NORDKAP 476 by _SalD_ - Billing Boats - 1:50 - RADIO

[_SalD_]

I finished painting the hull, applying the blue paint above the waterline.

Once the paint had dried, I proceeded to install all the electronics along with the propeller.  The only thing I'm still unsure about is what to do with the antenna and how to support it.

Thanks for looking in and for the likes.

[robdurant]

Nordkap's looking wonderful. The paint looks just right to me.

 

I think the idea with the antenna is to keep it above the waterline, and away from things that are electronically noisy (I.e. the motor)... Since the boat is not carbon fibre it shouldn't make a Faraday cage, so you should be okay having the antenna inside the model, and unless you have to I would advise not changing the antenna wire unless  you have to. I believe they are matched by length to the frequency.

 

I have always just had the receiver in a tray up towards the deck away from the motor and rudder servo. Having said that I have more experience with 27Mhz and 40MHz... my tests with 2.4GHz seem okay though.

 

A distance test is always a good idea... plug everything in, connect transmitter to receiver, and then get someone to watch the bost while you walk away from it using the transmitter. See how far you get before it stops responding. It'll give you some idea what to expect on the water.

 

Also, doing a first sail (or indeed sailing in general) somewhere where you can wade out and retrieve the model is a great comfort. 

 

Hope that's helpful, and apologies if I'm repeating things you already know.

 

Rob

[_SalD_]

Thanks for the advice, Rob — and no need to apologize. I can use all the help I can get when it comes to electronics! As for changing out the antenna, that's definitely way above my pay grade.

 

So, you think I can keep the antenna inside the cabin? I was under the impression I needed to run it up through the cabin roof and keep it vertical, kind of like a car radio antenna (not that cars really have those anymore).

 

7 hours ago, robdurant said:

A distance test is always a good idea...

Good advice, I will definitely do that before putting it in the water.

[robdurant]

25 minutes ago, _SalD_ said:

So, you think I can keep the antenna inside the cabin?

When I (briefly) sailed a One Metre class yacht, the 2.4GHz receiver was just sat in a plastic pot along with the battery just beneath the deck, and it worked fine. That was a fibreglass hull and deck (albeit with patches). The orientation shouldn't make any difference unless you're pushing the signal to its limits, as I guess it changes relatively anyway as you move the transmitter around, and as the boat sails in different directions.

 

The one article I found about this (again from a radio sailing perspective) talks about having problems at a distance of 180 metres because of a carbon fibre hull and rain reducing the signal strength.... so that gives you some idea of the capabilities of modern radio control transmitters and receivers. (Here, if you want to go down the rabbit hole...  https://www.onemetre.net/Build/2.4GHz/24GHz.htm )