Modify Blue Devil to RC

[Longtailedlizard]

Hi All,
I had recently got a hold of a Lindburg Blue Devil Destroyer. Its a scale
model (3ft long) that is motorized (preset patterns). I decided to try and
modify it for R/C. I thought it would be something different for the kids to
play with in the small pond, since it is unque compared to most off the self
R/C boats.
I'm trying to do this cheaply, so, I steered clear of "robbing" any parts
from my T-maxx and my T-maxx 2.5. What I did find was some old Nikko cheapo
battery powered R/C trucks/jeeps.
As of right now, I have the receiver, battery pack, and motor all mounted in
the hull. The motor is connected to the gear box. Forward and reverse ops
checks great in the bath tub. It makes a nice little wake.
My problem lies in the rudder control, the cheap R/C units come with nothing
more than a holding coil, with springs to center the wheels. This is great on
the trucks, but I have extremely limited room in the hull of the fan tail, and
only a few inches in front before the gear box.
I was just looking for some useful ideas or suggestions regarding any ideas
for rudder control to make this model seaworthy (OK, pondworthy).


J

[scadavid2000]

If you are nervous because of space I would suggest buying an airplane micro or sub micro servo which cost from $9.99-$20.00 They work very well but I doubt you'll be able to plug in to those nikko receivers. Why not buy a micro airplane receiver (gws 4channel for $24 or 3 channel for even less) A nice ESC 15-30 amps ($20s-$30s) and then later on you can change motors and if needed esc for max power and speed. Not many will agree with me its just an idea.
www.horizonhobby.com
Some pics could really help for those trying to see what you are trying to acomplish.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Well it is not legal to use Airplane frequencies in surface models.(cars and boats)

But the suggestion to use "real" radio equipment in the Blue Devil is a sound one.
Just run a cable to one of the rudder arm and connect both rudder control arms with a piece of wire or short control rod.
Using the Cable to connect the servo to one of the rudders will allow you to mount the servo anywhere in the ship.

The Blue Devil was my first r/c ship, and is still fairly popular today.
We had two at last years Regatta. Unfortunately I only got photographs of one of them
http://groups.msn.com/ModelersAndHobbyForum/portlandregatta2003.msnw?action=ShowPhoto&PhotoID=174

Good luck with your build.

Umi