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[msully]

Hello,

   I am new to this forum, but not new to model boating. I currently have a fleet of scale power boats. Sterling Chris craft Corvette, and Century Sea maid runabout, and an unknown fishing trawler.

   I am currently building a Midwest model of the Weatherly sail boat. I am afraid radio technology has passed me by. There seems to be no differentiation between air and surface radio channels. The last radio I bought was a cheapo Fly-sky 3 channel that works fine for the Sea maid runabout. Now I need a 4 channel radio with twin sticks That can be easily converted to eliminate the self centering on what would be the elevator channel on an aircraft radio. I am retired and do not have an unlimited budget.

   Any and all help will be greatly appreciated.

[JerryTodd]

Many sailboats run on only 2 channels (rudder and sail control).  I have an 8 foot square rigger and it operates on 4 (rudder, fore-n-aft sails, foremast squares, and main and mizzen mast squares combined).
A 4 or more channel radio typically has 4 pots dedicated to the sticks.  On most radios it's a simple matter to remove the springs that center these sticks to make them not self-center.  I've done that on my Spektrum Dx6 except for the channel I use for the rudder, which retains it's self-centering.  Channels 5 and 6 on this Tx are simple on/off switches - which my model doesn't implement.  I may put lights or something on those someday.

I got another 6 channel 2.4g radio from Hobby King very cheap for use on my schooner model which has an auxiliary motor; but channel 6 on this set is a rotary potentiometer, a "pot," while channel 5 is on/off.  I'll be using that channel 6 to run the boats motor because it has the incremental control I need for that.

Everywhere I look I see radios that are geared toward flying and cars/speed boats.  There were a very few geared towards power boats/ships, and I've never seen an off the shelf set targeted for sailboats.

I fully intend to reformat that Hobby King Rx into a new case specifically to work with my schooner.  The Dx6 though, is must too complicated inside for me to attempt that with it.

[tigertiger]

Any two channel marine radio should be fine. Not sure about the US but in Europe it is illegal to run surface models on channels dedicated for flying.

2.4 GHz does away with channel conflicts as the model and radio bind (self tune to each other) on an available channel.

Actually, having self centring on the sail stick is not really a big problem for me as I am constantly adjusting the sail settings anyway.


BTW, is the Weatherly model a working model or a static model that you are converting.

[malcolmfrary]

Any full range 2.4GHz outfit should be fine.  The pictures of the Weatherly that I have seen show it as having a Genoa type rig, so an extra channel would be needed for tacking that.

[msully]

   The Weatherly was designed as a static or working model. I am building it as a sloop with a club footed jib. I have a rudder and 2 sail winch servos for independent control of the main and jib. If I am reading you correctly, any 2.4 Ghz radio is legal. Has any one actually removed the self centering feature from one of these cheap radios?

[Netleyned]

You can just remove the centering spring on the stick quadrant you need.
If you need to have a ratchet, just copy the steel strip fitted on the other stick.


Ned

[malcolmfrary]

The 2.4 set that I have is a Saturn, the left stick is non centering as supplied. 
On other cheap sets where I wanted to lose the centering I just opened the back and disconnected the spring, taping it down to stop it wandering off.  Stick/pot friction has always been enough to keep it in place in use without a ratchet, others might prefer the extra security.
Unless the sailing water is small, a full range set is required.  From the point of view of legality, there is no difference between flight and surface sets, but some might work better than others in a marine environment as opposed to a flight one.  Avoid those that state that they are "park flyers".  They will certainly lack range, especially over water.

[msully]

 
  Thank you for answering the question I asked. I am sure the other members all had good intentions. Is the Saturn your recommendation? What kind of cost is involved? Hoping to hear back from you.

[malcolmfrary]

You may notice that I live in the UK, so I have no real idea what prices might be for you, but my outfit (TX+RX) cost me £40 direct from a trader at a model boat show a few years ago, replacement/extra receivers about £14 each.  Online prices are probably similar.  Range is adequate.  I use it with scale models where I want extra channels or need to hide the antenna on a quite large lake, I still use my old 27MHz gear in my yachts  where a long wire up the rigging is no problem.  The scale models rarely get more than a couple of hundred yards away (can't see them after that), my yachts do get further.
The binding/pairing is the least intuitive that I have heard of - it pays to print the instructions fairly small and stick them to the back of the TX, just in case, for future reference.  There are much lower priced outfits out there, but the Saturn is handled via Ripmax, so hopefully there is some quality control in there as opposed to the really cheapo ones.
At the pond I have also seen that the Joysway transmitters supplied with the Dragon Force yachts work well - they appear to be 4 channel sets and I have seen them advertised separately.  Again, simple, basic, no frills, less chance of a user generated muck-up.
I haven't checked the prices, but the HK one mentioned earlier might be a suitable choice.  Again, support from a major supplier.

[msully]

Well, I bit the bullet and bought a cheap Fly-Sky 6 channel radio for $50.00 US. After purchasing the radio and bench testing it I discovered that the 5th and 6th channels were controlled by non centering knobs. I believe I will set it up with the left stick controlling the rudder and main sail, and the right knob controlling the jib. That way I do not have to concern myself with the right stick.