Hello everyone,
i recently stumbled across the ‘footy’ class after a discussion at my full size sailing club about a small cheap rc yacht to sail as a ‘winter series’ for when its too cold for proper sailing.
Using the footy website, i decided to make a RAZOR 3 hull from depron using a McRig, for simplicity (for starters)
I am an RC airplane enthusiast, but new to RC yachting, so was seeking some help and advice.
Having browsed the many older threads, i have selected what i hope are 2 suitable servo’s :
HS-81MG for sail control 9g micro servo for rudder
What do people think of these?
Also, what sort of throw do i need for the main sheet? i was guessing somewhere around 100mm is this best achieved with a shorter arm and a 2-1 linkage, or a longer singlen arm if it fits?
Scott - For a Razor 3 you want to go with the lightest weight r/c components, I recommend the Bluebird 380MAX for the sail winch, at 17 grams delivers 57 oz./in. at 4.8 volts or 69 at 6 volts. A programable transmitter (I use the Spectra Dx6i) can give you a throw of around 120 degrees. Double sheeted with an winch arm under 2 inches should give you enough uptake of sheet line and fit comfortably inside the hull.
I, too, am a newbie to this game, only without the advantage of having any real R/C experience. I have a Bluebird BMS380 MAX servo and am curious about its travel capability. I will be using a HobbyKing 2.4 radio (very cheap, but farily well recommended by others here and on other RC websites). Does this cheap radio provide a control to lengthen the throw of the servo?
The specs on the package of the servo are a bit cryptic for me, but state a “Operating Angle of 45 degrees”. Is this the total amount of throw the servo can deliver out of the box? If so, I am concerned that it will not fit the bill. Being very uneducated in the RC world, I was expecting, at minimum, a throw of 60 degrees, which I believe I could make work with a double purchase arrangement. Did I buy the wrong stuff?
Since I first registered here (several months ago), I have built three footys, all ready for electronics installation. Just need some help on the electronics as it is a bit confusing to an uninitiated soul. Unfortunately, until just yesterday, although registered I was unable to post, reply or start new threads. So, I have made many mistakes to this point without being able to ask for advice, that is for sure! But, I am learning without getting frustrated.
Any help is greatly appreciated. I know I will need a lot of advice! Thanks in advance!
Wibur and all - If you do not have a transmitter that allows you to program extra travel into your winch servo you can buy a servo stretcher from Servo City: www.servocity.com/html/180o_servo_stretcher.html
I’ve never used one and they are not light weight in Footy terms, and they are not really small, but they are fairly cheap at around $20. They may do the trick.
I don’t have the HobbyKing radio, but I have been told that it (or, at least, some models of it) are programmable, provided that they can be hooked up to a computer that can run the software. I don’t mean to be cryptic here, I’m just passing along information I got second hand. I don’t have any of the specifics.
Once those conditions are met, you should be able to set the end point adjustments for the servo arm travel, the rate of speed, and be able to reverse the direction of the servo throw. Be aware that this all must be done while being hooked to the computer. Once you un-hook, the settings will be remembered until the next time.
Have you registered you Footy yet ? The website here has Angus Richardson listed as the Registrar. This is not now the case. If you send me your E-mail address in a PM then I can put you on to the new Registrar.
I have indeed registered it, angus passed on my details to charles, so i am now registered as boat 284
Thank you for the interest, i’m just in the process of tuning, as my sail servo seems a little underpowered (only 4.8v) and with too much throw (so i’ll trade travel for torque…)