You have your thumb on the fet heat-sink. The wiring you have hooked up goes to the firing boards right? The connector next to your thumb is where the pump plugs in. Looks Ok. You really need a meter before you go any further. Uni-T B4Q094 UT210E True RMS AC/DC Current Mini Clamp M W Capacitance Tester View: https://www.amazon.com/Uni-T-B4Q094-UT210E-Current-Capacitance/dp/B00O1Q2HOQ/ref=pd_sim_263_10?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00O1Q2HOQ&pd_rd_r=e33d2ce5-7d9b-11e8-9061-3d1068c3cd02&pd_rd_w=mHqcy&pd_rd_wg=CwbjF&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7967298517161621930&pf_rd_r=GDXPQB5J066N5TC6CMKK&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=GDXPQB5J066N5TC6CMKK You want something like this, Amazon has for $41. Can check the current draw, ohm meter, voltage, and temp. All the reviews are good for it, just you need to press the blue button to put it in DC current mode, default is AC. Comes with test leads. I will have mine at Nats if you want to wait on it. Plan on getting there Sat morning sometime.
I have high speed, but at times the pictures will not load in a timely manner. I find if I just close the rcwarship site down, and reopen, usually the picture is available to use.
Yeah, my issue is that I'm running off of my phone's wifi hotspot, and after 6GB of data, I get throttled to 128 Kb/s Thanks for the offer, but I'll be painting trees while you guys are out having fun. first year on the job, and with the boat not being 100%, I would get HOSED at Nats right now. I'm probably going to spend the rest of the summer working out the kinks, then the winter will be major refit stuff to take care of the things that are really invasive (rewiring everything with silicone wire, running busses along the underside of the subdeck, trimming the shafts to move the props back, pump mods, etc.). Figure on doing what @jadfer suggested a while back--build a total Junkyard Dog of a boat before building other boats.
That is great! Getting the ship on the water means you get a payoff for your work... all build and no battle is a recipe for build-fatigue.. and a fast exit. I will also add that just because your boat is not 'ready' for Nats.. I wouldn't let that stop me, at least not if it is running in any form. There are lots of folks that can give you a hand and you would have a better ship at the end of the week than what you started with. Sooo many people including myself, skipped battles because the ship was not 'ready' or a 'top contender'... and that was a big big mistake. I finally took my ship out 'not ready' and even unassembled and although I may have sat out a sortie or two, I did get help, great ideas, hang out with the guys.. it was worth the trip regardless. Fact is in your first few years... you are going to sink.. a lot.. no matter what you do with your ship initially. Its a rite of passage for all regular battlers and even then after 10 years in the hobby.. you will sink especially up in MN. So embrace it as part of the fun. Perhaps you can make it out to Dallas in the fall and put it to the test. I hope to have an event posted soon.
cool, yeah I'll be doing as many battles as PPB puts on this fall. the boat's a LOT more effective now than it was in May, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it performs next month when the guys get back from Nats and are ready to start back at local battling. I'm not suggesting I'd sit out anything if given the chance, it's mostly that I don't have much leave saved up at work and I'm also trying to save up for a house. I'll see about saving money up for some long distance traveling next year.
Did some more testing this week. it looks like I'll be adding an ESC into the pump next month or something. if I go to a battle, I'll just plug it into the permanent "ON" slot and hope for the best, because having to come to a full stop to pump out is not fantastic. In other news, I managed to acquire a target for gunnery. now I just need to actually go out and get a big tank of CO2, or alternately, one of those adapters so I can throw a disposable cartridge on there. I have found a place with 20g cartridges, so I should at least be able to functions check the guns and do some gunnery practice. Speaking of which, I grabbed a stationary target that is sheeted up and ready to go this morning while I was in Minneapolis. with that much real estate, I should be able to get a fair amount of practice in before stripping the sheeting off, copying down some of the things Jason did in the hull that I want to apply to the Texas, and putting it in storage until I am comfortable with the Texas' performance and reliability.
