Taxidriver

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Taxidriver

THE UNDERTAKER

HI TAXIDRIVER NICE PIC.IVE GOT THE CHICAGO FROM MOCARS2.JUST COMPLETED TRANSMITTER MOD.GOT REST TO DO.SERIOUSLY THINKING OF A RUSSIAN AKULA CONVERSION ON THIS SUB.?????ANY RESPONSES FROM ANY SUB NUTS?

CrunchyFrog

Welcome Undertaker! I am a big fan of the Chicago/Dallas model. I have had a succession of Chicagos, and a Dallas (though no real preference between the two--love 'em both). I like the C/D so much that when I lost my last, veteran Chicago to "crush depth," I avoided buying Wal-Mart's current model, and went to E-bay for a new Chicago.

Good luck with the акула conversion.

CrunchyFrog

Wish I knew what to do with my current Chicago, though: It's had a battery-box leak ever since I got it. Attempts to file the lid even only made the leak worse--for a while, until I resigned to creating a gasket with silicone. It doesn't seem to let much water in--but remembering to fit the gasket securely each time is more high-maintenance than having stock parts that fit right.

THE UNDERTAKER

hi crunchy frog thanx 4 warm welcome to the site. ive read all the threads b4 i signed up.sorry bowt yer chicago going to its deep grave[&o] i dread that so hoping to resist the temptation to send mine to deep out of the holiday pool in menorca.took the dogs along our local canal 2day.mite try there 1st attempt as not to deep 2get in if anything untoward does happen..gonna do the sealant mod 1st tho.was it a lake u lost yours in?

Taxidriver

Not a Wally sub but you want to upgrade or get a smaller one, then this is the one to get https://shop.graupner.de/webuerp/ser...11&language=en

Comes with a diving cell (small piston tank) for static diving.

Video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKKwPnIqYRk

Don't confuse it with the similar ones on eBay which use a 3rd motor to dive.

CrunchyFrog

Sealant...definitely a good thing. Also, testing in shallows/water that's not bad to wade in.

My shallow test site is great for retrieval, but it's so full of weeds it stops the subs more often than open water does. I've retrieved a sub a half-dozen times in a session to untangle the prop.

Yes, my last sub was lost in a little lake. Town Lake is the south border of downtown here. Max depth is 18', average 14'. I saw the light on the sub go down deep before I lost control--but I wouldn't doubt a weed ate it (which would explain why I couldn't see anything anymore).

http://southwestpaddler.com/docs/colorado3.html
There's a photo "Town Lake from the mouth of Barton Creek"--picture me rowing in the middle of the lake, and just out-of-frame to the right--that's where I lost the sub.

Often weeds are a silent killer in this hobby. I think I also lost a brand-new sub to weeds once--but I'll never know for sure !

THE UNDERTAKER

HI CRUNCHYFROG.THNX VERY MUCH 4 THE ADVICE BOWT SEALANT AND WEEDS.IT LOOKS FANTASTIC WHERE U LIVE FOR THIS HOBBY.HOW MANY MODEL SUBS DO U HAVE?ID LOVE THE SHEARLINE AKULA.MAY B 1 DAY BUT 4 THE MOMENT FUNDS NOT PERMITABLE IM AFRAID[].THATS Y HAPPY OWNING A MOTORWORKS 1.DONT WANNA LOOSE IT EITHER[X(].WHAT SORT OF CABLE DO U RECOMMEND FOR THE RECIEVER MOD IN THE SUB ITSELF?[:-]CHEERS UNDERTAKER

THE UNDERTAKER

HI TAXI.THANX 4 THE VIDS.LOVE THE TYPHOON.RUSSIAN SUBS AWESOME.HOW MUCH IS THE GROUPNER MODEL.B IDEAL 4ME THAT 1?CHEERS UNDERTAKER

CrunchyFrog

>IT LOOKS FANTASTIC WHERE U LIVE FOR THIS HOBBY.

Why thank you ! Not to brag, but for RC subs I agree.

I tend to have one Motorworks Chicago or Dallas running, when I have one. My three-year-old son also has my first Chicago which we broke together, plus two newer model Motorworks--a Seawolf and a Conny--that I gutted to keep a Chicago or Dallas running. So, one running sub, and three bath toys !

>ID LOVE THE SHEARLINE AKULA

Ah...the Soviet Shark...I wonder why we know it by its Russian name instead of as "Alpha", "Bravo," "Kilo," "Charlie," or the other NATO names. Must have been their prize showboat for a long time.

>MAY B 1 DAY BUT 4 THE MOMENT FUNDS NOT PERMITABLE IM AFRAID

I think I know what you mean

>WHAT SORT OF CABLE DO U RECOMMEND FOR THE RECIEVER MOD IN THE SUB ITSELF?

