Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Diegoboy,
That sounds a little excesive to me, but hey, getting excesive is what its all about right?

MikeV,
I am setting mine up with the .047 wire also and I wanted to ask why you only put the antenna tube at each end of the drive tube? Why not have it go all the way through? It seems that would be better to keep the wire from vibrating.
Just to confirm, you are using the stock prop shaft that you heated to take out the flex cable and then soldered the .047 wire into the stock prop shaft, right?
After trying several antenna tubes, I found one I have that fits. It is interesting to again find that all antenna tubes are not the same size. But I guess I knew that from being in RC for so long, but It just hit me again. I will definitely use cable grease on the wire.

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

I have another question. I just found that I only have one LiPo that might work in this boat. It is a common sense 7.4V 1250mah 10C. It says that it is only good for ,maximum continous discharge of 12A with 5 second burst of 18amps.
I am running the AMMO 28-35-5100, U will not be running it hard. But I am still afraid that LiPo won't be enough. Can someone help me calculate the amps I will be pulling with that motor and the stock 30mm prop with the .047 wire drive. Also, any good tips on where to get a lipo at a good price would be nice. BTW, I only have the capability of charging LiPo's, not Lion or A123's or anything else. Thanks

skycarven

Anyone had this problem. I was out at the lake and going to do a test run with a new lipo I just bought. I was going to run the stock battery then run the lipo. Got the boat ready, put it in the water and took off. One problem, no turning. Drove it straight to the other side of the lake and checked it out. I checked all connections and everything and the rudder servo seems to be dead. I checked the engine and rudder before I left the house but for some dumb reason didn't check them when I got to the lake. Any ideas? I am going to call hobby co on Monday and see what they are going to do. I have only driven it 5 times.

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Was it a 7.2V or 11.1V LiPo you are running. A link to be battery you are using would be nice.
Sounds like the esc/receiver is dead. If it is true you should be able to get it reparied on warranty. First check to make sure your battery is fully charged.

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

OK, moving along, I am just about ready to install my AMMO motor and Mamba ESC and my R200 JR receiver.
Here are the weight differences.
Stock motor 83.8 grams
AMMO 90.4 grams

Complete stock electrical set-up 129.7
New total electrical set-up 128.3 grams my boat actually lost weight by upgradding.
The real difference lies in the difference between the stock esc/receiver VS Mamba esc and JR micro receiver. I have checked and everything is going to fit just fine. I am in the process of picking up a 20C 7.2 LiPo pack.

wamf

[quote]ORIGINAL: Wheelnut

Diegoboy,
That sounds a little excesive to me, but hey, getting excesive is what its all about right?

"MikeV,
I am setting mine up with the .047 wire also and I wanted to ask why you only put the antenna tube at each end of the drive tube? Why not have it go all the way through? It seems that would be better to keep the wire from vibrating."

I figured it would reduce friction to use it only on the ends, that is my main goal of the wire drive. My thinking is that if the wire is straight it won't vibrate.


"Just to confirm, you are using the stock prop shaft that you heated to take out the flex cable and then soldered the .047 wire into the stock prop shaft, right?"

Yes

"After trying several antenna tubes, I found one I have that fits. It is interesting to again find that all antenna tubes are not the same size. But I guess I knew that from being in RC for so long, but It just hit me again. I will definitely use cable grease on the wire."

I use a light oil.

MikeV

skycarven

The lipo is a 7.4 common sense lipo. Both batteries are fully charged. Basically when I plug the battery and turn everything on, I pull the trigger and the engine runs great. It runs just like it always has. The only thing that isn't working are the rudders. The rudders were working right before I went to the lake. When I got to the lake made sure it was on and running by hitting the gas. It took off like a champ but just never turned.

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Double check the servo connection to the receiver lead, unplug it and plug it back in and try it again. If that doesn't work and if you have another esc, receiver and radio you can use, you can check to see if the servo is working or not.

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

OK,
I am done with the brushless conversion and I have to say, It is SUPERB. It fits like a dream. The AMMO was a direct fit. The Mamba is tucked nicely up against the side wall out of the way. The receiver fits in nicely where the old unit used to be. I did a dry test and HOLY COW BATMAN!! This thing is going to skip across the water like a skipping rock. The RPM is like 10 times that of the stock motor.
I have also completed the wire drive conversion, thanks to MikeV for all the tips. The .047 wire is definitely stronger than the stock flex cable. The antenna tube I put in, is the entire length of the stuffing tube minus the short section at the rear where the prop shaft goes in. I can't wait to go to the pond and get a vid of it. My camera man (AKA my 8 year old son) is at his friends right now, so I don't think I will be able to get the vid today.

CadillacDTS2001

NICE wheely!!!

