FPV Flying, Where gamers go to die, reality.

I had a brief go at the dork goggles, the receiver works but no signal coming through, but I'm not done yet! I expect to resolve this issue, it appears to be working ok, just no signal coming through with a quick test, if not... There is no DVR and the power cable is a foot long with a small barrel connector, it will reach around the back. I have a small old dollar store flip phone case with a belt clip, it will hold up to a large 4S battery and will clip right on the strap, putting the battery at the back of your head. You can also use an old style cell phone charger cord (thrift store yard sales) using the same size barrel connector and make a longer spare cord by soldering on and XT60 connector after removing the wall wart, you won't need the ferrite filter, if the goggles are the only thing on the battery and a 1 or 2 meter cord will allow the battery to be in a variety of places off your head. These are cheap goggles, though the quality overall was good and they look durable and well designed. Video input and output are by switching the wires of a RCA, dupont 2 wire adapter plug on a 3 pin terminal, a pain, but it allows an external DVR and use by a ground station. A few DIY mods and upgrades and they should be just fine, as soon as I get something on the screen other than menus and static! But I was fumbling around without reading the fucking chinglish manual either.

Diving the Tallest Building in the World - Burj Khalifa FPV

Hawkeye FPV goggles /visor X $79. US

More on goggles, or should I say moron on goggles! D'Oh

I just realized why I wasn't getting a video signal from the drone to the goggles, I recently put a runcam 2 on the drone for both FPV and HD video recording. I plugged in the drone powered up the vtx and forgot to switch on the fucking runcam2 camera!

So much for quick peeks! Time for a more serious look, I've got a bunch of stuff from the mail to catch up on though, but will get the goggles working and some DIY upgrades for them, including a battery cable extension, video input and outputs and adding a DVR perhaps internally (there is a slot in the case) or an external one using the video out pins. I expect good quality and a bright screen that can be viewed outdoors in sunlight, this is what several reviewers reported, they also reported that the diversity receivers in the goggles were of good quality and had good range. You should be able to use these things until you upgrade and then as a backup, the removable screen is particularly useful. At around $79. US, they are very good value for money, provide an excellent experience and can be used for years in one form or another. These are not worthless shit, their deficiencies can be easily amended with a little cheap DIY, I'm sure there are mod & upgrade videos for them on youtube or will be.

A review of the above product, always watch or read reviews before you buy something online, watch more than one and independent ones if you can.
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Hawkeye little pilot VR

Don't judge a product before you try it. I was so expecting these to be total trash but instead they are my best budget FPV boxish goggle option that i can think of!

Here is another reason or two why I think these Hawkeye goggles are worth having, especially for the beginner or casual hobbyist.

These goggles were originally designed and made for VR or watching movies in a relaxed posture, their design avoids eye strain for long term viewing too, they were originally designed to allow you to watch movies on your phone and can also be used for this by replacing the FPV screen with a cell phone. For instance my Samsung Galaxy A8 phone fits there perfectly and I can watch movies with this gizmo, I can also use it to connect via 4G networks, since the phone is 4G and works on 5.8 Ghz wireless too as well as 2.4 Ghz standard wireless.

This means I can use it to FPV via 4G networks at some future date, perhaps even plug my transmitter into the USB port for manual control. I just need to buy a data dongle for the plane and rent a sim card by the hour when I need the time, like a pay as you use cell phone service. Also many cheap drones need a 4G phone to directly pick up their transmitted high latency video feeds, I have a drone like this, it transmits a digital video signal on 5.8 ghz, but your analog FPV receiver will not pick it up, a cellphone using a custom app will though and record it too. So you can use these goggles with your phone to FPV cheap toy drones at short range, but latency is high and the experience is not great with these systems that are made for framing aerial shots, not FPV.

Note the picture on the box they came in and product name, they cleverly adapted their product's periscopic optical system by simply buying a 5" FPV screen and receiver Supplying it with a basic battery connector and cheap oddball antennas, a linear whip and an omni directional circular polarized clover leaf in a plastic case of indeterminate polarization. I guess I'll have to crack open the lollipop and see what direction it's polarized left or right.

Circular polarized antennas are used on drones and planes too and the receivers antennas direction of polarization must match the video transmitters antenna polarization. Circular polarized antennas are used when you are doing complex maneuvers in different orientations and want to avoid loss of signal strength due to cross polarization. Airplanes often sometimes use linear polarized video antennas, but not too often, tiny short range drones use them though. If linear antennas become cross polarized by 90 degrees you will lose almost all reception as the radio energy absorbed by the antenna goes out of alignment with its orientation.

