GLMS

Hey Guys, FYI on batteries. I have been using for the entire RC sailing season so far All-Battery.coms AA 2300mAh Ni-Mh (Item number: 260282056238) with really good success. The average cell voltage is 1.5 consistently. I took a stab in the dark and ordered them from thier eBay store. Tenergy is the brand name and after making sure the company was legit I ordered a 24 pack from them that have tabs already on the cells. Much easier to put together with the tabs. After almost an entire season of sailing in my Victoria's, Nirvana II, and my Marblehead all I can say is they have exceeded my expectations. I was at least expecting that the Marblehead would tax them being a bigger boat but they showed no bad signs. There has been no cell failures and the voltage has not fallen off. After comparing prices per cell ($1.40 per cell including the shipping) these appear to be the most reasonably priced cells I could find and have been extremely pleased with them. Just my two cents worth.

Guiri

You might get 1.5 V fresh of the charger, but it should soon drop to 1.2 V with no load. It's best to equate 5 x NimH = 4 alkaline cells.

Dinosaur

I will be sailing in steady winds tomorrow from 10-15 mph on a 5+ acre pond. What sort of set-up do you recommend? Should the shrouds be very tight or not so much? How about the backstay? Currently my boat has a lot more weather helm than I like. How do I fix that? Thanks.

rplante

Ron,

Sorry to hear of your radio problems. I know how frustrating that can be as I also had some issues with the radio initially. faulty receiver switch, poor battery holder and I actually had a capacitor fall of the transmitter circuit board. Once I found where it came from it was a simple fix but obviously quality control isn't job 1 at Hitec. The good news is I'm sure Steve will take care your problems. Does the red power light on the transmitter come on or is the problem with the reciever?

As far as your Club Nirvana membership, I received a green 8.5" X 11" sheet of paper with the user name and password listed. If this was missing, Steve can email you the information. He's been very good about responding promptly to my requests in the past.

Hang in there Ron. Once you get the bugs worked out the Nirvana is a blast to sail.

Randy

Ron720

Randy,
Yes my my Transmitter light light up so its getting power. Also I pulled the crystal out of the transmitter and put it in another TX that I I have and it works fine. So the RX and servos are all good. Its something that is wrong inside the Hitec transmitter.

I've still been trying get Steve on the phone no luck yet.

GLMS

I just checked the Ni-Mh 2300's and after an afternoon (2 1/2 hrs.) of sailing my Marblehead I checked the voltage and with no load on them they register 6.67 volts. That is with a "B" rig on her. What would be the best way too check them under load. I am no electronics pro and am quite happy with the performance of these in my boats but now I am just curious. Thanks

nodoog

Ron,

If you have not yet had any success with your Zebra transmittor, try this: open the battery box and check the two channel tabs. Mine were not set correctly when I received the boat and it was a simple matter of switching the two black slip-on thingies from the left side to the right, leaving the left-most tab empty. That may help you...don't know for sure. Also, be sure your frequency plug is in firmly on the front side of the tx.

Tadi

Hello!

I am from Slovenia and I just received my Nirvana II original. I put all the parts together, but when i put the batteries in the boat and in transmitter, the servos didnt work. On the transmittor i have both(red and green) lights on(is this ok?). Can anybody help me with some informations what i can do abaut this.How do i check if receiver or crystals are good.
Thx

RCSailboatGuide

Hi,

I found something good which is a more general [link=http://www.rcsailboatguide.com/rc-sailboat-how-tos-and-sailboat-plans/how-to-rc-sailboat-rigging-and-tuning]RC Sailboat Rigging and Tuning Guide[/link] written by the Mississippi Bend Model Boaters (no joke, those guys are good).

Have fund with it.

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

I just got a blue "naked" Nirvana II from SailRC.com. I installed two Tower Hobbies TS-70 servos (rebadged HS-645MG servos) and a Spektrum AR500 2.4GHz receiver. I coated the bottom of the servos with silicone caulk, as suggested, for water-proofing. I installed the rudder control arm on the port side, that seemed to give better linkage geometry and clearances (see photo below). I put some sponge pieces at the bottom of the electronics compartment, and some up top, near the RX and where the sheets come in. I'll probably put another sponge piece on the port side on top of the switch, to keep it and the VoltWatch battery monitor dry in case of leaks. I figure I'll tape up the snap lid with some white electrical tape for some extra water-tightness (That's what I've done with my Shockwave with good success). I also put some marine grease on the rudder shaft and the rudder control arm. I've seen people here recommend Vaseline, but the guys in the power boat forum say Vaseline washes away pretty quickly, while marine grease sticks much better. I got a large tube of marine grease at Walmart for about $3, the tube was made to go into a full size grease gun, so I have enough marine grease for a whole fleet of RC boats! I also took off all the deck fittings and screws and put some silicone caulk in all the holes to keep the deck water tight. The longer of the two AR500 antennas comes out the back, and I just drilled a small hole in the black plastic panel to hold it in place. I dipped the tip of that antenna in silicone caulk to seal up the end to keep water from getting to the metal antenna wire. I waxed the sheets with Burts Bees wax where they will rub on the fittings.

Looking forward to trying her out. We go to Fall Creek Falls, TN every year for an in-law reunion, and the lake there is great for RC boats. I've been running my ProBoat Shockwave 26 there for the past two years. It's been fun, but I get maybe 6 mins of fast run time and have to come in to swap batteries. I'm looking forward to learning to sail the Nirvana, and being able to keep her out on the water for an hour or so at a time. I figure I'll make up a bracket/hook for my Shockwave to make it into a retrieval boat, in case the Nirvana gets into trouble. The link below shows a clever idea for a hook to grab the sidestay of the sailboat to bring her back in:

http://www.vac-u-boat.com/Tow%20Victoria.htm

The last photo below shows this bracket mounted on a cool vac-u-boat tug boat for sailboat retrieval:

-pkh-

My Feedback: (2)

I tried my Nirvana out at the lake at Fall Creek Falls, TN, last week. Wow! What a nice sailing boat. Even a complete sailing newb like me could sail that thing pretty well! I am starting to like sail boats better than power boats. I sailed my Nirvana for about 4-5 1 hour sessions last week. I replaced the receiver Alkalines after the first 3 hours, just to have a fresh set for the fourth session, since the wind was picking up. Probably could've went 4-5 hours on one set of alkalines if I wanted to, though.

I followed all of the tips for waterproofing (silicone on the deck fittings, sponges where the sheets come in, etc.) and the only moisture in the radio box after each hour sailing session was on the sponge where the sheets come in. No water anywhere else in the radio box, and none in the hull either! I pulled the rear hull plug after each session, and tipped it up to drain, and not a single drop came out!

All I can say is, this is a very nice boat. Very easy for beginners. The DX5e radio system and high torque MG servos are a great setup for it too.

Flying Rock

Nice thread with some helpful hints (I think). My Nirvana II is arriving tomorrow and I hope everything I've read will make sense after I've assembled and studied it's mechanisms. I've never owned an RC boat of any kind but have had planes and helis...hence my screen name. Since planes and helis really require a club membership for flying privileges, I gave up on those things. I should mention that I have also destroyed them all except a cheap electric plane and an electric ducted fan jet.

We just purchased a vacation home on a lake which is in the mountains of GA and NC. We have a covered dock on a cove and I needed a new toy. We have a real boat in the slip and my wife won't let me by a personal watercraft, so this is my new toy! I think I'll probably become obsessed with it. I thought about buying some fishing gear, but I think that will just bore me.