Increasing the hobby

[Subculture]

Venue:
Location nearby-->body of water-->body of clear(ish) water with easy access

Swimming pools.

Don't know the score in the US, but here in UK, specifically in London where I live, there are plenty of sites available, but they aren't usually free. Typical cost is around £60-70 per hour, plus a lifeguard. So you're looking at around a couple of hundred quid plus, for an evenings sail.

Ten people, a score each. More people lower price.

Easier said than done, it's challenging to get high numbers in an unusual hobby like this, and as a well-known supplier in this hobby once said to me, too many in this game with short arms and deep pockets

[Subculture]

Generally ponds in parks don't tend to be clear like that, so clarity is poor plus many are either very shallow or so deep recovery would be very tricky.

[Alucard]

Finding a body of water that you are allowed to use ad does not have a lot of people in it, or a strong current, can be tricky, When we move one of the things in a house I am looking for is an inground pool, originally for my wife and my dog, Sherlock loves to swim, but now that I got sucked into this hobby, it will also be for me. Of course, pools are limited in size so you can only do much, but it is a start.

[Das Boot]

How about pools in parks?

Green water.

[QuarterMaster]

You lady boys looking for perfect water amuse me. Doing just that I'd never get the chance to run as it's <10% of my yearly venue.

FWIW, running deep is easy in a clear pool. Maintain 1/4" depth control at PD 50 yds away, then you impress me.

I actually prefer murky water, it keeps the Skimmer pukes asking, "Where are you Ed?". Then I know my RC Sub is doing it's job, approaching by stealth.

[Subculture]

There goes the neighborhood!

[JHapprich]

Thanks for removing that both pointless and disgusting comment, that did not contribute in any manner to this thread!

Jörg

[Ken_NJ]

Love that picture Ed! Just awesome!

[QuarterMaster]

Thanks for removing that both pointless and disgusting comment, that did not contribute in any manner to this thread!

Jörg

Roger that!

[QuarterMaster]

Love that picture Ed! Just awesome!

That's actually care of Capt. Gaito.

That's Ray's 1:72 is cruising on the surface with mine of course submerged in the background. Even sunlight reflection can cause visibility issues, Thankfully not that bad in this picture.

[trout]

Love that picture Ed! Just awesome!

I saved this image from years ago to my computer as a screen saver. Love this photo!

[Davjacva]

Without a major manufacturer mass-manufacturing RTRs/kits/WTCs, something on the level of Tamiya or Traxxas for example, it would be very hard to grow the hobby. There simply isn’t enough quantity to go around. RC tanks only started to grow exponentially with companies like Heng Long releasing RTRs at an affordable price and in big quantities.

I am active on a few RC submarine facebook groups where there are thousands of members, but even then there’s only a handful of individuals who are actually building and operating successful RC subs. We operate in the most hostile environment known to RCs, so it’s only natural that we’re a niche hobby. But hey, with advancements like home CNCs and 3D printing, the hobby has been made a lot easier for those who are brave enough to venture into it.

I agree in part with what you're saying, involving the manufacturers that were already big, but it goes way beyond those boundaries. Company's like Tamiya, who had completely stopped building 1/16 tanks as of 1998, had 5 kits 4 years later and had about 25 (I lost count) as of recently. The 'toy' manufacturers like Heng-long and Taigen (the latter being slightly better plastic rattle-boxes) did offer up cheaper kits, but that's what they were. There are forums now completely devoted to upgrading them, but it takes so much to upgrade them to operating standards that they aren't worth it. They'd break down after a short time of battling or serious operating... and they don't move like a heavy vehicle across ground. The big deal were the after-market companies like WeCoHe,, these were twice the price of a Tamiya, but very detailed and more robust (672 metal bolts for just wheels, for example). After the Scam-demic, a lot of these larger companies have atrophied, but the static models have exploded with kits never seen before. Then there's the Asiatam with all-metal kits. The point made is that just a short time ago there was virtually nothing for a scale that had seen only sporadic offerings since about 1970, now it's all over the place. Like you said, and the one thing I failed to mention that is a huge ogre sitting in the basement, is a place to run. Tanks, I can run almost anywhere, but subs is about the most difficult in the RC hobby. Until recently, Merriman and I were literally shut down here in Virginia Beach, and we are surrounded by water. We were running at a pool that had heavy amounts of chemicals in it, so much that it was almost impossible to operate. Now we have a big pond, and strangely, it's a very clean one in an area surrounded by nasty ones. I think the difficult technical aspects (WTC) of the RC sub hobby could be addressed easily by smaller outfits. They already have to a large degree, but I think they need to be more 'bullet-proof'. Being more 'bullet-proof' may lose some of the higher aspects/ functions, but it would be a boon for the hobby.

You are absolutely correct that there are thousands of people that are at least watching this hobby. I hardly every post on my Facebook page, but I put some Nautilus video posts up of the recent Cohutta event, and I was floored by how many friends and family knew of Bob/ RCSUBGUY via Youtube.

I'd like to go work on the hobby, but now I get to go into the garage and clean up a mess of transmission fluid that siphoned out of a Turbo-350 in my '70 Skylark for some reason, and it's saturating the new tires I bought earlier this year...need more coffee,
Jake

[Ken_NJ]

Jake, can you post something about the tanks you have in the Off Topic forum?

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

Jake, can you post something about the tanks you have in the Off Topic forum?

Yeah, Jake. What he said. Post some pictures. (don't make me post in-work shots of our collaborative work on your Tiger). I dare ya!

David
Who Hates Armor!

[Davjacva]

Jake, can you post something about the tanks you have in the Off Topic forum?

Ken, will do. It's funny, as I was thinking the same thing after I saw Bob's video of your incredible y-connector. I thought that maybe this only solved part of the problem for people as last year I had a very similar problem when I had to double the systems and wiring on an operating tank that was made to house one operating system.