RE: gearbox help
540 and 500 size motors are significantly bigger than 400 and 380-size motors, and also much more powerful. I would be very surprised if Heng Long gearboxes are up to the challenge, for any long-term applications. However, if it's a short-term project that doesn't need to last for years, it might be possible. Another possibility is to make your own gearbox. out of curiosity, what sort of project are the gearboxes and motors for?
Posted on: 9/18/2009 7:52 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9105133

VsTanks for convention?
Hey folks, Me and some buddies have been putting on tank battles at a local gaming convention for several years now. So far, we've been using Tamiya tanks, and letting anyone interested participate in a battle or two. Alas, this has been very destructive to the tanks (rookies who don't know how to drive). Even worse, the number of participants has dropped dramatically, because our playing field is outdoors. This year, we only had a handful of guests, and none of them joined the club. Next year, we will be moving indoors, but unfortunately there is not enough room for 6+ 1:16 scale tanks (driven by rookies) on the smaller indoor battlefield. Searching around, I found the VsTank Pro, the 1:24 scale IR battling tanks. So I've got a few questions: how good are the VsTanks for smaller battlefields? Usable battlefield area in next year's convention will be a bit bigger than an empty two-car garage, broken up by buildings, trees, and other obstacles. How reliable is their IR laser tag system? I've tried one other small-scale IR tank, and it had severe difficulties hitting another tank, even indoors with the IR emitter aimed directly at the target sensor. I hope VsTank Pro is a little more reliable than that? How are the VsTanks on maintenance? With the Tamiya tanks, we spent an afternoon testing and tuning the tanks before the gaming convention, and another afternoon fixing them up afterwards. Would similar maintenance sessions be required with VsTank Pro? What about time period? I'd like to try the modern era, but most of the other guys who help put this show on prefer the smaller tanks with shorter barrels that are found in the WWII era. How well do the modern tanks handle in close quarters, with their long gun barrels poking out? I have also heard that VsTank will be releasing a spiffy new 2.4ghz radio for their pro tanks early next year. Will this increase the number of tanks you can run simultaneously? Will it be applied to all the tanks they're producing immediately, or will they only upgrade part of their lineup?
Posted on: 9/15/2009 5:11 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9096852

RE: Oregon City Class cruisers
You take your pump and run it through the bandsaw... doesn't matter how you slice it, as long as its half the size it was before... if it still works afterwards, you get to put three cannons in your boat :D Actually... a 1/2 unit cannon has half the ammo of a 1 unit cannon A 1/2 unit pump has a smaller outlet than a 1 unit pump
Posted on: 7/30/2009 5:14 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8975807

