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**greenman407** · 12-20-2012, 09:50 AM

Heres an old one in the pool , testing out the lights.

**greenman407** · 03-08-2013, 10:04 PM

Took her out today but couldnt run her. The ballast tank servo was jittering uncontrolably. Got her home and apart and found that the "Subtek" failsafe had gone south. I promptly removed it and problem solved. Ill bring home the Shadow programmer on monday to set up the new failsafe settings on the Sombra. Shell have to be retrimmed as the new LIPO that I bought is heavier.

**greenman407** · 12-30-2013, 03:24 PM

Over the weekend I was doing searches for some new drive motors.Gotta get some more power in there. Got in contact with some people who are helping me with it. My goal is to get some stronger, brushed, motors for it that will fit in the same place.400 sized motors are roughly 28mm in diameter. When I get things nailed down on it Ill post what ive got coming. If the brushed motors dont pan out Ive selected some small brushless motors and some speed controllers for them.

**greenman407** · 01-29-2014, 09:40 PM

My latest mental ramblings on this. Id like to stay brushed motors If I could. What If?................................What If I bought this?

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Ok, fine and good...............................but its got to fit into a 3" Subdriver. Ive been looking at a supplier of lexan/polycarbonate clear tubing. Seems that I could by a 12" section of three different sizes, that when assembled, would allow me to adapt the 3and 1/2" bulkhead to a 3" cylinder. I had the Seaview down today looking at that. Its gonna be close but I think its possible.
The only thing that worries me is that the original 4 bladed empellors that came with the Rick Teskey Seaview, were made by HWSNBN. I took them and lopped two of the blades off to help the Speed 400 motors turn them. With 540 motors Im thinking that the 4 bladed units were be a better fit. I have emailed Dave. Lets see whats available. Maybe I can get them for a song and dance.................or maybe a Paypal transfer.

**Subculture** · 01-30-2014, 09:15 AM

You can get 480 sized motors, which are basically extended length 400's. They tend to give a reasonable improvement in torque compared with a 400.

Another option is brushless 400 size motors, cheap and readily available from the Chinese companies.

**Albion** · 01-30-2014, 09:38 AM

Originally posted by Subculture

You can get 480 sized motors, which are basically extended length 400's. They tend to give a reasonable improvement in torque compared with a 400.

Another option is brushless 400 size motors, cheap and readily available from the Chinese companies.

What about the stuff the tug boys use, or is that what your talking about?

**Subculture** · 01-30-2014, 10:14 AM

Not really. Tugboats tend to be fitted with fairly large can, high torque and low revving motors. They have chubby hulls which can accommodate such things. Subs sometimes have the space for bigger motors, but this one sounds fairly tight to me.

**greenman407** · 01-30-2014, 01:24 PM

Thanks Andy. I already have those motors in it. They are the Speed 400 long can motors that run on 12 volts. They helped. I have some models that are powered by brushless motors. I dont feel that they and there ESCs give you much control. They are made for all out power, with very little emphasis on RPM range control. Also, I have not had much success with Hobby King and the like and the Cheap items that they sell. The motors and ESCs that Hobby King offers, are cheap, too cheap in my opinion to put any long term faith in. With Daves stuff, I know what Im getting.

**greenman407** · 01-31-2014, 12:40 PM

Thanks Andy for your suggestions. In any endeavor, making an informed choice, is always best. To do that, I need to know all my options. Thanks for your help, as always.

**greenman407** · 01-31-2014, 12:42 PM

I just made a deal with Mike Caswell for an older 3&1/2" , twin motor, twin drive bulkhead. I love it when a plan comes together.

**greenman407** · 02-04-2014, 04:07 PM

Tommorow, I have an appointment with the Seaview at the pond. I want to operate it as is so that I can see the present state of affairs before the modifacations commence.

**greenman407** · 02-06-2014, 06:28 PM

After running the Seaview the other day, it occured to me that , with some reconfiguration of weight and foam I could probably realize some more freeboard and thus it will float higher in the water. So that has been some of my focus today. I gutted the forward section and packed her with some more foam. I had determined at the pond how much more I would need, front and rear. It should be real close. Also at the pond the port side ESC refused to work, You see Murphys Law kicks in and allows me to drive 60 miles, and then find out it doesnt want to work. It worked fine the night before. Oh well, it gave me an excuse to go by "Lovins" and get some WINGS. So I had a spare ESC that I am installing. So the goal is to get back to the pond on Monday, along with the Scamper for more tests.
Notice that the stern is packed full of foam. Thats no easy trick. Also, the Battery WTC for the LIPO. I realized a tremendous advantage by using it. I am able to do this because the three inch Subdriver has a huge ballast tank on the order of almost 12" long.

**greenman407** · 02-06-2014, 07:41 PM

**greenman407** · 02-10-2014, 08:16 PM

Got her into the water today and drove up and down the lake three or four times, submerged(DUH). I found out what I needed to know. I can now order my 3&1/2" tube and start preparing my motor bulkhead and equipment tray. This things got a lot of drag. Each of those eight windows is recessed. In other words, there is a piece of clear lexan behind those window openings. Therefore as the water hits the bow it goes into those windows and is then forced back out, spilling out over the edges, therefore, unwanted drag. I could take out the flat lexan but , having it in makes it look more real. So we need more ponys to push this thing, thus the 3&1/2" motor bulkhead and its 540 motors. The 400s in the 3", just wont cut it.

**greenman407** · 02-10-2014, 08:29 PM

Another good thing is that the 3&1/2" motor bulkhead that Im going to use is the older style with the gearboxes on the outside. The good thing about that is, that I believe I can make changes to the gear ratio, if needed. Dave supplied me with some new empellors to replace the four bladed ones that I cut down to two. Thatll give it more to push with. After we get it running, we can determine If there is enough motor power to go to 2&1/2 to 1 from 3 to 1. Ofcourse, it depends on what gears are available in that size and style. SDP(Stock Drive Products) had a large selection, last time I looked. We will see. Maybe the 3 to 1 will get the job done.