USS Marlin, lost..... then found 231 days later

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  • Albion
    Captain
    • Dec 2008
    • 651

    #31
    Pitted prop- sounds like you need to fit zincs to your sub
    Next time someone points out it takes 42 muscles to frown, point out it will only take 4 muscles to b1tch slap them if they tell you how mnay muscles you need to smile:pop

    Comment

    • Bob Gato
      Captain
      • Feb 2019
      • 826

      #32
      You don't look like you need any more suggestions, it all looks great! Regarding the coke-possibly wet coke soaked paper towels or coke soaked magic eraser scrub. For the viewers at home...https://greencleaningproductsllc.com...ning-products/
      Last edited by Bob Gato; 04-14-2019, 09:07 PM.

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      • DMTNT
        Commander
        • Jun 2018
        • 297

        #33
        Just caught up on this thread. I was with the others that it honestly looked superb with that natural “weathering” - but I completely understand when it isn’t what you want your boat to look like. Absolutely superb work getting her cleaned up and ready to ride again. Nice going Ken!

        -Brady
        Dead men tell no tales...

        Comment

        • Ken_NJ
          Captain
          • Sep 2014
          • 744

          #34
          Sorry for the disappearance. Had to get a planned aortic heart valve replacement. Been 2 months on July 10th, doing great with recovery!

          Bob, thought of using Coke, should have tried it.
          Thanks Brady, still up in the air what I'm going to do. Will leave it as is until after Groton in September.

          Using 5000 grit paper gave the paint surface a shine which I'd like to remove. Removing the grime also thinned out the flat clear coat and I damaged some of the decals. I can either leave as is, not sure if sanding with courser paper would remove the shine or spray with Dullcoat.

          The batteries were shot, I used NiMH, already ordered replacements. The drive motor or gears were frozen and after some muscle I got them moving and the motor now runs, but the motor can is rusted and don't know what it looks like in the motor. The LPB is also rusted and the PCB had some pitting. Did not test it out yet. When David reads this I did shoot you and email about the drive motor and LPB.

          The ADF2 and ESC are both fine. There was about 2 tablespoons of water that seeped into the SD that caused the rusting. Not sure how it seeped in after 231 days.

          Comment

          • Scott T
            Commander
            • May 2009
            • 378

            #35
            Glad to hear from you and your recovery is going well.

            Comment

            • DMTNT
              Commander
              • Jun 2018
              • 297

              #36
              I'd spray with Dullcoat looking at the pics you've provided. Personally I found that the ultra-matte finish left weird water staining on my boat if I didn't completely dry it as soon as I pulled her from the water. I sprayed on a Rustoleum Acrylic Matte, which admittedly is more of a semi-gloss. The result is a boat that's a tiny bit shinier than I'd like, but that behaves well when it gets wet.

              Click image for larger version  Name:	JCdry3.jpg Views:	1 Size:	450.6 KB ID:	130888

              Dead men tell no tales...

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              • Ken_NJ
                Captain
                • Sep 2014
                • 744

                #37
                My original clear coat was a Rustoleum Flat or Matt clear and it had some whitish spots that appeared after a while. Might try Dullcoat on the lower hull to see what happens. Most likely will wait until the fall before I decide anything.

                In the meantime have new batteries and new electronics tray with a non rusty motor and LPB. Out with the old and in with the new.



                Have lots of small parts to put back together. My goal is to have this ready for July 26th when we will be running models at a local YMCA camp for kids in their 75x75 foot pool.



                Comment

                • Ken_NJ
                  Captain
                  • Sep 2014
                  • 744

                  #38
                  For the replacement batteries I removed the positive metal tab, then tinned the negative ends.Glued the batteries together singly with silicone and positioned them in the SD so they keep the curved shape of the tube and align the metal tab with the next positive terminal. Once the silicone dried, I trimmed the negative tab, sanded and fluxed it then soldered the tabs to the respective positive ends. At this point I charged the complete pack. Once charged I soldered the magnetic switch and tested everything. All works like a charm! Didn't see any need to change anything from how I did it before. Each battery is 3800ma. Never had a problem soldering tabbed batteries like this. Now that the batteries are ready, onto the electronics package.