RE: AIRSOFT TANK BATTLE BB'S ARE HERE! 6mm Marking Airsoft BBs
I remember I tried an airsoft battle against my brother last year. We played "on your honor" with five hits being a KO, using a pair of completely stock, fresh-from-the-box Tachpanzer III's, and battled for about an hour. Here's what we found. 1) smoothbore cannons + lightweight round shot = inaccurate. With airsoft tanks, you're basically farting in the general direction of your target. This isn't IR, where you get a shotgun blast each time you pull the trigger. All this talk of "long range" being 20 feet is absurd. While the cannons can go that far, you aren't going to hit a moving, dodging target that far away. It's kinda like the cannons on old ships-of-the-line. Sure, their cannonballs could travel a mile downrange before splashing down, but they couldn't hit reliably except at 400 yards or less. 2) inaccurate cannons + 3rd person perspective = inaccurate. Even if you managed to get a cannon that can precisely reliably hit whatever target it's aimed at, that is no guarantee that the human driver will point the gun in the right direction. Unless you sit there, spotting your fall of shot and "walking" your shots in to the target (and mostly emptying your magazines in the process), you're going to have a hard time hitting anything beyond approximately 6 feet. And even if you [i]do[/i] "walk" your shots in to your target, he can always get up off his @$$ and move to a different location. Of course, if your target happens to be hiding from one of your teammates and is only paying attention to the closer predator... 3) oh, did I mention that you'll be inaccurate? I'm not sure I stressed that enough. Airsoft tanks, when fighting other airsoft tanks, will be inaccurate. It's not a limitation of the cannons, it's a limitation of the human. From your third-person perspective, it's very hard to tell when you're on target. Even at close range, my airsoft tank battle was a maneuvering war, where you would try to get out of the way if you saw the other guy coming close to on-target. After our initial, failed attempts at extreme-range gunnery, we charged in to close range (2 to 4 feet) and suddenly we started landing hits on each other. At close range, with decent chances of hitting the other guy, the game suddenly became a whole lot more fun. And every now and then, it was very satisfying to outmaneuver my opponent and deliver an executioner's blow into his unprotected rear from two inches away. Now I will admit that I was only playing 1v1, and I can certainly see the benefit of having at least one long-range artillerist in larger team games, but I still believe that most decisive battles will be fought at ranges of 6 feet or less. 4) Precise elevation control was critical. Using stock HL elevation mechanisms, ranging in on a stationary target was painfully slow, and if that target charged, simply depressing the gun to the right level was not always fast enough. And if I missed my mark and had to go back, well... you all know the HL elevation mechanism. If I were to do it again, I would replace the stock HL elevation system with a high-torque micro metal gear servo, possibly the HS-82MG or similar, and run it on a 5- or 6-channel radio with flaps dial. I might also consider speeding up the rotation mechanism, or switching it out for a positional-control mechanism using a sail-winch servo. 5) When my brother and I battled, we used fresh-from-the-factory S&S Tachpanzer III's. Using the aisoft pellets discussed earlier in this thread, it is possible to set up a battling club using entirely stock HL tanks. Obviously, tanks modified with servo elevation and other upgrades would be more competetive, but I am curious whether or not an upgraded cannon would be beneficial. I can clearly imagine how, in a large team game, having one or two tanks on long-range bombardment duty would be very beneficial for the team, but I have no idea whether you'd want a high-powered cannon with a straight trajectory, or a low-powered one with a high arc and plunging fire. I'm not even sure how hard you have to hit the target in order to leave a mark. 6) The entire experience reminded me of my experience fighting model battleships. We encountered the same 3rd-person-perspective issues with aiming, and similar issues with smoothbore cannons and round shot. The basic handling of tanks and ships was different, but a number of the tactics were actually remarkably similar. I won't say what, since I hope to use them against you all, but still... Anyway, even the basic fun, friendly-competetive atmosphere and feel of the tank battle reminded me of the monthly naval battles I fight. I have high hopes for the future of airsoft tank battling, and I look forward to shoot... I mean seeing you all on the model battlefield some day soon. PS: I notice that the marking airsoft pellets come in different colors. Does anybody know if the different colors of pellet leave different colors of mark? If so, that gives me a few ideas about representing cannon calibers...
Posted on: 7/6/2009 2:37 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8909869

RE: Driving your tank in public, reactions?
Slightly off-topic, since it isn't tanks, but my combat model warships club recently put on a battle at Silicon Valley's new-and-improved county fair, the [link=http://www.makerfaire.com/]Maker Faire[/link]. We built a portable pond, complete with six-foot-tall transparent blast shielding, and set up bleachers on three sides. We then fought our regular battles in front of a crowd of hundreds of people. The experience was VERY different from ordinary battle days. The crowds picked out their favorite ships, ooh'd and aah'd when they shot each other, and cheered whenever a ship sank. Adding roar of the crowd made it that much more exciting, and I will definitely be going back to next year's Maker Faire. Although I occasionally get stupid comments by unimaginative folks on my YouTube videos of the ships, everyone who attended the Maker Faire understood what we do right away. A lot of people were interested, and it was great to see so many young faces in the audience. Between battles, we had all the ships on display for the public, and skippers standing around to answer questions. I think I talked myself hoarse, and I only spent a few hours answering questions. I simply cannot imagine how the people who spent both days talking with visitors managed to croak out a word by the end of it. Fortunately, we didn't have any "incidents", as other people on this thread have reported. Well, not many, at least... We did have one little kid drop a transmitter in the water, but that was quickly salvaged with a blast of CO2 and half an hour in the sun. Other than that, there was no major damage that wasn't inflicted in combat. The Maker Faire highlights one of the major issues facing our society in the near future, and that is the threat of computers. The Maker Faire was designed to show computer-savvy Silicon Valley that there are still a lot of people here who invent THINGS, not ideas or software, and especially to encourage youth to try it. I know that, had I not discovered Model Warship Combat, I would have become a computer-gaming nerd, and I also know that very few people have such an opportunity as me. It's hands-on demonstrations of machines like tanks, ships, and steam-powered motorcycles that make people go "cool!" that will interest the youth of today in building a future for tomorrow.
Posted on: 6/29/2009 4:19 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8890029

