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Thanks for interest Crowman17. I will take a look at your build as well Should be posting some new stuff tonight....
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Here are a couple of new pictures from yesterday.
While I am waiting for additional parts from Engel I am still tinkering a bit here and there. I started working on the dive tanks and magnet installation. Per the manual "in theory," the increase in the amount of magnets is to provide more precision in the trim. So I bought the 3x2 magnets from Jeff Bezos and after re-reading the directions several times over and over again......... i contacted my cousin to ask him to do it for me.... The instructions on positioning them are something else...but it's not the first time on this build so with a little interpreting from my cousin; who has built a couple of these, I figured out how to install them. The gears on my tanks already have 2 embedded magnets. So based on what I read, I decided to add two additional magnets to the gear on each tank. So the idea I believe is to flip the magnets over so they don't automatically attract to the other magnets already on the gear and then position them in equal distance to each other. The existing gears are 2mm from the outer gear teeth so i did the same with the new ones... I lightly sanded them first and used a bit of thin CA to lock them in... |
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Last edited by stiks; Apr 13, 2021 at 02:59 PM.
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I was not sure reading your last post, but the magnets need to alternate between North and South. The standard one installed will have on north and one south by default. You will need to reverse one of the installed ones and the two new ones will be the opposite pole. So as the gear goes around the sequence will be N,S,N,S that is how it registers the positions and number of rotations.
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Just got my goods from Engel.
-pitch and dive controller -pitch and dive controller lcd screen for programming -pressure gauge holder -magnetic switch 6v -magnet for switch -tubing and bellow couplers Paid the extra for faster shipping and thought it would still take a month to get here but it showed up about 5 days later... Here are the pictures of the parts and the sub mocked up. Question, is it ok for the dive tank piston screw to come out and over the electronics? If not then i will have to reposition some items. Also, i bought the battery suggested by Engel for this build and it is too tall. Meaning its taller then the WTC when installed. I could lay it down or just buy a smaller battery...still thinking on that! Oh...and a little side work on some steam. Gotta love it! ImagesView all Images in thread
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Just a quick update.
Haven't been working on the sub much lately. We have kids in soccer and with things "starting" to open up they are trying to suck up as much of my mone..i mean tim... I mean the kids have been playing a lot more.... So with that said I haven't had too much opportunity to work on anything, but today i did get some garage time in so i worked on a few things. Sorry, no pictures but I plan to do some more work tomorrow and should have some pictures then. Anyway, I worked on the control rods and getting the clevis's soldered on. I also marked the "equipment board" with the components that will be mounted. I have drilled out an additional hole in the bow end of the WTC to accommodate the control rod for the retracting dive plane mechanism....whenever that happens... Lastly, I began the installation of the rudder carriage. I have temporarily CA'd it into place in preparation for using the pc-11 epoxy to lock it in. Stay tuned... |
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I managed to get in some hobby time today right after work. Drove over to my cousin's house; which is on the way home, to look at him changing roof tiles.. and in between the Buster Keaton ladder antics I worked on the electronics board
So I finally figured out the layout of the board. Some of it is dictated by the servo placement and the required placement of the LTR controller based on the instructions. One of the main things about the LTR is that it has to be placed in the longitudinal direction of the sub. So essentially it needs to be mounted with the pins facing the bow of the boat/sub. You will know if you put it in backward because after everything is connected your dive planes will work in reverse So below are some pictures I took and some video too!!!! The pictures show the installation and placement of the components and the connections between the LTR6 and the RX. The video shows it in use. As you can see the movement of the LTR6 controls the motion of the dive planes.