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Thanks
What's up dude? It's been a while. When I saw this little boat, I had to get one. Cheap with potential

CadillacDTS2001

oh yeah alot of crap. work work work.
I was supposed to get one... but i haven't
nice tho should really honk along

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Has anyone else made any progress with this boat?
I am hoping to get some video of it this week. My son has a baseball game after school tomorrow, so I am hoping for Wed.

Grimracer

Guys,

You don’t think I designed the boat not thinking you guys were going to go brushless do ya? Not a chance. Hum.. wire drive.. any chance it might have been designed with that in mind?..ahhhhhhh me thinks so……….

enjoy!

Grim

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Thanks Grim,
She is a nice little boat. I was pretty much out of the boat scene do to shortage of time, but this little sweetie got my attention and I had to have one. I have you and aquacraft to thank for that. I will probably get another one for my son so we can run together.
We are hoping you guys will cut some aluminum upgrades for it like you did for the SV27.

drumzzzz

Here's our Trio of Rio's :
fun little boats - great runtimes of 15+ minutes with CBP elite 1500 6 cell packs

drumzzzz

here's a size comparison to my 1/8th scale n**** hydro.
To fuel that mother a few trips to the pond more than covers the cost of one Mini Rio! [sm=tongue_smile.gif]

drumzzzz

Great little boats - I'm definitly enjoying seeing your design influences getting on the market.

Betcha Associated and losi didn't plan on seeing their little 1/18th's zipping around at +60mph with 3s lipo, 8kv+ brushless either[sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

FastVee

Just received my boat ! - 5 days from tower to here.

I charged the batt on way to my cabin, and soon as i arrived there ,i dropped her in the Gulf of Finland....for a test drive offcource

First start was...short -the motor was disconnected from the cable/axle (and missing a set screw also), after fixing that thing, i finally got some tests done.

First impression... not fast or slow, kind of what i thought this would go,but on second charge it actually was pretty fast(ish)!

Range was about 50m , but the tx was beeping hard, so my batteries were not charged . -i was in a hurry!

I will someday put a brushless in this one also, but maybe not yet, (i will be waiting your test reports first )

Here is vid from first/second run, sorry for poor pq (vga webcam quality)[:'(]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B_qDX5_HAws

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Thanks for the cool vid and test info.
I would suggest that all of your guys try and turn more gradually with longer sweeps. Atleast until you get an upgraded rudder. Longer sweeps will help keep from breaking rudders and linkage.

FastVee

Thanks, actually that was my friend driving that boat(i were filming )-and he just loved to do thous sharp turns!(was his first run with rc-boat)

We had no problems with rudder -or any parts after i tightened all of the screws. It feels solidly build and i really dont understand how so many have broke their rudders/linkages.

Anyway, if i will break it, i do have spares!

hobbimaster

I just received 2 of these little beauties, and took one out today to try out. My first impression was "wow", faster than I thought from the videos. But it all came to an end when the drive wire came loose from the motor coupler. Luckly it made it back to shore, both boats have been gone through and both couplers were loose, a little tightening, and there good to go. My kids and I will have fun running these at the local park!

FastVee

I just returned from my cabin -without cowl on mini rio [] -made a sharp turn and the cowl flew away and sinked. -why there is not any foam on it?

Intrestingly the cowl just dropped off, the front lock is still closed, and i don´t understand how it flexed itself away from hull.

On the next one i will glue some foam under it.

I flipped the boat two times over on my new tight track.

Now guys, hurry up with thous bhrushless upgrades, -i need more speed (guide) on this one!

-is there any 380 brushed motor that the stock esc can handle while giving better performance? (from tower)

Wheelnut

My Feedback: (81)

Stealthbomber,
sorry to hear about your lost hatch.

Tape your hatch shut!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It will keep it from flying off and it will help keep water out in the event of a flip.
It' is raining here or I would be out making a video of my brushless setup.
You really aren't going to get much more performance out of another brushled motor. Maybe a little but it won't be very noticealbe. The esc probably won't handle much more than the stock motor.

skycarven

Question about the rudder servo. After running it 5 or 6 times my rudder servo went out on me. I called Hobby services this past Monday to have them send me a new one and they said it wouldn't get to me until the middle of next week. I got a bit stir crazy because it is such a nice day, so I went to the LHS to see if he would have a servo. He didn't have one that was the correct size. I had him test the servo to make sure that was the problem and then check the output from the servo connection. The servo didn't work. I don't know much about electric R/C but he said that normally servos are around 4-6 volts and that esc or receiver usually has a regulator to bring the voltage down from the 7.2 or higher. Does anyone know if the stock esc/receiver on in the MR has the "regulator" in it or does all the voltage go straight to the rudder servo? And, can the esc/receiver and the servo handle a 7.4 lipo battery? Thanks for the help. I know these are probably dumb questions but like I said, I really don't have much knowledge of electric r/c. I am just trying to figure out if it was just a bum servo or if it is something that I inadvertently did.