RE: Poll What's Better Work on or Play
I don't mind fixing up a tank after a hard day's battling... "ahh, I remember when I broke that piece off, but boy was it worth it" but the battling is far better than the building, for me. I'd rather have a single, butt-simple tank that never breaks and never needs maintenance, so I can spend more time practicing maneuvers and tactics :)
Posted on: 6/23/2009 2:41 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8873377

RE: Mysterious submarine-speedboat-thing in Radio Shack
Found it! http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3676042 I've been too busy getting my battleship ready for action in the upcoming Campaign Battle, but once that's done I'll see what I can do with this.
Posted on: 6/22/2009 12:25 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Submarines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8870428

RE: .22 Pellet Firing Nashorn Scratchbuild
Before commenting in these threads, I always give my regular safety warning. I say it whenever I comment in threads like this, and it covers my @#$ in case someone reads this thread, does something really stupid, and tries to sue me for it. Can't say I didn't warn ya. These cannons are potentially very powerful, and can do a lot more than just put an eye out, if you don't follow the safety guidelines. And in any sort of gladiatorial R/C competition, people get hit. It's not a matter of "I won't pull the trigger if anyone is downrange". It happens. I can assure you, from personal experience, it really does happen, very easily, very frequently, and very accidentally. You're aiming for the other guy's battleship, an errant wave sends your aim off and it skips off the deck, and next thing you know, you shot yourself in the nuts with a six-gun broadside. When that happens, you want to make sure that it doesn't seriously injure the victim. A bruise is fine and reasonable (and expected and encouraged), but a bb lodged in your leg, a popped nut, or broken safety glasses and a missing eye are not. Remember, the OSHA Z-87 standard test for safety glasses is the ability to stop a 1/4" steel ball moving at 150 FPS. These cannons are perfectly capable of exceeding that if overpressured, so it is important that you adjust the pressure on your regulator to stay safe. If you don't have a chronograph (most firepower-crazy tank guys do), then a simple penetration test will reveal your safety factor. If you shoot a block of 2" white DOW insulation styrofoam and the bb comes out the other side, you're too powerful. Turn down the pressure to reduce your power. If you shoot the foam and the bb doesn't come out the other side, you're OK. If you shoot the foam and the bb bounces off, you'd better crank it up a bit. IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THESE SIMPLE SAFETY GUIDELINES, HURT SOMEONE, AND GET SUED, YOU WILL SHUT DOWN AN INTERNATIONAL HOBBY WITH THOUSANDS OF PARTICIPANTS. that is not a good idea, as (if you survive your initial mistake) we will all come and hunt you down for ruining our hobby. So please, be safe and follow these simple safety procedures: 1) always wear safety glasses whenever a gun is pressurized 2) always check your guns' safety with the foam test. Whew, good to get that out there. Now I can start my real reply. If you're interested in one of Perry's cannons, they're fairly easy to build. The major components cost approximately $25 per barrel, and I build them in bulk, for naval use. Unlike other naval cannons, this design does not require any major machine tools. Most designs require a mill and a lathe, but this one just requires a drill, tap, torch, and wrenches. The important part is getting the valve and actuator, which are only available from Clippard Minimatic. The breech and piston can be purchased (one is available from OSH, the other from Home Depot) or you can manufacture your own using brass from the hobby store. They're also not difficult to make rotate, if you can't fit the whole mechanism in the turret. You also get your choice in caliber, the same setup will work for one or two .177" barrels, all the way through one 1/4" barrel, firing steel round shot. A lightweight 6mm airsoft or paintball is no problem for this style; it'll get those moving really good. I agree with rogue7 that IR combat is nowhere near as interesting as battling with live ammunition. Having done both IR tanks and battle warships, the RC naval combat is about a thousand percent more fun for me, mostly because the damage is real. Personally, for tanks, I think that 6mm paintball has more potential than solid shot, since there is so much more that can be shot off a tank than a ship. With a ship, battle damage only accumulates on the sides, which are balsa wood and easy to repair and replace. The hardware and guts are protected by internal armor so they never get hurt, and a simple patch of masking tape seals up damage enough for the next round. With a tank, if you're firing solid shot, you're going to be knocking off wheels, damaging tracks, and harming internal circuitboards and such. While that's really neat, it tends to reduce the number of rounds you can play in a single club event, and increases the amount of maintenance you have to do beween battle days. I don't like major maintenance very much, so I am more interested in damage that you can wash off with a squirt bottle and washcloth. By the way, did you know that there are several clubs that battle 1/6 scale tanks with paintball cannons? They meet regularly and post photos and videos on their website: http://www.rctankcombat.com/
Posted on: 6/21/2009 6:12 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8868612

