RE: .010 out of mothballs.. ahh sweet music!
"The TD .020 is probably the best engine Cox ever made, the .010 is a close second. How they went so wrong with the TD .049, I don't know.." I'm not sure what you mean by that statement. Obviously, no one has told me before so I have happily been running TD .049s for many years and getting really good performance out of them. In fact, yesterday I started one up on a stunter which has been in mothballs for the winter and the run was as perfect as when I put it away. I know that there are modern more powerful 1/2As but you can't beat a TD for most applications dollar wise, though they are crash sensitive with that plastic venturi molding. I too like the TD .020. I always use a 1.2V Nicad for starting and don't have plug burnout problems. Of course the Nicad is 4 Ahr and I use short heavy wire to the clip.
Posted on: 5/19/2013 1:52 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11516285

RE: Shaft driven props
Hi Chris, I think your idea of a small fan mounted directly to the engine might be a good one. It could pull air in through the cockpit past the fins. I would have to leave some of the cockpit pod open at the rear for an air exit but it might work. I will give it a try. Now, when I had the initial running problems with the system, I machined two flywheels of different mass and they sorted out the running problem but created another one. They were both 1.25" in diameter and the lightest weighed 40 grams! Believe it or not but this 40 gram flywheel has the same moment of inertia as a 5 gram 6 X 3 plastic prop! This heavy flywheel would make the model way too heavy to fly on the available power. This is why I had to get the props-only system working. A pull-string on the flywheel worked pretty go but would put too much stress on the already light weight model. The electric starter on the pusher prop works real slick. Orv.
Posted on: 7/23/2012 11:27 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11166911

RE: Berkley 1949 Puddle Jumper, CL. AH minature Drone diesel
Hi Jim, Great job on the PJ. I love Puddle Jumpers and diesels. I have the other three Puddle Jumper Berkeley kits but not this one. Do you have a plan? My Junior Puddle Jumper, which is almost complete, will be powered with an OK Cub .075 diesel.
Posted on: 7/22/2012 4:12 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11164870

RE: Shaft driven props
Thanks for the kind words Max Power. The set-up was just run on the bench so there was no extra flight air moving across the fins. In our cool Canadian climate, excessive engine heating may not be a big problem but I want to fly this model in FAC competition in the USA where temperatures can be hot indeed. The engine is arranged so that the cylinder head protrudes out of the cockpit of the Caproni and will make it look like a fat-headed pilot is flying it! A very astute observation Trisquire. This plan-form in true to scale makes a very bad and unstable free flight model. It has no dihedral, a very short tail moment, too small a stab and small fins. It probably cannot be trimmed to fly as is... but I have a plan... and besides if this wasn't challenging, what fun would it be? I am now building a foam sheet prototype to house the power unit for testing out some stability concepts. 1. I have done this approach successfully in the past with a model of similar plan-form, A Burnelli RB-1 Transport. I will trim the model like you would a flying wing. I will make separated moveable ailerons which I can set to give the wings excessive washout, up to 15 degrees. This will usually compensate the model for weak tail moment forces. 2. To compensate for the lack of dihedral, I plan on adding some clear plastic film sheets between the wing bracing wires at the tips. If you look at the plan front view you can see bracing wires on the tip two bays of the wing that have a 45 degree slant. I will put clear film between the wires that slant up so that the resulting planes will have a dihedral effect. 3. The fact that this will be a large span, very draggy model also provides some added stability especially in yaw. I just hope I have enough power to overcome the drag. In fact, I don't want a hot model, just one that will stooge around in the air for 2 minutes. This project is slow going at this time. I had a motorcycle crash a month ago and am still hobbling around on crutches[:o]. I will add more details and photos as I progress with this project. Orv.
Posted on: 7/22/2012 3:53 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11164842

RE: Shaft driven props
Hi Chris & Rendegade, Chris: I wanted a long-stroke-side port diesel because I need the torque to drive the three props. I also wanted an engine that would run CW (viewed from front) so that I could use standard Cox 4.5 by 2.5 tractor props. The engine I actually have is the .4 cc Mills Repo (which is close to .020 cu. in.). With a 6 X 3 prop mounted, this engine starts first flip every time and runs in a very reliable manner. It doesn't however like the compliance in the drive system so I have to use an electric starter to get the rotational inertia up to a value that will keep the engine turning over, then it is quite happy. Because the props are so far away from the engine, I have a cooling problem which needs to be sorted out. I may have to machine a larger finned cylinder head or some other style of heat sink... any ideas? Renegade: The engine can't be flip started as I said above and have added a starting cone to the main pusher prop so that I can use an electric starter. You will also notice that the two drive belts are fairly loose so as to lower the running friction and will slip cogs if you stall the tractor props. Orv.
Posted on: 7/20/2012 4:08 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11162894