When I bought wire, I just expected I should match the thickness, and I noted the existing antenna was insulated rather than bare. The wire I got was a little thicker, but I'm not technical enough with electronics to know how it would affect reception. I stripped the ends to tie the new wire to the existing antenna, then slipped a section of a pen's ink tube over it and siliconed outside to keep it watertight.

Another way to extend the sub's receiving range from the stock setup is in GulfStream's 3/15/2004 post. He puts the stock transmitter antenna on the sub, and replaces his tx antenna with a telescoping antenna:
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_13...tm.htm#1628485

I like using a telescoping tx antenna as a failsafe: When your antenna is at the one-foot setting, you can run the sub out until it's not responding easily, and consider that the maximum range. If the sub gets out of the one-foot rang, you can telescope to three feet to call it back.

CrunchyFrog

Speaking of the local (Austin) landscape/lakescape, I've got a story from a recent rowboating/RC sub trip:

It was a dark and stormy night (well, almost. The cold front was blowing in, and an especially dark December evening had settled over the lake).

I had been rowing for over an hour in rough water, pretty much a fool having a blast with my two toy boats: one carrying me, and the Wally sub riding the choppy water with its red light flashing.

I was fatigued. I was about to discover my inflatable boat had developed a hole, which had started leaking air and caused two of the boat's four chambers to start collapsing; my condition compounded by the boat's condition had suddenly made it very hard to row anywhere. I was "toast," and my brain was slowing down, begging respite.

I beached at a less-than-opportune spot, not entirely of my choosing.

I looked up and saw a very big man. "Yikes!" was pretty much my reaction. He had his back to me, but must have been about eight feet tall, and stocky. He had been quietly standing there, as though waiting for something. Footlights edge-lit him into stark lights and shadows, looming up with his giant stature close to the lakeside.

After that moment, I realized I was looking at the statue of local guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn. Stevie had never been scary to me before, but he made quite an impression on me that night !

Captain Nemo12

YOU'D HAVE TO CUT OFF THE CONNING TOWER AND BUILD ONE THAT LOOKS LIKE THE ONE ON THE AKULA. PLUS, ADD A NEW SONAR DOME TO THE TOP RUDDER AT THE STERN.

THE UNDERTAKER

hi capt.thanx 4 advice on AKULA conversion.already prepared sonar 4 tail fin.used an engine off 1 of my sons old model jet planes 4 the front of sonar & the top off a pen 4 the rear.will try n post pics wen complete.thought of using milliput 4 conning tower but maybe 2 heavy.wot say u capt? undertaker

THE UNDERTAKER

HI CRUNCHYFROG???4GIVE ME IF INTRUDING IN PRIVACY,BUT Y CRUNCHYFROG?WOTS BEHIND THE NAME.GREAT NAME THO.AS U MITE GUES MINES THE JOB[X(].ANYWAY THANKS 4 THE ADVICE WITH CABLE 4 RECIEVER.ENJOYED YOR STORY OF YOUR BOAT XPERIENCE2.U BRAVER THAN ME.DONT THINK ID OF VENTURED OUT ON NITE LIKE THAT[]4GIVE ME 2 BUT WHOS STEVIE VAUGHN?FAMOUS I TAKE IT?I PLAY BASS IN BAND.IF U VISIT MYSPACE AND TYPE IN 7SEVAN U WILL C N HEAR US.IF U WISH THAT IS.DO U LIKE THE RUSSIAN SUBS OR PREFFER THE USA 1NS?INTEND DOING THE SEALANT THE WEEKEND.TAKING MY TIME BUT CANT WAIT TO GET THE SUB IN OPEN WATER.TAKING IT OUT AS CHICAGO A FEW TIMES B4 CONVERSION 2AKULA.C YA L8A.CHEERS UNDERTAKER

Captain Nemo12

I prefer to use hot-melt glue to cast all my parts... It's cheap and does the job well for moulding simple objects.

CrunchyFrog

>Y CRUNCHYFROG?
I'm a Monty Python fan, way back to my early teens (the "Crunchy Frog" sketch). Thanks, I'll check out 7Sevan on MySpace!
>WHOS STEVIE VAUGHN?FAMOUS I TAKE IT?The late Texas guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughn, I think he was big in the 70's and 80's. He's not really dead, though--I bumped into him at a Halloween party.

For RC I take interest in all the Cold War subs, but the $20 Wal-Mart boats are about my limit. They're ready-to-run, so I don't have to remember to keep many tools and tiny parts out of my three-year-old's reach. I do look more at RC subs with a basis in history or authenticity, though.

THE UNDERTAKER

THANX CAPT ILL TRY THAT 1 OUT.DO U GET MUCH TIME TO SAIL YR SUBS?WOT U GOT?

