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[Patrick Henry]

Just completed a refit of my Trumpeter 1/144th scale Kilo following a near disaster after an O ring in the end cap split, resulting in a bad leak in the wtc.

I've fitted a new 360 motor, a new Mtroniks Viper esc, a new 7.2v 1600a/h battery pack, and courtesy of Paul Holman, she now has a tiny little auto leveller fitted.

She also has a better coupling arrangement between the stub shaft and the prop shaft, and she's more or less for a ballasting and trimming session in the bath.












Rich

[sub john]

HI Richard
   That little kilo would make a  great target  for that gato of mine just one boom and it will all be over  ha ha  only joking two big booms

[Patrick Henry]

Huh!    

[thegrimreaper]

hhhmm thats fighting talk where I come from  nice looking sub Rich


Regards Mark

[Patrick Henry]

Thanks Mark...it's been a right pain in the "a s s" to convert, started off easy, but the further I got into it and more stuff I installed, the bigger the pain became! But, despite a bad leak from a split O ring on the end cap and a persistent leak from the so called "watertight prop tube" (that took me ages to trace, it was down to the mini O ring in the tube not being there!) she's now fully operational again, with a "IDIDIT" prop tube installed....100% watertight.

[Sub driver]

hi rich. nice job i have got 1 of those to convert too and the 144 seawolf they make excellent subs for exhibitions. well done. regards sub.

[Patrick Henry]

Hello skip..

It's a nice little boat, and so easy to transport about, that's why I like it.

My USS Dragonfish is a converted Seawolf...you'll have fun with that one, mine would not sit level in the water, no matter how hard I tried. Possibly the lack of a sail had a lot to do with the stability (or lack off)...in the end I resorted to screwing and glueing a length of s/steel bar along the keel, that helped considerably.

I've now got to the point where the wtc from the Kilo is a straight swap into the Dragonfish, that saves a lot of mucking about.

Good luck with your conversion projects...I like these little boats, they do work well, and the Kilo practically fits in my jacket pocket!


Rich

[Subculture]

O-rings really shouldn't fail in this way, unless the following is the case-

1. Too tight. Anything more than 35% compression and you're pushing your luck.
2. Not one piece. E.g. superglued, and the cord breaks at that point.
3. No lubricant. A thin smear of Vaseline or silicone grease works great on nitrile o-rings, but not on silicone o-rings. Vegetable fat or lard can be used on just about any rubber.
4. Either no, or insufficient bevel on the inside of the tube.

The latter is big problem, people leave a sharp lip, or not enough of a bevel, and it slices in to the seal. You should have a shallow bevel of about 20 degrees leading in, and it should be nice and smooth. You can do this with hand tools, although it's quick and easy if you have a lathe to hand and the right mandrel.

[coolbumble]

Hi Rich
Great little sub

I couldn't work out from your pictures what system you use to submerge it what system do you use can you give details ?
Regards
Ian

[Patrick Henry]

Hi Ian,

She's a dynamic dive boat...I was going to fit an air bladder system, but never got round to it. I still have the micro air pump and the bladder...one day, maybe I will.



Rich

[coolbumble]

Hi Rich
Thanks for the info I guess it would be a bit of a squeeze but worth a try

Ian

[Patrick Henry]

It's not too much of a squeeze Ian, there is room for a micro air pump and a centre mounted bladder, but for me it would mean making another wtc to accomodate the bladder.

Big Dave Welch in the US of A makes a wtc to fit the Kilo with a gas operated static dive system...see here : http://www.frontiernet.net/~bwelch/kilo.htm very neat it is too.

Steve Neill also did a static dive Kilo with a bladder system installed, pic below.





Rich

[coolbumble]

Hi Rich

Thank you very much for the info and the picture. I have built both a Revell V11c and a Gato sub using the Dave Welch system and both are fine . Seeing your Trumpeter and it being a much smaller model looked like an intersting challenge and worth taking up. 
I think I will order the submarine kit and make an attempt at it most parts look available on-line and I have some available tube for the
WTC. Should make a good "winter" project for me.
Ian   

[Patrick Henry]

Be good to see another one about, Ian...I know Ramesh(Wheelerdealer)did one a while back, but they do seem few and far between. Perhaps I'll convert mine to a static dive over the winter months....

I wish you well with the conversion Ian...don't forget to post a build log!


Rich

[coolbumble]

Hi Rich
Just ordered my trumpeter kilo kit for an RC conversion (So have taken up the challenge). I was viewing your model reference the rear  planes and am I correct in thinking that you have the whole rear planes moving rather than the small dive planes attached to each of them,Was this because it is to difficult to get the small ones to operate in the confined space Or ?
Also any other tips welcome. And where did you get the small bladder you mention (The one for the submarine!!)
Ian 

[Patrick Henry]

Hi Ian,

Yes mate, you're quite correct about the rear planes, I have the whole lot moving, it was a lot easier to do it that way, plus it gives the rear planes a lot more bite.

I scrounged the bladder from my friendly lady in our local chemist...I believe it's a small saline drip bag, not 100% sure, but I think that's what it started off as.

I'm glad to hear you've taken the plunge(pardon the pun....)and bought the Kilo, they are so easy to assemble, you should have the hull and deck built in an hour or so. Be careful when filing out the flood slots, the material is a bit thin in places. You'll need about half a dozen 6mm holes each side along the keel line to allow water to flood in easily.


Rich

[Scotty10]

Hi there

I have got a remote control boat that I use for fishing and want to install a camera and reciver to the boat to transmit a live video feed back the a reciver on the bank to view on a screen as it moves along, so I can see want is on the bottom of the lake.

The camera will be mounted 2inchs below the surface of the water on the boat and the receiver can be mounted on the top of the boat above the water.

The boat is powered by two 6v batteries and can hold around 4KG of extra weight so I have no restrictions on the weight of the kit used. I need this to send a clear picture back at a range of 700ft across the water.

I think the hardest bit is going to find a camera that can show a very good image through the water to a depth of around 6 feet as the water may not be clear.

Please let me know your thoughts as I don't know what kit would be best or were to start with this.

Regards

Scott

[salmon]

Scotty,
I think this should be a new post and not hijack this thread.
Peace,
Tom