RE: USS Iowa BB-61
Mad Jack, I would recommend you take a look on www.rcnavalcombat.com The RC Naval Combat website has a helpful forum, a club finder so you can contact your local club, and extensive links to information websites, vendors, tips and tricks, and other useful information. You can probably find a fiberglass hull which will make your first ship quicker and easier to build.
Posted on: 6/10/2009 5:10 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8840506

Mysterious submarine-speedboat-thing in Radio Shack
Hey folks, yesterday I was at my local radio shack buying some banana plugs, when I saw a toy RC speedboat on the shelf. Upon closer inspection, it had a pair of diving planes on the front, and was apparently capable of submerging up to 3'. Has anybody seen this, or know what it's called? I'm considering buying one and upgrading it with standard RC gear and a much more powerful motor :)
Posted on: 6/3/2009 7:44 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Submarines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8823456

RE: surcouf sub
There is a 1:144 Surcouf battling in California. It saw quite a few years of service, and sank a number of enemy ships, but was retired several years ago. You can find a few photos on the WWCC website's photo gallery: www.westernwarshipcombat.com/gallery/
Posted on: 6/3/2009 7:40 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Submarines"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8823446

RE: Queen's Own - Gig Harbor Washington
Good to hear you have a pond again. Sounds like you had fun. How is the Queen's Own doing?
Posted on: 6/2/2009 5:04 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8818823