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                  • Ken_NJ
                    Captain
                    • Sep 2014
                    • 744

                    #39
                    Been hard at work getting things back together. Some pics...









                    Non working things

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                    • Ken_NJ
                      Captain
                      • Sep 2014
                      • 744

                      #40
                      Tested the boat in the bathtub. Everything seemed OK. Tub was not long enough to fully submerge, damn. Tried in a pool, submerged to about one inch below top of the sail. OK there.

                      While running in the pool (freshwater pool) she seemed at some point to loose the signal, the motor stopped. If I moved the transmitter closer she started again. This happened on and off.

                      The next day ran the boat in different builtin pool (freshwater), same problem. Once I moved closer, the boat started responding on and off.

                      Today I had the SD in the driveway, left the motor running and walked away from it with the transmitter. When I was about 75 feet away the motor shut down. If I moved around at that distance the motor would stop and start. Someone suggested to coil the antenna, tried that and tested again in the driveway, same problem. This is the second Hitec receiver for this boat that exhibits this problem. The first receiver this happened to I ask Tony at RC South and he said he doesn't have the parts to repair the model receiver I have. Any ideas guys? I hate to think this is the end of using this radio.

                      Comment

                      • trout
                        Admiral
                        • Jul 2011
                        • 3545

                        #41
                        Looking all sorts of pretty......
                        You cut your receiver antenna? As a last resort. Replace your antenna on the receiver - coil it on a plastic rod. This will be self contained in the WTC. Now here is some heretic stuff......There is a gentleman who has been in the hobby for a long time that said do not cut the antenna, just leave that length and attach it to the additional exterior antenna. I did this on one sub and it worked amazing. I know what some will say about attenuation and wave length, but if you are up against a rock and a hard place.....you might give it a try.
                        If you can cut, drill, saw, hit things and swear a lot, you're well on the way to building a working model sub.

                        Comment

                        • Ken_NJ
                          Captain
                          • Sep 2014
                          • 744

                          #42
                          Worth a try. Will give it a go on Tuesday.

                          Comment

                          • Bob Gato
                            Captain
                            • Feb 2019
                            • 826

                            #43
                            I had a problem with a surface boat, and 75 ft was about all I could get (Note this was a new 2.4 MHZ radio) In desperation, I opened the transmitter and found the antenna wire had become disconnected from the PC board-reconnected it and I stopped the walk test at 1/8 mile!

                            Comment

                            • trout
                              Admiral
                              • Jul 2011
                              • 3545

                              #44
                              Bob, that is also a good suggestion! I had that on a F-14 TX unit.
                              If you can cut, drill, saw, hit things and swear a lot, you're well on the way to building a working model sub.

                              Comment

                              • Ken_NJ
                                Captain
                                • Sep 2014
                                • 744

                                #45
                                Sorry never got back to you guys. Here is what I tried. Soldered the original antennae onto the receiver. Tested, same problem, loss of signal about 75 feet. Tried coiling the antennae around a dowel. Still LOS. Resoldered the receiver antennae connection. Still LOS. Opened the transmitter to check the antennae, it connects to a machine screw which connects to an L bracket, I loosened and tightened the nuts. Still LOS.

                                I had two receivers with this transmitter which was reserved for using with subs. The first receiver did this same thing, LOS about 50-70 feet. I checked with Tony at RC South and Hitec, they both said no parts are available.
                                I was using the second receiver in the Marlin. I bought this off of eBay, NIB, at 72 Mhz. I sent it tony Tony years ago to have him tune it for 75Mhz and been using it ever since. Now this one crapped out.

                                Any ideas what now?

                                The radio is on 75.730 CH77 and is a Hitec Laser 6. Both receivers are dual conversion. Will any of Bob's single conversion receivers work if I can get the same frequency? Pressure is on me. If I don't get this resolved its not worth going to Groton as I won't have a working sub.

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