You might want to buy a good quality circular polarized clover leaf and a circular polarized triple feed patch and antenna for directional coverage at range. You will need two antennas, one omnidirectional and the other directional for the diversity receivers on the goggles. Make sure everything is either left hand or right hand polarized and the antenna connectors on the goggles are the male SMA type with a center wire exposed, you will need female types of antenna connectors on the antennas without the center signal wire, but a socket for it instead.



The screen is removable and the phone I took this picture with fits right into the optical system. Inside the goggles are the battery connector and various accessories, You can also use the very bright FPV screen as a monitor. They come with a lineir (useless) and circular polarized lollipop antennas, though there in no indication if the clover leaf inside the case is R or L hand polarized, Jesus! The manual is also in Chinglish, but the price is right and the quality good as is their utility, they also fold up into a compact size for packing. The average RC and drone hobbyist is equipped and resourceful enough to deal with their shortcomings using mods and upgrades, if not, consider not getting into the hobby, it's not for you.

Another FPV hobbyist mail bag, if you like and want to explore various aspects of this hobby this is what your mailbox will look like as you accumulate things for current and future projects. You should also keep and keep track of specifications and online instructions, things arrive weeks later, unnamed and without documentation of any kind, so a bit of organising is required too. Refer to your previous orders on vendors pages and make a bookmark for folder for this in your browser. Download and keep pdf files in a special folder too for future reference, mystery electronics are a bitch!

Below is an multi color RGB LED kit for drones or airplanes with a control board (no instructions or specs), an LED headlight (again no specs included) I write voltages and currents on the bag with a sharpie for this stuff. Also there is a Frsky 2.4 ghz diversity receiver on the BL with a spec sheet for controlling planes and drones, a cheapo set of digital calipers and some fiber reinforced packing tape for use in high stress areas of foam planes.

Today I got a PWM motor controller to regulate the power on a foam wire cutter I'm going to build, I will innovate on the frame and table using junk, while using an old ATX power supply. I'm waiting on a roll of nichrome wire, but it is a winter project and I'm in no rush. Also got a cheapo small battery powered foam cutter to play around with, used for crafts and hobbies.

The Hawkeye goggles were tested earlier, they work fine and the picture is great, though I didn't bother to remove the peel off plastic protectors on the mirrors and lenses. I even tried out using an old small flip phone belt clip case I had for a battery holder and clipped it on the back strap, works great and the supplied cord with and xt60 connector works great too! An old flip phone charger will probably supply a spare long cord too, if it has a barrel connector of the same size, just cut off the wall wart and solder on an XT60 battery connector.

I don't see any serious issues with these goggles and deficiencies can be corrected cheaply and easily, including adding a cheap DVR. Use an old flip phone case for the battery and clip it on the back if the head strap. Speaking of head straps, it has a good three point one that adjusts for very large heads, my noggin is not small and I had to take up lots of slack, so unless yer head is as big as a pumpkin there should be no size issue. They can also be used with a ground station by switching RCA connector wire with the 2 wire Dupont plug on the input, output pins of the 3 pin connector on the goggles. You should be able to use a standard 3 wire dupont servo connector on it too and have 2 rca connectors with a common ground in the center, one RCA connector for video output to a DVR and another RCA connector to a ground station. Playback of video would be made by disconnecting the ground station and using it's input to feed the DVR signal to the goggles, maybe I'll try to think up a switcher or someone else has.

New MenaceRC Antennas and this one is a something very new...

I have one of these cameras and the low light level performance is better than your eyes, at dusk and dawn, you are surprised when you take your goggles off at how dark it is. Dusk and dawn are often the best times to fly, the air is still and sometimes the lighting is great, but your HD camera won't perform as well in low light as this one and this is the one you fly with, flying blind is a bad idea.
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Caddx Ratel FULL Review - DAY / DAWN / DUSK / NIGHT US$29.64

Caddx Ratel 1/1.8'' Starlight HDR OSD 1200TVL NTSC/PAL 16:9/4:3 Switchable 1.66mm/2.1mm Lens FPV camera For RC Drone - Red 2.1mm + ND Filter

Expensive large scale model RC aircraft, a factory tour.
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Besuch bei Top Rc

I have no idea what these things cost, but they look a mite expensive and are used mostly for LOS acrobatics at RC fields. These planes might be at or near the legal RC weight limit in Canada of 25Kg, they have some serious hardware aboard.

