Re: [RCSE] Coroplast source
I'm not in the same area, but would be interested in any off the wall ideas you get. I've found it at sign stores in Texas before, but you have to find the right sign store because many aren't willing to sell out their raw material. 4x8 sheets of the 4mm? thick stuff (political signs) typically ran between $15 and $40, with the actual cost being less than that. If you have a TAP Plastics local they might be able to source it. The new hurricane shutter material that's being used for Habitat For Humanity houses down here in FL is a really thick (5/8 inch?) corrugated plastic material that's lightweight, not wood, and easy to store for long periods. This would be a bit overkill for anything but an airline box (and arguably underkill for a serious shutter), but still useful. Don't forget to reference Ben's design: http://thelocust.org/soaring/boxen/ Make sure any box you make looks at least as good as this one: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showpost.php?p=4294091postcount=64 Peter Melbourne, FL S Meyer wrote: Was wondering where is the best source for coroplast or corrugated plastic sheets? Chicago area... Lowes, Home Depot, or Menards? Have too many planes, need to build some storage boxes. TIA Steve Meyer SOAR LSF IV RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] 12V supply/optima maintenance
I'm putting together a 12V multi-purpose supply for 90% home and 10% mobile use. The magic field box thing advertised in the latest Model Aviation would probably work fine, but I already have several of the individual parts (eg. 12v to 120vac inverters) and don't want to pay that much. I've heard that I could just use a normal big battery and cross float it with a power supply with some proper diodes to protect the power supply in the event of a power failure, but I'd rather have a slightly more elegant and idiot-proof solution that also allows me the ability to charge while driving if I'm mobile. Also, there are concerns about the maximum charge voltage for the batteries I'm interested in using. Perhaps someone here has had similar requirements and can help me out. The two items I need are a battery and some sort of charger/maintainer. I've heard good things about the Optima Yellow Top AGM battery (but could easily be swayed elsewhere) and have no idea what I want in a maintainer. Archive research suggests several devices people have used for these batteries in winch operation, which would be similar in discharge requirements to mine. Why: * I'm a ham and would like the ability to operate on emergency power for a while (mostly just 2m/440 stuff and handhelds). * I live near the coast in Florida. I don't mind a few days without power, but my laptop batteries don't even last enough to make it through one DVD. This annoyed me a lot last year. * I use digital cameras and sometimes want to charge batteries en mass while on the road. I'm also thinking about getting some strobes that would run off of a 12V supply and would prefer not to use my car battery. This reason (more than the others) drives me toward a larger (i.e. car battery size or so) setup. Requirements: * 12V system output (thinking an Optima yellow top battery might have the right combination of design and capacity) * entire system should be at least luggable, probably with a little cart * good amount of longevity; I don't mind battery degradation, but it's nice if it would last for a few years with minimal use * completely automatic charge control supplied by a 13.8V source * graceful failover from mains or supply power failure * relative safety (this will be inside a dwelling, not a garage, and although I don't have a meth lab in here, a properly handled lead acid battery probably pales in comparison to the properly stored numerous LiPo packs and misc other junk I have in here.) I can handle the fusing and switching necessary, but I really need suggestions about a good solid charger/maintainer, as the market seems flooded with a variety of devices. I've read other posts in the archive close to this, but none that really answer my question completely. The BatteryMinder from VDC would do almost everything I want but requires a 110V supply. The BatteryMinder Solar sounds like what I want: http://www.vdcelectronics.com/batteryminder_solar_15a.htm , but it's not clear whether I want to power something like that off of one of my fixed 13.8V supplies. Any other suggestions or things to watch out for? Thanks, Peter Jensen Melbourne, FL http://www.diff.net/media/2004_09_26_hurricane_Jeanne_damage/img_2775.htm -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
[RCSE] FS: NCFM M60 after IHLGF
I have a NCFM M60 slope plane that's not going to get flown much here in Florida (yes, there are slope sites here. No, this isn't the right plane for them.) I'm planning on shipping it out to California to someone in the San Diego area where I can pick it up on Thursday (volunteers?); I'll sell whatever is left before I return on Monday. The ship is outfitted with a battery, switchjack, and ballast tube/slugs; the receiver is a Hitec 555 with HS-85MGs on the elevons. Pictures: http://www.diff.net/media/2003_12_23_lake_travis_sloping/img_5054.htm http://www.diff.net/media/2003_12_23_lake_travis_sloping/img_5061.htm It's obviously not as pretty now as it was in those pictures, and who knows what it'll look like if I get to fly it out there. :) Please contact me if you are interested in either receiving the ginormous fedex box or in looking at it during the contest weekend. Thanks! Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Looking for a site where gel cell batteries are sold
On Sun, Apr 24, 2005 at 03:44:29PM -0500, Stan Myers wrote: I have what is supposed to be a regulated 12vDC power supply. I'm currently using it with a 12v garden tractor battery to supply power to my Triton charger. Would like to find a place where I can buy a competitively priced gel cell. Any help out there? I second West Marine, living in a marine community where I drive by two of them on the way home. Failing that, I've found good deals at sporting goods stores that sell automated deer feeders for deer harvesting season -- apparently the 7Ah sealed lead acid gel cells are popular for those, and they're typically pretty cheap. Tractor dealerships also tend to have competitive prices. Peter Melbourne, FL -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off. Email sent from web based email such as Hotmail and AOL are generally NOT in text format
Re: [RCSE] Vtail ball-link removal - best practices? Tools?