I use my air compressor, and attached a poppet to it. So I can test right in the workshop, and then fire into a box filled with foam.
Yeah, I'm thinking of doing something similar, but I'd like to do in situ testing as well. Plus that thirty dollar adapter is a lot more affordable right now, and I live in an apartment
So I brought out the boats and conducted a live-fire test. I had some testing to do since the magnets were attached to the guns, and wanted to make sure they cycled properly. the sidemounts each had a 1/4 diameter neodymium magnet, and one of the sterns received a small bit of black flexible strip magnet. the results were... interesting. I opened up on the target with the sterns, and only the magnet-equipped gun was putting out any rounds. the sidemounts fired, from what I could tell, pretty okay, but I ran out of gas before I could really let them loose. I'll need more gas or something to figure out anything further. Plus, within about five minutes, the transmitter batteries died and the boat drifted straight into the reeds. due to the bottom mud wanting to suck me in on the first recovery attempt, I had to jerry rig a lasso, and wade back out to the closest solid bottom and do a cowboy recovery. turns out the aft mast is a perfect lasso point. go figure. After peppering the crap out of the Alaska, I'm in the process of stripping off the sheeting and getting it ready for long term storage in the closet until I finish the Texas' winter refit.
Sounds like a normal first boat construction, without anyone local helping. But you have come a long ways, and done better than most. I think you understand what most the problems you have left are, and will have it ready for Nats next year. The Allied's need another boat to help defeat the Axis.
lol yeah so I heard. I'm already planning to make it to next year's festivities. If dudes are straight-up samurai bumrushing into the Axis formation, I don't think I'll draw any undue attention by cautiously adding my guns to whatever the rest of PPB will be up to.
Took the boat out for a series of tests today. figured I'd test prop size and pitch, then see what the pump could do. Turns out, a Chiampa moved in on the boat launch, so.... I have a little tiny micropond to use for testing. no waves, but the whole thing was boxed in with weeds. I threw on a set of 1 inch props with a 40 degree pitch. just for fun. like a turtle stampeding through peanut butter. the 1.75 /40 set I had were up to their usual tricks. so I put on a set of 1.5 / 25 props and....... game changer. Due to their smaller diameter, I can give the rudders a 100% throw, so the 180 turn radius has been reduced by about a third. This winter's refit will include moving the props back further and enlarging the rudder, so I expect performance to improve next spring. The present maneuverability is good for now. Pump testing was more interesting. I put the pump onto the "aux" plug on the board, making it permanently on. no drop in speed performance, and no slowing of the pump at speed. I kept the sucker supplied with water in the form of full speed reverse for a while, since my deck seal skills are weak sauce (next week's project). then I got a bit antsy and started poking holes below the waterline to see how many the boat could take. 2 at a time for the first twenty, then four at a time til I hit forty. then I just did an additional ten at once. I got fifty holes punched below the waterline and was throwing the boat through high speed maneuvers, diving the stern in full reverse, the works. the pump just kept up with it all like it was a joke or something. after a while, the hull settled a bit, but was still in pretty good shape. the boat only sank when I shut off the pump and sat it in front of the boat launch. and it stayed afloat for 2 minutes and 40 seconds after shutoff. here's the new props. they're a decade old and from the Alaska, but they still do prop stuff. they need a shorter prop shaft, but I'll put spacers on until I get around to cutting up the shafts this winter and call it good
The boat got to play redheaded stepchild today for PPB. I'll probably have to resheet parts of the hull after that wolloping. So.... Lessons learned: Turns out, those 1.5 props can't make speed like I thought they did. Don't bring half-dead batteries thinking they're charged. Don't invert the charge and set fire to things in the hull while in the middle of a battery swap pondside. Make sure there are no BBs in the mag tubes after a battle. don't try to go toe to toe with a cruiser when your sidemounts are not functioning and your boat can *at best* do 35 seconds due to forementioned battery situation. Don't call thirty second out of control around PPB. Ever. On the plus side: Accuracy with stern guns has improved Target selection has improved--target the wounded. Lessons will be acted upon. first battle had something like 115 above, four below. I tangled with a cruiser and harassed an I-Boat. Second battle was cut short due to ... fire stuff. 62 above, a fair number of belows courtesy of a few japanese fast battleships. I don't know how badly my electronics fared. taking them all apart now to ascertain the magnitude of the damage. I've already talked over revisions with PPB, so I don't need any good idea fairies. the electrical system will be fully overhauled regardless, and I'm switching over to the Noodle wire @Kevin P. posted earlier, along with deans connectors for the whole shebang. I may not be able to make it to Saranac next month. But will do my best to be the token moving target on the weekend of the 2oth @kgaigalas Back to damage control.
