Big ships like that usually are much more stable. Sorry to hear about the charger. I guess that means you really are testing these boats HEAVY DUTY!!! Nice
UPDATE: New prop installed. Stephen did a great job making this prop. It's heavy but solid 5 blades.Smaller than the original. I think this will solve my problem. Will test Saturday if the weather holds up.
UPDATE. I will be posting the pics of the new props and resistors to compare them with the old. The new resistors have more coils than the ones I been using so I should be able to tune down Bis on the large prop as I used to if I decide to go that route. Will post of the results after the next run.
UDATE: Light switch is now operational from the TX Toggle switch. The one that operates the landing gear. The Pump switch is fully operational and working. Now the only thing left is to try out the props and get the speed issue resolved and test the pump out again. If it's nice tomorrow I hope to finally complete the refit. Here are some pics of the props , resistors and the switch. The new prop is installed. Here it is next to the original prop Here is the 2nd smaller prop compared to the new prop A Front view of both props . A side by side comparison of the resistors. The RESISTOR on the left is what I was using to try and tune down Bismarck's speed. The Resistor on the right is from Strike and you can see that it has more coils for fine tuning than the left resistor. This is what Bismarck originally used with the large prop. This is the new pump activation switch. Works great and it's what I am used to. Never had issues with it when I had operated the pump from the rudder servo originally in Bismarck's early days. Another shot of the pump activation switch
UPDATE- I ran Bismarck today with the new prop and it did drop the speed quite a bit. However I think it's close to 24 seconds. The model seem to run more familiar to me and it maneuvered very well. Also I tested the pump out thoroughly today by flooding the hull slowly with a garden hose and seeing how the channeling was working and how the pump was evacuacting the water with the hull listing port or stbd down by the bow, down by the stern, and level. It worked very well in all trys and was able to evacuate most of the water. ALL in all successful tests today. I think that's it just some little things to work on but basically the model is finally ready for NATS. Here are some pics of today's run using the new prop. ..
That boat looks like a million bucks! sea time is everything and you are definitely getting some. Tell me if what I see is a power switch that renders your boat dead in the water... We shot Ron C's switch last year and killed him dead. Then the beating began. That is right at water level. Best to sink it or bury it in some detail structure or something. You don't want your boat sitting there, you will have enough people trying to shoot the deck details as it is. Most people don't have a switch for that reason.
Nope not a Power switch. Originally that was on the opposite side and was much larger. Never had issue without but I stopped using it in 2002. That's the receivor switch and the most that can happen with that is get shot off but the receivor will still be on. The 2ndary turret offers a lot of protection around it as the switch is between the barrels but just below the barrels. The switch has been there since day one and never had it hurt by bbs. The switch moves off and on facing the bow and stern not the other way so even if it's hit it won't shut off. You got a good EYE Iceman.
Update. Smaller new prop attached. All receivor extension plugs on both receivors main and the backup are all labelled.Pump is secured better.
Update : The only thing left to add here now is the next speed test with the next size down prop. Other than that I prepacked most of my equipment to see if I got eveything I need and see if I need additional storage containers. I just have 3 small containers to fill with silkspan patches of 1 in 2 in and 3 in sizes.
SEA TRIAL #4 update. I just came back after testing out the new small replacement prop. It's 1 5/8 in dia 35 pitch blade 5 blade with a hub to fit the bismarck prop shaft which is very large. Results. Timed over a 50 ft course 6 times in both directions I hit the mark at 24 sec every time. Ship at full battle mode weight. There was a wind blowing offshore so I kept it close within 20 ft in the calm section of the lake. Maneuvering was good as well as stopping and going to rvse. Dead stop to full speed also was very good. The bow wave curled below the main anchors without touching them and the stern was not pulled down deeper by the prop while at speed. I had no issues pivoting the ship from dead stop to full with the rudders hard over from dead stop. After 1 hr of straight running I checked the motor for heat and as expected the motor temperature was down significantly. The ship ran without an ESC or a Speed Adjust resistor at 39 lbs ballast. The only drag props were the 3 blade 25 pitch .75 props. I am very pleased with this so I ordere 2 more from Strike.
Final Report. Bismarck sailed with Yamato perfectly today. Both ships at same speed. They were able to pace each other and maneuver in sync. The pump switch and waterchanneling improvements worked perfectly. We had the lights on because of the Fog on the lake. Seas became rough very quickly. ALL a great run. This is the final report for Bismarck's refit. Thanks for following along on it's journey to getting ready for Nats. New thread post Nats will be created to feature pics and video from the Go Pro from Nats and the whole experinece. Curt DKM BISMARCK IJN YAMATO RMN ROMA USS MISSOURI DKM TIRPITZ IJN NAGATO SMS VON DER TAN SMS KONIG SMS VIRUBUS UNITIS DKM GRAF SPEE HMS Prince of Wales
I thought I would have finished posting here. Taking Bis, Yamato and Roma out Sat morning to show some friends visiting from Ottaw. Thier childen seen the ships many years ago and well their bigger and more responsible so they keep asking their Mom if their going to see the guy with the ships again. So it was requested of me to meet and greet at the local pond Sat morn. Good time to check out the improved motor mount and fire off the remaining rounds of bbs left in the mags of Bismarck. After this run it will be time to pack everything up for good for the trip. Hope to get this last run before Nats on the Go Pro. Think this time I will mount it on Yamato and get Roma and Bis to sail alongside. The platform to carry the superstructure over the hull in the car is about ready. Just some bracing to secure but it works. This will suspend the superstructrure over the hull as to having it sit on the hull where the superstructure belongs because part of the superstructure won't fit under the ridge over the back seat and we need the extra cargo space on either side of the hull . Preload will be done tomorrow or Saturday. This will help me determine how things will fit. Summer tires go on tomorrow morning. Tune up Monday Morning. New spare props and my multi- charger from Strike haven't arrived yet so hopefully be here by end of next week.
Had Bismarck Roma and Yamato out for a triple run. Well it was great. Near the end Roma rammed Yamato broadsides and moved one of her batteries causing her to list to stbd. No damage to the hull though just superficial on the deck edge. Bismarck ran way too fast because I had swapped out the motor and installed the wrong one again. Also the motor bracket was very loose making the motor move a lot around in it's mount. With Sean's help he made new mounting face plates out of 1/4 inch ply and 2 were used to sandwich the orignial plate to strengthen it . Longer machine screws with bolts and teeth washer fasteners grip the mounts. The motor has plenty of spacing between it's face and the mount and another insert was sandwiched and slotted over the exiting motor shaft. The motor was tested for Bismarck's sixth run and this time it held with no loosening. I had much better performance and the ship ran very well and long. So long that the fail safe kicked in and operated forward throttle intermittently till it was close enough to operate. All guns were test fired for thier final time before Nats and all is well. The ship is now ready and no more further runs till battling time at Nats.
