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Thread: Hobbyking Libero mods

  1. #1
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    Default Hobbyking Libero mods

    For a bit more to get me more deeply interested in fast electrics I have purchased a Hobbyking Libero shovelnose. As I await its arrival I need to sort out a few details.

    Firstly, this is the ESC I hope to use as I want to use this type of ESC on a current 70 cm mono project and wanted commonality.

    https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...r-cooling.html

    Secondly, being overly cautious, I wanted a dual pickup rudder, however, after trawling through over 700 rudders on eBay the only dual pickup rudders available have a different pivot mechanism and so a direct replacement rudder to the existing hardware is apparently not possible. Any thoughts please. I could opt for a through hull pickup as an option. I wanted separate motor/esc cooling paths.

    Edit: I found this rudder at RC Boat Bitz. This looks like it could be modified to fit or might be direct install. It is 100 mm deep. I could trim a little from the lower edge if too deep. I am only looking at the rudder itself and not the rudder arm mount bracket.

    http://www.rcboatbitz.com/index.php?...oducts_id=1445

    http://www.rcboatbitz.com/index.php?...oducts_id=1955
    Last edited by Old School; 09-27-2017 at 10:44 PM. Reason: Further information

  2. #2
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    I have one if those boats and I love it. I put a turnigy 120 amp esc and a x442 prop. It runs pretty darn good on 4s but is a beast on 6s

  3. #3
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    Many thanks. The X442 is now on the "to do list". I think at my age the 4S may be all the excitement that I can handle.

  4. #4
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    if you want to save some dollars, buy the 95 mm long rudder assembly from hobby king for about $10 and also buy a piece of 3/16 o.d. brass tube that you will mount on the back of strut behind and above prop [ hobby supplies melbourne ] have this cheap kit. this will give the extra water cooling so you can buy the single pick up rudder which is alot cheaper than those double from boat bitz.

  5. #5
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    Many thanks

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    3 or 4 years ago i bought a hull and put a TP motor in it.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EPj...naoIA&index=16
    Too many boats, not enough time...

  7. #7
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    goes very well, what size motor and esc did you use in this hull ?

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by rol243 View Post
    goes very well, what size motor and esc did you use in this hull ?
    I have been flying since 2015 and would not be able to remember what is inside had I not written down the set up on YouTube.
    Here is the copied/pasted description:
    "This is not a new addition to my fleet, but I wanted to try a CNC prop. The CNC prop (4216) is a 42mm 1.6 pitched prop but with de-tongued feature. It is more DT'ed than the m series prop. TP Power motor 3630 10D ( 2100kv), Seaking 120A ESC V2."
    I liked this CNC prop the best.
    Too many boats, not enough time...

  9. #9
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    DSCN5216_5573.jpgDSCN5213_5570.jpgDSCN5204_5561.jpgDSCN5208_5565.jpg
    The three blade prop was for photo only. But I do believe it is also a 42mm prop.
    As you see, the rudder worked really well and with this setup (4s) there was no heat build-up issue and one water pickup is plenty.
    The ESC is an earlier Seaking and Turnigy also has a twin. I believe now these marine ESC has moved to at least V3 as shown by the OP.
    Too many boats, not enough time...

  10. #10
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    Thanks, very nice little hydro.

  11. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by rol243 View Post
    Thanks, very nice little hydro.
    Thanks, I always wanted to buy the one from HobbyKing, but then Ron1950 sold the bare hull to me.
    Too many boats, not enough time...

  12. #12
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    That is nice. I had intended leaving basically stock (apart from a larger prop), however, you have inspired me.

  13. #13
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    well Old School you know what size motor and esc works well in this hydro now.

  14. #14
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    My ESC arrived today by DHL on a public holiday. Surprisingly, the ESC was delivered from Hong Kong, while I am still awaiting a delivery from the Hobbyking wharehouse just three hours drive from me. The Turnigy Marine 120 amp looks identical to the Hobbywing Seaking 120 amp, including the programming box connection pins. The item appears cosmetically very well built. It will be sometime before I get to check the internal electronics for quality.

    The overall dimensions given on the website are a little misleading as I assumed the dimensions were the case dimensions, whereas the length is that of the brass nipples, almost 1 cm longer than the case overall and the width several millimetres less.

  15. #15
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    these are quite a good esc especially for the price. oh have fun inspecting internal componants in this esc as its a sealed unit other that a couple of external capacitors. lol.

  16. #16
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    My Libero arrived today and I set about fitting the dual water pickups and large tubing throughout. The stock motor is a 3660 2070kv. I am awaiting a 3674 which I may possibly fit coupled to a 40 mm 2-blade or possibly a 38mm three-blade propellor. Apparently, a 42 mm 2-blade is a little too much for the stock motor. The stock shaft is a 4mm one piece flex.

    With the battery restrained by two hold down straps the CG is just less than 2 inches aft of the sponson. If I move the battery forward slightly then there is provision only for one strap. Oddly only two straps are able to be fitted to the battery tray. I will not be able to test run until next week, however, everything is tested and ready to go.

  17. #17
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    These are a riot on 4s. Bugger to race on 4s but a ton of fun just to run that way.

    Ty's old boat.

    https://youtu.be/mex3iFoZNuc
    Noisy person

  18. #18
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    Many thanks, the boat is just for sport running. I just need to add some flotation. One thing that did surprise me was the capacitor spark when I was about to hook up the battery. All my reading stated that it does not happen on 4s, however, the T120 ESC does have a factory supplied capacitor bank as well as the capacitor on the unit itself.

