Testing Fire

Works great and the spark seem to cause no interference but after a couple seconds it spits considerable liquid fuel. The evaporator needs work. Velocity probably too high through it, for the surface-area. Needs to be bigger. As an improvement the existing small evaporator tube was coiled back and an additional 15 cm section of 1/4" tube has been added. This seems to work better. But it still needs water to work for more than a few seconds.

Testing Jaw Range

• 315 Mhz RC had low range of maybe 60 M . Added a 24 cm antenna to transmitter (this gave >150 Meters). It's rated for 200 meters and it may do that.

Testing Drive Range

• 150 meters.

Testing in Water

• Front/head is heavy. As a partial solution 25 mm was trimmed from the neck. But this isn't much. With 900 g forward boom buoyancy and a 400 g tail weight it should be balanced.

• Needs a bit more ballast overall; with 900 g of added forward boom buoyancy and 400 g of tail weight about 1500 g should do. I'll need to juggle this.

• Outboard/forward flotation would help.

• Stabilizing buoyancy, like pontoons, would help. Thinking 900 g buoyancy on a forward boom.

• Progressive flotation. Antenna mount provides this now, through 17 cm of noodle.

• Antenna can't get wet; need insulator. As solution the antenna is now RG-6 with a copper-clad steel center. The PE foam dielectric is in place. The tip is epoxied. Shield references water through the electrical system.

• Re-size antenna to optimize for water. As a solution the New antenna is 31 cm for the large relative permittivity.

• Match antenna height to to head top.: Done

• Switchover to dive-plane was rough. Pivots too tight.: loosened, but needs some work.

• Drive units slipped back a bit. As a solution I may pin them.