Syncron build-newbie

[BHChieftain]

Ok, just received my Syncron order today (thanks Steve).

The only other boat I've ran is a RTR Proboat Fastech, so this is really my first assembly job.

Basic question #1: I have a Castle Hydro 240 ESC. This ESC is really two 120 ESCs glued together, and the input/output wires are double sets of 10gauge wires. What's the best method to solder these onto the motor wires? In this situation, I'd have 3 really thick wires coming together. Is there a nifty splice to use, or should I solder these onto some sort of metal bracket to joint them?

Should I solder the ESC wires directly to the motor wires, or is there some reason I'd want to use bullet connectors between them?

Basic question #2: For the driveline, should I install a thrust bearing? What size for a feigao 540XL?

Basic questinon #3: I'm planning on running two 2S1P packs in serial, using 6mm bullet connectors. Should I be using 10gauge wires for the harness?

I'm sure I'll have more questions, and I'll post my progress and pics.

Thanks
Chief

[tiqueman]

Ok, just received my Syncron order today (thanks Steve).

The only other boat I've ran is a RTR Proboat Fastech, so this is really my first assembly job.

Basic question #1: I have a Castle Hydro 240 ESC. This ESC is really two 120 ESCs glued together, and the input/output wires are double sets of 10gauge wires. What's the best method to solder these onto the motor wires? In this situation, I'd have 3 really thick wires coming together. Is there a nifty splice to use, or should I solder these onto some sort of metal bracket to joint them?

without seeing it, not sure.. I built some connectors for a parallel set up (see pic) Something like that might work?

Should I solder the ESC wires directly to the motor wires, or is there some reason I'd want to use bullet connectors between them? Most use bullets

Basic question #2: For the driveline, should I install a thrust bearing? What size for a feigao 540XL? Its a 5mm, OSE has them

Basic questinon #3: I'm planning on running two 2S1P packs in serial, using 6mm bullet connectors. Should I be using 10gauge wires for the harness? Dont need a harness. Just connect one batts + to - and use the left over + and neg off the batt to go to the ESC

I'm sure I'll have more questions, and I'll post my progress and pics.

Thanks
Chief

Gunna be a nice build Chief

[BHChieftain]

Day 1: Gasp! Where to begin???

Key Observations/Activities
-Here you can see the double wires on the ESC which need to be connected to the single wires on the motor (will have the same situation on the battery side)

-Wife sees the boat for the first time, and heads over to look at the credit card bill

-Son thinks he got ripped off on the Proboat Fastech I got for him in December


Chief

[Jeepers]

you don't need to make any connectors to wire the two esc wires together, just solder one wire to the other and then solder it one single bullet. The BEST connection between the esc and motor would be to solder the wires together with out bullets, but it is a pain to unsolder and resolder them at the lake if you have to change out an esc or motor. I just use connectors between the esc and motor to save me a headache!

[tiqueman]

I agree, after seeing the pics, theres no reason the wires cant go together. You will have plenty of room using 5.5 bullets to make it all happen and shrink up nicely.

[BHChieftain]

Alright, I'll give that approach a go.
Thanks,
Chief

[Steven Vaccaro]

There are a couple of ways to do the wires. I strip about an 1" off each wire, then wrap one wire about the other and use a thin piece of copper wire to hold it together, then solder the whole thing together. There are some threads and pictures of this somewhere.

[BHChieftain]

I'm looking for layout ideas. I've seen this thread with Steven's setup, anybody else have a Syncron layout they would like to share? Note, mine has a flood chamber.

http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...read.php?t=361

-Chief

[BHChieftain]

I found this article on wiring, with emphasis on separating "clean" and "dirty" wires. Also, at the end there was a comment about grounding (earthing) the boat by connecting the negative power source to something that would remain submerged like the shaft tube. What do you guys think about this?

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/fast.electrics/wiring.htm

-Chief

[BHChieftain]

Day 2: Soldering connectors

-Soldered 6mm bullet connectors to the lipos and motor. Ran out of connectors to finish the ESC, will do that next time. The wires look to be 10 gauge, took a little while for my 40W iron to heat up the wire enough to take the solder, but it did work.

-Stripped the wires, and tinned the ends before attaching to the connectors.

-Used my gas stove in the kitchen to heat the shrinkwrap as I don't have a heat gun. Worked great.

-Chief

[tiqueman]

Day 2: Soldering connectors

-Soldered 6mm bullet connectors to the lipos and motor. Ran out of connectors to finish the ESC, will do that next time. The wires look to be 10 gauge, took a little while for my 40W iron to heat up the wire enough to take the solder, but it did work.

-Stripped the wires, and tinned the ends before attaching to the connectors.

-Used my gas stove in the kitchen to heat the shrinkwrap as I don't have a heat gun. Worked great.

-Chief

Lookin like progress. You can also use your soldering iron to heat the shrink wrap. Then you dont have to get up to go to the stove. Or you can use a hair dryer if one is available.

[BHChieftain]

Day 3-
Redid soldering connectors on Day 2... I had the female bullet on the neg leads off the battery...

-Chief

[BHChieftain]

Day 4-

Tried to solder the Hydra 240 10g leads together with the 40W iron and gave up... picked up a Weller 140/100W gun, worked much better.

Read thru tips on how to join these wires, settled on wrapping them together with 24gauge copper wire and also soldering the end of the 2nd wire to the outside of the bullet. Came out nice!

Installed the motor water cooling sleeve, thrust bearing, and connected the radio, server, motor, ESC, and lipos to see if all worked.... success!

Question though-- there's no "on-off" switch on this setup, and I get a hellava arc when I connect the batteries to the ESC. Is there a way to minimize the spark?

-Chief

[ace028]

I like your pliers in post #10!!! Those are my favorite pliers in my tool box, I got the same pair!

Nice build btw!!!

[BHChieftain]

Day 5:

-Install Traxxas waterproof servo. The syncron I ordered came with hardware and a mount for the servo. The traxxas servo is not perfectly rectangular, so I needed to file out a space for the gear bulge (not too much). Also, the screw holes did not exactly match up, so I needed to file out a bit more room on the servo screw tabs.

-Had a hard time getting a screwdriver into the rear of the boat to screw down the servo. Resorted to a jeweler's screwdriver, with a vice grip clamped on for leverage, worked well.

-What about floatation... I scavenged my daughter's old swim float made by Speedo (you hold the float between your legs, and only swim with arms for arm- workouts). I split it in half, and it fits PERFECTLY into the syncron hull.

-Put her in the tub, getting some leaking along the strut mounts. I'll need to put some silicon sealant around that. Good news is the flood chamber is water tight.

Almost ready! Just need to finish waterproofing and install the cooling system.

-Chief