Got another hair brained scheme in mind!I want to build an RC plane rescue boat this winter, but I was thinking I could have some fun with some parts and components that I've got already. Something cheap and made from junk and dollar store stuff, innovation and fun is the game, the greater purpose is to gain experience on the water and configure the control system which with the exception of the computer and GPS will be the same as on the RC rescue boat. Here I want to play with materials and dynamic forces, mount the runcam 2 and play it back at slow mo to look for flexing and other issues, gain experience with the components and configuring the transmitter.

I'm settling on a four 2L pop bottle catamaran pontoon design with a hardwood ($ store garden stake frame) using coroplast and a tupperware container as a structure and diagonally braced' It will be an air boat powered by 2 electric motors and props with a couple of pounds of thrust. For pusher props it is easy measure this using a digital scale, for tractors it involves a bit of fucking around. It doesn't matter much though cause everything is tested against reality in the end, Likewise I don't need to do buoyancy calculations either, with 8 liters of air volume supporting a kilogram of weight, I expect she will float real high on the bottles at 8:1!

I'll make retaining notches in the wood frame and strap the 2 liter bottles to the frame using 2 long heavy nylon wire ties and perhaps use some adhesive too. The raised control and propulsion system platform will be at the center of buoyancy, high enough to keep the spray off the motors, but keep the center of gravity low by recessing the tupperware container in the platform. I also have some cheap 3.3 volt LED tape that can be cut into 3 LED sections I could put a 6" self adhesive tape stips of bright LEDs inside each green plastic 7up bottle and I have salvaged waterproof bulkhead connectors for the bottle caps too! I also have several 30 watt very bright COBs kicking around with matching 12v DC drivers that should run off a 3S or even 4S Lipo.

I figure she should go like snot, can be easily FPV ed and should be like one of those bugs that walks on water without breaking the surface tension. Gonna buy some more 90CM hardwood garden stakes for the frame and long heavy wire ties at the dollar store. The frame will be wood glued and held with machine screws and washers and also diagonally wrapped in 2 wire ties for emergency backup at critical joints and to get the wreck ashore! Even a light buoyant structure has a lot of dynamic forces on it if yer skimming the waves tops at 30 or 40 miles an hour, there's a lot of pounding and vibration. Ya get serious when ya go to sea, if don't wanna swim fur the fucking thing!

Here is what I've got including a couple more bottles, I need a couple more packs of hardwood stakes, some large wireties a tupperware container and other assorted shit and I'm good to go, a small can of polyethylene varnish should protect the frame good enough. This is not something that will be around for a long time, just extending the life and utility of some junk and having fun with a cheapo short term project to try out some stuff.

The genesis of "The Junk Strapped Boat"! Strapped on junk for pontoons with wire ties and made from shit laying around, the name is appropriate.
Note my four beauties in the backyard under the pines, legal to grow 4 here and I do.



One thing I might try to do is vary the thrust pitch angle of the two propulsion units by 10 degrees from horizontal to pitched up 10 degrees. I only have 9 gram 90 degree servos but could use 2 for 18 grams total I could leverage the 90 degrees to 10 degrees gaining a 9: 1 ratio, or 18 gm x 9= 162 gm of rotational force on the shaft rotating it approx 10 degrees. However I will be directing a kilogram of thrust by rotating the shaft and the motor and thus thrust line will be centered on the shaft in balance with the load minimizing the force required. I can rig an experiment rotating one motor/prop with a levered servo under full thrust though and see how it goes at 9:1, I'll be using tractor propulsion for the props. If I can angle the pitch of the thrust upward slightly, the front pontoons should rise up slightly with an improved angle of attack perhaps and make it skim the water better. Dollar store tomorrow with a small list I think and start constructing the frame, no need for plans for a one off like this, nothing too complicated and no need to communicate the design, things are pretty obvious, it's built from what is at hand or cheaply acquired. If someone wanted to build one they can just look at the pics and description and use what materials they had on hand.

