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Need Basic Training!

Old 02-15-2004, 12:50 PM
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us1hydro
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Default Need Basic Training!

Hi guys, I'm an old R/C er that is in need of some basic info on electrics. I can build a gas or nitro motor from bar stock but don't know diddly about electrics. I just need straight answers on BASIC equipment - PLEASE, no complicated formulas or advice on some high dollar hotrod motor! Keep it simple.
I'm about to build 2 old ACE PUDDLEMASTER float planes. One for me & one for my Dad. He's even older than me! I have a Carl Goldberg Turbo 550 7.2v that came with the puddlemaster kit. It has one little flat, round brown thingie on it that has a 750 on it, the wires are soldered on with the red going to a switch and the black has a fuse then they both run into a white plastic connector. I also got another motor the same size that just has a sticker on it that says RS-550SH. There is a white wire & a blue wire soldered to it but they have been cut off. It has 3 of the round brown flat thingies on it and one cylindrical black thingie with a silver stripe at the top. One of the brown things is smaller that the others and one of them has a broken wire. The tiny one and the black can are soldered to the wire tabs, the other 2 are soldered to one of the wire tabs ( on the "blue" side) and then to the case.
What are the little thingies soldered on the motors? Resistors? What are they for? What do I need to do to make these "flight ready"?

I also have an old 1/2 A Tigermoth drawing & a couple of Graupner Speed 400 motors. Are the speed 400 motors big enough for a 1/2A (.020-.049) size Tigermoth? I know I have to keep it light. The Speed 400 motors are new & came with solder. Do I need some of the little brown thingies? Where do I get them? Radio Shack? Same question as above - what do I need to make them "flight ready"? How do you put a prop on it? what size props for the 400 & 550 motors? Does that size translate to anything in english? How do I wire/attach this whole mess up so I can fly with it?????????
Oh yea, I have a couple of 1400mah 7.2v nicad packs/chargers with the same connector as the Goldberg 550 motor. When I plug the battery into the motor & flip the switch it goes like crazy!
Thanks!
Larry
Old 02-15-2004, 04:15 PM
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clively
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Default RE: Need Basic Training!

Hi,
Your first question is "What are the brown thingies soldered onto the motor?" These are ceramic disc capacitors. Generally you use two or three capacitors on the motor to help suppress radio interference. The size is generally somewhere around 47nF, but doesn't have to be exact. The configuration is usually to place one end of the capacitor to a wire terminal and the other soldered on the can. Do this for both sides. Then a third, optional, capacitor can be used to tie the terminals together. You can pick these up at Radio Shack.

To attach a propellor you will need some type of prop adapter. I think the shaft size on your motors is 2.3mm, but I could very well be mistaken. Optionally, you could use a gearbox. Make sure you buy the right adapter for the gearbox, most have slightly different size shafts.


To get a little more info you might go to: [link=http://www.hobby-lobby.com/speed280.htm]http://www.hobby-lobby.com/speed280.htm[/link]

Close to the bottom of the page is a chart showing the graupner motors, watts out, prop size, etc. Identify your motor # in the table above it to look up your characteristics.

I don't have an answer on your Tigermoth. Maybe, maybe not. Depends a lot on wing area, weight, etc. Good luck.
Old 02-16-2004, 09:14 AM
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Matt Kirsch
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Default RE: Need Basic Training!

You really can't do electric conversions without getting involved in the number-crunching game, unfortunately. It's not a matter of sticking a motor in that "looks right" like you do with a glow engine. Motors don't produce power, they HANDLE the power provided by the battery, and it's very easy to come up with a setup where the motor can't handle the power, or is handling too little to fly the plane. One thing you'll want to remember is that Volts are the "cubic inches" in electric flight.

To tell whether the electric motors you have will work with the planes you're trying to convert, we really need more information. Could you please list the specifications of both the Tiger Moth and Puddlemaster? Wingspan, wing area, weight (both empty and ready-to-fly), and anything else you think might be helpful. With this information, we'll see what we can do with the stuff you have and/or tell you what you'll need to get.

As a rule of thumb, 1/2A planes can generally be powered by Speed 400 motors and relatively lightweight 8-cell batteries. For a slow-flying Tiger Moth, adding a gearbox will convert more of the power into thrust instead of speed. A standard Speed 400 geared setup, which MIGHT work well on that Tiger Moth, is a Speed 400 6V motor, an 8-cell KAN1050 NiMH battery pack, a 3:1 gearbox, and a 10x7 APC Thin Electric prop. You'll also need an electronic speed control such as the Castle Creations Pixie 20.

"Turbo 550" motors, and other "550" motors are the same as the Speed 600 motor. These can sometimes be used in .15-sized glow planes with an 8-cell NiCd or NiMH battery.

The numbers are simple model numbers. They tell you nothing about the capability of the motor, similar in the way that "Chevy Tahoe" doesn't tell you anything about the vehicle. You only know the Tahoe is a large SUV because you looked at the specifications. Such is the case with electric motors...
Old 02-16-2004, 12:34 PM
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us1hydro
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Default RE: Need Basic Training!

So far so good. Thanks guys. I think i understand the brown thingies now! The Ace Puddlemaster was the smallest in the Ace Seamaster series - I also have the Seamaster 120 and the 40 size. They are all sea planes with the engine on a pod above the wing. The Puddlemaster was designed to be electric and the Goldberg 550 is one of the recomended motors so I'm sure it will work if I get it all installed & hooked up right. I'll put the info off of the kit box on here when I get home.
The Tigermoth was designed for .020 - .049 power. It's a light weight design - All stick as I recall, so keeping it light won't be a problem. There is no wing area or target weight on the drawing that I can remember. It was an old magazine plan I think & I don't have the construction article but it's pretty simple. As I recall it is a 24" wing span but I'll dig it out and look. I can whip out a couple of prop adapters on the lathe. Assuming that I do NOT use gearing, what size props should I use on these?
Old 02-29-2004, 07:48 AM
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Jim Finn
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Default RE: Need Basic Training!

Ace puddle master is a great flyer! A friend of mine fliped one over in hte lake and the motor kept running underwater and moved the plane along! He shut it off at the transmitter and when the wind blew it upright again he throttled up and took off and flew the plane anothor 2 min. No damage to anything! Try that with a glo engine!

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