Geoff and Doug.
Thank you both for your replies.
Geoff for the input on the ESC including its reliability and Doug for the essay of valid facts 🤣 re the Caldercraft.
Always good to get informative knowledge.
I will when time permits now investigate further and see if I can get them to work.
Take care chaps.
Regards Bill.

Hi Bill, As so oft a short question - and a long answer!
A) Your Caldercraft ESC;-
It's deffo of older vintage, ca 70s-80s, and obviously still uses a relay for reversing.
And most probably Darlington pair transistors for the power control.
Low resistance FETs (Field Effect Transistors 😁) started to appear in RC equipment at the end of the 80s.
I don't know how you tried to 'breath life' into your ESC, sounds uncomfortable😮, but I would proceed as follows;
I see it has an 'arming' switch, unusual back then suggesting that it might be one of the earliest with a BEC, so-
* connect to a 6 or 12V battery, no motor or RX at this stage,
* check with a multimeter if there is any voltage (~ 6 or 12V) between the black and white wires on the switch.
If the switch is ON there will be 0V, if the switch is OFF there should be 6 or 12V less maybe 0.5 to 0.7V.
I would guess that the LED should also light when the switch is on.
Also; if the ESC has a BEC cct (which the 'arming' switch suggests) then when the switch is ON you should measure 5 or 6V between the black and red wires of the RX cable.
If neither of the above is true the switch maybe faulty (I hate these little slide switches, I prefer to swap 'em for a decent positive acting toggle switch).
Test by shorting out with a small pair of pliers or a chunka wire.
If the above is true, i.e. the switch has volts on it, connect the ESC to a Servo Tester in lieu of TX and RX.
Set the three trim pots of the ESC to the middle.
Connect a test motor and battery,
Ensure that the switch is ON, check with an Ohmmeter / continuity tester on your multimeter,
Twiddle the servo tester slowly from one end to the other and check a) the motor runs forwards and backwards, b) the relay clicks when you go from ahead to astern or vice versa.
If result a) is zilch then I'm afraid you've gotta dead ESC. RIP ☹️
Either a dead control chip (basically the same as in servos in those days) or blown Darlingtons due to excess current drawn, stalled prop for instance.
If the motor runs with controllable speed forward but not back, no 'click' from the relay, i.e. stops when it should be 'in reverse' or continues to run forward, then either the relay is kaputt (burned out coil) or the relay driver transistor.
The ultimate test (which I do) is to look at the ESC output with an oscilloscope, to check that it outputs a variable DC pulse train according to the servo tester (or TX/RX) control setting.
However I do appreciate that not all model boaters have a scope available 🤔
If the motor turns at all then set the servo tester to Neutral, full ahead and full astern in that order and adjust the ESC trim pots to suit.

If none of the above helps do you want to send it to me to have a closer look at it?

B) Your GWS RX:
I agree with Geoff.
The RX should work with any 35Meg FM (narrow band) TX.
You just need a corresponding pair of crystals. Make sure that they are FM and not AM crystals!! AM crystals MIGHT work but compared to FM crystals they will be unstable in an FM set and the usable range may be considerably reduced.
Happy testing. 🤞
If nowt works send it to me, I enjoy a challenge 😁
Cheers, Doug 😎
EDIT: Ps I note in pic 3 that the red lead from the RX is visible across the 'Speed' trim pot which has been displaced! This indicates that the ESC has been opened - suggesting that it has already malfunctioned and been opened! So you may have inherited a fault 🤔
NEARLY FORGOT😮: You may need to 'teach' the ESC where Neutral (All Stop) and where Full Ahead are, by appropriate movement of the throttle stick (and trim controls) and watching for the LED blink to confirm each setting.

AS far as the GWS Receiver is concerned I have used two or three of these in model aircraft and found them absolutely reliable, never missed a beat. They are compatible with Futaba and most other makes of Tx and accept JR style plugs. Be aware of course that 35 Mhz is restricted to aircraft and must not be used on surface craft. In the days that I was buying them say 5/6 years ago they retailed at about 23GBP.
Regards - Geoff.