RE: Shaft driven props
Hi Folks, Actually, I have a model under construction that uses one motor to drive 3 props. I'm building a scale Caproni CA 42 tri-plane bomber for free flight Flying Aces power scale competition. Internal combustion engines get big bonus points in this class and multi-prop units even more. Now I know that it would be simpler to have three engines but in free flight, you want all of them running the same all the time and stopping at the same time. I have decided that running 3 props from one engine would be more reliable but it is also more demanding to build. Before I started the project, I had to make sure that the power set-up would work so I built a test unit with the same dimensions as I would need for a 36" span model. I also wanted it diesel powered so I didn't have to use fuel proof finishes. The engine I'm using is a scaled down repo of the famous Mill .75 cc. The engine shown in the photos has a displacement of .020 cu. in. The photos show my first version which I could not make run. These long stroke diesels need a lot of positive flywheel effect and my rather flexible universal joint and thin drive shaft of the main pusher drive did not provide this. The engine would run the tank dry oscillating back and forth on the compression stroke CW and CCW. I subsequently stiffened up the universal joint ( you need a universal joint if you don't want to wear out your engine's crank shaft bearing) and made a new 1/4" dia. hollow drive shaft. The engine now runs well and the set-up produces good thrust but you cannot hand start it, I have to use an electric starter. I'm happy with the unit and can't wait until I have it in the airframe. I hope this will encourage you to try this scheme. Contact me if you need more info. Orv.
Posted on: 7/19/2012 9:09 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11162005

RE: New to 1/2A.. Where to find Engines
There are lots of Cox 1/2 A engines on eBay, others too
Posted on: 6/8/2012 5:38 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11111732

RE: vintage r/c recievers
Hi Bob, Do you want a superhet or will a regen do? Orv.
Posted on: 5/26/2012 2:12 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11095528

RE: Mattel Pulse Radio
John, I'm not familiar with the Mattel system. I presume that the receiver is a selective super-het and it has a duel transistor output to the magnetic actuator similar to what was used in the Testors and Ace systems. The receiver portion probably won't be damaged by a higher voltage but the output transistors would pass a higher current at the higher voltage and may fail due to increased dissipation. Some receivers can show some instability at elevated voltages so one must do lots of testing to be sure. I find that most of my 3 volt single channel systems work better with increased range on 3 nicads than on 2. I think I would still use one diode for the lipol because the fully charged voltage is over 4 volts. Let us know how you do. Orv.
Posted on: 5/2/2012 11:49 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11066420

RE: Mattel Pulse Radio
Hi John, I run some old 3 volt single channel receiver systems from a single Lipol but I wire one or two 1N4000 series diodes in series in the positive supply. Each diode drops the voltage 0.6 volts over a wide current range. This puts the lipol voltage in the range that these systems like. This is a really cheap and reliable solution. Just remember to wire the diodes so that they pass current and not block it. Orv.
Posted on: 4/30/2012 5:27 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11063237

RE: Old 27mhz radio to 2.4 What to do with the trims?
Most of the older radios that had trim pots had these wired in series with the control pot; so if the total resistance value of the two pots in series is compatible with what is needed by the new system, then you shouldn't have any problems.
Posted on: 3/24/2012 3:00 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=11013361

RE: 1/2 A STARTER
That is a 540 motor frame but a motor this size rated at 12 volts will not produce enough torque to crank a 1/2A size engine. Because the motor is only normally used in short bursts, the motor that Sullivan uses is most likely rated at 6 or less volts and used at 12 volts to get the torque needed. Best to get a replacement from Sullivan.
Posted on: 2/25/2012 11:12 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10976151

RE: Royal Coachman
I've got to build another! I think I had one of the first Sterling kits of this model when it came out in the 60s, in fact, I still have the box but alas, not the plane. Mono-kote had also just come on the market at this time and I covered mine with yellow. The original Mono-kote was sticky-backed (like the trim film is now) and not that fuel proof. I graduated from escapements to Rand galloping ghost with this plane which I powered with a throttled Enya .09. The plane flew great and I would do touch and goes at full throttle (my plane had the stock nose gear). Changing the throttle setting on the Rand would cause some wild gyrations to the plane so I was hesitant to use the throttle near the ground. I then upgraded to an Enya .15 and a Royal Electronics Classic radio with R-E-T and flew this really tough model until it literally fell apart. The only fault I can find with your model is the covering is all wrong... it should be covered with castor oil from an I.C. engine on the front! All kidding aside, That is one great looking model! Orv.
Posted on: 2/24/2012 11:16 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10974798

