I had a bit of bother the other day. My transmitter is a Spektrum DXe 4 SPM1000. I fitted the servos (3 micro) yonks ago and all was working ok then. However, when I’d got rudder, regulator and whistle all connected up the rudder servo needed reversing. Now, the TX/RX, servos were dead cheap and had no instructions so googled it only to find no mention of my TX but on reading other Spektrum gear info it appears mine needs connecting to a computer to tit around with the settings. I did find later that by configuring the sticks in a certain manner on switch on I can access the channels and reverse them. There were 7 different channels 1 to 7. Now I thought it was a 4 ch set so was a bit puzzled. The channels have aircraft names but not numbers. I used rudder for my rudder, elevator for regulator and (this is where I went wrong) what I thought was flaps switch but in reality was throttle cut out for the whistle lanyard. As I said all working but when I reversed the rudder I actually reversed the throttle which resulted in a lot of noise and the whistle lanyard pulled bar tight. After powering down and cutting the lanyard, I removed the offending servo, stripped it down and found the shaft for the first gear pinions had broken and not repairable. Obviously I was making a wrong set of assumptions so looked for help. I visited the local model flying club on Sunday morning looking for advice. This turned out to be Heath Mackey who also has an interest in steam. He insisted on visiting me and turned up 1 1/2 hourly later. He told me where I was going wrong and sorted everything out. Now I use ailerons starboard for whistle. I hadn’t allowed for sensible access to servos, connections and RX so had to do a bit of rearranging and prep for future problems.
I ordered 6 spare servos and to prevent future damage I knocked up some relieving springs modelled on yachty mooring springs for those who can’t moor properly but I made it out of a Biro spring and two safety pins.
So, hull and steam plant all boxed off so now I’ve started thinking about the canopy. I want it to match the sheer I built into the hull and also match the deck camber, so it was off to Bunnings for the makings. Got some balsa wood and some hardwood dowelling, then to Office Works for some white card to make a plan out of. Marked the card with centre and athwartships lines, funnel and whistle positioning and cut out a rough, oversize oval. I stuck the cut card on top of the coaming and ran a pencil round onto the card. Removed the card and cut around one centimetre from the line.
Next I laminated two 6mm square lengths of hardwood and used masking tape to hold its shape while it dries.
On Wear I covered the canopy with calico which I painted to replicate painted canvas decking but on this model I want to use dolls house corrugated iron if I can find a cheap source. I love the use of corrugated iron on Aussie housing.
Jerry.