    I am actually quite impressed with the boat. It does look a little toyish but appears to be well built. Fortunately, I went over the boat as every mount nut was loose. The T120 ESC has a programming port and this with the programming box made for simple setting up, although the instructions are vague.

  19. #19
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    A recheck of the instructions and alas the shaft is the dreaded two piece stub shaft arrangement so lubricating the shaft requires disassembly of the strut. My first mod will be to hopefully obtain a one piece flex shaft to make maintenance more user friendly.

  20. #20
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    I wonder if it's easier to pull the motor.

    You'll be re-checking screws forever. Pretty typical with TFL hardware.

    I like to make plates inside the boat form aluminum. Then drill, tap, and loctite. Seems to cut down on the vibration. Less screws coming loose on me.
    Noisy person

  21. #21
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    Today my SSS 3674 2075kv 4D motor arrived from OSE. I will be running 4S. I decided to fit this to the Libero and use the stock motor in another hull under construction. After changing over the motor I still prefer to have a one piece flexshaft.

  22. #22
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    Today was its maiden run and good news and not so good news. The boat handled beautifully, keeping a level stance on plane and smooth and straight with no drama. The boat was very, very fast with the upgraded motor and larger 40 mm 2-bladed propellor. A downside on handling is that coming out of a right hand curve and applying power the left sponson lifts momentarily to about 45 degrees as it accelerates out of the curve.

    The downside as I expected is that a 4 mm shaft is not up to the task. The stock boat has a two piece 4 mm shaft. I had already purchased a single piece 4 mm flexshaft to aid post running maintenance but had not fitted it for the maiden run. However, on removal the stock flexshaft was "necked" at the strut end where the shaft had been made square to fit the stubshaft. The shaft had not separated and was still performing at full power when running even though most of the flex cables had sheared. I will need a new teflon liner as the damaged flexshaft had sheared off the last centimetre of the liner.

    I still have a grin after seeing how well the boat performed. With the 40 mm prop the battery temp (45c discharge) was 59 degrees C and the motor and ESC in the mid forties. I noted that if one slowed down in a corner then the hull would bog down until it accelerated away coming out of the corner. Obviously one would maintain speed through the corner however conditions did not help and wide fast cornering was not possible. Perhaps a 3 bladed prop may assist acceleration out of a corner. I have a 38 mm 3-blade to use next outing.

  23. #23
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    sounds like she ran well for the first time in water. try not to hit full throttle so hard out of the turn as this is whats causing the left side to lift [ prop torque ] maybe the 3 blade prop will work better, also i would be removing the drive shaft log and fitting a suitable size without a liner plus a 5mm / 3/16 flex shaft to matching bushed strut then you will have a more reliable boat. Hobby Supplies Melbourne have what you need if you want to buy local.

  24. #24
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    Definitely an upgrade to a 3/16" shaft is required. I will source a 7/32" brass tube (no liner) and suitable strut to fit. I may need an adaptor 1/4" tubing to insert in the strut for a Speedmaster rotating bush.

    I believe the stock 4 mm strut is a generic strut used on many TFL products including the Genesis. Thus to maintain stuffing tube depth I may use the 3/16" upgrade strut from the Genesis. The upgrade strut has a fin added below the strut barrel which may impact on handling.

    Another option may be the Speedmaster 21 Strut as I would like to have the rotating bushing.
    Last edited by Old School; 10-30-2017 at 10:54 PM. Reason: Additional information

  25. #25
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    A further update. I decided to run a 3/16" flex without a liner due the failure of the 4 mm flex on its first outing and the stock stuffing tube is the correct size for a 3/16" shaft, so I decided to modify the original 4 mm strut to take a 1/4" O.D. tube to run a 7/32" rotating bush that I had made. As well, I positioned a short length of 7/32" O.D. tubing at either end of the stuffing tube to act as a bearing to support the 3/16" flexshaft.

    I have not tested as yet as I need to purchase a flexshaft. Eventually I will upgrade to a Speedmaster strut, but for the moment the current setup seems adequate.

  26. #26
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    sounds like you will have reliability with the better flexshaft / brass log mod and strut bushing. try hobby supplies for a good 3/16 flexshaft [ cc racing brand ] if you want to buy local.

  27. #27
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    I did a quick calculation and the total length of the welded stub section (including the threaded section) of the flexshaft really needs to be less than 82 mm. I will have to investigate if such a shaft is available.

    I just looked at Hobby Supplies and they have this -

    3/16” x 18” Long Flex Shaft (21" total length) - $27.00 each

    I assume the stub section will be around 3" (75 mm) in length which will be perfect.

  28. #28
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    i have the 21 inch long cc racing flexshaft on hand and the total length of stub shaft including thread is 80mm. this stub length can be set shorter as there is plenty of thread on the end so 70mm total can be done.

  29. #29
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    Many thanks, that seems perfect.

  30. #30
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    I never liked the pokey figure supplied with the Libero so purchased a 3-D printed ABS driver (1/12 scale) from the OSE store. Before I disassemble to paint the figure does he appear to be sitting too high, please? I could remove about 3 - 5 mm from the base before mounting permanently. I intend mounting his head and arms positioned as if he is in a turn. I will most likely carve some sort of backrest to fill out the cockpit behind the driver.
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