On Wed, Dec 22, 2004 at 11:08:21AM -0600, Lydon, Matthew (NBC Universal) wrote: I have a couple of ships with removable v-tails, but usually leave them on, as popping off the ball-link connectors is extremely difficult, stressing components. How do you folks do it? Anyone know of a good plier-like tool that gets the job done? I'm not sure I would be constantly stressing them myself, but for travel and the like they're definitely removable. I bought a set of ball link pliers from a local hobby shop that have worked well for the ball links on my helicopter -- there are many different varieties available. The helicopter folks always seem to have the best selection -- here's a start: http://www.helihobby.com/html/hand_tools.html -Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] dust devil video (semi-appropriate humor)
These guys should give up the soccer and fly some TD: http://www.exbyte.net/showit.php?videoid=380 I have no idea of how authentic the video is or any other information about it, but even at face value it's pretty funny. -Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] MT Trashmore
On Tue, Nov 30, 2004 at 10:47:37AM -0600, Brian Smith wrote: Can any one give me some info about Mount Trashmore in Florida...Where is it, and who flys there? Thanks..Brian Smith Perhaps you're referring to the Pompano Hill Flyers? I met some at a recent contest and found them to be a delightful bunch; do take care to contact them before planning to fly because there are some restrictions on use of the hill. This is probably what they want their website to be: http://www.phflyers.com/ but it's configured to redirect you to this URL, which appears is on a slow DSL line: http://65.6.189.224/phflyers/ -Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
[RCSE] building the ideal plywood box for a Sportubes and DLGs
Hi folks, I'm going to attend the ECHLG contest up in North Carolina next week, and I finally have all of my planes working. However, I still don't have a box built for my Sportube. This is a mostly obvious exercise, but I feel like I should try to leverage the inventiveness of others who might have come up with superior packing solutions. I took this picture of Oleg's cardboard nice box last year: http://www.diff.net/media/2003_10_12_East_Coast_HLG_contest/img_2990.htm My situation won't be as pretty as his, because I have three planes which all have differing amounts of dihedral and two with non-removable stabs. I'm confident that I can make it work given the materials I have, but it would be nice to see if there are any other pictures of travel carriers for hand launch planes out there. My current working set of materials includes two 4x8 sheets of 1/4 light plywood, a sheet of blue foam, plenty of glue/nails, and a sportube in the mail. I might go for a hybrid plywood/cardboard box, or I might put some lightening holes in the redundant parts of plywood, but it doesn't seem like it will be that heavy. I've searched the archives, but I haven't found too many good pictures. Any pictorial suggestions? Thanks, Peter Melbourne, FL -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] Need some help winding up my hi start.
