Mr.Tango

Hi there,

After burning out my original Hummingbird mixerboard I have gone the esc seperate route. The original mixer supplied the 4.6volts to the receiver.

I have the GWS ICS-50 for the tail motor and the GWS ICS-100 for the main motor.

I have wired these controllers to the 9.6 battery pack and to their respective motors. All going well. I now connect the signal 3 pin connectors from the esc's to the receiver. Once I'm happy I will then introduce a gyro.

Question:- Does the receiver get the required 4.6 volts from the wires that run from the esc to the reciever?

Thanks

VinceHerman

Yes.
That is because the ESCs have a BEC - a Battery Elimination Circuit - that eliminates the need for a separate receiver battery.

pthegr81

yes but you need to send power to both escs to send out to the motors but only the main needs to supply reciever power.just cut the red wire on the tail esc to disarm its bec.cut it in a way you can hook it back up if u want.
you will also have to do the throttle of both escs off.allthe way to the left for the tail esc or right if reversed,and naturally down for the main

Mr.Tango

Thanks for the replies guys, you have come up woth the goods once again, unlike the guys over at the www.rcgroups.com [&o]

I'll get on and see if I can sort this out.

Once again thanks!

Regards David

censoredsite

Hi dave, there is also another forum based in the uk which can also be of help to you, www.rcheliaddict.co.uk ,just register and go to the feb-april comp referrals and post that likansuk269 referred you,its a sort of membership recruitment drive,but with a nice prize for whoever gets the most referrals

qtip67t

Would anyone have a good parts lists to include part numbers to replace the ESC's on the Hummingbird also suggestions on what motors to get when the time comes I burn mine out?
This is a new field for me. I am somewhat use to gas powered helos

qtip67t

Woo hoo ! I finally had a good hover session in my family room today. I had control of the aircraft and did manage to not fly into anything. I can see that I will need to add heat sinks to the motors. They did manage to get warm. I want to plan ahead and get separate ESCs and upgraded motors. Any suggestion on which ones to go with and will the instructions explain with enough detail on the wiring on the ESCs?

qtip67t

I have searching the net trying to find the ICS-50/100 motors with no luck. Where would be a good site or place to order the motors to include the ESCs?

Mr.Tango

OK guys, the story so far. I have connect both esc's to the ni-cad so that they both get 9.6v +- 2v. I have disconnected one of the BEC supplies to the receiver, connected both esc's to the receiver. Both channels that are connected to the esc's are set to off/low setting. And thats it, nothing happens, other than the esc's get very warm.

This heating up, is this normal, and any ideas as to why I get no response from anything?

VinceHerman

The ESCs should not be ehating up. You have a problem.

Unplug everything from the receiver.

Plug 1 esc into the receiver (no battery, no motor)
Plug 1 servo into the receiver (preferable into a know channel, but if you don't know which is which, we will find out)
Turn on your transmitter.
Plug the batter into the ESC.
Did the servo 'jump' when you plugged in the battery?
Wiggle all the sticks (or just the one if you know which channel is which)
Does anything make the servo move?
Is the servo making any noise?
Is the ESC getting hot?

qtip67t

Can I use Li-Po 11.1 volt battery with the stock Hummingbird without needing to upgrade the ESC? If I need to upgrade the ESC what should I upgrade to?
Thanks

John

RoNeRiC

My Feedback: (1)

Hummingbird Elite FP, Himax 2015 4100, Castle Creations Pheonix 10 main, JMP HF100 tail esc, Stock tail motor, 10 tooth pinion, GWS 6 channel receiver, 2cell Kokam 1250mah lipo, GY 240 gyro.

Here is a link to help you out:

http://www.helihobby.com/html/separate_electronics.html

For a tail motor use the GWEPD-50. OR use the High authority tail motor from Century.

qtip67t

Great information, thanks. Though, can I still use the Li-Po with the stock setup on the Hummingbird?

