Hurricane 550 Pro BEC.

[imported_don_rottman]

I haven't been flying heli's long, i have a Trex450 and i relied on the BEC to let me know it was time to land.

I now have a hurricane 550 Pro and am using the batteries from my Trex - 2 x 2100 20C lipo batteries.

I read how to set up the BEC on the GAUI ESC and set it up accordingly. However, it never kicks in!

I have set it up several time as as i read somewhere that some of the Gaui ESC's loose their settings.

I know most people on large heli's time their flights, but whats the point of having a BEC if it doesn't work.

Have i missed something?

When flying the hurricane the heli seems to get to a point where it is starting to show signs of power loss (more throttle and little response). The BEC doesnt kick in.

When i go to charge the battereis the lowest volatage i have seen on a single cell is 3.2 volts. I usually end up putting in around 1300 - 1400 Mah.

Any ideas?

[Happy|Harry]

the BEC is a Battery Eliminator Circuit, i think you are slightly confused about it's function

phil

[imported_don_rottman]

Thanks Phil

On the Trex, the BEC and ESC where one unit.

When the volatge on the battery dropped below a pre-defined voltage the BEC would pulse the motor to let you know the battery was low.

On page 10 of the 550 manual (see atachement) there is a whole page dedicated to the ESC config and it also refers to the BEC.

It seems straight forward but it doesnt seem to work.

I ruined a battery buy over discharged it, so now i time the flights.

I just wondered if anyone else found the same problem as I.

[hommer75]

The Gaui controller is an ESC only, there is no BEC in there.
'Battery management system' in the sentences reffers to something in the ESC which monitors the battery voltage. It has nothing to do with a BEC. The low voltage cutoff in the ESC starts to pulse the motor speed.
You have a seperate BEC which is either connected to a seperate battery or, in case of a high voltage BEC (aka UBEC), connected to your flight battery. This BEC powers your receiver, servos and gyro.

Does that clear things up?

[Happy|Harry]

yeah lots of ESC's have built in BEC's but that's not what controls the power reduction, the BEC just powers your Rx, servo's, gyro etc. what you are refering to is LVC, Low Voltage Cutoff which reduces or stops the power to the motor at a predetermined level. iirc there was some problems with the Gaui 50A esc in that it wasn't holding the programmed settings, this may be your problem. try looking through the "Hurricane 550 is here, cheap, light and flies just awsome!" thread on RCG as i think they found a solution :)

phil

[Sunkan]

the LVC threshold is usually too low anyway, you better time your flights and land some time before the LVC kicks in.

[imported_don_rottman]

Ahhhhhhh - YES!

I JUST realized (as you have pointed out) that the BEC is in fact the alternative to running a receiver/Gyro battery pack. DOH :oops:

So, the Low voltage cut off is what i should be referring too? That doesn't seem to work.

Do either of you time your flights on your Hurricane (or other larger electric heli's) or do you fly until the Low Voltage cut of kicks in?

I will check the thread recommended by Happy Harry.

[bclong21]

Yea and like sunkan said- Don't ever fly until the low cut out kicks in on the esc. Guess how I know-an expensive lesson involving a swollen lipo!

[imported_don_rottman]

I know what you mean - thats how i found out that the LVC wasnt working.

I didn't think a lipo could swell up a big as mine did without burning up or exploding!

Thanks for all your help.

[tungym]

My UBEC. Just under 12g. @6V 5A (claim) for my 7sA123.

[red_z06]

The term BEC stands for Batt Elimimation Circuit which is typically a switching regulator that can handle high voltage of the power pack as an input thus eliminating the receiver battery.

The align BEC (as in Trex600) is a standard linear regulator that DOES require receiver battery of 6-8.4v then it regulates down to 5.8v. It should just be called regulator not BEC. :mrgreen:

Most of the BEC's that can handle high voltage up to now has been limited to 3a continuous so the use has been limited to medium sized airplane and helis of 50 and under.

For the H550, I chose to go with 6v UBEC to eliminate the receiver pack (2-5oz additional weight)

[mkc2]

When you connect the BEC to the battery pack, do you connect to 0ne pack at 11.1v or both packs at 22.2v

[DEWorley]

22 volts is too high for the BEC. I'm running my BEC on a seperate 7.4/700 ma Lipoly battery.

[celter]

When you connect the BEC to the battery pack, do you connect to 0ne pack at 11.1v or both packs at 22.2v

Depends on the BEC. I connect it to the 22.2 V because my SPORTBEC can handle up to 6S lipos.

[kgfly]

It is very unwise to rely on the ESC LVC feature to limit your flights. Unless you are flying AirThunder batteries which tolerate discharge down to 2.0V (although this still is not recommended) you will kill your LiPos flying to LVC.

1) Time your flights
2) Monitor your recharge mAh and adjust your flight time to ensure you are not putting back more than 80% of the pack's nominal capacity

For extra safety, get a lipo low voltage alarm from Efliernz, simple, reliable, very effective and cheap insurance for your expensive lipos:
http://efliernz.googlepages.com/home
http://www.helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=18063

[mkc2]

Does any one know the spec's on the BEC (GB-003) that came with the EP550 pro

[nubli]

the bec is good for about 5-6 flights then green led goes off. i would land and change to other battery for receiver, or recharge.