River City Sand & Gravel

[Rvjimd]

I guess it is time I started a thread / Company Name here!

River City Sand & Gravel is located right on the river and we operate both ground base equipment to mine Sand and gravel and also load and haul material on flat top and hopper barges. So, you will see a bit of everything here!

The latest is trying to get a FPV camera setup working on the Tow Boat. So you guys with FPV experience please chime in! I'm trying to use a tactic droneview in these two videos but it doesn't work too well! The unit get hot pretty quick and the lag is really bad, as well as poor range.

https://youtu.be/pCppmXY5-lY

https://youtu.be/pW-KWDCpHTY

If I can find a good FPV system I would also love to put one on the dragline and maybe even a dump truck.

Jim

[skeeter]

I LOVE it!

[frizzen]

Sweet, you're a worksite now.

That's such a cool river. Can't wait until you get used to it to see it with fpv moving stuff through the locks. It really makes me miss my koi pond, but not the upkeep.

Fpv on the crane would be awesome! i may need to look in to that... i still am not that great hitting a 1-ton truck bed with the drag bucket from weird angles.

I don't have help on the fpv, but an empty barge full of fpv gear would look great with one of those covers you were trying to figure out a while back.

[Rvjimd]

Here is a test video, I printed some parts to mount the cheap-O camera on a boom up and behind my towboat.

https://youtu.be/qHyf0whE834

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Did some repairs to the lower lock gates and while the chamber was full I decided it would be a waste to not shoot some video of a tow pushing some barges out!

https://youtu.be/aKJuhyRYUFk

Jim

[Lil Giants]

Good work Jim & great layout for a diversive company.

[Rvjimd]

I mixed some top soil into the north Sand Pile and shot a Dozer video.

I have a dual rate setup on the drive motors and run slow for better control and then switch to hi for reverse but it is too twitchy so I think I might slow down the hi end a bit.


https://youtu.be/HltFL3-bBpM

Jim

[frizzen]

Seeing how much the Oliver was getting bounced around on the terrain, i wonder if it'd be possible / worth it to mount a gyro on the back of blade or supports controlling lift servo to help with ground leveling.
I dunno if a drift car gyro would work rotating it from Yaw to Pitch, or if a 3-axis would be needed. I know it's cheating, that machine wouldn't have had assists.

[Rvjimd]

I bought and tried a gyro rx about a year ago. I forget exactly what issues I had but decided it wasn't helping. My biggest problem is like in the above video where dirt or sand gets caught in the track. That makes the Dozer pitch up and down really bad and makes it nearly impossible to maintain a good blade height.

It actually isn't too bad when the tracks are running flat. The biggest thing I find is having the dual rate so I can push pretty slow, which looks better anyway. And, just watching the blade close, I need to sit where I can see really good or it is impossible to do a good job. I have the track drive motors setup on the right stick and the blade on the left which works good for me.

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Designed and printed a new tailgate latch for the dump truck. If anyone wants more info or the design files from f360 of the stl files let me know.

https://youtu.be/ZQHZRrJXO0M

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Guys,

I'm thinking about some sort of unloading facility for my Sand barges. My first thought is some sort of traveling gantry crane with a clamshell bucket on it. I have a nice clam for my crawler nylint crane. I like using it, but it is VERY tedious and requires ultimate attention to the hoist and closer controls otherwise you end up slacking or opening the clam. So, are there other options for the closing mechanism? I don't want to do a hydraulic system like I have seen, and I don't know what else might work?

Thoughts?

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Some final testing/practice with my equipment before the Brownsville Show. I shot some time lapse building the new dirt ramp up to the north loading dock. I'll be able to walk the crane up and down the new ramp when finished.

https://youtu.be/EPjvZc83tvg

(I just re-watched the video, slowed down to .25 makes it a bit easier to watch I think?)

(Update: I added a music sound track and if you watch it at reduced speed you better mute it, otherwise it is pretty hard on the ears!)
Jim

[doodlebug]

Hi Jim, is your radio programmable? This video may give you some ideas for controling 2 lines.

https://youtu.be/BMFz-26r4Nk
Cheers, Neil.

[Rvjimd]

Not really a pond Tour as much as " I finally got the boat in the water, so lets post a video". Been busy working on the RV-10 project and just haven't gotten much boating or heavy equipment stuff done this year, I hope to do some more before the season slips by me. (I have tried to make a pond Tour video every year, kind of neat to compare to years past and see what changes)

https://youtu.be/Gic0OKnrZ7I


Jim

[skeeter]

I'm LOVING the functional locks

[Rvjimd]

Skeeter, thanks!

I plan to get the dragline and Dozer and my other stuff out this week and make a loading video. Probably have to take a few loads of sand thru the chamber to the lower pool!

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Here are two videos I just made showing how I have my transmitter configured and a short demonstration of the flanking maneuver. Also included is a drawing showing the opposite thrust and rudder position during the maneuver.

https://youtu.be/slfDMLFdb9c

https://youtu.be/UehqHnLhhrw

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Got the dragline out for a quick check...

https://youtu.be/LNXkxv8x-2g

Jim

[Rvjimd]

I finally got back to the motorize the lock chamber gates project. This is the upper set, not sure I'm going to do the lower set at this point. Probably see how these work out. The motors are 65 rpm gear motors from servo city and they turn a 10-24 lead screw inside of the black delrin "piston" that is visible in the video. Going to add an extension to the controller box and paint the motor cover/mounts to match the rest of the chamber.


Stay tuned for a future video with a Barge entering the chamber using the new setup!

https://youtu.be/a95VcZlvopg

Jim

[Rvjimd]

Here is a video of the motor and stuff under the hood of the gate Actuator.

https://youtu.be/d7oF_Fiz0PA