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Hwo to tell when a boat is about to run out of power

3K views 17 replies 10 participants last post by  towie964 
#1 ·
Hi folks,

I am thinking of getting an R/C boat (the Venom EKOS), and just had a general, probably stupid question. Is there any specific way of knowing an electric boat is running out of juice, or is it just a matter of experience and noticing when it starts to slow down? Or maybe just not caring and going for a swim when the boat stops in the middle of the pond lol

:D
 
#3 ·
there are visual voltage display units available, that when fitted will show you the voltage of your batteries at a glance. You will find, once you have run your boat a couple of times, the average run times you are getting, and you can then set the timer on your TX (if it has one) most wrist watches have a timer as well.

I saw a guy running a boat at a local lake a while back, he had a small helium balloon attached to a length of fishing line with a swivel and then to the boat, he first lets out a huge amount of line and allows the balloon to float many meters above the pond.
He runs his boat until it stops and then just reels in the line.
The helium balloon keeps the line from getting tangled up around the boat, and the swivel prevents the line tangling in the air.
I asked him about his design, he giggled and told me, He Cant Swim!
 
#7 ·
I saw a guy running a boat at a local lake a while back, he had a small helium balloon attached to a length of fishing line with a swivel and then to the boat, he first lets out a huge amount of line and allows the balloon to float many meters above the pond.
He runs his boat until it stops and then just reels in the line.
The helium balloon keeps the line from getting tangled up around the boat, and the swivel prevents the line tangling in the air.
I asked him about his design, he giggled and told me, He Cant Swim!

this is a great idea

i cant swim either!
 
#4 ·
Hi folks,

I am thinking of getting an R/C boat (the Venom EKOS), and just had a general, probably stupid question. Is there any specific way of knowing an electric boat is running out of juice, or is it just a matter of experience and noticing when it starts to slow down? Or maybe just not caring and going for a swim when the boat stops in the middle of the pond lol

:D
Depends on how cold it is as to weather or not you want to go for a swim. I have used that method in the past with Nitro boats. It gets cold in July on Lake Mac.:)
 
#6 ·
If you are talking about an electric boat I think I have an answer for ya mate. There is a battery monitoring device that tells you what your battery voltage is and it works on 2.4Ghz frequency. It wont clash with your 2.4ghz transmitter neuther. Fly boys use them on their planes to get constant real time readout on their battery status. I can't post a link to it here as it is from a non sponsor hobbyshop :rolleyes: but I'll PM you with the details. Here is the pic of what I am talking about. It will not only tell you total battery voltage but also monitor each cell individually which might avoid potential disaster if one cell was to go bad.


It looks priceir than it is. Trust me.:thumb:
 
#16 ·
Ahem.....where's my PM:D

Looks good BB, how much does it cost? and what range does it have?
 
#12 ·
I am only guessing but I think it is only Lipo that it works with. You can always send an email to hobbyking but be prepared to decipher Chinglish. The Tx just simply plugs into the balance lead on your lipo. Not too sure how it will go with Ni-xx batts. I think it will be fine with LiFe batts as long as they have balancing plugs that you can plug the Tx into.
 
#15 ·
Likewise, let us know how you go.

Extra Tx's are $30 US which is ok and they sell a flexible antenna for $5 US which would be handy too
 
#17 ·
PM sent towie!
 
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