HPR 010 Mono: Very Slow Build

[boredom.is.me]

I did some research on the Sikaflex. That stuff seems pretty runny. With such a deep vee, it would probably end up being a pain to work with. It's also VERY flexible.

I did some research after asking and found that West G-Flex is a very common recommendation, as well as marine JB Weld.


Aside from that, I completed the aluminum mounting bracket for the servo.

[boredom.is.me]

Servo Tray is mounted and motor mounts are tacked.

[boredom.is.me]

I don't really have anything new to report.

I still haven't ordered the ESCs. I was planning on going with SF220's, but the more I look at Swordfish products, the more I see how much trouble I might be getting in. With that said, it's back to the T180's.

I ordered the remaining bits for the battery sled.

[boredom.is.me]

Mostly everything is officially glued in. I ended up mixing a 12 gram batch of 105/207 West System epoxy and added maybe .25g of carbon dust to it. That little amount was all that was needed to turn it black. (It's not really black. It's still clear, but turns into a glimmering black as it gets deeper. It really is pretty, to me at least.) I let it sit for about 45 minutes, then pasted it on to the mount rails. The underside was already coated from before so it's not lacking any contact there. The packing peanut was just there to hold the stuffing tubes while the glue tacked a little more. I then inserted both flex cables with stingers mounted and lined up the motors.

Once it all cures, I'll add black heatshrink over the stuffing tubes. If needed or recommended, I'll add supports to the stuffing tubes.

The only thing left is to glue the control linkage tubes in place. For that, I went with 1/4" aluminum tubing cut to about 70mm. Otherwise, I pretty much threw out my previous idea for the steering assembly. I over thought as usual. I'm going to use Sullivan's .056" flexible pushrod instead of the 2mm (overkill) I had in mind. I had the smaller .032" version on hand and got to playing with that and liked it more.

The tiny hole under the rudder hole was my first pilot hole for the rudder. I underestimated how thick the layup is. It has been filled.

The motors can be rotated in increments of 45 degrees. They are straight up in this picture, but are clocked 45 to the outside in all of the others. I'm going to see if I can get the wires to pass under the mount. There is a fair amount of room under there so it's worth a shot to keep it clean.

[boredom.is.me]

I might as well throw this into the thought pile. And I'm bored...

Swordfish 220A 6s $110 164g 104x41x22 - is SF reliable? Reading the SF forum is scary.
Swordfish 200A 8s $130 164g 104x41x22 - see above
Turnigy 180A 6s $83 245g 72x48x37 - annoying form factor and heavy
Seaking 160A Pro $114 127g 109x52x15 - no real world info and lesser $ value
Raider 150A 6s $75 169g 76x56x25 - favorite form factor
Flycolor 150A 6s $40 169g 76x56x25 - raider rebrand

The final bits for the steering is on the way.
I made the lipo sled.
One of the couplers is off center. :/

And that's my ramble for at least another 12 hours.

[boredom.is.me]

The slide mechanics I designed weren't quite up to par, but I learned what mistakes I made and how to fix them. I already have replacement sets on the way.

I just picked up an 11pm to 7am job and still have classes on Mondays and Wednesdays, but the bulk of the build is already completed. It WILL be completed sometime through November.

[boredom.is.me]

The revised sled accessories came today. They work perfect! They have an adjustable grip range to account for possible inconsistencies in the sheet thickness. I made them for 3mm, but they should easily work with a 1/8" base thickness as well. I just need to get a thumbscrew.

[boredom.is.me]

I also got the latches.

[iridebikes247]

I have experience with the sf220a they're pretty strong 6s escs, lot of power have used in 90+ mph twin cats around 36". Quite a few people have run the seaking 180, both new and old versions with good results. I think the swordfish 220 or seaking will work well with your setup. Nice work again.

[boredom.is.me]

Thanks for the input IRB. The SF rep here just mentioned that they will be doing some updates based on feedback (and major quality control issues) from here. I'm curious to see where they go and how long it will take.

I designed a cap bank last night. It fits the shape of the hull and can fit between the carbon stands for the motor mount. Those are 4mm bullets with standard 1000uf caps.

[boredom.is.me]

I cut 5mm thick carbon rings to fit around the 1/4" tube for the pushrod boots. I'll just cut shorter lengths of tubing and have everything external. Much simpler and easier to work on, while at the same time not impeding movement. I'm using the Aquacraft radio box boots. They are pretty much out of stock everywhere so I picked a few extra sets. They are very small and much more compressible/stretchable than normal boots.

[boredom.is.me]

I'm actually satisfied. :)

[boredom.is.me]

Fun Fact: The boat in my profile picture was based off of this hull.

I still have to trim, but have made the initial cutouts for the latches.

Any recommendations on what to use as a body filler over the gelcoat? I can get fiberglass/epoxy dust from work and possibly mix that in with some West 105. It's a very fine white pounder that's a byproduct of sanding down fiberglass tubes. I'm pretty sure the tubes are made with polyester resin. I have Bondo but I do not believe that would be a good filler for rc boats.

[785boats]

I use automotive bodyfiller on most of my boats, be they fiberglass or wood.

I have been reading along with this thread. Man you do some nice engineering on a lot of parts.
Beautiful to watch.

[boredom.is.me]

I'll look for some of the all purpose bondo then. I have body filler, but it's meant for bare metal.