RE: Oops!
I sympathize with you as I have a tendency to do the same. If you could keep the .010 for 50 years it might be a good investment. I think it is about time you and I change our ways, I'll start. I have a NIB Stanzel Tiger Shark G-line model kit along with a new 1938 Brown Junior model D engine which is shown on the plans... I'm going to build the model and use the engine and let the future sort itself out!
Posted on: 2/17/2012 11:36 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10964146

THE GEEZER HV B+ TUBE-TYPE TRANSMITTER POWER SUPPLY HACK
I like to use my old tube type transmitters but HV batteries are very expensive... if you can find fresh ones. A good low-cost solution presents itself in the form of mobile inverters, the type you plug into the cigar lighter and you get out 115VAC. The lowest power units, 75 to 100 watts are the ones I use. I hack out the innards and use only the DC section of the inverter. The inverters work like this: ....A high frequency chopper, transformer, rectifier and filter converts the 12 VDC input to about 140 VDC (this you use). ....The HV DC is then chopped up and assembled by a micro-controller into a pulse-width modulated facsimile of 115VAC (this you don't need). We only need the DC section of the inverter which provides a clean 120 to 140VDC output depending on load. Although the inverter is very efficient at maximum load, it suffers somewhat when you only use 1 to 2 watts like our R/C systems need; but it still is pretty good considering how easy and how much these cost to make. The inverter running with no load consumes an average of 150 milliamps. When you take 10 MA out of the output (1.35 watts), the input jumps to about 250MA. I power my system with 10 1000 MAH AA nicads and I get over 2 hours of continuous use. The hacked inverter and the 10 nicads are smaller in size than two 67.5 volt batteries. The neat part of this adaptation is that you can get the inverters for less than $20.00 and nicads are pretty cheap now too. ... The first photo shows the Duracell Mobile Inverter ($9.95 on sale) which is my most recent hack and the subject of this treatise. ... The second photo shows the innards. ... The third photo shows the location of some of the important parts. ... The 100 watt Duracell unit I'm using has a stand-by current of 164 ma. ... The Duracell unit also has a 5 volt USB output on a separate PCB. This output is powered by a very efficient switching step-down regulator able to supply 500 ma. ... Research on the USB regulator indicates that it could be hacked into a power supply to provide voltages of 1.5 to 6 volts for the R/C transmitter's filament (A+) supply. Only one or two resistors would have to be changed on the USB board. More experimental work will have to be done to see this through, but it looks very promising. Of course, larger primary nicads or NiMH cells would be needed to power the system. How-to-do-it: 1. After you have removed the inverter innards from the plastic case and cut off or unsoldered the extremities like the cigar lighter plug and in my case, the 5VDC USB board, the inverter is essentially ready to use. 2. My inverter had the 115VAC receptacle clips soldered to the main PCB and these presented a shock or short circuit hazard, so instead of trying to insulate them, I elected to remove them altogether as shown in the fourth photo below. 3. I also removed the 4 Power Mosfets (these 8 amp,250 volt transistors will come in handy for other projects) which are not needed since we are only using the DC to DC convertor part of this inverter. I also removed the indicator LED to save about 2 ma of battery current. See the fifth photo below. 4. In order to have the power supply power your transmitter, you have to locate the source of the + high voltage DC. To do this, simply locate the high voltage filter capacitor which is an electrolytic type with a high voltage rating. This is easy because there will be only one on the PCB somewhere. My Duracell unit has a 16 microfarad capacitor with a 250 volt rating. Its location is shown in the sixth photo below. The negative (-) terminal of this capacitor is connected to the system ground which is the black wire going to the primary nicad battery. The positive (+) terminal of the capacitor is the positive (+) high voltage DC output. Connect a wire to this terminal on the capacitor or do as I did and solder the wire into a hole left by the removed Mosfet that connects up with the + terminal on the capacitor. 5. Now all you have to do is connect the hacked supply to a 10 cell nicad battery pack through an off-on switch (use the one on the transmitter if you can), black wire to battery negative and large red wire to battery positive. In my case, the thin red wire (+140VDC) will go to the transmitter's B+ input. The transmitter's ground or battery negative also has to go to the black wire from the inverter. 6. You may want to rewire the power switch on the transmitter by disconnecting the B+ battery side (the switch usually has 2 poles, one for the B+ and the other for the A+) and connecting the output from the hacked inverter directly to the HV input of the transmitter. The unwired switch pole can now connect the primary nicad pack to the inverter. 7. My 10 cell AA 1000MAH nicad pack is shown in the seventh photo below. 8. PLEASE BE CAREFUL, YOU CAN GET ONE HECK OF A JOLT FROM THE HIGH VOLTAGE OUTPUT!!!! Other Info: ... Inverters-R-Us lists an 85 watt Rally unit (in stock), with a low standby current of less than 100 ma, which would be a good choice for this project: http://www.invertersrus.com/rally7424.html ... If one wished to have the filament supply option, I have found a low cost, low standby current inverter that looks ideal for the job (Bestek 75 watt): http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-inverter-motolora-blackberry-notebook/dp/B003Q54V88/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_3 Orv the GizmoGeezer
Posted on: 2/17/2012 11:20 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10964142