A little correction on cell phones and FPV frequencies, cell phones do not pick up 5,8 GHZ signals, you can buy a $20 receiver and plug it into the usb port on your 4 G phone and get fairly good analog FPV on the cell phone and use that in a set of cheap goggle frames like visor X

Here is a bit of text from google on cell phone frequencies:
There are two common frequency bands that all cell phone carriers use. The Cellular band commonly referred to as 1900 uses the frequencies 1850-1990. The other band is PCS which is the 800 MHz band uses frequencies in the 824-894 range. Most of our cellular phone signal products work on one or the other.
The newer higher bands in the GHZ range make FPV possible using this new cell phone network, you need a low latency video signal to have an enjoyable experience and if it can stream a movie to your phone... My drone most likely transmits a digital video signal at 2.3 or 2.6 Ghz, my old phone 2.4 Ghz wireless receiver couldn't work with it, a 4 G was required. It still means you can FPV via a 4G phone and use it with a cheap drone, but the latency is high and the video will freeze and lock up.

Finding my mobile frequency on my Iphone or Android phone (fieldtest mode)


It will be one of these 5 frequencies

• 800Mhz (Band 20)
• 900Mhz (Band 8 )
• 1800Mhz (Band 3)
• 2100Mhz (Band 1)
• 2600Mhz (Band 7)

(Band numbers are just easy to read labels )

3G will either be at frequency 900Mhz or 2100Mhz.

• 900Mhz (Band 8 )
• 2100Mhz (Band 1 )

4G or LTE

• BAND 3 = 1800Mhz.
• BAND 7 = 2600Mhz
• BAND 20 = 800Mhz
• BAND 1 = 2100Mhz
• BAND 8 = 900Mhz

How ya learn about this stuff and what to buy. Here is "Sir" Andrew Newton and RC plane expert and gentleman, he can teach you many things.
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Which RC Radio - Transmitter comparison

Bought some stuff for "The Junk Strap Boat" at the dollar store 47"! heavy nylon wire tie straps for the pontoons. A good thing I got another 3 packs of hardwood stakes too, they were cleaning out the isle. I picked some smaller sized ties for general use on the project and some color vinyl tape for visibility and to gussy her up. I also got a plastic food container with a silicone seal in the lid for the battery and some electronics, the water proofed receiver and antennas will be mounted on a nifty 4' long orange plastic rod that is very ridged, they sell them at the dollar store too. It will slide into a piece of tubing mounted on the frame and the SBUS cable of the receiver will use a shielded old mouse cable to run the 6' to a 16 channel PWM break out SBUS converter for servos and throttles and I've got a couple of those kicking around too. The receiver is a 2.4 Ghz Frsky diversity XM with 2 antennas (see photo above in thread) that should be at right angles to each other in a Y configuration on top of a 4' mast inside a small waterproof plastic pill bottle. Water absorbs radio energy and ya wanna be as far from it as you can get for maximum range and to maintain LOS, hence the removable masts and sbus extension. I expect to pop the mast on and the receiver/antenna module on top if it with a 6' extension shielded signal and power wires, it runs on 5v and sips a few milliwatts.

For now an AIO FPV (got a couple) camera (Here is an $18 US example, plenty to choose from) stuck into the top of the plastic box, a pan tilt camera on a short wooden mast later using 2 radio channels. One channel for throttle, one for differential steering thrust (mixed on radio) and one channel throttle for the reverse motor prop, normally not used in forward motion except to brake or reverse out of tight spots. One channel main thrust for pitch trim (if I want it) 2 channels for pan and tilt, that's 6 channels, one for arming and one left to switch on the 30 watt flood light (separate battery), I've got 8 more channels left. The LED tape strips inside the pontoons will light upon start up, even if the propulsion system is disarmed.

I should have 3mm screws, nuts and washers, so it might be time to spend a little quality time in the basement shop building up the cross braced frame If I had small turnbuckles and wire I might even cross stress the raised structure like a WWI airplane, but that would be extreme for this application. Build the frame and wood glue and screw it together, then cover the wood in water proof varnish till the little can is gone or ya figure she had enough.

Might even take the phone along for pics and videos, might make a nice Youtube build video. I was looking for a good airplane design too using plastic pop bottles, there are several using a pop bottle and cardboard.

It's hot and humid here today and the basement shop won't be too pleasant, but never fear where I live more comfortable days are never scarce. Time for some more shopping, even though covid is low here, we still recently instituted masks for stores etc, there is high compliance now and I feel safer shopping, masks are good for business.

Today's shopping list includes some more super adhesive double sided gel tape, stickiest and strongest stuff I've run across. A couple of those meter plus plastic rods I'm gonna use for antennas too, they look like glass fiber reinforced plastic extrusions, are ridged and appear to be quite strong. I'll also need 30mm x 3mm machine screws, nuts and washers or the SAE equivalent whatever is cheaper, the hardwood is 13mm x 13mm, or approx 1/2"x1/2" and the screws are to hold the joints tight and reinforce quality wood glue that will keep the frame ridged and square, along with diagonal bracing. A small can of varnish too after talking to some old fart at the hardware store who knows his shit!