Pic1) Components mounted on the board. The 2 servos side by side and RX are at the bow end of the sub. The position of the LTR6 is by design as the pins need to be in the same direction as the bow. If it is reversed or facing the wrong way your dive planes will work in reverse. Pic2) Another shot of the components on the control board. It gives you a better view of the layout. The receiver is close to the LTR6 since it connects directly to it. Pic3) On the LTR6 the pins are broken up into 2 groups. The top group is for the connections to the RX. This first connection from the LTR6 is to the dive plane controller port on the RX. I connected a servo to this port to confirm it correlates to the stick controller on the TX. So I wanted my dive planes on the left controller stick up/down so that coincides with port 3 on the RX. Also, note the ground connector (black or brown is on the outside pin of the RX and LTR6. The 2nd group of pins is for the remaining servos. Pic 4) 2nd pin set on LTR6 ( in the first group of pins) is skipped. This set of pins is only used if you have the X-rudder configuration on your sub. Since the Gato is a regular cross-shaped tailplane you skip this 2nd set of pins. So the 3rd set of pins is used to control the on/off of the LTR6. This connection coincides with the 3 position switch on your TX. Again I moved a servo between the RX ports checking the inputs on the TX and when I found the 3 position switch and the corresponding port on the RX (port 5) I plugged the LTR6 into it. This 3rd set of pins on the LTRS 6 controls the mode. Pic 5) Picture 5 shows the 2 white/red/black connectors connected to the LTR6 and RX. This syncs the RX and LTR6 together and then any servos plugged into the LTR6 are controlled by its motion (see video). This picture also shows the bow dive plane connected to the LTR6 2nd group of pins. The order of the servos in the 2nd group of pins doesnt matter...they are all the same. Pic 6) You may have to zoom in but the 2nd set of pins in the 2nd group is connected to the aft dive plane servo. Again, the order doesnt matter. All 4 sets in the 2nd group of pins are all plane/rudder connections. This picture also shows that the other servos are connected to the RX for the rudder and or other functions. Pic 7) This picture is another view of picture 6. This shows the 2 connections between the LTR6 and the RX and then the 2 connections from the dive planes to the LTR6 and then the remaining connections to the RX. So in short the only connections to the LTR6 are the 2 from the RX for on/off and dive plane control, and the 2 servos for the dive planes; bow and aft. Hope this makes sense...I'm going to bed! |
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Last edited by stiks; May 08, 2021 at 02:00 AM.
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Back at it again tonight. Got off work a lot earlier than expected so I was able to hit the garage running.
I started working on fitting the Lexan lid to the WTC and after marking the holes specifically against the newly tapped holes .....it didn't fit after putting the screws in... Of course it's miss-aligned...you know it and I know it... So I can either widen the holes in the Lexan or cut another piece, screw the bolts into the WTC and then mark the Lexan against the bolts... We'll see how that pans out. So after the lid "work", I went back to the tanks and the wiring for them and the TAE3 module. But first a little cleanup and mounting of the RX and LTR6. They kept flopping around so I mounted them. Moving on, using the wiring provided in the kit I measured and cut the lengths of wiring accordingly for them to reach the TAE3. I used the little electrical connectors I found on Amazon; Jeff was kind enough to deliver them in a couple of days..., to connect the wiring to the leads of the motors on the tanks and connectors for the mounted switches as well. The diagram for the wiring that comes in the kit is great. It is laid out pretty clearly and was easy to follow. Initially, i tried to crimp the ends on the connectors to the wire but couldn't get them to crimp tightly enough, so I decided to break the little plastic ends off of them and then solder the wire to them. Tomorrow I plan on cleaning up the wiring connectors using some shrink wrap and then connecting it all to the TAE3.... Nothing has been locked down inside the hull except for the lead ballast. The reason I mention this is I still have some work to do under the hull with sanding and mounting of the struts for the drive shafts....never quite finished..... Anyway i will post something new as soon as i can....!! ImagesView all Images in thread
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On a roll... Got home really early today but had to run errands... But thankfully had enough time to get in some garage time. I worked on cleaning up the wiring connections with shrink wrap at the switches. Also, cut the lengths of wiring down on the tanks to manageable sizes and prep the connections for the TAE3; tinned the ends of the wiring that will connect to the TAE3 unit.
I also worked on the pressure switch connection. Tomorrow I will see if I can keep this pace up and work on the control rods, connecting the wiring to the TAE3, and cleaning up the wire management. ImagesView all Images in thread
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Did a little work today after getting the car smogged... I had plans of course and those plans changed So I ended up working on the electronics board some more. I worked on the placement and connections for the magnetic switch that I got from Engel. Its operation is pretty cool. I posted some video showing the operation of it. In the video, you can see the setup for the power from the 6v battery to the switch and from the switch to the TAE3 board. I also added a battery meter for the battery.
