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[sub john]

Hi Salmon
     Glad you find it interesting i think i have just about got Jonathan pulling his hair out 
   
        Catch you soon John

[C-3PO]

Found this picture of sub john's 12 foot Gato sub - it shows the scale of the scratch build now 30 odd years old...

What is doesn't show is the amazing "whistles, bells and kitchen sink" that are contained inside.

sub john is currently working on a sonar | lidar | radar project - one of them hopefully will work if not all three...

[sub john]

HI Jonathan
    Just a bit of a up date on the sonar, have got the sonar head to work under water in the bath sending back distance to LCD screen. People have said that you cannot get it to work in a bath or a tub of water but it can be done it does work but what a pain in the neck it has been. Car parking sensor board that i have used is AJ-SRO4M only had to add 1 componant to the board to get it to work but once moded the board will not work in air but it now works in water which is what i won't for the sonar i can now see the light at the end of the tunnel
                   All the best John

[ScottW]

Cool stuff. Very cool stuff.
 
But mostly ...
I'm thinking ...
Imagine the rubber band you could put in that thing and the winder you'd need for it ...

[sub john]

HI Scott
     I think you would need a very big rubber band to power this


    Glad you liked it    John

[sub john]

HI GUYS
     Just a bit of a up date, just fitted in to periscope a very small video camera colour but must confess doing this i wrote off 4 cameras being only 5mm square and having big hands
  and trying to make it look like a periscope it's not easy, and having to make it water proof made it even harder. Plus the other periscope was turned it to antenner for sending back video picture
  so i now have 2 video links, video transmitter is in the bottom of the periscope shear but when you see the picture coming back through the periscope it makes it all worth while doing it


      Sorry to say i cannot post any pictures as i can not post pictures on mayhem
                                     All the best John

[ScottW]

but must confess doing this i wrote off 4 cameras being only 5mm square and having big hands

Aww man! But cool end result.

[16-21]

Cracking model John.
I’ve just picked up an Engel Gato and started stripping it down
Major re work ahead planning on using a cylinder,
Retaining the piston tanks and changing the taes system to the unipro 12V
unless you have plans to start selling control boards…
I’ve been reading through your Engel thread, very helpful indeed I was curious as to were you managed to get the
Weld line plan? I did see someone use the revell Gato and scale up from there but surely there is a cheaper alternative?
One thing that’s trashed is the rear hydroplane control arm/lever would you have any thoughts on a solid option for fixing this?
Thanks

[sub john]

HI Scott
     yes it is a cool result its been switched on all afternoon in the garden with the periscopes tranmitting video upstairs in my work shop, another bit of old tat up and working seems to work well
                                     All the best John

[sub john]

HI 16-21
         Fine on picking up Engel Gato they do make a nice sub, just from my point of view
i would stick to the box area that comes with the kit meaning wear the hatches are the sub will end up more stable than useing a tube
but some do like to use the tube each to there own i did'nt use a tube in the big gato and would'nt like to have used one


Regaurding drive boards for piston tanks have thought about making them but don't know if there is a big enough market,
i have used these for about 5 years in small Gato and have never had to do anything to it so as a working unit it' been well tested
sub and would not be a problem to make. They are solid state and dare i say no relays i hate the things


In small Engel Gato i used for linkages  sullivan GOLD-N-ROD these are control rods for model planes and are semiflexible and you
can work them around bits in the sub to go where you won't and you don't have to worry about them shorting on any thing because
 they are made of plastic it there good enough for a plane they are good enough for a model submarine.
              Thanks for interest all the best John

[Subculture]

I’d say any release of solid state drive boards for Engel/piston tanks would have to be done from a spirit of altruism, as the potential market is small and probably shrinking year on year.

I’m aware that making boards in order to make any money requires purchase of components at scale. Perhaps a compromise would be to use a readymade H bridge, leaving just the microcontroller and firmware as the bespoke items. Or perhaps just offer a pre-programmed microcontroller which could be inserted into a diy pcb or a circuit built up on stripboard.

[timgarrod]

Spot the camera

[sub john]

Hi Tim
   Thanks for posting picture, will give you a ring in a bit   John

[sub john]

HI Subculture
    Because the market is so small for model submarines that's why i have stayed away from making bits and bobs i just don't think it would be worth it. And making small numbers of boards it would not be worth it,it would not be worth programming pics for people to make there own board. And like i have said before i would not give the circuit diagram away for people to make. The H-bridge that is on the board for the tank control board was designed for the job and plus it now works off in-fa red cut outs for the end stops for the tanks to take the place of micro switches. I think most people would find it hard for people to make as the unit is all surface mounted components.
      John

[sub john]

HI ALL
     Have been working on fet speed controller useing arduino -IBT-2 which is a H bridge fet drive module, have had this running on the bench at 24amps for about 1 hour connected up to software on a pic. You will beable to have from center stick to full forward and full reverse at 100%, it will learn center stick and learn what is full reverse and forward and store it in eprom memory untill you decide to change it again. It will beable to do a max volts i think is 42 volts but will do alot more than 24 amps has got over heat shut down for the H bridge under voltage shut down, so you can not blow the fets on the H bridge.
   
     The IBT-2 ARDUINO on the board that you buy does'nt get rid of heat from the fets to the heat sink very well would beable to use this for driving piston tanks and alsorts of things including driving a pizo sensor for driving link under water useing sonar will have to see where it goes. I am working on sonar now for controlling the sub it does get interesting


      All the best Sub John   

[C-3PO]

Hi John,

Hope all well with you....

Sounds like you have been busy pushing forward with your developments.

Some of the detail goes over my head - interested in what you are doing with sonar...

Have you got something actually working with Sonar underwater? Are you using a fishfinder or something?

Regards
C-3PO

[sub john]

HI Jonathan
     
      Seem to be getting over the dreaded covid hope things have been ok with you and the wife. Quite a while ago i did buy some high powered 40khz pizo sensors just to build sonic link to control the big sub under water, beauty about useing sonic at say 40 khz it will work in salt water some of the sonic heads in company built fish finders the sonic head can be at around close to 200v. I am on doing building blocks at the moment to get it all to work but i won't to make the TX side of it to be crystal locked so it won't drift off frequency, not making it from fishfinder all been done from scratch built will have to see how it turns out trouble is alot of this stuff takes time to do when doing it from scratch.  How have you been getting on with your 27mhz link hope its going well


       Thanks for reply John
 PS  catch you soon

[sub john]

Hi all
 
 Sorry to say but i lost my monitor reptile lost him to cancer and had to have him put to sleep very sad so it had put me off doing any thing for a while but i have been playing about with sonar for under water. Working the same as digital proportional radio control but only for under water this means no matter what water you put this in weather it be fresh water or salt water it will work and you will be-able to control the sub as if it was on 40mhz. The symptom will be-able to if need be knack out 60 watts from the TX transducer its well on the way to a working system, have had it transmitting code in the work shop using 40khz, Unit does not use software it is all done using cmos chips and up amps
             
  This will open up a hole new way of controlling your sub
                             All the best Sub John

[salmon]

I am so sorry to hear about your loss. My condolences.

[Martin (Admin)]

 I don't understand reptiles as pets .... but we all understand loosing of a good friend.

 ....  Sorry for you loss   

[sub john]

HI Martin and salmon
      Thanks for the condolences, it cost altogether about £10.500 and still ended up losing him like i said it was so sad to see him end up like that
 But could not see him suffer
                   Thanks again John