After I get what I need, I'll proceed to construct the 80 x 80 cm double barred "H" shaped frame, then later a foot high frame in the center of buoyancy at the middle of the boat. The rear of the platform will be supported by the vertical motor mounts at the rear about 8" above the platform, but I'm not sure. I want to keep the props clear of the water, but I don't want the thrust line too far above the center of mass, or the nose will dive when throttle is applied. I might need to pitch the thrust angle upward by a few degrees to avoid this, but it costs in terms of efficiency, a couple of degrees won't hurt much. It would be wise to make the thrust pitch manually adjustable and experiment with different thrust pitch angles until the best one is found.

I'm also thinking about a better pop bottle mounting system that will keep the pontoon in place better and provide some vibration dampening too. I'm gonna cut up a standard 2L pop bottle to a bit shorter than the center cylindrical section, next I'll slice that into quarters (might use half sections too) and then use super tape and tacks to hold them onto the fame. Super tape between the DIY plastic bottle holder and the pop bottle and 2 super heavy plastic long ties strapping everything onto the frame, it should be overkill. I'm wondering how hot wire would be for working pop bottles, but a sharp utility knife works pretty good too, as does a simple jig.

I'm also thinking about not putting LED strips inside the 2 L pop bottle pontoons. I might want to pressurize them to a PSI or two. The simple way would be to put a little something like baking soda and a tablespoon of vinegar in the bottle and screw on the cap, the more complicated way is to install schrader valves (sniffler valve). Pressurizing the bottle tensions and strengthens it load carrying capacity, like the do with some liquid fueled rockets, that would collapse when fueled without being pressurized. A full pop can is stronger than an empty one and air works as well as liquid for the job. If I could get this thing skimming the wave tops at 40 or 50 mph, everytime the pontoon hit a wave top the point of impact might deform a bit, if unpressurized. It might be a factor in improving the thing, I can find other ways to mount led strips and will try it unpressurized and perhaps pressurized, it depends on how fast it goes, the faster the greater the forces. It might be a good subject for the runcam 2 slow mo features at lower resolutions and higher frame rates, maybe I can record the effect if any.

I also weighted a 4 pk of 1/2"x1/2" hardwood garden stakes and I'll use a package for the base double H frame, 219 gm, but I'm cutting off 10cm on one end so say 200 gm and I'll probably use close to 3 packages on the frame plus hardware 600 grams for wood plus hardware. A 2 L pop bottle weights 50 gm x 4 = 200 grams. Looks like the pontoons and structure will come in around a kilogram.

I'm tracking the weight because it might end up as a ground effect vehicle one day with wings for and aft between the pontoons, at the rear a elevator for pitch control and the rear of the long chord front wing is split for aeoleons and roll control, yaw control would be with differential thrust as usual. I'd remap the reverse engine throttle to a knob on the transmitter though! I need to get up of the water a foot or two and stay there at cruise speed while maintaining control. Banking might not be used for directional control that close in, might be best to just put in a cheap FC and let the PID mediated gyro control do the job of roll axis stability and then keep it in level mode.

Future questions might be how much foam board wing area 80 cm long and the best profile for the job, I figure if the front and rear wings are of equal area she would fly level with out too much trim or pitched up angle of attack.

For now I've got everything I need and will be cutting the 1/2" square hardwood to length using a hand saw and fastening it together with 1and 1/4" long SAE machine screws, washers and nuts. I'm not gonna use wood glue, but use either gorilla glue or plastic epoxy, probably plastic epoxy, it would be water resistant and very strong, I also bought two 6.5mm dia solid plastic "driveway marker" rods 1.5 meters long for antenna masts.
I'll need about a foot of plastic tubing with an ID of around 6.5 mm for a mount and a friction fit for the removable mast would be nice for retention purposes. I even bought a small Canadian flag for the "vessel", also useful for seeing which way the wind is blowing and how strong it is through the FPV camera and she might even have a magnetic compass in view of the camera too. I might put the ZOHD AIO FPV camera on the pan and tilt right from the get go, cause it will give me battery voltages in the osd and runs directly off the battery power. So the flag will give me wind speed and direction, a magnetic compass will give me navigation and the battery voltage will be in the FPV OSD. Got the basics covered, if I travel out of sight in a straight line, a reciprocal course on the compass takes me home ( I hope) , allowing for currents and wind.

