Any pix on where you installed the SportBEC

[Roger_15]

My ESC is consistently too hot to touch, so I decided to take some of the load off it. I splurged :YeaBaby: and picked up a Sport BEC. All the soldering is done but I can't seem to find a good place to put it. Because of the "pass-through" feature, I have wires on both ends and it's getting messy.

I am interested in seeing how others have done it...or just in general how you squeeze upgrades into those small places. A picture is worth a ga-zillion words.

Thanks.

Roger.

See post # 17 for update and pix.

[Slyster]

I don't have a pic.. but I just foam taped my BEC on the frame to the right and just below the battery... this is looking at it with the tail pointing to me... the canopy doesn't touch it.

[audiracerj]

Here's mine.

[audiracerj]

Sorry for the bad quality.

And BTW I haven't wrapped the wires yet, so it all looks messy...

[ted_wears_a_hat]

http://www.helifreak.com/picture.php?albumid=827&pictureid=6111

[SeaComms]

Heres mine :)

http://www.helifreak.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=44466&d=1207532344

[Roger_15]

Thanks, for the replies.

Sorry it took me so long to get back here, but on Wed, Thurs and Fridays, I do a work-a-thon. Translation: I do a weeks worth of work in three days. Anyway I appreciate the pix and even the suggestions.

Slyster; I have heard of doing it that way, but the SportBEC is so bulky I didn’t like it there. That is still an option I am considering.

Audiracer: The quality isn’t so bad that it doesn’t help, thank you. Just out of curiosity, what do you mean by wrapping the wires?

Ted: That looks good, but I wouldn’t think the wire would reach the receiver. Did you use an extension? Also, did you do anything to the canopy to help with the cooling?

SeaComms: That doesn’t look bad, at least all the wires are inside the frame. Question though, why the ferrite setup? I would think you don’t need it at 2.4 Ghz. Let me know.

Thanks again for taking the time to post up. It has helped and I’ll check back in the morning. 3:30 AM comes awful early. :whip


Roger.

[matt381]

Forgive my noobness (LOL) but I have been seeing this BEC around and I have no clue as to what it is or what it does. Please fill me in. Thanks

[Mon_t]

It's short for Battery Eliminator Circuit. It's purpose is to step down the voltage from 12V down to something the Rx and servos can use be it 4.8V, 5.1V, 6V or even 8V in some cases.
There are two types of BEC Linear and Switching.
Most ESCs have a Linear BEC built in, These are usually pretty inefficient especially when you go bigger to something that need 20V. They are usually the reason why most ESCs get hot and go into thermal shutdown.
Swtiching BECs use a mosfet type system to step down the voltage. These are very efficient and don't usually get hot.

This is the one I am using on mine and there description explains in detail about the efficientcy and benefits aspect, so I would suggest reading. Mine was really cheap to was $14 AUD.

ELE 3A UBEC (http://www.elerc.com/english/index.php?gOo=goods_details.dwt&goodsid=223&productname=)

[ted_wears_a_hat]

Ted: That looks good, but I wouldn’t think the wire would reach the receiver. Did you use an extension? Also, did you do anything to the canopy to help with the cooling?

Yes I needed to use an extension to make the cabling neat and get the S-BEC the recommended distance from the rx. I could JUST get it to work without an extension (mounted the other way) but I didn't like the position of the cables and just used and extension.

After fitting it I hovered a couple of packs and the ESC and S-BEC were only warm. The motor and battery were a little warmer so i did add some holes in the fake vents and also along the canopy 'glass' to pick up a draft from the rotor wash. The battery is now just warm and motor has never got much more than warm either.

All seems to be working good. :thumbup:

[Roger_15]

Yes I needed to use an extension to make the cabling neat and get the S-BEC the recommended distance from the rx. I could JUST get it to work without an extension (mounted the other way) but I didn't like the position of the cables and just used and extension.

After fitting it I hovered a couple of packs and the ESC and S-BEC were only warm. The motor and battery were a little warmer so i did add some holes in the fake vents and also along the canopy 'glass' to pick up a draft from the rotor wash. The battery is now just warm and motor has never got much more than warm either.

All seems to be working good. :thumbup:

Thanks Ted, I think I'll give it a try this weekend.

Roger.

[audiracerj]

This is what I was talking about with wrapping...

[Roger_15]

Thanks Audiracerj. :thumbup:

Roger

[Pimpy S]

sorry to ask, so the BEC is an additionnal electro part plugged on the stock ESC ?

[audiracerj]

FOR THE SPORT BEC, the ESC plugs into the BEC, and then that goes into the reciever where the ESC went. That's what makes this one easy to plug and play!

But some BEC's are different, and have to be plugged into the reciever using 2 pins in an empty space (such as the gyro gain channel)

[Pimpy S]

FOR THE SPORT BEC, the ESC plugs into the BEC, and then that goes into the reciever where the ESC went. That's what makes this one easy to plug and play!

But some BEC's are different, and have to be plugged into the reciever using 2 pins in an empty space (such as the gyro gain channel)
thanks, so is this mandatory to add a bec ? or for a beginner no use so far

[Roger_15]

I decided to go with Ted’s plan, it seems to me that it fits pretty good under the battery tray. The only thing I don’t like about the installation is adding an extension to the wire that runs from the BEC to the receiver. If you look close at the picture you’ll see that I reinforced the connection by adding some heat shrink. I do this to my planes as well.

I must admit though, that I don’t like the additional wires. It might have been a better idea to just upgrade the speed control in the first place, but I have this desire to keep her as stock as I can. That being said, if my abilities out grow my setup I may dump that idea.

Now…did it fix the problem?

Answer: Maybe…lol

I only had time to do a run-up on the kitchen floor so this is not actual flying or hovering. After about a minute or two at half stick I checked the ESC and it was warm but not hot, so far so good. I ran her up again a little longer and fooled around with the cyclic and rudder as much as I dared while she danced on the floor. And what a tantalizing dance it was… “Come on big boy, go ahead and hover me.” Did I do it? Sorry, I don’t kiss and tell. :YeaBaby:


Anyway, I check the battery, speed control and the BEC. All seemed warm, but not excessively hot and it surprised me that the battery was cooler. Go figure.


I should be able to fly this morning and I will post any changes needed to this conclusion.



BTW: I took the opportunity to change the battery and ESC connectors to Deans, which is what I use on everything else. It will permit me to use the Flight Power EVO25 I have that currently has no home. 2170 mAh.

Thanks for helping out.

Roger.

[neilg.]

roger, those training gear look beefy, homemade or bought?

ty,
neilg.

[Roger_15]

roger, those training gear look beefy, homemade or bought?

ty,
neilg.

They are what HeliDirect gave me. At the time I didn’t think to check them out and that turned out to be a mistake. They were very springy, too springy, and they were angled down so that the heli sat up in the air. I wound up modifying the hub that the legs plug into so it would sit flat. Now they’re fine.

I don’t remember the name of them but they are made for the Trex.

BTW: I live about fifteen minutes from HeliDiret.com’s warehouse. No shipping!:)

Roger.

[audiracerj]

thanks, so is this mandatory to add a bec ? or for a beginner no use so far

It's not necessary unles you have overheating problems caused by high ambient temp.'s or upgraded servos. But once you get skillful at flying, you might find that you want more efficient power. ;)