Finished putting together. Put GoPro mounts inside and on top of front dome. Going to use GoPro session waterproof camera. 6 blade Rabotech prop conversion, NiMh battery mod, bath test.
If I get one no worries about retrieving her if she sinks. I used to snorkel to 50 feet searching for scallops. :) I want one with a cam definitely. If I want to go "deep" I assume I would need to use a buoy to relay the RC signals.
Hi Pete,The parts arrived. Managed to install a new battery and the CCD camera so far.The front servo arms that control the On/Off are very fragile. I managed to split one.Any idea what replacements might work ? I am not in the UK so don't have access to one of your 240v plugs to pull apart. (brilliant fix by the way)!I'm looking through my parts box for something suitable. Preferably in alloy.CheersPaul.
Great. This was a bit of a design flaw if I remember correctly. I'll have to look back through the video and at the sub & have a think. Looks like someone may have made an upgrade part (the blue ones) which must have come with my boat. An alloy servo arm would have too big a hole. If I were you I would probably just order a standard UK plug or 2 off Ebay as I can't think of another cheap way I would do this. They are generally very useful for bits.
I have found a few metal arms on ebay that look like the originals, but in alloy. 20mm long, similar setup. I gave it a run in the bathtub last night. It leaked very badly. Ended up with about 2 cups of water inside and the pump going nuts. No idea where a leak that large could be coming from though. I didn't overly tighten the front lexan plate. Maybe it wasn't tightened down enough ? I don't like over doing the torque on that plate.Maybe the leak is coming through the new camera cable nut that replaced the original. Might need a new gasket.
Hmm, I have a suspicion that I may have torn or damaged the bladder pushing the replacement battery in. That would be a bummer. Maybe it damaged a hose. It was a sod to put in.
i'm sure that mine leaked on the first test. Probably why I pulled the cage out in the first place and did the full rebuild. I didn't like how the bladder was sitting and the wires were all over the place. You might want to check all of the hose connections etc. I think that it only takes a tiny leak for a lot of water to enter very quickly. Sounds like the camera cable nut might be the culprit if it was dry before and you haven't changed anything else. Maybe a tiny bit silicon sealant? I don't think that the plate nuts need to be that tight, but the seals must be sitting right and the nuts tightened up in a pattern - like a car wheel or cylinder head. When you finally get it sorted the sense of achievement will be all the greater having overcome the challenges (I always find that with models that need a bit of effort before they work perfectly). The modded sub is pretty awesome when it is fully sorted! Good luck.
It was only in the bath for 10 minutes or so. I'll pull it apart to see if I can find the leak. There was at least 2 teacups in there. I still need to install the new ESC and re-pack the grease in the prop shaft. I'll let you know what it was. Thanks for the thoughts and help.
Just ran her in the bath again. No leaks! I did tighten the front plate down a lot more this time. I wouldn't have believed just how much water can get in after 10 minutes. Anyway, she dived and surfaced perfectly, but the motor keeps cutting in and out, especially in forward. I'm hoping the new ESC will fix that.
The motor runs fine sitting on the bench. Put it in water and it glitches. It seems more of a signal issue than anything. Although the servos and pump motor all run smoothly.
Not yet. I'm pondering the best way replace it with the minimum of disassembly. If I pull the rear cone off, can I undo the rear flange complete and remove the WTC without dismantling the frame and front flange? I have a knack of stuffing things up or losing parts. :(
I know that feeling! Believe it or not you might do better taking the FRONT plate off and then pulling the whole acrylic tube off, I tried working from the back when I first got mine and only found it to be like working on a ship in a bottle after it was already in the bottle. Taking the rear cone off means disconnecting all the push rods removing the prop etc (by the way the self tapping nuts that hold the cone to the sides are not all same, so you need to note which goes where, if I remember correctly). Once you take the main tube off, you can get to everything - ie plugs to the reciever, what ever you are going to stick the new speed controller down with, you can properly thread the 40Mhz aerial wire (if you want good reception under water), make sure that the bladder is unobstructed and that the pipes are all nicely positioned and secure etc etc. If you need a battery tray or extra weight you can do this at the same time too. Do it slowly and carefully and you should be fine. Sounds like the ESC might not be powerful enough to cope with the motor load in water and is amping out. I guess you made sure that the battery was well charged first. If all else fails, then a 5 pole 550 motor will definitely solve the problem (more torque and much less amps, runs cooler and very long running times). It takes minutes to get the tube on and off - be careful on the doing up of nuts - go round like on the front plate. You are nearly there!
Hiya you have lots patience i just got my hands on the Seawolf sport so looking for nice bit of water to try it in . Happy sailing "20,000 leagues under the sea " Yeh ! John
+John Blythe 🙂 make sure that you first test it somewhere where you can see it and go in after it! The first time I used mine before I did all the modifications I got a radio glitch and it sank to the bottom in about 5 feet of water. I got it out with a long stick, but I got very wet in the process. I think that the Seawolf has all of the problems I encountered designed out of it. These are amazing models, enjoy!
