Some time ago our modelling group at the Shed was given a radio controlled model of HMS Zenith. We are just now starting to look at what it would take to carry out a refit and get her sailing again.
Yesterday I carried out initial assessment. The general hull condition is good. The model will need to be overhauled, possibly repainted, and sealed to make it fully waterproof. The glue used to attach many of the details has dried out and is very fragile so little parts keep falling off. They will need to be carefully removed and re-glued.
As far as the electrics are concerned, it seems to be fitted with an old 1980s-1990s Futaba system. The components are:
- 1x Maplin PWM Motor drive board GB-71N
- 1x Futaba two channel 27 Mhz FP-R102JE receiver which is fitted with a receiver crystal. This has a battery pack with an isolator switch for 4x AA batteries.
- 2x 2N3773 bipolar NPN power transistors (not sure what they do).
- 2x motors driving the propellors. They are controlled through the motor drive board and on channel 2.
- 1x Futaba FP-S14B servo on the rudder connected to Channel 1.
- Mast head and navigation lights do work. I tested them with a bench power supply.
- The system has a 6V fire alarm panel battery which presumably powers the circuit board and the motors. It is as dead as the proverbial dodo despite 2 days attempting to recharge it. We will replace it with a new battery because I suspect that it is designed to act as ballast.
- The wiring is not in great condition and some components are loose which is not ideal in a boat. We will need to rewire it and re-mount the parts.
In summary, I think it is well worth renovating. Time will tell what we need to put into it and what still works.
Is anyone else interested in working on this model, apart from me?
I know that a couple of our members have some radio control experience. I don’t but I am quite willing to learn. We do have a donated two channel controller which would probably serve. I would anticipate at the very least having to replace the battery. The servo looks a bit past its best but they are as cheap as chips.
If anyone is interested in joining our modelling group at the shed and helping with this project, we would love to hear from you via the contact page: https://dunooncommunityshed.org/contact/
Leave a Reply