{"id":470,"date":"2009-06-29T21:43:34","date_gmt":"2009-06-29T11:43:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/?p=470"},"modified":"2009-06-29T21:45:55","modified_gmt":"2009-06-29T11:45:55","slug":"schnellboot-100-s-100-part-1-planning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.madox.net\/blog\/2009\/06\/29\/schnellboot-100-s-100-part-1-planning\/","title":{"rendered":"Schnellboot $100 (S-100) – Part 1 Planning"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

I had this planning post drafted up to help me in ordering the parts for a 1\/144 Schnellboot<\/a> remote control model, but a couple of sick days last week meant I went on impulse shopping online and all my parts have arrived before this is even posted!\u00a0 Sick days are bad for my wallet.\u00a0 Very bad for my wallet.<\/p>\n

Requirements<\/h2>\n

One of my colleagues always nags about requirements and I always set the bar low for myself so I can’t fail…<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Must float (What an absolute failure if it doesn’t…)<\/li>\n
  2. Should float even if ‘sunk’ by ball bearing fire (RC Warships<\/a>) but ‘decks awash’<\/li>\n
  3. Should achieve a top speed of 44 knots (equivalent scale speed)<\/li>\n
  4. Target a cost per boat not including shipping\/postage of $100USD.\u00a0 (Hard one…)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Concept<\/h2>\n

    In addition to just the boat, I’ll also have to consider the remote control aspect.\u00a0 I could just buy almost everything ready to go (probably at great expense), but that’ll fail one of the requirements but most importantly defeat my purpose of ‘learning’ from this building experience.\u00a0\u00a0 Yup this will be an exercise in self education in the fields of electronics, 3D modelling, micro-controllers and RF technologies.<\/p>\n

    The plan is to buy commercial off the shelf components, motor controllers, microcontrollers, RF modules etc and ‘integrate’ them together to form a working system.\u00a0 A kind of mid-way point between making everything yourself or buying everything off the shelf.<\/p>\n

    Straight onto the parts list and the rationale behind some component selections…<\/p>\n

    Parts List<\/h2>\n

    Wireless<\/h3>\n

    Two Nordic Semiconductor based 2.4HHz RF modules, one for the remote control and one for the boat.\u00a0 I wanted to get lower frequency modules (2.4GHz is the resonant frequency of water and don’t work to well ‘under-water’).\u00a0 Still the price and small dimensions of these units won me over.<\/p>\n

    I opted for a small chip antenna on the boat as to be inconspicuous<\/p>\n