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[Alan52]

Hi all
Just bought a ready to run Aquacraft Bristol Bay trawler Mk1 off of Flebay. Although it is the first version, it has never been out of the box and is brand new. Only drawback is that the radio gear is 27MHz and the transmitter is the car type with the steering wheel and trigger throttle.
Easy fix I thought, just upgrade to a 2.4gHz outfit. So I ordered the £30 Glori 4 channel outfit off of Amazon. A real bargain. I believe its made by Flysky. The outfit comes pre-binded.

Connected the lead from the speed controller to channel 3 and the rudder to channel 1. Good news the rudder works perfectly. However the throttle only works on the left hand stick (mode 2) but in reverse. The problem is there is no neutral position so I can only get reverse and not forward. It uses the full throw of the stick. I have tried turning on with the stick in the middle position but that immediately starts the motor. Not sure what the speed controller is, I assume its made by Aquacraft.
Has anyone got any idea how I can get the stick to control forward and reverse. I have attached a picture of the boat. Any help appreciated.

Thanks
Alan

[john44]

Hi Alan, throttle should be on the left stick, Rachet
You should be able to reverse the throttle channel on the transmitter or if not
Swap the two wires from the esc to the motor over to change the polarity of the motor.
Do not change the power leads from the battery to the esc over that will blow the electronic
Speed controler.


John

[clockworks]

Ratchet throttle for planes and yachts, centre sprung throttle for motorised boats and cars is the norm.


A ratchet throttle used with a motor is for really for forwards only.


What type of throttle stick does your new radio have? Sounds like you've bought a plane radio, as you say there's no neutral position (no centring spring).
If that's the case, you could use the right stick for throttle, left stick for rudder (or right stick for both).


If it's a brushed motor (2 wires), swapping them around will make the motor go in the opposite direction. If it's a brushless motor, swapping any 2 will revers the direction.


Some speed controllers need calibrating to the stick neutral position, generally by pressing a button on the ESC and moving the stick as the LEDs change.  Others will automatically calibrate neutral each time you switch on, but may get confused if the stick isn't in roughly the expected position. No instructions in the box with the boat?

[Alan52]

Thanks John
I thought about using the servo reverse switch to change direction. Throttle is on the left hand side. The old system used a trigger. Pull back to go forward and push forward to go in reverse. Thanks for the information. It is appreciated.
Thanks
Alan

[Alan52]

Hi Clockworks
Only instructions with the boat for the old 27mhz system. It is a brushed system. Tried centering the stick (ratchet side) when switching on, but no joy. Dont really want to change the speed controller in the boat if I can help it. Thought there might be an easy answer to this. Thanks for the reply.
Alan

[clockworks]

Just plug the ESC cable into the right stick up/down channel on the receiver (probably channel 2)

[clockworks]

Oh, and the ESC will probably only recalibrate if you disconnect and reconnect the battery in the boat. Turning the radio gear off and back on won't do it

[Alan52]

Thanks for the advice Clockworks.
Much appreciated.
Thanks
Alan

[justboatonic]

Some ESCs need to be armed before you have proportional control. This frequently is done by having the throttle stick or trigger, at the top of its throw then switch on the rx \ esc. After 10 seconds, lower the throttle to bottom stick. This would arm the esc and then give proportional control.
However,  it may be that this esc is forward only with no reverse.

[unbuiltnautilus]

You may well have to fit a new speed control. I had a similar problem with an early Southampton tug. Its speed control would only work with its original Tx. Upgrade hand sets would not work correctly. Probably something to do with the transmitter sticks deadband position. Probably fixable with some Tx brutalising, but an easier fix was a new speed control.

[Alan52]

Hi Justboatonic

Thanks for the information. I can only get it to go in one direction, but I think using the servo reverse might be the answer although a bit of a pain.

Thanks again.
Alan

[Alan52]

Hi Unbuiltnautilus

Yes I fear you may be right. It could be a dedicated ESC and therefore not compatible. It does work with the 2.4 receiver but only in one direction. I have got a Viper 15 that I could use, but it will be a pain as all the wiring is hi den. However I think I will go down the route of using the servo reverse to change directions.

Thanks for the information though.
Alan

[ChrisF]

If you do decide to replace the ESC can you use the existing wiring to pull through the new or is it completely hidden?

Using the servo reverse is OK unless you have a situation where you need to react quickly!

Chris

[Alan52]

Hi Chris


You are right. That's the problem. When you need to react quickly. That's why I wanted to try and sort something out with the new radio.
I think I probably could get to the wiring, but like most ready made kit, they don't think you will ever take it apart. The wiring is hidden behind a wooden panel which houses the switches  for the lights and power from the battery. The lights are powered by two AA batteries in a separate box.

Thanks for responding Chris. It is appreciated.

Best wishes

Alan

[malcolmfrary]

It is not the radio that decides whether reverse is there or not.  All the radio does is provide a signal pulse of a given length usually between 1 and 2 mS long.  The same pulse works servos to give left and right, it also tell a bidirectional ESC to stop or go forward or reverse and how fast, all by the timed length of the pulse.  A forward only ESC uses exactly the same pulses to tell the ESC how fast to make the motor go, but only in one direction.
Did the ESC ever give both forward and reverse?  If it didn't before, it won't now.
If the original radio was non-standard, that could be the start of a problem.  Plug a servo into the ESC channel, see what it does.  If it does an expected full swing, the problem is with the ESC

[Alan52]

Hi Malcom

Yes it is a standard radio that came with it. The transmitter is the type used for cars, with a trigger and a wheel. Pulling back on the trigger gives forward movement and pushing the trigger forward gives reverse. Receiver is the usual type 2 channel with slot for battery and 2 slots for esc and rudder. The make is Aquacraft.



With the 27mhz connected all works OK. Forward and reverse with proportional speed control. As the system is old I suspect that the ESC is not compatible with the new 2.4ghz system. I think I will probably end up fitting a Viper speed controller to solve the problem. Not what I origanally envisaged.
Thanks for the reply.

Best wishes

Alan

[Plastic - RIP]

  Plug a servo into the ESC channel, see what it does.  If it does an expected full swing, the problem is with the ESC

I'd try this - see if the receiver is outputting something sensible with a +/- swing.

[Alan52]

Thanks Plastic

Yes I think it is worth a try. I will give it a go.

Thanks for replying

Best wishes
Alan