I will put up the all of the tirpitz pictures on piczo tonight. I am almost finished with the wiring harness.
Here is a link to some pictures showing my progress. http://picasaweb.google.com/Jadfer1/1144DKMTirpitz#
I am nearly finished with the wiring. I want to shorten some leads and change connectors but at this point I need to move on to other areas. I just want to get this part working for now. I added 4 more pictures since I started working on it. I just need a 4pin deans plug to connect the solenoid wiring to the box and I am done with wiring. I bought a 20amp switch today so I hope that is enough. The boxes were made by Rob Stalnaker and I changed the plugs to make it 'plug and play' with my other ship. I use power poles for the pump and the motors, then I use the standard deans plugs for the solenoids. If I lose a box in this ship I can pull the box from the baden and continue (albeit short one solenoid). I added the silicone leads to the front of the main box and used the shrink eye terminals to allow it move around easily. I left the original power leads to allow auxillary plugs such as the test buttons, led light leads, and the solenoid grounds. Once I shorten the leads it will look super clean.
I have a truck so its not a problem. It has been hard to trade in the crew cab 2500 hd 4wd when I can put all my tool boxes and the dog in the back seat and the table chairs ship batteries and cooler in the back. Of course I dont usually have to worry about mud so I can drive pondside. I havent battled my own ships yet I just missed the last event in Houston but as I want to start my VDT this winter I have to get the other two finished and running. As the weather is mild in the winter compared to other areas I will be putting them on the water weekly. I will take the ship out to Discovery Green a new downtown park. http://www.discoverygreen.com/parkmap/
I built my Saratoga and found I can just close the tailgate on my truck w/ her in it. That was pretty cool but I have to watch it if I by another one.
I finally finished my wiring and all systems are go. I added the test fire buttons and changed the connectors to match with my other ship. The wiring at the batteries is a little long so there is a small bundle there that I need to shorten later. I just need to finish the damage to the sheeting and a few other items and I should be on the water this weekend. It has taken some time as I had to learn as I went along but it is all making sense now. I am looking forward to a test run soon.
Yea, you will have to do a thread for the Bismark, I gotta see that one. And yea, the pictures were a neat idea.
Well I finally got the Tirpitz out this past weekend. It was very interesting. When I originally converted plugs I didnt spend enough time thinking about the pond side hookups and I learned a hard lesson. I had been looking forward to putting the ship on the water for the first time since I bought it and couldnt wait for the weekend. I was talking to someone at the pond while connecting the batteries and ended up plugging a battery in the 'box' plug on the switch which melted the return wire. I had put hours into getting my 'battle cart' ready, packed food for a long day, loaded the whole bit. Well I at least at the food and walked the dog in the park. The next morning I got up and made a new battery harness out of silicone wire and a new switch. I still used some crimp on connectors such as the leads for the radio box (I have two, one for the servos and micro switches and another for the relays that run the motors). The radio box used 16G wire and crimp on connectors the others used the anderson power poles. I made a change for the future and made the box/load connection on the switch an ultra plug so that the only black/red power poles are for batteries, the others are color coded. The packing was faster this time and I got to the pond and unloaded. I began to connect things together when I found that the crimp connector had come of the red wire on the switch for the radio box. I didnt bring the crimper or electrical tape but used pliers to squeeze it back together and wrapped it in a rubber glove. (can you say desperate... needless to say I will be bringing an 18 wheeler to pond side with every concievable tool and connector known to man.. GRRR) haha So I got the ship on the water and the rest was magic. The ship ran find almost right on speed 22/23 seconds in clear water and turned well. I ran for a solid hour and ran the pump only 10% of the time as it never really pumped anything out. At least I got something right. It looked great on the water and it got a lot of lookers and photo takers looking as it was a beautiful day. Tonight I converted all of the crimp plugs into Deans plugs either 3 or 2 pin including the previously long servo extension for the rudder. I wanted to be able to leave the rudder servo extension in the boat and not have a 3ft wire dangling every time I worked on the radio box. I am hoping that I dont have to back track on any of this. I will also be testing the air system with no ammo this weekend. I am not as concerned as I didnt make any changes to the system that was there previously other than to re-wire the solenoids which I have already tested. I hope to get in a much longer run this weekend. See ya Johnny
Looking good, she worked great last time I saw it battled, so hopefully at Wade's you will have a great time.
I finally got to visit the park in downtown Houston I have had my eye on for over a year. Its called Discovery Green and it has a dedicated boat pond. Apparently they have been having submarine attacks as they have semi-fine netting beneath the water that was intended to deter children from getting in the water but instead it fouls the propellers of every prop boat that hits the pond including mine. I think they will take it down soon. I got some video from my helmet camera that was mounted on the top of the ship. Its the large black object on the first tower (is that the coning tower?) where the radar should be. I also took the video camera as well and got some video I will put on youtube later. I finished the rebuild of the plumbing and will test it tomorrow sans 1 stern gun waiting for expert assisstance. I will be going to Wade's pond in Louisiana for the battle this coming weekend. Johnny
Hey Curt what do you think of the main mast. I know its off a bit but I will change it the next time I make one.
Too Many Sailboats out there to worry about hitting for my taste. Then again they would freak out if I had one of my old sailboats as I would tack within inches of their boats.
