Not Everything is Idiot Proof...

[Guest]

My Seawolf WTC is all completed - electrics, servos etc all installed and working OK, now I can move onto the next stage which is the steering gear and the rear section of the sub...... however I spent quite a long time this afternoon trying to get the two servos working. The motor via the speed controller worked OK but not the servos - so I tried them in my other boat in the spare receiver slot - they worked OK... then I did some receiver swapping and TX crystal swapping - everything seemed to work OK so I reassembled everthing on the submarine tray and lo and behold one of them worked and one didn't. Eventually I found out what I had done wrong .... I didn't realise that the servo connecting sockets would go into the TX either way round - I had simply got them the wrong way round and as soon as I got them the right way they were OK. Bit embarrasing having to admit that but I've only built one model before this sub and I must have got lucky when I plugged in the first servos. Anyway my mistake might help someone else to realise that the plugs only go one way - it's a wonder I didn't damage something knowing my luck. hey ho..

Ian

[Guest]

My Seawolf WTC is all completed - electrics, servos etc all installed and working OK, now I can move onto the next stage which is the steering gear and the rear section of the sub...... however I spent quite a long time this afternoon trying to get the two servos working. The motor via the speed controller worked OK but not the servos - so I tried them in my other boat in the spare receiver slot - they worked OK... then I did some receiver swapping and TX crystal swapping - everything seemed to work OK so I reassembled everthing on the submarine tray and lo and behold one of them worked and one didn't. Eventually I found out what I had done wrong .... I didn't realise that the servo connecting sockets would go into the TX either way round - I had simply got them the wrong way round and as soon as I got them the right way they were OK. Bit embarrasing having to admit that but I've only built one model before this sub and I must have got lucky when I plugged in the first servos. Anyway my mistake might help someone else to realise that the plugs only go one way - it's a wonder I didn't damage something knowing my luck. hey ho..Ian

o.O if your recievers are anything like mine they only go in 1 way the plug and socket is shapped so it only fits one way round :|

glad you got it working anyway

[Guest]

ian put it this way YOU WON`T DO IT AGAIN

it`s the easiest to learn .

[Guest]

Yep it's a case of live n' learn - story of my life - the older I get the more I seem to have to learn. Anyway here's my latest picture of the stern, as you will see I have completed the WTC - I haven't yet glued the rubber boots in case I need to adjust them when I couple up to the rest of the system. Likewise I haven't glued the fixed vane stem to the stern tube yet in case it needs pushing up to the bodywork. While I'm talking about the bodywork am I right in thinking that the whole of the rear section that I have filled in with pencil marks is cut out Chris? I suppose the bodywork is also glued finally to the stem on the stern tube - but I'll check that bit out carefully in the instructions.

Ian.

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[Guest]

Sorry about the last picture - got that on by mistake - here's the real one.

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[wonwinglo]

This happened because of a legal wrangle with Futaba many years ago,to avoid an expensive court case the non fluted plugs which Futaba said they had sole domain over were corrupted by other manufacturers to have reversible plugs,it also applied with non Futaba replacement Y-leads and extension leads,it is a good job that they do not need polarity protection.

The best way to remember them in the future is to colour code the positive side of the plug together with a mark also on the RX,Tipex is ideal to do this simple task.

[Guest]

Thanks for that Barry - my gear is Hitec - I suspect that the servo three pin plug would not be able to seat correctly if it's in the wrong way round, but at least now iI know that the side of the plug where the three connector strips can be seen needs to be facing towards the top of the receiver (where the battery power socket is - although I don't use a separate battery 'cos I get a speed contoller with a battery eliminating circuit in it)

Ian

[Guest]

hi ian, your coming on at a nice pace,

the tail section is a bit of a pig to get completely right, in terms of squareness to the hull as you dont have any panels assembled yet, so it`s difficult to tell absolute straightness.

i would if i was you hold of as long as possible to fixing the tail section permanently until the last moment so you have reference points for final position.

the tail section looks like a slightly different moulding to teh version i built but in a word , yes you need to cut out teh slots for the rear fins .

[wonwinglo]

You are not alone Ian in getting these plugs wrongly connected,you will be surprised how many people take Hitec gear back saying that it will not work ! when the plug is in the wrong way round.

[Guest]

Thanks for confirming that Chris - I'll just take it steady with the cutting out and try to get a good fit. I've a bit to go before I get to the front section but I can imagine it will be a bit tricky trying to get the top and bottom section of the nose cone to fit accurately. According to the instruction book the version 1 had them both glued together but on the ammendment sheet it shows that I have to glue the bottom section to the sub then attach the top section with tabs for screwing them together - so there will be no using filler if there are any gaps - I'll just have to be really careful although it might be easier than I think when I get round to it.

Barry - Now you've mentioned about other people with the Hitec plug problem I don't feel as silly now ..... LOL. (well not about that anyway.) By the way in case anyone is wondering what the coin was I mistakenly put on - it's an Edward 1st silver penny from around 1270, One of my metal detecting finds.

Ian

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[Guest]

Ian all the advice i can give you is take as long as possible on teh final shaping of the hull peice`s, as you`ve noticed there isn`t much room for error.

all i can suggest is the chef method, try it,taste it. leave a good 4 mm of flash on the moulding after cutting most of it off, and take it down with gentle filing and sanding, but continoulsy checking the outcome on the model. the more time and effort spent here will pay dividends in the final model. once youve done teh first one, tape it on the hull and this will give you a guide for the adjacent peices.

apart from that

:goodluck:

[Guest]

Ian

Interesting to hear that the mk2 version has the bottom half of the nose cone attached to the main hull. Gluing the 2 halves together on the mk1 was always a real bind. Mine managed to part on one occasion when I hit the bottom of the pond too hard! I ended up having to araldite tape over the joints on the inside to prevent further splits. Sounds like the mk2 has been vastly improved.

Andrew

[Guest]

Hi Andrew - nice to know you're keeping an eye on me too..... I think the main modification to the second version is the long threaded bolt that goes from the threaded spindle on the inner tray to the end of the bow section so that the WTC can be accessed easily by using an allen key - nothing else needs to be dismantled then. I'm busy drilling and filing out the flooding slots now - this is going to take a while me-thinks but as Chris says the best way is just to take it carefully and aim for a good finish.

Ian

[Guest]

It's a steady number filing out the flooding slots as decribed on my plan and instructions - I've noticed that on some of the earlier pictures of the Seawolf on the web there are no slots, only holes drilled. Is this an easy way out or are the slots supposed to be an improvement with the water flow through the hull??

[Guest]

Haven't a clue if the slots are an improvement Ian - but they work fine for me. Just wait until you've cracked the Seawolf project and then move on to the 247 square holes on a Typhoon fibreglass hull - or what I suspect is worse the slots on a Type VII U-boat. Real fun - and fibreglass dust everywhere.