The Storybook Battle
Saturday and Sunday, May 30th and 31st, was a weekend to remember. It was the second time the Western Warship Combat Club had hosted a battle at the Bay Area Maker Faire in San Mateo, California. While the event was graced with many amazing feats, from the smallest fully-functional transport ship to the first known sinking of an armed warship by an unarmed convoy vessel, our crowning achievement must have been the Storybook Battle, at 3:00 PM on Sunday. We had a total of 14 engines of war on the water for that battle: 5 Capital Ships, 5 Light Cruisers and Destroyers, 3 Transports, and 1 Shore Battery. On the Allied side were USS Iowa, HMS Rodney, USS Juneau, RM Luigi Cadorna, USS Crosley, and SS Arizona Maru. Sailing for the Axis were the Dutch Battlecruiser, DKM Kreuzer P, SMS Prinz Eugen, DKM Spahkreuzer, RM Giussano, SS Willie Maykitt, and the Coastal Defense Gun. Like last year, our show was incredibly popular, and there was limited seating in the audience. On Sunday, tickets for both of our battles were sold out before noon. Half an hour before the battle began, the usual crowd of curious onlookers started to swell and fill up the arena. While the crowd was growing, I was furiously racing to reload the battleship Prinz Eugen's magazines and install fresh batteries, while preparing my own ship SS Willie Maykitt for her maiden voyage. Yes, that's right, battleship Prinz Eugen, not the more famous heavy cruiser. At 3:25, the emcee surged onto the stage and began to work the crowd, building up excitement before the battle began. He introduced the teams and identified the ships, and then with a mighty roar the whole crowd called "Commence FIRE!" and the two fleets collided in the chaos and mayhem of a massive battle. Willie Maykitt and Prinz Eugen, unfortunately, did not immediately join the fight. I had forgotten to turn on the bilge pump ESC, and my brother Eric didn't know how. I got the issue resolved, and sailed into battle less than a minute later. Just in time to find my tiny, 14" coastal tramp steamer squarely between two lines of battleships. HMS Rodney sent one full broadside my way, and the nine-gun blast tore off both my smokestack and my team ID flag. Iowa took a shot at me too, but only soaked the ship with the splash. Alas, something inside the ship gave way, and I lost propulsion. I drifted with the wind, and soon my ship was off in the far corner, out of sight and out of mind from the rest of the battle. Unable to do anything more, I turned my attention to the rest of the battle. The audience was cheering wildly and all of the battleships were pumping, some more heavily than others. Things weren't going well for the Axis. We'd sunk USS Crosley, the DDE-turned-APD, but our own Dutch Battlecruiser was down by the bow and its pump was pouring out a piddling stream of water. Rodney and Iowa closed for the kill, and I was nearly deafened by the roar of the crowd as the sleek battlecruiser rolled over and sank, five minutes into the battle. There were ten minutes left in the battle, and the Axis still had a lot of fight left in them. The torpedo-cruisers concentrated their fire on USS Iowa while the surviving Axis battlewagons lured the Allied capital ships close to the Coastal Defense Gun. Then, two minutes later, the impossible happened. USS Iowa is a well-regarded ship in all Big Gun clubs as a fast, powerful, and well-armed battleship. This particular Iowa was legendary in the club, having the most experienced and highest ranked skipper in the club. It wasn't just a battleship, it was THE battleship. The biggest, baddest, meanest battleship on the pond, and it was unsinkable. It hadn't been sunk since its maiden voyage, long before most current club members joined the hobby. Its near-mythical status formed an armor all on its own, with skippers considering the potential of a possible engagement with the Iowa and, as often as not, choosing to sail the other way. This ship had fought the entire club on several occasions, and come out with hardly a scratch on its paint. It couldn't sink. Not the Iowa! And yet... Iowa sailed up right along the Captains' Wall, heading for the Coastal Defense Gun. They exchanged several volleys of solid shot, then the Iowa was past it and on to the Axis dock targets. I heard a gleeful cackle from Iowa's skipper, then its engines stopped and its guns trained on target. One broadside was all it got. Then the battleship's inertia carried it into the wall of the pond, and it rocked. Something changed in that moment: it never fully recovered from that rock. The ship shuddered and settled a little lower in the water, then the pumps came on. A trickle at first, then a massive cascade of water. The sight and sound of pumps going full-bore was like blood in the water for the sink-hungry crowds. I thought they were loud when the Dutch Battlecruiser went down, but this reached a whole new level of thrill-factor. It took about 30 seconds for the Iowa to drop from full health to decks awash. The whole time, I was riveted in shock and disbelief. Here was the unsinkable Iowa, sinking rapidly, no more than 6 feet away from me! Then the stern dropped out from the ship, and it fell suddenly to the bottom. A field of flotsam came to the surface, including several deck pieces and the recovery float. Only then did I regain my senses, and reach for my camera. The pictures I took then were crude, but their images will call forth my memories of that awesome and terrible moment when the USS Iowa sank. But the battle didn't end there. We were only halfway into the show, and there was still plenty more excitement to go around. With the loss of the Iowa, the Allies withdrew from the Axis side of the pond to regroup and recover from their shock. Axis forces pursued them, eager to finish off HMS Rodney and the rest of the Allied fleet. Their hopes of a battle of annihilation might actually come true! Rodney wasn't a difficult ship to sink, if they could get in on her aft quarter and stay there. Prinz Eugen's guns jammed, and it had to leave the fight, leaving Kreuzer P and the torpedo-boats to tackle Rodney and her escorts. But it was not to be, as one of the Axis cruisers crashed into the sunken wreck of the Dutch Battlecruiser at high speed, and got trapped with its stern high and dry out of the water. This put several holes in the bow under water, and raised the Giussano's pump too high to drain the water. Rodney closed to avenge the loss of Iowa, and the Axis began the difficult task of rescuing the stranded ship. SMS Prinz Eugen, with her disabled guns, was the designated rescuer, while Kreuzer P tried to chase off Rodney, and Spahkreuzer kept the Allied torpedo-cruisers distracted. The minutes ticked by as Prinz Eugen tried knocking the stranded ship free, and Giussano's bow settled lower and lower in the water. With about a minute to go, Rodney broke past Kreuzer P's screening to fire on the Giussano, but Prinz Eugen was already wheeling about for another attempt at freeing the trapped vessel. Rodney opened fire, and water began crashing over Giussano's bow. The situation looked grim, but Giussano wasn't sunk yet, and Prinz Eugen was charging in at full speed and right on course. Prinz Eugen kicked on its pumps to gain a rocket boost from spraying water, then slammed into the Giussano's trapped stern at more than 25 knots. The Giussano rocked, and slid, and its bow finally dropped underwater, but its stern popped free from the wreck of the Dutch Battlecruiser and the ship began racing for home just as the emcee began a 10-second countdown to the end of the sortie. Would the Giussano make it back to port in time, or would it sink just short of its target? The audience joined in the countdown, some cheering for the ship to make it and others cheering for it to sink. With its stern no longer high and dry, Giussano's bilge pump kicked on, keeping it afloat just long enough to make it back to port and into the safety of its skipper's arms as the sortie ended. The other ships turned for home, spent. They were out of gas, low on ammo, and their batteries drained. It had been a roller-coaster of a battle, with ups and downs and thrills and spills for both sides. It would be up to the audience to decide the victor. But they could not make up their minds, and our crowd-o-meter declared the match a draw. Several minutes later, I remembered that my transport was still out there somewhere. I had completely forgotten it in the excitement of the battle. I waded out into the pond, past skippers recovering their sunken ships, or searching for shattered bits of superstructure blown all across the pond. One of the nice things about a shallow man-made pond is that the water is clear enough and shallow enough that you can recover most blasted bits of detailing that get blown off, which are usually lost forever to Davey Jones. I picked up my smokestack and team flag, then spotted my Willie Maykitt in a corner. The ship was still bobbing about on the waves, still afloat. There were one or two dents on the sub-deck, but no major damage. Little Willie Maykitt had actually made it.
Posted on: 6/2/2009 4:26 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8818796

