I have never used/seen an rc sub b4. could someone tell me, with pics, how they rise and sink/ Do you use balloons? Weights?

As far as I know, Cowana, there are two types of RC sub:

Those with ballast tank(s) (static divers) and those without (dynamic divers). Dynamic divers tend to use propellers to push them below the surface; more elaborate dynamic divers may also have moveable fins.

A lot of RC sub enthusiasts start with the cheaper dynamic divers. Ready-to-runs (or almost RTR) may range from $5 for a tiny thing to $150 for a possibly-overpriced Nikko Seawolf. Kits get more elaborate and higher-priced. I've had fun with Wal-Mart's $20 dynamic, fixed-fin RTR subs available in the US. I haven't tried static divers: Entry-level is $500 - $1,000.

If you've ever done what my two-year-old does--play with water containers in the tub--you may have noticed that, if you fill a closed container to a certain level, it reaches a point where--released at depth--it's not in a hurry to go up or down: It neither pops up like a cork nor plummets like a rock, rather it almost hovers. If you give it a little tap, it goes a long way. That's near the point called "neutral buoyancy" (negative--sinking; positive--rising). Dynamic operators keep their subs' weight adjusted around that point, often using small weights and Styrofoam. That's why we don't need ballast tanks, just a little bit of prop at the right time.

In this photo of a dynamic-type sub, you can see a couple of ports for the thrusters: The one in front of the conning tower is for the up/down thruster; there's another port like that lined up with it on the bottom, so the water flows completely through. The port to the rear of the sub is for the left/right thruster. Also, the sub has a forward/reverse thruster in the tail out of the picture. The control pad has two buttons for each thruster.

You'll notice the sub looks dusty. That's silt from the bottom of a pond: I ran my sub with weak batteries in a pond one day, and a weed may have wrapped around the propeller--and I found the sub two months later when the pond had dried. Sub recovery is simple in pools, where you can always see your sub--but for some of us, there's intrigue in finding a new "ocean" now and then!

Cowana, now that you've seen it, heard it, believe it!

Same once-sunk sub as in the above photo.

Refurbished...back with a vengeance !

is that one of those uss chicagos? How good are they for the price, im looking for a first sub to run in my pool and possibly pond. How deep do they go?

Yes, it's a Chicago. I've had several, and I'd say they're good for $20.

I think most Wal-Marts aren't offering the Chicago/Dallas model right now, though. The current edition is the Seawolf/Conny--same electronics, in a different shell.

If you get one of these, I definitely recommend using silicone or some kind of sealant at the ends of the tubes that connect the wiring: Water is always getting into those tubes, and it can deep-six your sub when you're not expecting it. That's probably what sank this one, and I didn't want to dive into the pond (found it when the pond dried up).

Pros: If you do the prop mod, they've got good speed. Cons: It's a one-foot sub that turns like the Queen Mary.

The pools I've bottomed in are only about four or five feet--not very deep, I know--so I don't really know how deep would be pushing your luck with a Wally sub.


Restored Chicago's test drive (10 Meg, 8 seconds)
http://www.rcuvideos.com/view_video....d958f2d6b052c9

Also, As you get into the static diving subs, there are two different ways to do this. Either a gas system (like Propel) that uses a can of compressed gas that can be used to clear water from a ballast tank with an opening at the bottom and a valve that lets the air out up top. And a closed tank with a piston that moves water in and out to change the ballast level.

Pros and cons to both systems, but you can get a sub set up with either system.

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Venom,

Thought you might like this post by Saildog in the "Crush Depth" topic:

>Thirty foot depths have been possible because of people with test tanks at their companies. They used the transmitter off to the side so range was not an issue.

Use GE Silicone II RTV on your hoses..all the way around them and you won't have any problem with water in the hoses. You need to do that with motors and the receiver also on all seams...all around. If your going below 20 feet, you need to pull the hoses off and silicone on the INSIDE of the hoses also.

Below 20 feet or so most have said bye, bye to their walley sub as hoses began to pop off and seals burst....



http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4658367/tm.htm

With max depth, you might also want to consider now signal strength drops with distance and depth.
Controlling your sub 4' down at your feet is different from trying to get the sub to go 4'
down when it's 70' across the pool. Seventy feet away, it might start down--then pop back up because it
lost signal when the antenna dipped.

But I've stood on the edge of a 50-foot-across pool and ranged my sub one end to the other, and made
a sport of touching the 4' bottom in the middle.

I think Wally-sub range is OK, and there are things you can do to boost it.

The Wally sub off-the-shelf isn't very powerful and labors against strong pool currents, but the prop mod
doubles the power--pretty zippy!

Scratch another for the "Jumped in to get it" club.

My sub's batteries were toast--but having only gotten 15 minutes at the pond before sunset, I wasn't ready to go home.

I went to the deepest pool I know around here (5 feet) to try a deep dive.

The sub's batteries were so weak, the sub would barely get the tip of the antenna below water; the sub couldn't overcome its own buoyancy.

So I guesstimated adding weights, and set the sub back in at the shallow end.

It glided to the bottom.

And sat.

I stared a moment in annoyance. I tried to hook it with the end of my three-foot antenna. All I got was the knowledge it was further than three feet down.

I jumped in, shoes and everything.

The cold front's coming tomorrow, but luckily it's not here yet. The water was really nice !

Try these very good sites:

http://www.rc-submarines.com/index.htm (scroll to the bottom, and click next. Then take the whole "Tour")

http://www.subcommittee.com/ (The "Official" sub site)

http://www.rcboats.com/

(Good place to buy pretty cheap (but workable) R/C Subs. They're supposed to be pretty good. I haven't gotten one yet, but I plan on doing so)

Wallys don't really represent true RC subs.

Also, with the "real" rc subs, often they are static divers down to periscope level, and then dynamic dive the rest. This is a failsafe in case you lose radio contact, or or run out of propel (gas) to blow the tanks. It will (usually) come back to the surface this way.

VenomSpeed.....

Ken's in Morris has an Akula class sub that he's trying to get rid of... you can snag it for a really nice price if you were to walk in there...

if you don't I guess I'm going to have to pick it up... (please go buy it, pretty please)