GATO! (It has begun)

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Excellent.

You're on your way. That ballast tank is sized to counter the displacement of that specific models above waterline structures. That means, by time you have enough foam in there (keep it all just below the designed waterline) to get the top of the sail above the water in submerged trim, that when the tank is dry, the boat will indeed float high, at the designed waterline (the propeller guards above water and the forward waterline below the bow-bouyancy tank limber holes).

Keep at it!

M

[matthewnimmo]

Tonights testing yielded a higher freeboard, but still not boyant enough to come back after fully submerged (which i still dont understand why the stupid thing doesnt come back at all if i have no leaks ... As the sub was floating just fine before venting)

but im about to run out of space to tuck foam. Ive got a few more spots then im going to either go drastically below the waterline or start attaching to the upper part of the upper hull

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

You're closer than you think.

You've almost got the freeboard to be scale, and you still need to add foam as the boat is still terribly negatively buoyant when the ballast tank is full. Good.

Keep cramming foam until you achieve the correct surface trim waterline -- if then the boat is still negatively buoyant submerged, then you can start placing the foam in the above waterline portions of the superstructure, keeping at that till the boat in submerged trim floats with only the shears above the water.

Almost there, pal!

M

[Albion]

OK. Something got out of adjustment. I wonder why?

Two things to do at the SD side of things: First, add some oil to the vent hole -- that will break surface-tension, permitting a quicker release of ballast tank air when the vent is open.

Second, move the two ballast servo pushrod wheel-collars forward a sixteenth-of-an-inch. If that fixes the venting problem, check to see if the vent still closes in neutral and 'blow' positions.

Before you do all that: Do you have a transmitter that you can set the end-points? If so, dial in the vent side of the servo to 110% -- that will open the vent just a tad more without any intervention on the mechanism itself.

Lotsa fun, huh!

Keep at it Kido, we'll lick this thing yet.

M

I was in a situation where I was either getting the valve to shut tight, but not vent, or it could vent, but would bleed a trail of bubbles when it should be closed.

Oil plus end stop fixed it for me, superb, I can move to next level now.

[matthewnimmo]

Ok, so due to traveling and vacation in Florida i had put this to the side until tonight for some more testing with the foam ... but GUESS what. Sooo getting sick of my F*ing LBP piece of **** breaking/failing. So now the pump starts squealing loudly and doesn't pump any air (keep in mind the entire time it has been sitting drying out and yes, both aft and forward bulkheads were removed for good ventilation). Further investigation i see a small crack on the pump were it meets the motor and if i apply pressure on the unit bringing together the gap with the small crack the unit functions fine. so apparently, it has received a stress fracture.

Maybe i'm just annoyed that this thing fights me every step of the way it seems and this is now two LPB's that have failed me and I've yet to sail her besides a few test runs in the pool. I'll order another one as i don't seem to have a choice it seems; but i'm not impressed with these little pumps.

Any ideas?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Don't order another. Send the bum unit to me so I can salvage the MPC. And I'll send you a tested LPB with attached MPC the minute you give me your mailing address.

dmeriman@aol.com

M

[matthewnimmo]

Thanks David, ill strip the piece of **** out of the sub tomorrow and send it your way. So frustrating as im trying to get this done before our big 4th of july trip to the lake but it seems like i maybe screwed

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

e-mail me your address and I'll get it out today.

M

[matthewnimmo]

Thanks David, email sent!

[matthewnimmo]

Thanks again David for the items. I'm on a business trip Mon/tues. I should have the old unit shipped back to you next week (hopefully, kind of a surprise business trip). Also, the 75mhz module you sent. That's synthesized unit right, will that work with my Wfly 8 receiver that isn't synthesized?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

That RF module will work fine for you -- the receiver will listen to the transmitter now, Matt.

No big rush returning the bum LPB unit -- I want to see what went wrong with it in order to better understand the failure mode of these pump-motors. However, if it won't talk I'm not above water-boarding the damned thing till it does!

M

[matthewnimmo]

Captain's log:

this weekend was the subs maiden voyage and she sailed well! Ive finally got the buoyancy perfect! No movement and she stays pretty buoyant while submerged up to the tower, and the minute i give her throttle and dive she goes down further without going to deep for me to **** my pants in fear of losing the model in the lake. This LBP seems to be working like a champ!

ill hopefully have a video to share with everyone on the final outcome ... Im very pleased:). Started two years ago and picked back up earlier this year to finally sail her over the 4th july weekend. David, specific thank for your commitment and support on this project. I had learned a ton and built a function and beautiful model of my liking. I honestly couldn't have done this without you! If anyone questions Davids commitment to the hobby i know that i can personally testify that he handles the entire hobby with white glove service!

to the many others! Thank you so much community for your tips, tricks, and support. There were many others that i had learned from as well that made this possible. My first sub build ... Wow

Completed!

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

OK then.

Now: pass it on.

M

[trout]

Congratulations!
Many people will complain about the cost of a Sub-Driver, but in some ways, it is a short sighted complaint. The service you have gotten, I got, and many others plus the knowledge and innovation he shares, it sure makes the price a lot less expensive. Also when you factor that some vendors will ignore you after the purchase, not to mention (like you had) service two years after the fact....that just makes it that much more affordable.

Anyways, welcome aboard Captain. It is one of the most enjoyable subs for me to run. Look forward to the video and photos!
Peace,
tom

[trout]

Where's the beef? or videos? or report of running!