EXCLUSIVE: SOHD Micro Talon - Top Secret Development Model

In a RTNO exclusive, we have the very first unofficial SOHD "Micro Talon" developed by Skankworks enginerd Andy B. Join in for this world exclusive on this brand new model made from ZE-BRA foam. Available for purchase from all major RC retailers shortly.

I think I'll rename the project from the Junk Strapped Boat, to the Junk Strapped Bug, cause the plan is to eventually make it fly as a ground effect vehicle, eventually off snow this winter and then off the water next summer. For the remainder of this summer and fall she will be a watercraft, but built with this consideration in mind. I'll need to take this into consideration when I design how the frame is put together, the main H section is the most critical part of the structure and I'm thinking of using Balsa plywood gussets in the four internal corners of the double cross braces and I've got a small aluminum turnbuckle and some picture frame wire to tension it together for additional strength. I could use metal corner brackets but the are steel, plastic or aluminum corner brackets would be nice if I can find or make some. I need to keep the weight as low as I can and the motor mounting system and battery container platform might be where to save weight. I need to know a few things before I can make it fly with the available components and thrust. I could make it fly if I threw money at it, but the point is to be creative with junk, low cost components and materials, many of the components will be recycled into other future projects. A boat first and then a ground effect vehicle to get above the waves instead of skimming them. I figure small scale hydrofoils would be a bad idea if there are any waves at all and I plan on using this thing in the harbor and there are wave there most of the time. She is broad in the beam and should be very stable, float high in the water and I'm trying to keep the CG as low as I can., I expect wind will blow it around a bit.

I'm gonna document the build with pics and video, later I might overlay audio in the video editor and make a Youtube video on it. RC boats aren't regulated, but if it flies I'll have to register it, as what though?

Junk Strap Bug or the JSB
I put together the base double barred H frame plastic epoxy glued and fastened with a wood screw at each joint after drilling holes for them. I also bought some coroplast and I laminated a piece of balsa plywood to it with plastic epoxy then varnish the wood. I'm gonna cut 4 gussets out of it to brace the outside corners to stiffen and greatly strengthen the base frame. I'll glue and bolt 4 vertical risers onto the inside corners of the H frame, 2 short for the front and 2 long in the back for motor mounts and to support the platform. All motors and props are tractor for now, but the center reverse motor might be a pusher. I'm waiting for the varnish to dry before working on the platform. I need to bring the motors and props down to have a look at mounting and placement options. I'm thinking a dowel or a hinged cross bar cause I want to be able to adjust the thrust pitch angle by a few degrees to see what works best, then locking it down after testing.

My 9 gm servos will produce a stall torque of 2.5 Kg/cm over 60 degrees and I can lever it down to 10 degrees or so, so one servo should do to adjust the pitch angle if desired

Didn't do too much on the JSB today, it's hot and humid here.
I was thinking of pressurising the 4 x 2 liter pop bottle pontoons for increased strength and resistance to potential deformation from high speeds. Increasing the pressure will also increase the weight slightly, both in gas pressure and in the residual vinegar, let's say a 2 liter pop bottle can withstand 150 PSI (when new!) before bursting, most pop is at 40 or 50 psi in the bottle, 100 in the sun. I figure I might need approx 7 PSI max to do the job in this case and should make the bottle quite rigid and difficult to squeeze. I would need twice as much vinegar as baking soda, perhaps less liquid with a stronger acid, like muriatic acid to produce CO2 for pressurization. If I put X amount of mixture in a 2 liter bottle then quickly put a ballon on it to capture the gas, then tied off the ballon. Next I'd immerse the balloon in water and measure how much water it displaced. If it displaced 2 liters of water it would be around 15 psi (atmospheric 14.7-1 liter it would be approx 7-8 PSI. I need to determine how much baking soda and muriatic acid it takes to generate a liter of CO2, pour that amount on each pontoon and screw on the cap tight.

Here is one way to cyper it out I found online, the bottom line is if I can react 3 grams of sodium bicarbonate with enough strong acid or vinegar it should do the job. Vinegar contains around 5% acetic acid, muriatic acid is dilute hydrochloric acid and the heat from the reaction could be an issue with it in a plastic bottle. But I do have an infrared thermometer and can test it in vitro.