I just nuts?

All advice will be heeded.

[Klunk]

1 there are3 main tx frequencies, 27mhz, 40mhz and 2.4 with 27 and 40 most clubs will operate a peg board as you can only have 1 model on each seperate frequency (with in 27 there are about 15 seperate channels, 40 has about 25 ) ((some one will give the correct amount!!)) So in theory you could have about 30 boats on the water with these 2 frequencies, unfotunately, most people in clubs do not buy extra crystals so the same ones are always used!!! Also on 27mhz there are some small frequency overlaps on the channels. Not so apparent on 40mhz. On the 2.4mhz gfrequency the tx and rx are bound with a GUID number, so intheory there are limitless channels available to play on. Someone will either enhance or correct any mistakes that I have made.

2 no idea on this one

3 The range is relevant to a lot of different things, but the thing that is most relevant is the old eyeball mark 1> If you cannot see it it does not matter how far the range is!!! You still end up running after the boat LOL. In theory 1 mile is the standard range, in practise a couple of hundred yards is mre than adequate!!!

[DickyD]

The ThunderTiger radios are fine whether you have the 40mhz or the 27mhz. The earlier ones had 27 mhz.

Theoretically someone standing 1.5 miles away cannot hijack your boat as long as you are standing nearer to it than 1.5miles.

You will probably find if your boat is more than 100yards away you wont be able to see it anyway.

Sailing on public waterways depends on who owns the waterway.

Sailing on a tarn is fine if you dont mind swimming if you battery dies.

As for you being nuts,  you joined Mayhem didnt you.

Richard

[barriew]

The guy in the shop told me all the radio equipment sold in the UK is the same and that the range is a theoretical 1.5miles either side of the transmitter. Now, is this correct? I doubt I'll ever need to test this, and now have no worries about sailing it out into the middle of the boating pond.

It has raised a question or two though:

1) there is a post on on here (by Portside II) who was pleasantly surprised on opening his Lobmaster box, that the transmitter was an upgraded 40mhz version, and better than the usual 27mhz stuff Thunder Tiger used to use. post is here... http://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=15008.0)
Can someone explain the difference please? Bear in mind I know literally nothing about RC hobbies of any kind.

2) Does anyone know if there is a difference between the Thunder Tiger models and the RC Systems models, regarding the radio? IE is it something simple like one brand is newer than the other and this might effect whether I end up with a 27 or 40mhz radio?

3) If the range is as large as the man in the shop says it is, what happens if there is another boat user with 1.5miles (or say a few hundred yards to be realistic). Will they have control of my beloved boat!?

Thanks in advance, I'm sure there's a ton of good advice to be had here.

Also, I'm in the Yorkshire area. I think my nearest boating pond is a place called Rowntree Park in York, if anyone knows it? I was hoping I could sail my boat in various village ponds as and when I found myself there, I presume they won't be privately owned but belong to the council. I might knock this idea on the head though given the advice.

What about public waterways? Could I sail it on a local canal, marina or river (if I dare put it in running water)?

And what do people reckon about small mountain tarns in the lake district? I quite fancy the idea of camping by a tarn, whiling away the hours before sunset with my boat in total peace (at least there'll be no RF interference).

Or am I just nuts?

All advice will be heeded.

!) there are 4 legal RC frequencies in the UK - 27,35 and 40 Mhz, plus 2.4Ghz. All are valid for Boats, APART FROM 35Mhz. This is exclusively reserved for aircraft. I doubt the 1.5 miles range - that seems excessive. There is a Model Boat club which sails in Rowntree Park. They may have an exclusive deal with the council. I would in any case recommend that you join a club. They will include Third party Insurance in their membership fee, which will make it easier to get permission to use other waters.

Interference. If you sail with a club , they will have a peg board which controls which frequency Channels are in use to avoids clashes. Except with 2.4Ghz which automatically finds a free slot, all the others use crystals to sub-divide the available frequency band.
There is always the possibility that someone in the area will use another type of model on your frequency, but sailing with a club will minimise the risk.

I'll get the details of the Rowntree Park club and PM them to you.

Barrie

[GrafVonJon]

Well thanks again to you all.
It's starting to become much clearer now.

I don't think you can beat forums like these, advice from clubs, and conscientious model shop owners for helping understand a new interest. It might be a long way from where you all are now, but this is very daunting and puzzling for me (especially parting with cash for the first model, as you want to know it's a good choice before you do). Thanks for taking the time to explain it.

picking the boat up on Saturday, looking forward to getting on the water. Already have a head full of modeling tweaks I intend to make - aesthetic for now, will tinker with the radio, servos and battery stuff later down the line as confidence builds...

GVJ

[Roger in France]

This enquiry is another good example of why we recommend Members to put a general location in their Profil (i.e. one which does not identify your home) that way other Members are better able to help.

Roger in France
Moderator.

[GrafVonJon]

Cheers for the advice,
profile updated.