selfmade kilo wtc

[raalst]

I just finished and tested my selfmade WTC.

it works. the dive tank takes it's time to fill or empty,
but all in all it works

It uses just one endcap. the other side of the WTC is a
disk glued onto the wtc cover. A PET bottle cap glued to
this disk makes the
on-off switch accessible. the support rods pass thru the
glued-on disk and are locked down by nuts, with a small
o-ring to prevent leakage (on the other side they are
screwed into the PVC endcap
this way, overpressure will not pop the endcaps off.

one thing to fix ]http://home.vianetworks.nl/~raalst/kilo/wtc.jpg[/img]

[mar7ck]

Hey Ronald,

GREAT JOB!!!


Mar7ck
The Small

Hey Ronald,

GREAT JOB!!!


Mar7ck
The Small Sub Guy

[raalst]

Thanks, Mar7ck !

unfortunately, the one

Thanks, Mar7ck !

unfortunately, the one endcap I glued on came off
because of the many open/shut cycles (I used silicone, which seals but has not enough strength).
epoxy glue did not hold either, I'm going to try
(aceton based) PVC glue next.

even if it fails I will still be happy (because of the aceton fumes ))

BTW, how do you guys tidy up the wiring ? most of it is far too long but I have not yet seen "solder yourself" futaba connectors.



Edited By raalst on 1143983184

[himszy]

I use heat shrink tubing

I use heat shrink tubing with multiple wires in, although normal tubing works as well

Michael

[raalst]

michael,

how do you mean

michael,

how do you mean ?

do you solder everything wire by wire, then cover it with heat shrink ?
or do you use the heat shrink as a tie-wrap, just to hold
the excess wires in place ?

[himszy]

Abit like this]http://www.hrfsbo.com/sub/pneumatics2.htm

Michael

Abit like this]http://www.hrfsbo.com/sub/pneumatics2.htm[/url]

Michael

[raalst]

ok. thanks !

ok. thanks !

[bradv]

Looks nice, Raalst http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_biggrin.gif

I

Looks nice, Raalst

I also had the problem of the centre of gravity being a little high - the sub sat fine in the water, but torque-rolled badly when power was applied. Because my motor is in the WTC, there is very little space foreward or aft of the WTC in which to place foam & sinkers. I've stuffed in as much of both as I can to help with the COG issue, and in combination with reducing the prop size, the tendancy to roll is now much reduced.

To keep my wiring neat, I cut pieces of 5mm diam styrene tube into 2cm lengths and then split these lengthwise along one "side", ie. you still have a complete tube, but it may be prised apart. I then glue these tubes to the WTC tray with the split facing upwards and push the nearby wiring into these through the split, when then closes up after the wires have been inserted. This creates nice, straight wiring runs on the WTC tray with the advantage that wiring may be easily added, moved or removed when required.

I gave my Kilo its first decent run in a nice lake at a regatta (SCMBC) a couple of weeks ago and after weighting the nose down a little to help with diving (dynamic), it performed pretty well! Still sits nicely in the water too, which I'm happy about, and only rolls if I shove the motor into full-forward from almost stopped.

I look forward to seeing some action shots of your completed creation Raalst!



Edited By Bradv on 1144116833

[tmsmalley]

Great Job Ronald - Here

Great Job Ronald - Here is a place that sells solder-yourself servo plugs if you want to shorten up those leads. If they don't ship to Holland, let me know and I can get some and mail them to you.



Servo City Link

[jmw]

Raalst,

Conrad also has Futaba connectors

Raalst,

Conrad also has Futaba connectors like these; try conrad.nl and search for partnumber 223995 and 223996.
The 223995 has a little notch on one of the ends to prevent plugging it in wrongly.
In case you haven't got their 'Modelbouwcatalogus']http://www.subcommittee.com/forum/icon_smile.gif[/img]
It has loads of goodies.

Greetings,
Jan Martin Wagenaar

[raalst]

thanks for the responses !
I'll

thanks for the responses !
I'll check out conrad. and the trick with the slit pipe segments
is neat.

back to trimming ...

I use containers of any sort (old humbrol paint canisters, xacto knife tubes, etc.) and fill 'm with anglers' lead until they are neutrally buoyant.
since the lead is at the bottom of the container, it has a very low (good) center of gravity.
This way I can lower my overall Center of Gravity without affecting overall buoyancy by placing the containers outside
the WTC
(in the bow, mainly).

Hmmmm... you could do this with flexible tubing as well...
fits better in small places...hmmm



Edited By raalst on 1144226264

[raalst]

The dutch "main event" was

The dutch "main event" was held 21th of may,

and my little kilo was ready !

trials went OK, no leaks. the "lageregler" probably needs a bit
more tweaking, but it is a very nice model.

I got even a few jealous stares from guys who had just put their
20kg+ boats in the water, as the kilo literally fits in my pocket.

unfortunately, I was too busy to make photo's...

I shot a few photo's of the paint job. That's because
I never really recovered from painting 1/35 armor.
so it had to be weathered.
I used plain old humbrol, and it held well.

[bradv]

Nice!! I like the limber

Nice!! I like the limber hole "draining" effect in particular - any hints or internet links on how to do that? The whole effect certainly adds a nice dose of "real-life" to the model

[raalst]

Brad,

what I did with

[color=#000000]Brad,

what I did with the limber holes, was ]



Edited By raalst on 1148554679

[bradv]

Awesome - thanks heaps Raalst!

Awesome - thanks heaps Raalst! I'm going to have to practice that and definately give it a go when I get around to my next project ... eventually ... hopefully a hotel-class SSBN.