RE: New Battle System RCcommand
One more question... Can I plug my regular 6-channel radio into this battle system, or am I restricted to HL radio gear? If I can't use my regular hobby radio, when will that become an option?
Posted on: 5/23/2009 2:25 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8792568

RE: Swampworks
From my understanding, Swampy hasn't arranged a buyer yet; he's searching for one. This isn't the first time he's tried to sell the business, either.
Posted on: 4/6/2009 2:01 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8653131

RE: HL motors in other applications
I've been scratch-building warships of various shapes, sizes, and speeds for years now, so I might as well chip in here. First thing's first, a Heng Long gearbox has far too few RPMs to propel a boat. It *might* have enough to paddle-wheel a boat, but I have no experience with paddlewheels and the picture you posted doesn't show any paddlewheels, so that's irrelevant anyway. You need somewhere between 3,000 and 10,000 RPMs under load, depending on prop diameter, blade count, pitch, and how big of a boat you need to drive. So that leaves me with two questions. What scale is your ship, and what is the scale diameter and blade count of the props? I would also suggest you post your question on the [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/forumid_316/tt.htm]RC Universe Naval Combat Forum[/link]. While you're probably not planning to arm your ironclad with bb cannons to beat down other ships like us RC Warship Combat guys, we'll all be glad to pitch in our advice on props, motors, and general boat-stuff. And getting the whole boating crew involved will give you more detailed answers than I can do on my own.
Posted on: 3/10/2009 3:02 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8563449

RE: servo box
Goose, please be sure to let us know which option you go with, and how well it works. we're always interested in waterproofing techniques, no matter what type of boat they're used in.
Posted on: 2/19/2009 2:33 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8495117

RE: servo box
[quote]ORIGINAL: greygoose81 my boat will not have much flotaion so most of the boat and the servo box will be under water. thank for the tips. [/quote] I would be quite surprised if that were the case. Just looking at your avatar gives me a good idea about the normal operating conditions of an airboat, and it is most definitely NOT under water. If you mean "my boat will not have much flotation, so if it crashes then it will be mostly submerged", then I could see that. I actually have seen similar instances at NAMBA nationals a few years ago, where one boat had only the tip of its bow still on the surface. I have tried a wide range of different waterproofing schemes, from nothing at all to skotchkote to traditional watertight boxes. Keeping in mind your specific objectives, I can recommend two options, depending on one question: electric, or gas? If you are running gas, then your best bet is, without a doubt, a traditional watertight box. You can either use an Otter Box, or build your own using wood. To maintain watertight integrity, you should only have two connections to the outside: rudder and throttle. The two connections should be sealed with rubber bellows, like these: http://www.subtech.uk.com/acatalog/Rubber_Bellows.html If you are running electric, then you have to deal with the battery and motor connections. If you try a traditional watertight box, you'll have two extra possible leak points, one for each electrical connection to the motor. There are ways to seal it, but I won't go into details at this time. Ask me if you're interested. Your other option is to seal each component individually. Since many components come sealed already, this is probably a better option if you're using an electric setup. You can get waterproof ESCs from Mtronik and Proboat. These are epoxy-sealed and capable of surviving any depth you can reach. You can also get o-ring sealed servos from Traxxas, that can survive several feet of submersion. As long as your boat stays on or near the surface of the water, the traxxas waterproof servos will survive just fine. Electric motors (except in-runner brushless) don't care about water, so that component doesn't need protection. After that, all that's left is your receiver. Several coats of skotchkote will do the trick, if you're using an old-style receiver with interchangeable crystals. If you have a 2.4ghz or synthesized 75mhz system that doesn't require changing crystals or other physical adjustments, you can plug in a short servo extension into each connector, then fill the case with epoxy, like they do with ESCs. And if any of your waterproofing ever fails, you can salvage your electronics by bathing them in isopryl rubbing alcohol. The alcohol displaces the water and prevents corrosion damage to the circuitboards. Does this answer your question?
Posted on: 2/17/2009 11:53 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8489248

