| The electronics, navigational lights:
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I strongly suggest that 0,12” (3 mm.) Light Emitting Diodes (LED’s)
are selected for this task. They are small, use almost no power, and
have a nice and smooth shine. (And they are long lasting.) They need to
be mounted so that no water can penetrate through to the wires, but do
not glue them in using epoxy. Imagine that one is fried due to
electrical malfunction, of similar accident and needs replacement…
The lanterns consist of a red and a green light, and a white facing
forward, fitted on the sail it self. The red goes on the left side
(Port), and the green goes on the right (Starboard). Another white one
is placed on top of the vertical rudder at the very back, indicating the
'end' of the sub when on. These white lights are visible in only certain
angles on real subs, but in order to aid the orientation and the
navigation of the sub during dark sailing conditions, I chose to
disregard this fact on my sub. Please see the chapter on scratch
building the hull for location of the lights in further detail. A book
on navigational marks on submarines has indicated that all sub's have a
amber flashing (2 Hz) top light, so this sub has one as well, located on
the top of the sail. I have heard other people talking about different
top lights, so please check so it'll fit your model.
All the lights can go straight on to the main on / off switch because
power consumption is so low, and this way give indication when the boat
is turned on, but they might also go on to the electronics to be turned
on and off by remote. I used a remote controlled
mini switch to remotely control the lights.
System schematics:
The LM555 is a all-round timer chip, and the HEF4017B is a Johnson
Counter. Please see data sheets for details.
The blink frequency is controlled by the
4,7uF capacitor. The reason why some LED's have a
different resistors than others, are the fact that
they need higher voltage to light up. The schematics above will flash
the amber light, morsing
an "S". Each "on" is ˝ second long, the entire cycle takes 5 sec's.
Here's how my sub got lit up.
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As shown when
building the upper aft rudder, the shaft is hollow, as well as part
of the rudder. This allows an electrical cable to extend from the
inside of the sub, up through the shaft, and to the off center white
top light on the rudder. |
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The
white LED was sanded using high grade sanding paper. This ensures a
multi-angled light (white). |
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Notice the wires going into
the rudder shaft, and running to the off center white top light. The
wires do not run as tight as possible, because this is moving parts.
The wires need to endure the flexing that will occur when the rudder
is operated. |
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The red, green,
white and amber light that goes in the sail is made. The wires are
soldered in place, and made water tight using resin and small heat
shrink pieces. The amber is fitted within a small mast that will be
fixed in a permanent slightly extended position. |
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This is the port side of the completed sail. |
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Here's the
starboard side in early night conditions.
The amber light is blinking an "S", but I caught it to make the
picture more dramatic. |
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Sail is done.
Lights are fitted, dive planes connected, and scopes fitted. |
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