RE: Oops!
Of course DeviousDave is right, there are probably better investments although occasionally an engine will really appreciate. For example, in 1968 I bought an unusual engine called an Aero .35 for around 40 bucks, I shortly thereafter sold it to a collector for $50.00. Several years ago, that collector passed away and I again bought the engine which was still NIB just like the day I sold it to him 40 years earlier. This time though, I had to part with $300.00, almost 10 times what I paid for it originally. The other day, this same engine in the same condition sold on Ebay for nearly $800.00 and this is now the going price for this engine, 20 times the original price!
Posted on: 2/15/2012 11:26 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10961216

RE: Oops!
Since you just bought the first issue .010 NIB, these are more rare and already command a bigger price than the second issue .010 (black plastic parts). I would keep this one as a retirement investment and ebay another one that is not NIB for a lesser price. There are lots out there. Orv.
Posted on: 2/14/2012 10:44 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10959602

RE: I need a site with Control Line 101
[quote]ORIGINAL: ghostfisher I recently started control line flying again after about 50 years off.  It is a blast.  I am hooked on glow engines so haven't tried electric.   My advice is GO BIGGER!  Get a plane with about a 42'' wingspan and a Fox .35 stunt, on 60 foot lines and go for it.  The larger planes are easier to fly and more fun.   Try <a href=''http://www.controllineplanes.com''>www.controllineplanes.com for all the old plans you will ever need.  A profile plane like a Ringmaster or a Flite Streak would be great.   Brodak sells kits, but they are pricey.  EBAY has a lot of old Fox .35 stunt engines listed inexpensively. They are terrific engines for a beginner. [/quote] Generally, I agree with this advice except for the recommended Fox .35. I know there is lots of nostalgia associated with this engine but it isn't the best engine choice for the beginner 1. If new, they take a lot of running time to break in properly. 2. If you want them to last, you have to use all castor fuel with at least 25% oil, better 28%. This fuel can be hard to find for the beginner. Most hobby shops carry only R/C fuel with percentages of synthetic oil. The synthetic oil washes away all the castor created varnish that preserves the compression in these iron piston engines and they soon become a bear to start. 3. They are not always the easiest engines to start and needle properly especially with the stock factory needle valve. One of the best choices for a beginner engine is the OS .25LAS. It produces the same power as the Fox. It likes R/C fuel. You can get one flip starts almost every time with a little practice. It needles well and will give the same engine run time after time without having to touch the needle valve. They don't cost a lot. You can't go wrong with this engine. Now don't get me wrong, I own and fly a number of Fox engines but mostly for the nostalgia and not for the reliability, for this I use OS engines.
Posted on: 2/11/2012 12:17 AM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Control Lines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10953722