RE: What other RC do you guys run?
I first discovered my R/C enthusiasm in the sport of Big Gun R/C Model Warship Combat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSU8nQ7o0u4 The ship featured in this video is my old cruiser, which was my ship of choice for one and a half years, before I sold it to a new member to get him started quickly. My current fleet consists of two small auxiliary vessels, four Austro-Hungarian dreadnought battleships, one Japanese aircraft-carrying submarine, and an out-of-scale Schnellboote. I tried R/C airplanes, but found them too unforgiving of mistakes. After smearing a few hundred dollars worth of airplane across a hundred yards of open field, I decided not to continue. I currently race 1/18 scale R/C cars against my boat-building friends after we're done with construction for the day. Nothing serious, and my demand for spare parts has gone down dramatically since I first started. I own a RC18T with brushless 6300KV motor. I may upgrade the battery to LiPo eventually, but since this is a secondary enthusiasm all upgrades take the back burner when more important hobbies demand money.
Posted on: 2/10/2009 3:42 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "War Room"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8460193

RE: upcoming sound engine sound module
I look forward to YHR's review. I am curious how well that unit will work with HL and the DBC battle unit. One of my friends is developing something the tank combat community is going to like, but it's going to be a long time before it's ready and I might not be patient enough.
Posted on: 2/7/2009 5:30 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8448110

RE: Inventor of destroyer
Hehe that reminds me of the time I taught my high school history class about WWI and WWII. The teacher covered the political developments important for the test, and I got to cover the major battles, technological advancements, and other major military developments during both wars. That was fun... hansvonpensch, if your son has time in his presentation, he might want to cover some of the other major developments that led to the invention of the destroyer, such as the whitehead torpedo and the Parsons steam turbine. Of course, don't do it if he doesn't have enough time to properly explain them.
Posted on: 2/3/2009 2:58 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8434311

RE: Strange Tiger Problem
Torpedochief, I know of one instance where, without any modifications of any sort, a twin-screw model ship suddenly had one of its motors reverse direction one day, causing it to sail helplessly in circles. Both motors were plugged into the same ESC, too, which was even more strange.
Posted on: 2/3/2009 3:03 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8432897

RE: New projects this yearhow about you?
1) finish up my Panzer IIIs for Oddball's Tank Club 2) Build and arm SMS Viribus Unitis, SMS Szent Istvan, SMS Teggethoff, and SMS Prinz Eugen for Western Warship Combat Club 3) If I have the time and money, convert my old non-S&S Pershings to DBC2RC for Oddball's Tank Club 4) repair the Oddball's loaner tanks. They got seriously abused at the gaming convention my friends and I attended last year, because we loaned them out to kids and computer gamers, and will need some repairs before the next convention. 5) battle the enemy wherever he (or she) may appear, in the Ardenne, in Egypt, or even in my own living room!
Posted on: 2/2/2009 3:31 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8428964

RE: 18-19 century Battleship plans ?
Sorry ZeuSsss, if Google Translate doesn't help then it looks like you'll have to find your plans the same way we all do: guess and check. Of course, if you know any ships by name that'll help speed the process. Did you get my email with plans?
Posted on: 1/28/2009 9:43 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8413848

