Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Model Boating => Topic started by: MTB on October 01, 2006, 01:58:35 am
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Acquired my first R/C model today ;D (built mostly static before). Now have a part built Robbe Wotan but know nothing about R/C :-[ and I think there are some bits missing ???. Also the wiring colours coming out of controllers? different to instructions supplied.
Advise of best sites and books to read to gain knowledge please chaps.
Thanks
Roy (London)
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Roy, just to get you started, do you have the ESC type and the colours of the leads? pete M
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MTB
You have found the best site!!!
Can you post some pics of the internals?
Bob
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MTB
You have found the best site!!!
Can you post some pics of the internals?
Bob
I know Bob been visting here and old site for several years. Will take pic's later and post
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Roy, just to get you started, do you have the ESC type and the colours of the leads? pete M
What's a ESC? (told you I was new at this).
In the hull there is an electric motor with no name but with 1 orange wire/ one yellow wire.
Along side this is a servo - ACOMS ICas-5s attached to the rudder.(this has 3 wires Red/White/black terminating in a 3 pin socket)
That's it?
A booklet in the box of bits shows an MFA 'electric boat' throttle Pt.no.692 and some of the wiring similar to the boat bits - or is this something completely different and should I start from scratch (excuse the pun).
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Might be simpler if you post a couple of pics, make it easier to see whats there,and what it's doing...
Roy
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2 pictures of what's in there. As you can see the servo is connected to the rudder and the motor connected to nothing.
What else do I need?
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/swingtip/Wotan/Wotan00000.jpg)
(http://i69.photobucket.com/albums/i76/swingtip/Wotan/Wotan00005.jpg)
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Hi MTB,
Looking at your pics I see you will need a receiver (RX) (the servo for the rudder plugs into that). You will also need an ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) which needs to be connected to the RX and the Motor. The ESC also needs to be connected to the drive battery (which you will also need :) ) Finally you will aslo need a Transmitter (TX)
You need to determine what amperage the motor draws to decide what ESC to get. They generally start at 15Amps and go up. The higher the rating the higher the cost. Also some ESC are fitted with a Battery Eliminator Circuit (BEC) which allows the RX to take its power from the drive battery. Without this the RX needs a separate battery.
I suggest a book like Radio Control in Model Boats by John Cundell (ISBN1-85486-142-5) and/or The complete Marine Radio Control Manual by Hugh Bright (ISBN 1-86176-087-6)
HTH
Cheers
Doug
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Thank you very much Doug, that's a start.
How would I determine the amperage of the motor as it has no markings of any description on it?
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MTB
I was afraid you were going to ask that. The way I do it is, with the motor out of the boat, connect it to the drive battery with an ammeter in the circuit. The using a pair of pliers with padded jaws (I use some wood scraps) clamp the motor spindle until it stops or stalls. Quickly read the current and remove the clamp (a couple of seconds is too long!). The reading is the stall current and the max current the motor will ever take.
HTH
Doug
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LOL.......serves you right.
With that said do I assume this is a 12V motor and can I connect to it a fully charged motorcycle battery to run the test?
Roy (London)
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Given the size of boat it's more probably a 6 volt one. Before putting 12v through it connect it up to a 6v battery and put it in the bath. You will then get some idea of whether it is likely to travel at the right speed on 6v. If it goes in reverse then swap the motor wires over.
I fully endorse Doug's suggestion to buy a book as suggested. It will answer most of your questions and give you a good grounding in the subject.
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Thanks Colin have already started searching for suggested items on net.
Roy (London)
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the motor looks a bit like a marx motor - monoperm possibly?
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Judging by the thickness of the motor wires it is either badly wired up or a very low power motor.
Bob
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Assuming that it is the herring lugger, I wouldn't be looking for high performance - a 15 volt 385 size motor running on either 6 volts or possibly a 7.2V nicad and a 30 or 35 mm 3 blade prop should see it work as its maker intended without breaking the bank. Any low-priced ESC should work OK.
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I think Grasshopper is right - it does look very much like a Monoperm motor. In that case 6 volts should be OK, seeing as how the Wotan isn't exactly a planing hull. I'd certainly replace the lousy wiring; the brown and blue leads stripped from some 13 Amp flex should do the trick. Colin Bishop's suggestion about connecting it to 6 volts and then testing it in the bath is a very good one. If this works OK then you might consider buying a 6 volts sealed lead-acid battery and charger. The Monoperm is a very economical motor and draws a low current, so you won't need a huge battery to get a decent sailing duration. 4Ah should be adequate.
As regards an electronic speed controller, the ACTion Condor 10 amp version is an excellent piece of kit and will cost you £26 ready-built. I'd personally remove the horrible Acoms servo and buy a cheap 2-channel radio (Futaba or HiTech) - preferably with only one servo (for steering). In my experience BEC - which stands for battery eliminator circuitry - is an unnecessary complication in a model this size and therefore something to be avoided. Use a separate battery supply for the receiver and servo, as supplied with the radio gear.
Finally I can heartily agree with the recommendation for Hugh Bright's book - excellent reference work!
Good luck!
CAD2