RE: B Plus schematic?
THE GEEZER HIGH VOLTAGE B+ POWER SUPPLY HACK... Part 4 This is a continuation of Part #2: 1. After you have removed the inverter innards from the plastic case and cut off or unsoldered the extremities like the cigar lighter plug and in my case, the 5VDC USB board, the inverter is essentially ready to use. 2. My inverter had the 115VAC receptacle clips soldered to the main PCB and these presented a shock or short circuit hazard, so instead of trying to insulate them, I elected to remove them altogether as shown in the first photo below. 3. I also removed the 4 Power Mosfets (these 8 amp,250 volt transistors will come in handy for other projects) which are not needed since we are only using the DC to DC convertor part of this inverter. I also removed the indicator LED to save about 2 ma of battery current. See the second photo below. 4. In order to have the power supply power your transmitter, you have to locate the source of the + high voltage DC. To do this, simply locate the high voltage filter capacitor which is an electrolytic type with a high voltage rating. This is easy because there will be only one on the PCB somewhere. My Duracell unit has a 16 microfarad capacitor with a 250 volt rating. Its location is shown in the third photo below. The negative (-) terminal of this capacitor is connected to the system ground which is the black wire going to the nicad battery. The positive (+) terminal of the capacitor is the positive (+) high voltage DC output. Connect a wire to this terminal on the capacitor or do as I did and solder the wire into a hole left by the removed Mosfet that connects up with the + terminal on the capacitor. 5. Now all you have to do is connect the hacked supply to a 10 cell nicad battery pack through an off-on switch (use the one on the transmitter if you can), black wire to battery negative and large red wire to battery positive. In my case, the thin red wire (+140VDC) will go to the transmitter's B+ input. The transmitter's ground or battery negative also has to go to the black wire from the inverter. 6. My 10 cell AA 1000MAH nicad pack is shown in the fourth photo below. 7. PLEASE BE CAREFUL, YOU CAN GET ONE HECK OF A JOLT FROM THE HIGH VOLTAGE OUTPUT!!!! Orv.
Posted on: 2/7/2012 11:38 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10949218

RE: B Plus schematic?
THE GEEZER HIGH VOLTAGE B+ POWER SUPPLY HACK... Part 1 I too like to use my old tube type transmitters and HV batteries are very expensive if you can find fresh ones. I have found a good solution. I have converted automobile inverters, the type you plug into the cigar lighter and you get out 115VAC. The lowest power units, 75 or 80 watts are the ones I use. I hack out the innards and use only the DC section of the inverter. The inverters work like this: ....A high frequency chopper, transformer, rectifier and filter converts the 12 VDC input to about 140 VDC. ....The HV DC is then chopped up and assembled by a micro-controller into a pulse-width modulated facsimile of 115VAC. We only need the DC section of the inverter which provides a clean 120 to 140VDC output depending on load. Although the inverter is very efficient at max. load it suffers somewhat when you only use 1 to 2 watts like our R/C systems need, but it still is pretty good considering how easy and how much these cost to make. The inverter running with no load consumes about 130 to 150 milliamps. When you take 10 MA out of the output (1.35 watts), the input jumps to about 250MA. I power my system with 10 800 MAH AA nicads and I get over 2 hours of continuous use. The hacked inverter and the 10 nicads are smaller in size than two 67.5 volt batteries. The neat part of this adaptation is that you can get the inverters for less than $20.00 and nicads are pretty cheap now too. I paid $9.95 for my inverters. Bigger nicads or NiMH cells of greater capacity would lengthen the operating time. I took some photos of what I am doing and was going to write an article but have been busy. If you guys are interested in this hack, it might motivate me to get at it. Orv.
Posted on: 2/3/2012 9:19 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10931781

RE: B Plus schematic?
THE GEEZER HIGH VOLTAGE B+ POWER SUPPLY HACK... Part 2 I am going to present my HV power supply hack in a number of posts: 1. I misled you somewhat when I said all my inverter hacks were 75 to 80 watt units, actually the last one I did, which is described here, was a 100 watt Duracell unit. I think what we want to have is the smallest wattage unit that can be purchased because it will have the lowest standby operating current. A search of the Net has turned up a 25 watt unit for $14.00 and I will leave the purchasing decision up to you. Check this out: http://www.invertersrus.com/inv25w.html 2. The first photo shows the Duracell unit. 3. The second photo shows the innards. 4. The third photo shows the location of some of the important parts. Please see my first post for a description of how these inverters work. In my next post, I will show what I did to this unit to make it into something we can use to power our tube-type R/C transmitters. Orv.
Posted on: 2/3/2012 9:17 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10936362