THE UNDERTAKER

YEP ME2 LIKE MONTY PYTHON.AV 2 TRY N FIND THAT SKETCH.MY FAVRIT THE BLAK NITE SCENE IN THE HOLY GRAIL.WET ME PANTS WEN 1ST SAW THAT 1 U IN THE SAME BOAT AS ME THEN WITH THESE MODEL SUBS. GOTA GET IT OUT THERE SOON.

THE UNDERTAKER

HI THERE CRUNCHY.I C U ON LINE SAME TIME AS ME.VIEWING THE THREADS.STARTING THE SEALANT JOB 2MORO.IS IT EASY ENUF 2 TAKE THE SUB 2 BITS 2 DO THIS OR IS IT TRICKY 2 GET IT BACK 2GETHER AGAIN?STILL DRAWN 2 CONVERT THIS SUB 2 AN AKULA.COMING UP WITH IDEAS 4 PRISCOPES AND ANTENNA.WANT TO PAINT IT ALL MATT BLACK 2.U BEEN SAILING 2DAY? UNDERTAKER

CrunchyFrog

Hello Undertaker! Yes I've been on the boards, but not posting long messages, this whole week at work has been murder.

Is sealant easy enough... I would like to say that, but it took me some trials and failures to get better at it. Saildog says he applies silicone with a stiff brush. I think that's a good idea and something I'd try if I had a stiff brush, because it would probably cause me to apply silicone in a consistent, economically thin coat. You don't have to apply silicone thickly, but you must cover every potential seam where water could seep in--all those places the rubber tubes meet the casings. I'm too lazy to get a brush, so I smear the silicone on a la fingerpainting. The more consistent and comprehensive I've been, the more my subs have tended not to take on water anymore. I'm still fighting that battery-box leak though...it came stock with the sub, and I'm still trying to get a satisfactory solution.

I asked Saildog if he thought he should silicone inside tubes and casings, too. I understood he felt that was overkill unless going over ten or 20 feet down. I have tried siliconing inside casings and had trouble, after putting things back together, with the way silicone hardens to a degree and presses against things inside--so I don't put silicone inside motor casings anymore. I'll open a casing, though, to pack the shaft seal on the end of the motor with silicone grease (not the same stuff as the caulking, seam-sealing silicone) or drain out water (Motorworks did a good thing, making the casings clear so you could see water).

The black box isn't really meant to be taken to pieces, it's meant to keep everything out, and it keeps me out too. I've opened the black box, and nearly always I put at least a hairline fracture in a latch. It does its job, and I've learned to leave it alone--I just silicone outside where the rubber tubes meet it...and all around the main black-box seam and latches.

Is all this easy...well, kind of, once you've seen each area come apart and go back together a few times. Except I don't understand all about how the electronics function--there was more discussion on that early in the Wally Subs I topic. And I have no clue how to fix electronics if a few days opened and drying doesn't do it.

Good luck with the paint job !

CrunchyFrog

One thing to be careful of with sealing the black-box perimeter: keep the silicone thin, or the black-box will be hard to keep in its place.

Also, do you have a digital camera? Photograph, photograph, photograph as you take it apart. Really helps if you need to know how something went together before the Great Opening, if you have that key photo.

THE UNDERTAKER

HI THERE CRUNCHYFROG! I STILL AV A CHUKLE 2MESELF NOW I NO Y U CALD CRUNCHYFROGGREAT NAME.WELL GUESS WOT? IVE COMPLETED THE SEALANT JOB BUT DID IT B4 READING YOUR LAST THREAD.MINES SLIGHTY THICK ON SOME PARTS THOUGH.[&o]HOPE ITS GONNA B OK.USED A GOOD STIFF BRUSH.I DID TAKE PICS 2 ON MY MOBILE PHONE.GREAT MINDS EHIVE ALSO LENGHTENED THE RECIEVER CABLE 2 BOWT 16 INCH PLUS.ALSO TRIED IT OUT & GOT GOOD DISTANCE WITHOUT IT NOT WORKING.ALSO MADE AKULA MODS ON CONNING TOWER & TAIL FIN.LOOKS GREAT TOOK SOME PICS TRY & SORT OUT HOW 2 LOAD PICS ON2 HERE HOW DO U DO IT?JUST GOTTA PAINT IT NOW & RE BALANCE & TRIM IT. HUNT 4 RED OCTOBER HERE WE COME HOPEFULLY B4 OCTOBER CYA L8A UNDERTAKER

Captain Nemo12

UNDERTAKER,

Please stop writing in capitals... IT'S LOOKS LIKE YOU'RE YELLING!!

THE UNDERTAKER

HELLO CAPTAIN.SORRY 4 YELLING HA u certainly r a man of few words ACTUALLY,I WAS YELLING @ CRUNCHYFROG[>:]