RC for Happy Hunter

I

IanP

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Sep 3, 2020
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I am currently building the Happy Hunter, but find myself somewhat out of my depth regarding the RC equipment. I have already purchased the long list of items specified in the kit instructions including the 'Robbe multi switch 16 decoder". I have no found that when the list of items was constructed it was assumed that the RC Tx would be the Futaba F14 which I now understand is no longer in production.
Can anyone please give me some advice as to what RC kit I should now use, i'm looking to utilise all the auxiliary features that are offered on the Happy Hunter, and would like to still be able to use the multi switch I have already purchased.

Thanks
 
Hallo Ian,
from my side a warm welcome here on board of our forum.
We have some specialist in RC-techniques, so I am sure you will get the necessary information :cool:
 
Hello IanP. I don't consider myself a specialist in RC, but have some basic knowledge about the subject which might be of help to you.

First of all, the modern RC equipment work on 2,4 GHz frequency. The benefit of this is that the TX and RX are paired with each other and they do not disturb any other RC users near by.

What you need for your ship as minimum are a transmitter, receiver, electronic speed controller for the main motor, and servo to operate rudder. For more functions like lights, radar antennas, anchor winches etc. you can use your multi channel switch.

There are many nice modern TX & RX combos available at specialist shops or internet at very reasonable prices, like for instance this five channel radios: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy...923&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products
Five channels are more than enough for controlling a ship, as a minimum you only need one channel for motor controller and one for rudder servo. Third channel could be used for your multi switch.

I suppose that your propeller motor is normal brushed DC motor with either 12 V or 7,4 V supply voltage. To control this you need an electronic speed controller (ESC), which is intended for brushed motor, has correct supply voltage, and has forward/reverse functions. So you need an ESC which is intended either for a car or ship. Not for aeroplane. For instance this: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/hobbyki...605&indexName=hbk_live_magento_en_us_products

And last but not least, you need a suitable servo to control your rudder. There are numerous possibilities, you only need to select one which has enough torque to turn your rudder, but is not too big and powerful to do its work. Suitable ones are for instance here: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/radio-servos/servos/best-sellers.html

For the additional functions like lights, winches, horns, etc you may use your multi channel switch unit which can be inserted into the third channel socket of your receiver, if the polarity of connectors is correct.

For further questions, please do not hesitate to ask more, I am always glad to be able to help.
 
Thanks Moxis,

do you know if this multi switch is compatible with any radio set or is limited for use with the Futaba F14 ?
 
Hi Ian

The multi switch decoder is only compatible with the F14 or FC18 system which has the corresponding switch module fitted in the option well.I recently learnt that Futaba had pulled the plug on the F14.
Easiest option is to find a secondhand transmitter on Ebay either F14 or FC18,get one that has a receiver with it.You will also need the multi switch module to instal in the transmitter.This is still available new from Krick in Germany.
This gear is old tech but I had my converted to 2.4mhz a few years back by Ripmax(no longer trading) using a conversion kit by Futaba.My F14 is fully expanded to 144 available functions.You will struggle to find anything modern with this ability.in theory you need 12 channels to operate all the functions on Happy Hunter.

Kind Regards

Nigel
 
Last edited:
Hi Ian,

Firstly I am no expert in RC though I do know a little bit.

If you are fairly comfortable with technology one option that gives you a lot of flexibility in programming might be one of the transmitters supported by Open TX.

There are a lot of "how to" videos on YouTube for setting up and programming Open TX.

This is an open source program that is free to down load to your computer allowing you to program your transmitter via USB cable.

I have what might be considered an old transmitter the Taranis 9X plus, 16 channels is quite easily obtainable without breaking the bank.

Having multiple things happening off one input is quite easy with Open TX.

Cheers,
Stephen.
 
I just checked on the FrSky site and it looks like my radio is capable of 24 channels, (I should have checked before opening my mouth) some of there other radios are up to 32 channels.
 
Thanks all, it’s slowly becoming clearer, disappointing that the multi switch I bought direct from Krick is of no use, I’ll see if they will give me a refund.
Based on my HH needing 12 channels any recommendations on the best, but not massively expensive options I could use, for a novice the marketplace is a bit daunting and I don’t want to spend a fortune and then find it either doesn’t do what I want or is so complicated I can’t master it
thanks
ian
 
IanP said:
I am currently building the Happy Hunter, but find myself somewhat out of my depth regarding the RC equipment. I have already purchased the long list of items specified in the kit instructions including the 'Robbe multi switch 16 decoder". I have no found that when the list of items was constructed it was assumed that the RC Tx would be the Futaba F14 which I now understand is no longer in production.
Can anyone please give me some advice as to what RC kit I should now use, i'm looking to utilise all the auxiliary features that are offered on the Happy Hunter, and would like to still be able to use the multi switch I have already purchased.

Thanks
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Hallo @IanP
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