Build log 2014-03-02
Over the weekend some work was done on the Odin though progress is slower as we get to model detailing.
Mock installation of superstructure
Superstructure, funnel and mast with FiFi platform
Mock installation of superstructure
Brass tubing rotates fire monitor and acts as a sheath for silicone water pipe
FiFi platform with servo
Micro-servo rotates monitor +/- 45 degrees
Funnel and smoke generator
Smoke generator will be installed right under the funnel
Funnel and smoke generator
Aluminium plate was added to smoke gen; will be attached to wooden beams
Mast lighting
Nice and tasty LEDs & wire salad
Fire monitor
Fire monitor "drive" was set up. Monitor will only rotate left/right and will be at a fixed 45° angle (which should give best range). I'm a bit short on RC channels and elevation control would make the whole setup significantly more complex.
A simple L-shaped mouting bracket was made from scrap aluminium. It will hold a "slow" micro-servo and act as a bearing for the brass tubing.
This is a Turnigy TSS-9S "slow" micro servo originaly intended for flaps on planes. Rated speed is 2" for 60° (which is around 10 times slower than a regular servo). Full range is around +/- 40°.
A lever (actually a standard-size servo arm) was added to the brass tubing. Linkage was set up to get some "overdrive" (farthest hole on the servo arm; closest hole on brass tubing arm). Fire monitor will rotate around +/- 45-50°. This setup is much simpler and smaller than the original Robbe system which was based on two sprockets and a chain drive to get more than 180° of rotation out of a standard servo.
Around 100° of range is good enough for me and the slow servo gives "scale speed" instead of the characteristic "jitter" of standard speed servos.
Smoke generator
Smoke generator was test-fired: huge amout of smoke at max voltage (12V). Smoke has really strong smell ... Smoke unit is a Super Smoker v4 sold on eBay (Chopperflyboy's shop in Australia). Generator is hooked to dedicated ESC (cheap $5 Turnigy 20-amp brushed ESC) and will be controlled through a dedicated proportional channel (knob / potentiometer). Knob will set idling smoke output. Then through mixing smoke output will increase relative to throttle (both forward and reverse).
Could probably wire the smoke generator in parallel to the propulsion motor but I want to be able do adjust (and disable) smoke output hence the dedicated channel.
Two wooden beams (visible in pics above) will be glued inside the superstructure below the funnel. A small aluminium plate was added to the smoke generator. Screws (from the underside) will hold plate to beams. Smoke generator will be slightly tilted towards the stern to get smoke fluid to flow towards the "burner" (actually some hot wire around a piece of wick)
Smoke generator output is 1/2" (12.5mm) brass tubing while the real exhaust on top of funnel is 10mm. As seen on the pictures we currently have a 10cm 12mm inner-diameter clear plastic pipe on the smoke generator. A small 10mm inner-diameter piece of tubing (some sort mesh-like plastic tubing) will be fitted onto the top exhaust and will easily slide into the 12mm clear tubing allowing easy removal of the generator from the bottom. Still needs to be tested though ...
A diesel tug actually produces little smoke. There might be a puff of black smoke as the engine revs up but once at stable RPM, little smoke is visible. The white smoke/steam the generator outputs won't nearly match this. But I'll go ahead anyway because it makes the boat look livelier.
Miscellaneous
Small gangway lights and a floodlight (rear deck/winch areay) were made from some small plastic profile and "wide-angle" white LEDs.
Two notches were filed in the bulwark to accommodate the "tow bow". Will require small touches of paint.
Still no wheelhouse. Working on it in SketchUp...
Springer tug visible on some of the pics is of course the Sequana which was painted over the same weekend.