Ladies and Gents.
Along the same lines as Allan’s enquiry I have a similar request for greater knowledge and advice.
I am posting below some pictures of a couple of items that I have acquired in a box of bits.
A) A Caldercraft model 130A which is I assume,but could be wrong a speed controller of older vintage.I have done some research and not found a lot about it.
Can anyone advise me of its origins.I have tried to breath life into it but with no success at all.

B) Clearly a GWS 35 MHz RX of which there are numerous for sale on EBay.
Once again this make is unknown to me other than what I have discovered today.
It looks new,but I havn’t tested it as yet.Can anyone advise if it is compatible with other types of RC,ie Futaba,Hitec etc.

Any thoughts on both would be gratefully received.
Stay safe and take care.
Regards Bill

Hi Allan.
That’s music to our ears that you find the site so helpful.
Ask away anytime.
It’s strange because after digging out all my RC TX’s to post the photographs I found a Hitec 6 channel set I had forgotten about so I’m going to recommission it again.
Regards Bill👍👍

Thank you everyone, so very much.
This site is amazing, so much knowledge, experience, and friendly, very helpful support.
Ive picked so much useful info that has helped me make s bit more sense of things.
Thank you All very much.
Cheers 👍😁

LIke colins collection l too have several transmitters from a very early futaba( this was my dads) a box full of futaba challengers, two FR sky taranis to the latest a Radiomaster t16. I bought this tx because it was well recommended it also can be bound to almost any other 2.4 rx on the market. had it for nearly a year now used it on both aircraft and boats has not let me down yet.
Stay safe chaps, Jim.

I'm also back after 50years and I was advised to purchase a Turnigy TGY-i6 Mode 2 AFHDS Transmitter and 6CH Receiver, I then bought a 10 channel receiver as the unit can handle the 10 cannel receiver as well. So far so good and its not expensive.
I also have a MacGregor Jr 7 FM system, TR/TX, which has never been used.

Rc kit is down to what you can afford that suits your needs, my setups vary from early 27mhz ,40mhz, to modern 2.4ghz, and some old 35mhz aircraft sets with 2.4ghz conversion modules.
Most of my vintage models only require 2 channels so I'm happy using my old kit. My newer models have more channel requirements so I like my Futaba 7 channel flight controller with a 2.4 ghz module fitted. I've only recently started to buy modern 2.4ghz transmitters with multiple receivers that way I can use in various models and don't need to carry so much to the sailing venues.
Cheers Colin.

Hi Allan.
What an interesting minefield this is.
There are so many different types and makes out there and each of us would applaud our own types we use.
What I may think is the best,someone else may think is poor so it is very much down to personal choice.
Do you have any friends who have sets you could compare and try out?
It depends a lot on what you are hoping to achieve in the future.
These days you can buy one set that will run up to 9 servos/plus and store many many boats/planes so you only need the one controller and get as many RX as you need.
As I am old 😂 I still use some older gear on 27,35,40 right up to the 2.4 newer type.
Rule of thumb is don’t get a two channel set if you hope to expand.
Better to have spare than none.
Like all of us,always here to help.
Attached some pictures of my various units from oldest to latest (I hope)
Regards Bill.

Much appreciated Martin, as always. I'll have a look at the system.
Most helpful

Many thanks 👍

Many thanks, that's helpful, i had looked Fly sky systems but was not sure about them, that's really helpful to know.

Much appreciated👍.

Hi Allen,
I use a Fly Sky FS-TH9X 8 channel 2.4 GHz transmitter.
And by purchasing a few receivers you can program different boats and functions so you can use the one Transmitter for several boats.

So as you say you will be using 2 channels but with this system you can grow to using more channels.

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-9x-9ch-transmitter-w-module-ia8-receiver-mode-1-afdhs-2a-system.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_gb_shopping&countrycode=GB&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIuYLm443R8AIVgQsGAB3xZg-MEAQYAyABEgIgpvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&___store=en_us

You can purchase this system from other places just look around.

Martin555.

I use a flysky t6 to run both wind and power boats / yachts had no trouble with it and with receivers at about a £10