RE: R/C surcouf submarine
... Hobbidude, the submarine I showed you was an active fighting ship, with working cannons and an impressive list of kills. If you're looking for the 8" deck guns, then no, there aren't any. In Big Gun, they are too small a caliber to be a serious threat to other ships, while torpedoes are. Hence the choice in armament. As for all the "great sub ideas" listed on this forum... notice how none of them have been proposed by the folks who actually do R/C naval combat. There's a very good reason for this. Many of the captains who actually battle their ships are inventors and tinkerers, so it should come as no surprise when I say that WE'VE ALREADY THOUGHT OF IT. Most of the "ideas" are actually pretty obvious. And not only that, we've realized that these ideas are either impractical or impossible (or found out by trying it), and thought of better ideas that actually work. One of the best examples of this is the torpedo. Why try to invent something that's going to cost a lot of money per shot, take tens of hours of precision machining, and presents a major safety hazard to users, when you can just use an ordinary 1/4" cannon? Sure it doesn't shoot 20 feet, but you can't hit at that range anyway. Sure it doesn't explode on impact, or trigger a spring-loaded impact-hammer, or whatever, but it can still put a hole in the target within the range it can accurately shoot (while you're standing on shore 50 feet away from both it and its target). But no, every geek who comes along and sees this hobby thinks he's come up with the ultimate idea and can do it better than the folks who've been trying to for over 20 years. It's absurd. Sorry for the rant and I hope you don't take it personally, but I answer questions about rockets, self-propelled torpedoes, depth charges, M-80s, flamethrowers, dive bombers, and other nonsense on my youtube videos all the time, and it drives me absolutely NUTS.
Posted on: 1/27/2009 3:20 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8408156

RE: Newbie with an HL M41A3 Walker Bulldog
HOLY RUSTED METAL, BATMAN! what in the wide world of tankdom is that... that THING doing indoors? Don't you know it'll get rust on the carpet!? Put that thing back outside, where it belongs! [sm=teeth_smile.gif][sm=wink_smile.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif][sm=regular_smile.gif][sm=lol.gif] Other than that, it looks pretty good [sm=thumbup.gif][sm=thumbs_up.gif]
Posted on: 1/27/2009 1:46 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8406347

RE: 18-19 century Battleship plans ?
Let's see... Ship of the Line... Line of Battle ship... Battleship... they all mean the same thing, its just that the term Ship of the Line was more popular in the sailing days. Whatever it is, they are the big nasties with lots of guns. I have a collection of plans, including several multi-deck ships of the line. I even have a collection of hulls by Chapman, the most famous shipbuilder of his day. PM me your email (DO NOT POST IT HERE DIRECTLY) and I will email a list of plans to you. I have only one condition: don't sell the plans. I got 'em all for free, and they'd better stay that way.
Posted on: 1/26/2009 9:44 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8405543

RE: R/C surcouf submarine
Hobbidude, do you mean this Surcouf? http://www.westernwarshipcombat.com/gallery/June-Battle/IMG_1745 http://www.westernwarshipcombat.com/gallery/June-Battle/IMG_1862 http://www.westernwarshipcombat.com/gallery/June-Battle/IMG_1903 http://www.westernwarshipcombat.com/gallery/June-Battle/IMG_2098 http://www.westernwarshipcombat.com/gallery/June-Battle/IMG_2080 This Surcouf has been in service since at least 2003, when I joined the club. It has seen excellent service, and has a significant list of kills. On the other hand, it is and old boat and suffered frequent leaks, and it was almost as likely to sink itself when firing torpedoes as it was to sink the target. It was retired two years ago when the skipper got a fiberglass I-400 hull and built that to new club submarine rules.
Posted on: 1/26/2009 4:07 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Warship Combat"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8404060

RE: blown rx-13 repair
one of my more electronically-oriented friends tried repairing a non-S&S board that had symptoms of blown transistors. He replaced the transistors several times, and never worked. He did a bit more diagnostics, and found out the chip that controls the transistors was blown, giving the illusion of toasted transistors. Without a replacement for the transistor controller, he gave up on the task as impossible. I have since upgraded to RX-14 and the other S&S gear, and that's been working great.
Posted on: 1/8/2009 3:24 PM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8334917

RE: Cheap way to boost HL sound
Personally I don't mind the HL engine noises TOO much... it's bad, but not fatally so. My gearboxes and tracks squeak some, even when greased, and that adds to the tank-like feel of the machine. What I really want is good sound quality for firing, getting hit, and dying sounds in IR combat. If I had a decent speaker that I could plug sound chips (like what Darkith supplies with his DBUs) into with good volume and quality, I'd be happy. Of course, a complete replacement with improved engine sound would be nice, too...
Posted on: 1/7/2009 2:57 AM by Author "kotori" in the forum "RC Tanks"
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8328521