So. BDA looks interesting. Outwardly, the boat looks like it got sandwiched between a Kongo, a North Carolina, and two cruisers for a minute straight. The superstructure took some hits, but the protective plating I put on the barbettes did their job, and I don't really care if it looks a bit ragged. After some further examination, I will have to resheet at least part of the boat due to several rams and several North Carolina-generated holes. concentrated triple volleys are impressive. you can fly a bumblebee through two of them. Internally, here is the list. Problem: the bullet connectors I used in the hull all have signs of corrosion. Solution: replacing with Deans Connectors Problem: Wiring is stiff, likely has some corrosion, solder jobs are not holding up Solution: Noodle Wires for ALL electrical, with better shrink tubing at junctions Problem: Battery inversion likely fried something within the ESC Solutions: ESC-- @Charley gets to have more of my money. Battery Inversion--Hardlining all of my batteries with noodle wire and deans connectors to prevent this from happening again Problem: 1.5" 25 pitch props had inadequate thrust Solution: replace with on-hand 1.75" 40 pitch props Problem: props too far back for adequate maneuver Solution: cut shafts back 1/4" to 1/2" Second-Order Problem: Props will strike hull if I move them back further Solution: Pose question-- Can I modify the hull to allow the props proper clearance? Problem: Forward Gun is functional, but extremely hard to remove for maintenance Secondary Problem: B turret barbette is integral to the hull Solution 1: remove solder holding it together and replace those with fittings to allow quick disassembly Solution 2: redesign mount Solution 3: Possible Replace with one of the newfangled 3D printed turrets at some future date What's functioning: Motors are still operational. Power through the BC board still works. Though why the bow sidemount fires every time I turn on the pump (and keeps firing at a rate of once per second is beyond me. Hoping it is due to the wiring. the sterns and haymaker are functional without any revision. new rudder is working well. will be modified for increased effect at a later date Internal Armor did it's job well, with only one BB sneaking past it in the bow. Verdict is still out on making it to Saranac. I have to do the refit prior to going.
This is not really a knock on you, but to anyone, if your battery connections have the possibility of being reversed I would seriously consider switching to a directional plug that won't allow you to completely fry your boat. I mean these boats are expensive, we drive hours to battle them, do you really want to ruin your weekend of fun because you plugged your battery in backwards? I don't think so. I like XT-60s FYI.
the reason was even worse than that. I have a set of wires that I screw onto the battery terminals. So every time I put batteries in, I have to make sure I do it right. Tom Palmer showed me how to wire up a harness for each battery and add a connector that prevents tomfoolery like I had, so it won't be a repeated mistake.
If/when you get into bigger Batts and higher voltages be careful. I have seen flash explosions from a reverse polarity vaporize a large bullet connector. The guy holding it needed skin grafts and multiple surgeries. PLEASE be aware of what you are doing.
oh yeah. definitely fixing this hot mess. after I am done, there will not be a risk of that kind of stuff, and I don't think I'll be messing with higher voltages any time soon. maybe if I built a major combatant, but not now.