Thanks! I try. Everything is trial, error, and application to the next project. If you need anything custom, let me know.

[boredom.is.me]

I took some time to finish the latch install. Man they have some weight to them. Each one weighs 51.44g. I replaced the screws that hold down the mounting bracket (c piece). I will replace as much as I can with stainless. I'll also try replacing the mounting bracket with some aluminum channel. I might also make some rings out of carbon to help distribute the clapping load on the hatch itself.

Still debating exactly how I want to secure the front of the hatch.

Really old news, but I replaced the 2mm white depron gaskets with 3mm grey. It looks so much better. It's the minor details that make the whole.

My red anodized countersunk washers came in today too. I got sixteen each of m3 and m4 which should be more than enough. I do need to make an "anodized" plate to go under my "bimRC" logo on the battery sled.

[srislash]

FYI, I use glazing putty for blemishes and such. It dries quick so you can motor through the sanding process.

As far as the front of the hatch may I suggest pins? You can drill though the front lip of the hatch and secure them on the under side. Then just drill matching holes in the hull at the front of the hatch opening for the pins to slide in. I have used steel rod and brass tube with good results.

[boredom.is.me]

I used a single sided black copper clad 1/32" sheet. I peeled away all excess copper, leaving only the two main traces. If I had to do this again, I would definitely make a jig to hold all four connectors straight. I managed to do it by hand, but it took a while. The solder joints would have been cleaner as well. The caps might get here tomorrow.

[boredom.is.me]

FYI, I use glazing putty for blemishes and such. It dries quick so you can motor through the sanding process.

As far as the front of the hatch may I suggest pins? You can drill though the front lip of the hatch and secure them on the under side. Then just drill matching holes in the hull at the front of the hatch opening for the pins to slide in. I have used steel rod and brass tube with good results.

I missed your post. Thanks for the suggestions. I did consider the pin method as well as the tab. The pins would be easier to install, but the tab may provide an easier join to the seal.

[Espresso]

What's this V-shaped bracket made of? Black fiberglass?

[boredom.is.me]

1/32" black FR-4 base with 2oz copper on one side

I also have double sided 1oz 1/32". I machined it myself.

[boredom.is.me]

The cap bank is functionally complete. Once I can confirm that it works properly, I'll seal ithe back with epoxy. I may even make an acrylic cover for the back. I followed esc polarity, meaning the make bullet is connected to the cap's positive. I'll just put some shrink around it for now. That may be all it needs to 'look' good.

I gave the lights some thought today. I'll use 5mm straw hat LED's and will place them 12"-16" from the nose along the seam. The white will be 3"-4" from the transom. 26awg wire will be used as hook up wire. I'll have a radio controlled switch and a voltage regulator in line. This is completely unnecessary, but is something I really want to do. Everything is compact and I doubt the entire setup will weigh more than 15g.

[iridebikes247]

Looking good, everything is so well planned out.

[boredom.is.me]

Thank you again.

One thing I thought of as I was making the cap bank was to have one or two connected to the receiver itself. I did that on my 51" Slick since I lived on an airport. I never had any brownouts or signal issues. I'm not saying it was all because of the cap, but I know for a fact pulling 40 degree surface deflection at speed was definitely spiking the current through the receiver. The cap would have definitely been doing something. I still have three caps left so I may put two or all three on it, just because I can. :) And I can put it online with the light setup if I ever needed a fourth channel...which race boats don't need.


Anyone know where I might find these antenna bases? You can get them in blue from the Bay and Hobbyking, but clear anodized or raw would be way better. I found them at MTL for 13€ (with VAT) for three. Then add shipping. If I can't find a U.S. supplier, I'll just suck it up, but I'm not putting those generic hex base antenna mounts on my boat.

[Tamelesstgr]

Been awhile since I checked for updates, kudos on the cap bank design, that's really neat. Is it possible to put the rubber boots on the linkages inside the hull? I mounted mine that way, just looks a little cleaner in my opinion, but certainly up to you.

[boredom.is.me]

I tried to place them inside, but I can't get the boots over the tubing once inside. I would need a 4" or greater length to even come close to be able to mount the boot. It's just way too tight even for my skinny fingers. Unless I went with smaller tubing which would make the connection weaker. At least, that's what I would think.

[Turbo Dan-O]

Awesome work on this thing! Please keep the pics coming!

[boredom.is.me]

Thanks, much appreciated. I definitely will keep them flowing!

I received the component LED's and have mentally put together how I will set it up. Instead of running individual current drivers or using a resistor on each LED, I'll just feed them with 3.3v and directly wire them. The only LED with a resistor would be the red. I drilled four holes into the hull for them, but I don't think that would make much of a picture.

I managed to find the font that HPR uses. Then I found another that doesn't quite make the HPR look good, but I like the Sentinel.

[boredom.is.me]

As much as I hate how big, bulky, and heavy the T180 is, it's probably my only logical choice. The Raider/Flycolor 150 is perfect as far as fitment is concerned, but it may be on the small side. I've been keeping an eye on the "service" from Hifie in the respective forum. The Swordies are definitely off of the list.

On a side note, the remaining parts for the lighting system are on the way. The ETA is next Wednesday which is actually very late considering it was shipped on the 8th.

[srislash]

Lighting? I like it!!