Newbie no more - Building the Revell 1/72 Gato

[trout]

David, you are killing me, advocating a larger one? What one would that be? Should I run this until it dies? Or be safe and correct it now?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I advocate a larger switch, but that one will do.

The likelihood of the ESC demanding full current at start-up (there is a several second delay as the ESC goes through a start-up protocol), which is the only condition that would demand high current that would ark across -- and damage -- the switch poles, is almost nil.

Closed, that 2 Amp switch can pass 10 Ampere's easy. Switches are rated for the arcing current the contacts can tolerate at the moment of closing/opening, not what the closed poles can handle once all contacts are engaged.

David

[beeryboats]

I may be very wrong about this, maybe David would chime in here, but I thought it would need something over a 10amp rating. If not your switch will burn up way before your 10amp fuse should something go wrong.
Jay

[trout]

Hi Jay!
The switch is from Caswell here http://www.caswellplating.com/models/bhm.html (near bottom of page) It is rated for 2 amps.
I bought the switch separately. I forgot to mention in the post about drilling out the hole in the end cap for the switch - ooops!

My original set did not come with any Kli-Cons, when I bought my WTC from an individual, that set had 3 pairs in it. Not enough, may need to order more or make different connectors.

[beeryboats]

Tom, that is an itty bitty switch. What is the amperage rating? Did you get enough magnetic rod ends with your kit?
Jay

[trout]

I will do this in at least two parts. The first will be the battery compartment and the rest will just depend on how it goes.
The battery compartment. The components you need/optional are:
Switch (optional) with waterproof boot. The only two parts I am going to use are the switch itself and the boot - this will get sealed up with RTV silicon when it is finally installed.

A wire strain relief. I did not have mine, so I made one with Sculpy clay. In this case I made it a triangular shaped rectangle (looks like a long tent).

Bake it @ 275 degrees Fahrenheit for 10 - 15 minutes (I split the difference and did this one in ~12 minutes).
It comes out like this:

Not much of a difference. Left it to cool, then drilled 4 - 1/8” holes. Not even, but it works.

The only issue I had was a small amount of breaking when I drilled the holes. I used some CA to seal the holes and (my thinking is) strengthen the area.

Fuse - in this case it is a 10A fuse - there so many different types of fuses, I got this one because it was convenient. There are waterproof ones out there, but if water gets into the fuse, I have bigger problems going on. This is a protection for all the stuff in the engine room of the WTC - disconnecting the battery or connecting it, faulty battery can cause a surge.

Connectors. I chose the Deans style connector, your sub your choice.

Battery. I went with the 3s 11.1v LiPo, but there is LiFe, NiCad, etc. same as above, your boat your choice. My choices for types of LiPo was limited because I shortened my battery compartment.

Here is the basic layout (minus strain relief for simplicity). I just placed the Deans connectors in the picture for representation, not accuracy. Mind your polarity!

And here it is all put together.

Today, I will RTV silicon the switch in and seal it around the boot.

[trout]

Jay, just change the props if you are worried about your shaft lengths.

The thought of my sub tagging a rock or bouncing off the bottom of a pool brought disastrous images to my mind. I saw David had added brass to his Gato keel on a Cabal Report, so I wanted to. What is it about bright shiny objects?
I scored the brass to the width I needed and cut out strips with my larger jewelers saw. Then I taped the strips to the keel and marked areas I needed to modify, like the taper for the front. Marked where I wanted the holes and numbered them so I could keep track. Removed the pieces, cut, drilled and shaped the pieces as I had marked them. Then placed the pieces back on and used the holes drilled out as pilots for the drilling into the hull.

Again the strips come off and I began to solder a length of 1/16” brass rod into the holes. The thought is the wire would fit into the holes of the keel into the hull and I could bend the wire to hold the brass strip in place, yet allow me to remove it if I wanted to.

Once the wires were all attached to the strips, it was time to push it through the holes in the keel.

Then using a pair of needle nose pliers began to bend and push the wire down. That was harder than I thought it would be and made me wish I had A. annealed it or B. used a smaller diameter. There were a couple I could not bend down because of their location.

Once they were pushed down, I used CA and baking powder to lock them in place.

Then went along the keel and cut any wire that stuck through and filed to clean up.

Later I will fill in the sides.

[beeryboats]

reddevil, yes, it was just to see them in place! I will switch them when it comes time to do a final setup. Great eye you have there!

Shoot! I didn't know there was a right side or left side. I got mine in backwards too I guess. I hope they turn as well in the other holes.....
Jay

[trout]

reddevil, yes, it was just to see them in place! I will switch them when it comes time to do a final setup. Great eye you have there!

[trout]

Mike, Thank you! I appreciate you explaining what that screw was for! I honestly did not know.

[Kazzer]

I used to make dowsing rods out of steel 3/16" and threaded about 3/16" on the ends. I always used a woodworkers vice and lined the jaws with a hardwood, then placed the rod so it just protruded. Then I opened up the split die to do a first cut.



Use lots of oil too. I never had a problem and found it quicker than chucking it all up in a lathe. But then, I'm a butcher, not an engineer!

[reddevil]

NIce thread. Looks like you have props changed. The way you've installed them, they'll have to rotate inwards (instead of outwards) to go ahead). Sure it's due to the impatience of having a look of them im place.

[beeryboats]

I had use of a small lathe at work and I made sure I chucked it down deep very close to where I was starting the threads. I ended up using a box end wrench to hold the hex die and after putting a slight taper on the shaft, I just pushed the die against the shaft while turning the head of the lathe by hand. Works like a charm. Tom, if it makes you feel better, I bent one of the stainless shafts. I had it chucked up in a drill and was polishing it with scotch brite when it tweeked on me. That's why I went to the brass rods.
Jay

[trout]

Oh! @Mike
What am I doing? Learning. LOL
It is not an argument for not using brass shafts, an argument to practice a lot more than I did or give it to someone that knows what the heck they are doing (with the right equipment).
Yes, yes it does look like a shaft slaughterhouse. :-) I hope this does not make this posting R rating for gore and violence.

[trout]

Thanks Subculture! Recipe for disaster is my speciality! Being a beginner at this and not having a modern lathe, this is what I have to offer. Although, you make a great point and I do have a lathe from the 1900's. Hmmmm I wonder if I could get that to work? How do you get the shank to slide in deep enough to hold it...... not on this build, might have to play later!