RoNeRiC

My Feedback: (1)

Yes you can. You won't really get the advantage until you go brushless.

qtip67t

Now what would I need to upgrade then if I go brushless? This is a new area for me so I am clueless.
John

Mr.Tango

Hi Vincherman,

Well you hit the nail on the head so to speak. I disconnected one of the esc's from the power source and receiver. Then plugged one of the servos into the receiver, nothing, and it started to get hot again, blast. Tried another servo after disconnecting the other and all powered up OK! Basically I had a servo go U/S and was causing the issues I was having. So now I have connected up all esc's and the working servos. Both esc's now stay just luck warm, if that.

Now the next issue is how to get the esc's to power the main and tail rota. I have made sure that the throttle is all the way back, I have also reversed this channel, no change. I have put full left and right tail rota to try and get them to spin, no joy. Any ideas on this one gents?

David

pow_surfer

I hope you've soldered the esc's to their respective motors (100 outputs go to main, 50 outputs go to tail rotor). the tail rotror will only spin one way (as will the main, I hope hehehe).

Good luck,

Scott

RoNeRiC

My Feedback: (1)

A brushless speed control and a brushless motor. Get the Castle Creations pheonix 10 with a Himax 2015 4100. You can still use the mixer board and tail motor with the brushless main. You could also go brushless on the tail but then you would have to buy a brushless controller for it. The Himax and CC 10 can be bought in a combo for 90$.

Mr.Tango

Hi Scott, well I connected the larger of the two esc's to the main motor and the smaller one to the tail motor. This makes sense yes?

David

pow_surfer

That is right. If all your servos are responding, I might guess you burned out the ESC's by hooking them up directly to the battery. Hence the 'very hot' issue. Do you have any spares to try out? We had trouble getting the throttle to work as well, before we learned to reverse the channel. Seeing as you've tried this, I don't know what else to suggest. If you have a volt meter, you could check for output voltage...

Let me know,

Scott

qtip67t

RoNeRiC
Thanks for the info, that will help me alot. Now, one more question. I got a brand new shogun/zoom 400 but it came with no manuals. Could I use the same equipment that you mentioned for the Hummingbird for the new ship except disregard info referring to the tail?

John

pow_surfer

I forget the Tx/Rx you have but if they are both capable of 5+ channels you should be able to get it to work. Just got our Shogun off the ground. I think it's an awesome machine. I just hope you know how to fly it. Good luck! Any questions I can answer, I will. but there aer much more experienced ppl around here...

Scott

qtip67t

Scott
I having been playing with helos for a couple of years now and what to give electrics a try.
I have a Galaxy 8 JR helicopter radio and just need to get a Hitec micro receiver for it.
The Shogun I got is new but it came with no manuals and the electric scene is new to me so I have questions of what ESCs and Brushless motors to choose. What are you running in yours?
Oh also what gyro?

Thanks for the help

John

pow_surfer

Hey, I don't have the best respones at present. I'll check the next time I'm at my parents. We got the EF brushless motor from hobbypeople. We wern't too impressed when my dad paid for overnight, and they sent it econo. Missed out on a whole long weekend of flying [:@]

We had trouble setting it up, so we went back to the stock motor. (later realized we had to reconfig the swashplate type on the transmitter). It has great power with even the stock motor, but we're probably throwing the brushless back in it this weekend.

Our new ?Peizo? gyro has an extra sensor lead we have to hook up to the RX, so you might want a 6 channel.

We might be flying in a big, empty grocery store this weekend, can't wait.

I'll give you the details when I can.

Scott

kermitdafrog

Mr. Tango,

Not sure from experience on the Hummingbird, but if things don't go well with the separate ESC project, the GWS PHA-01 Gyro/Mixer/ESC board is a plug-and-play replacement for the E-sky Honeybee (FP). It's cheaper at $45-$50, and sometimes available locally too depending on where you live.

I sent my factory mixer back the second day after I bought the heli to have them check/replace it. Knowing it might take a while to get one back from overseas, I bought the GWS, and that's what I've been using for practice for the last two weeks while waiting for the other one to come back. It works just fine.

Rick