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Subculture,
Thank you.
Thank you.
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Team, does anyone know what the circit board is? I now know that the one part is the pitch keeper, and I believe the main circuit board controls the pumps. But what is the small circuit board on the left side? And what is the voltage of the board? 6 or 12 volts? Anyone got some original diagrams? The bottom of the circuit board lists it as a V 1.1 "touchpumpensteuerumg" which is loosely translated to touch pump.Comment
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Last edited by Das Boot; 06-27-2025, 10:03 AM.Of the approximately 40,000 men who served on U-boats in WWII, it is estimated that around 28,000 to 30,000 lost their lives.Comment
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The part indicated by the red arrow is a TAES board. The black component with a spigot is a pressure sensor that monitors the static water pressure, and keeps the boat at a certain depth (within a tolerance) by shuttling the tanks from fill to empty to make the boat heavier or lighter as required. As fresh water only varies by less than 1% depending upon temperature, the amount of adjustment required is small.
I think Engel have discontinued it now. I believe you can remove it and use the board as a simple switcher- which is TAE.
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Subculture,
Thanks for the update d info. I did email Engel and he sent me the main board and I believe the smaller boards instruction sheets. Between the two I will get something set up to test it all.
Das Boot, the answer is no. I have been collecting diver boxes and parts for the model to have a new internal dive system but its been a long haul. I did take the net cutter off, its not a U-Boat. Also, a lot of the deck bits and parts and such were popping off as I handled the model. The glue was very brittle. So, she's stripped down. It has new prop shafts and props from Harbor model since the originals were seized up. I think they were brass shafts and a plastic bushing. The new boat has the same thing, brass shafts that were seized up. Do they need grease or something? I would think so. I have been slowly working on her conning tower, which is now a covered wagon style. My trouble with the model is how to get the motors and drive system mounted into the dive box. There is an issue with my mechanical engineering skills and actually getting the right parts. The motor shaft is larger than the WTC seal for the shafts that I have. I did locate shaft extension pieces that should work but haven't been working on it. I need to find a good way to mount the motors into the diver box. I have picked up the parts to make the seals and can begin work on that part. I'll admit, I real good at taking them apart and slow at putting them back together. I did however get a 1/72 Skipjack running this year and just finished my Disney Nautilus with lights. It is, by necessity, a surface runner. But with an outrunner motor it moves out!Comment
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My original question was can you take a picture of the whole boat you’re working on now? From stem to stern.Of the approximately 40,000 men who served on U-boats in WWII, it is estimated that around 28,000 to 30,000 lost their lives.Comment
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Team,
Here are some of the requested photos of the newer Gato model. I also included some photos of the DStephan 3D printed tower and guns (white and grey). I ordered the 3D tower before I got my 2nd Gato with a tower. In one photo you can compare the three towers. The original (circa 1980s?) that I began to modify to the covered wagon style and then the Engel resin tower and the 3d printed tower.Attached FilesComment
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OK, a couple of updates. here are some shots of extra WTC endcaps I have obtained. Can anyone tell me anything about them? History, type, manufacturer, etc. Also, I have been able to power up the TAE board. It does work, mostly. One of the two dive relays (there are 4) is not working for some reason. I can get a new one fairly easy via the internet but if there are any electric component supply houses in Jacksonville, FL I am not aware of them. The relay is a RT424005 6 VDC relay by Schrack of Austria. I removed the old "nose thing" and put on a correct Bullnose, and I made a new clear lid. The ballast cylinders were working ok, but they did need to be lubed up.Attached FilesComment
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Team,
Thanks for the info. I did order a relay just in case that is what it is. Really need to do a bit of troubleshooting to be absolutly sure. He who shall not be named, thanks for the quick response. I have several of the end caps and such. I may do something with them but have not decided yet.Comment
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If the appropriate LED is getting a feed, then it's likely to be an issue with the relay.Comment
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Subculture,
Replaced the relay. no joy. I did mess around and take voltage measurement and it appears that the resistor at the edge of the board feed voltage to the relay. the relay in question does not follow the same voltage patterns as the working relays. I traced the feed for the voltage back to the micro chip. I can get a new chip but it appears that it needs to be programed. I reached out to Engel to see if he had any floating around as he had indicated in a previous email that circuit was about 20 years old. We shall see what he says. I might need to get on to the scrap yard site or eBay and see what pops up there.Comment
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That’s bad luck for the microcontroller to have a bad output. Engel certainly does spare chips for some of their boards like the TMAX, and they’re not extortionate. They tended to use PIC microntrollers, so a common part. If the chip is soldered into the board, I would fit a socket for any replacement.
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An alternative path would be to ditch the bespoke Engel board, and use a pair of ESC, or a single dual esc to drive the tanks. This would require fitting diodes to the limit switches. You would lose the third microswitch function, which isn’t a huge loss unless bottoming the craft is essential. Engel make a point of not recommending esc’s, but tanks work just fine with them.
Positives are solid state electronics, very compact,cheap and easy to replace item.
e.g. https://tinyurl.com/3mwtvdk3Comment
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