On Mon, Aug 30, 2004 at 07:21:49PM -0500, Stan Myers wrote: I am currently using a Orange colored reel that can be found at Home Depot that was designed to be used to as a reel for outdoor electrical extensions. I wind the rubber up first to get a larger dia. hub to wind the nylon string up faster, but alas, its way too slow for this aging flyer. Any out there with a better idea including some type of power rig. I thought about some type of spool that I could put on a cordless drill motor. Any Help out there? My suggestion probably won't be immediately helpful to you, but I modified my high start reel at the advice of a club member to increase the effective reel diameter by drilling several (six?) holes around and epoxying in 1/4 wooden dowels. I reel in the string first and then the rubber, and I managed to guess the placement of the horizontal spokes well enough that my rubber still fits. The advantage is that I get about one revolution per pace on my home depot extension cord reel. Buddy Roos made the suggestion. Peter Jensen Melbourne, FL -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] Antenna for HLG / Electric Fields
On Fri, Apr 23, 2004 at 05:13:49PM -0700, Martin Usher wrote: On another topic, has anyone ever had glitch problems from power lines? (Mark Mech / Aerofoam) In the current edition of Smithsonian there is a two page color photograph of an outdoor art piece made by sticking about a thousand flourescent tubes vertically into the ground under some high tension wires. The photograph is taken at dusk and the tubes are all glowing. This would be Richard Box's work, http://www.richardbox.com/ . Click on the main graphic or the archive link to see the other cool bits he's done. This is an extreme example but it illustrates the significant electrical fields that high voltage transmission lines give off. It will affect a radio receiver, possibly enough to make it glitch. The question I can't answer is how much is enough -- how close can you go to what lines without experiencing problems. The art piece was done under 400kV lines; I don't think anyone's going to be flying near those, but what about lower voltage lines? Remember that a Red Herring isn't quite big or conductive enough to do too much damage, but I've successfully flown underneath / in between these lines for an hour or so with only one or two glitches out of a GWS 4 channel single conversion receiver: http://www.diff.net/media/2002_07_10_Oregon_trip/img_5872-medium.html I'm not sure if I'm comfortable saying this in a public forum, but the plane mostly glitches when you whack the lines (remember, with 4.5 ounces of white foam.) The lines were about 5' above my max launch, so I didn't spend too much time up that high. I do not know the voltage of those lines, but it's line 1, mile 18, tower 2 in Hillsboro, OR, if anybody wants to look it up :) We have neighborhood distribution lines running down one side of our field and they don't affect our flying (assuming that nobody actually lands on them, that is). I don't know what voltage they are, I think its 7kV. If they were significantly higher voltage then the poles they are on would be a lot taller and we'd be avoiding them just like any other obstacle. So people have demonstrated solar powered planes from the sun and from spotlights (NASA Dryden), as well as from lasers. Has anybody done to math to see whether an inductively powered plane could be flown under high lines? There are several technical challenges I can think of, but it would be a neat way to get the power companies to absolutely hate you... -Peter (Please, take all homeland security discussions off-list; this is about interference and overload in receivers when flying in the vicinity but not through power lines.) -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] Need 4 JR 241's
On Sat, Feb 14, 2004 at 10:35:17PM -0600, Steve Gibson wrote: Who has good prices on JR 241 servos? I need four. I've had nothign but good luck from Johnny Berlin [EMAIL PROTECTED]. Don't know how his prices compare, but his service was good and the prices seemed about right. -Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] LoLo Question
On Tue, Jun 24, 2003 at 04:55:03PM -0700, Bill Malvey wrote: For you LoLo owners (and I will be one soon), does the LoLo read altitude above sea level (ASL) or above ground level (AGL). I'm sure Sheldon will answer properly, but it just appears to be a pressure sensor, data logger, some glue, and lots and lots of experimentation and integration. We're paying mostly for the latter, which is quite fine by me. The actual data you download from the device is converted into altitude with some simple-looking and adjustable formulas, and there's a convenient way to normalize the ground level in the software. Does it have a way to zero it or correct for barometric pressure? Just curious. Thanks It zeros when you first start it up, as far as I can tell. Obviously with a pressure-only altimeter (just like in a real plane) if you fly to a place with a different ambient air pressure or if the weather changes a whole lot things will be skewed a bit. In our application it should be easy to check for this by comparing the difference between ground level at different points during the day. FWIW, I took my Alti2 from ATL - Las Vegas - San Diego, and the cabin pressure was around 6200' at cruising altitude on the first leg and around 5000' on the second leg. The ground readings look sane (i.e. San Diego is lower than Atlanta, etc) and I used a 6 second sampling rate. Security didn't even stop on the 4-cell pack shrink-wrapped with an Alti2 on it that was blinking. :) -Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
Re: [RCSE] Gws tiger moth motor
On Mon, Jan 27, 2003 at 11:11:36PM -0800, Curt wrote: I am flying a GWS tiger moth using stock motor,7.2v 850 Mah Li-ion = battery(30 min flying time). The problem is I have to replace my motor = quite often. Do you have any idea or suggestion what kind of motor I can use to avoid = replacing the stock motor frequently. I still want a slow flying plane = to fly at the park. I think your best bet is to get an account on the Ezone (http://www.ezonemag.com/) and visit their discussion forums. A brushless is probably your best bet, but people might be able to suggest what to do to reduce the load (and therefore increase MTBF) on the motor you are currently using. RCSE folks probably intersect with Ezone folks a bit, but the Ezone is a community geared much more toward that sort of question. Now, if you were wanting to know how you might get your Tiger Moth to land within 10cm, I'm sure we could all suggest some great skeg designs that would both stop the plane dead and turn your featherweight parkflyer into razor-wielding menace to society, but I digress :) Here's a quick search link that returns some results: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/search.php?s=action=showresultssearchid=754625sortby=lastpostsortorder=descending -Peter -- Peter Jensen ... http://www.diff.net/peter ... [EMAIL PROTECTED] RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send subscribe and unsubscribe requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Please note that subscribe and unsubscribe messages must be sent in text only format with MIME turned off.