RE: B Plus schematic?
[center][/center][b][/b]THE GEEZER HIGH VOLTAGE B+ POWER SUPPLY HACK... Part 3 Here is the results of some research I have been doing on available mobile inverters: 1. The 25 watt unit from Inverter R Us is no longer available as stated in Part 2. 2. Inverters R Us lists an 85 watt Rally unit (in stock), with a low standby current of less than 100 ma, which would be a good choice for this project: http://www.invertersrus.com/rally7424.html 3. The 100 watt Duracell unit I'm using has a stand-by current of 164 ma. 4. The Duracell unit also has a 5 volt USB output on a separate PCB. This output is powered by a very efficient switching step-down regulator able to supply 500 ma. 5. Research on the USB regulator indicates that it could be hacked into a power supply to provide voltages of 1.5 to 6 volts for the R/C transmitter's filament supply. Only one or two resistors would have to be changed on the USB board. More experimental work will have to be done to see this through, but it looks very promising. Of course, larger primary nicads or NiMH cells would be needed to power the system. 6. If one wished to have the filament supply option, I have found a low cost, low standby current inverter that looks ideal for the job (Bestek 75 watt): http://www.amazon.com/BESTEK-inverter-motolora-blackberry-notebook/dp/B003Q54V88/ref=pd_sim_sbs_auto_3 Orv.
Posted on: 2/3/2012 9:01 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10942837

RE: B Plus schematic?
I'll start posting the Inverter hack in a day or two as soon as I organize the data. Orv.
Posted on: 1/28/2012 11:05 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10933275

RE: 27 Mhz for R/C use.
[quote]ORIGINAL: X Rated Note to the other gentleman:  About changing your AM module to 2.4 mhz module is a NO NO....please do not modify these transmitter as it needs to be recalibrated. Those who are nearby that person's with the modified module radio will receive and get erractic osculation RF signals to their models on the 2.4 mhz as well,not a good thing...... [/quote] This advice makes no sense. The only circuitry that is used from the old transmitter is the coder. If it is compatible, or can be made compatible with the input needs of the 2.4 GHz module, the system will work like any modern 2.4 system. Of course, the RF section of the old transmitter must be made inoperable or best be removed all together. Orv.
Posted on: 1/16/2012 11:04 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10912848

27 Mhz for R/C use.
I was under the impression that certain 27 Mhz frequencies were reserved for R/C use only, these are 26.995, 27.045, 145, 095, 195. I was wrong. I just read the frequency allocations and guess what? Some wireless computer keyboards and mice also share these same frequencies, fortunately, the output power is limited to less than 54dBmicroV/m at 3 meters. This should not cause any problems for us who still use these frequencies for vintage flying. Orv.
Posted on: 1/7/2012 10:33 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10897317

RE: Ohlsson & Rice Antique Airplane Engine
You must be joking! Without a list, it is hard to put a value on what you have but you will be lucky to get 250 bucks for what I see in the photo.
Posted on: 12/30/2011 11:39 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10884044

RE: Mr. Space Control flys again video
Hi Mel & Zel, Please excuse my ignorance, but what was the Detroit Invitational and when was it held? It couldn't have been a model airplane contest since there was 6 to 8 feet of snow. Orv.
Posted on: 12/21/2011 11:21 AM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10870055

RE: How identify vintage engines?
I too have a new-in-the-box Aero .35 that has never been mounted and run. I've seen these go for $700.00 on Ebay in this condition.
Posted on: 10/11/2011 12:09 AM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10759259

RE: Well, I'm Ready For The Glory Days Vintage Flyin
Hi Zor, I have a number of tube type Citizen-ship radios operating. To solve the HV problem, I have been successful at hacking mobile inverters (the type that plug into the cigarette lighter and provide 120VAC) into HV DC power supplies for the B batteries. These inverters often go on sale for $9.95 and when you remove the case the resulting module is small and when combined with a 9 AA cell (1000mah) battery pack, is actually smaller than the original two 67.5V batteries. I get about 3 hours of flight time per charge with the power supply putting out 140VDC at 1.2 watts. If anyone is interested in the details, let me know and I will write up some instructions. Orv.
Posted on: 7/5/2011 8:35 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum "Golden Age, Vintage & Antique RC"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10607902

RE: Venturi for 061 Wasp
That is an interesting point you make there George, I wondered about that too. I think the box the engine came in either said ABN or ABC on the list of features, although this was covered up with a sticker that says "Hypereutectic Alminal". Now this term is a mystery to me as I have not heard of it before and Google was no help. The engine definitely has a pinch at TDC like an ABC. I checked the crank fit and it seems to be OK. The engine will now run at 14,000 all day and remain cool but if I increase the rpm to 16,000, the cylinder head temperature really starts to rise and the rpm starts to sag after 10 seconds or so. This along with the fact that the max. rpm keeps increasing with subsequent runs tells me the engine is still tight. Orv.
Posted on: 5/22/2011 9:10 PM by Author "ggeezer" in the forum ""1/2 A" & "1/8 A" airplanes"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10535347