After that, I worked on sanding the hull around the drive tubes. It was during the sanding that I noticed a raised section in the pc-11 and after a bit more sanding it began to peel away. It's at that moment I realized that there was some painter's tape under the pc-11...OMG How did I leave that under there!!! Well thankfully it was only a little and just around the edges so I was able to peel the excess tape and pc-11 off, but now I will have to go back and smooth over that area... So a little forward...now a little backward... Well, tomorrow I plan on going for a 4th straight day of work!! We'll see what I can get done. I still plan on working on the control rods for the rudder and aft dive planes as well as seating the rudder carriage and locking it in; I had sort of already done the carriage when he who shall remain nameless pointed out it was crooked..... Thanks cousin! Til tomorrow!
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Last edited by stiks; May 12, 2021 at 11:11 PM.
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Ok, so I have been working quite a bit lately...not submarine work, but work work.... So its been hard getting to the garage for some actual fun work. But I did get in and manage to get something done.
I broke the rudder free from the position I thought was centered but turned out not to be. I had to open the rudder area up with a Dremel and then re-align the rudder carriage. You can see from the pictures below that I had to open the hole quite a bit but it is finally straight...I think! Not pictured are the rods for the control arm. I used the cutoff wheel to notch them for the grub screws. I going to do a bit of soldering tonight and see what else I can get done. ImagesView all Images in thread
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I worked on the control arms a little and removed the tape from the rudder carrier. So it looks pretty good and still looks straight Next I will put a layer of the pc-11 on the inside of the hull to seal the rudder from the internal side.
I was working on the ESC's I picked up for the dual motors. I intended to set up the motors for independent control but I know it was mentioned that it might not be that practical on a sub but I think I will try it out and see how it comes out. With that said, I have a 21st Century Stuart M-5 Tank that I built that uses a dual motor controller that I think might work. So I picked one up tonight from Dimension Engineering. The unit is a 2x12 Sabertooth dual motor controller. I posted a little video of it working on the tank and I think it will work just as well on the sub....we'll see
So here are a few more pics from tonight. |
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Have been working on the Gato as time allows...which isn't much. Had graduation and soccer of course and now have another tournament coming up so I try to sneak in the work when I can.
As you can see by all the pictures I have been pretty obsessed with getting the rudder in and it being straight. I initially thought it straight but it wasn't so I broke it loose from the PC-11 and reseated it. With the assistance of some spare eyeballs ...we "confirmed" it was as straight as it was going to get. With that said I decided to use 2 part Epoxy on the setup this time around. I still love the PC-11 and its sandability but decided to mix things up a bit.. I taped the hull/rudder area from the outside and then used the epoxy on the inside. After the inside dried I flipped it over and masked off the rudder and aft section of the sub and then used the 2 part epoxy on the outside. I bought the Sabertooth 2x12 RC dual motor controller that I have for my Stuart Tank. This I think will give me the motor control that I'm looking for. I also did some 3d printing. The 3d parts are for the bow dive plane mechanism that I think I can make. The Gato instructions have the dive planes connected to the lower half of the sub hull. But if I plan to have the dive planes retract then I will have to have both the retracts and the dive planes mounted into the upper portion of the hull. So the thought is I can have the mechanics in the top half and using these magnetic connectors on the control rod ends in the bottom half, and when the 2 sections are mated together the control arms can connect to the upper hull dive plane control rod for "up and down" and for the retract function....sounds simple right!!! I had hoped to connect the motors to the Sabertooth controller but didn't have the lengths of 16 gauge wire I'm using for the connections. So off to the local electronics shop; actually it's not local but it's close to work....(long lunch break)... I will also have to branch off the power from the magnetic switch so it can also be routed to the Sabertooth while still feeding the TAE3 switch. Should have some more pictures tomorrow...ish.. ImagesView all Images in thread
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Last edited by stiks; May 25, 2021 at 08:33 AM.
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