Zman39

My Feedback: (6)

I am new to the world of 30% aircraft but already have a couple. I am running all digital high torque servos. I am running 6 volt packs in both and regulate them down to 5.3 volts. Is this the proper way or should I let all 6+ volts go to the servos?

Thanks

Z

JoeAirPort

My Feedback: (41)

Let it go to the servos. No big deal. Been doing it for years.

sweetpea01

My Feedback: (10)

6V and you will be happier with more holding power.

ifshnee-RCU

My Feedback: (1)

For many - 6V is the regulated voltage

jsm77777

My Feedback: (4)

Regulate the servo's to 6 volts. Max holding power, consistent power flight after flight, and no jitters. Scott

Jake Ruddy

My Feedback: (40)

regulate a 5 cell pack down to 6 volts? Why bother I run dual NoBS 2/3A 1400 and 1500 packs. They sit nicely between 6.4 and 6.6 all day long without a servo twitch or anything. Even after a full charge they are fine. After 6 or 8 15-25 min flights they are still sitting above 6v and everything is working fine.

I have like 500+ flights on this configuration and never once had an issue.

Don't start adding points of failure for no reason at all.



Edit: This "constant power" arguement is all in your head... to notice a slight power drop you would have to memorize every single stick position for every move and see the stick took 1/32" more movement for a manuevor. Unless you fly the exact same routine hundreds of time I highly doubt anyone would be able to notice the difference. I don't know about most people but when I fly I am locked into a zone on the plane and the last thing that is on my mind is "hrmm I dont think I pushed the stick that far last time.. was that the wind or did I just have a fraction of a second drop in power".

Sorry just my 2 cents.

Josey Wales

My Feedback: (61)

Exactly....no need to add more points of failure

jsm77777

My Feedback: (4)

I am glad it works for you. I like the regulated voltage, and have noticed many times the servo's being twitchy with voltage over 6.5 volts. Also, if you fly L-ion 8.4V packs thay need to be regulated anyway. Never an issue with the regulators being a point of failure. If you fly enough, you will notice a difference in feel as the voltage drops a half of a volt, or at least I can. Scott

Jake Ruddy

My Feedback: (40)

Well can't say I see that twitching.. I have heard it happens from time to time... but only if you come right off a full charge at the field. Which you shouldn't do anyhow.

8.4 Packs sure.. you dont have a choice. I have heard countless stories of regs failing.. all you have to do is read these forums.


"If you fly enough"? Considering I burned 17 gallons of gas in one plane between mid July and the end of Oct last year I would say I fly enough.

Next you will be telling me that you fly so much you can tell when your batteries drop .25 volt, .5 volt, and .75volt. The only move that really nails all servos at one time with an extreme force is a blender. Precision stuff isn't hitting your servos hard enough. 3D stuff.. a rolling harrier isn't putting lot of force on the surfaces compared to a blender.. the plane is at a stall.

I swear today's r/c marketing is some of the best marketing out there

jsm77777

My Feedback: (4)

I just wonder why some people think their way is the best and only way to do something. I'm glad your way works for you. Their is always more than one way to do something. I was just answering a post to give my opinion to help someone, and not to get into a pi$$ing contest with another person. Scott

Richard D Bahmann aka/Wrongway

My Feedback: (42)

My Hitec 5945's and 5955 fresh off charge are 7.1 v. By the time I can get to the field 6.85 volts, 4 birds 29 to 33% on 6v NIMH, 90 flight hours in the last 18 months...

I have never had a servo twitch or do anything odd, no squealing other than when a load is applied (it does this at 6v too).

Now I witnessed one of the guys at the field with his fully charged-unregulated 6v on 8611's and they were making all kinds of noise before he could get it airborne.

This is my experience, I hope it helps.

Richard

Jake Ruddy

My Feedback: (40)

jsm: While I understand your point.. I just choose to be more outspoken about this topic because soo many people are spending so much on unneccessary products.

Not trying to knock you personally.. but when you make a comment like if you fly enough you will notice a difference, not knowing anything about how often I fly it's going to get a response.

Either way we will agree to disagree.. just so you know I have been outspoken in almost every thread on this topic in the last year.. its not a personal attack

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I used to feel the same way as Sinergy.

My 6V MH packs are charging to 7.3--7.45 volts. I'm using JR digitals and they twitch like crazy.

I started using regulators to bring them down to 6V. No more twitching.

I used to just live with the twitching for 2 flights. Then the voltage dropped low enough that the servos wouldn't twitch the rest of the day.

If the regs fail--I got 6.5 v or whatever they happen to be at the time. No big deal.

I was beginning to worry about cooking my servos. At $100+ a pop--I can't afford to ruin them by overvolting them.

The regs seam to be doing the job now.

If your comfortable running 6V unregulated packs--then it's fine. People do it. People have done it for years. I did it. I still do it on sport/glow/smaller models with standard servos. But, if you are worried about the twitching or overvolting the expensive digital servos--a reg is a good solution.

Neither way is wrong. Just different approaches, thats all.

Jake Ruddy

My Feedback: (40)

I guess that must be a JR thing... I see the guys flying JR at the field sometimes have twitches as well sometimes.

Hitecs don't do that... atleast 5645s 5945s and 5955s for me.

jman12

My Feedback: (13)

Hello Guys,

I'm also new to the giant scale scene and have a couple of questions concerning 6 volt systems. I would like to have a dual 6 volt battery system. How do I wire this system into the standard wiring harness and power switch? What size of battery do I use? I know they have to match in capacity.

As discussed in the July 07 article in RC Report, Tony Stillman champions the use of voltage regulators. The voltage regulators ensures the voltage range stays pretty much the same throughout the entire flight especially during extreme manuvers such as a snap roll. Is it needed for the average race track flyer? We probably won't notice the difference during a typical flight.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I wouldn't recommend using standard switches anymore. Not heavy enough. You need to look at using some heavy duty switches. Tower sells Hobbico heavy duty switches. Cermark sells JR heavy duty switches. Chief Aircraft sell them too. So does Troy Built Models.

Hooking up dual batteries is simple:

Each battery gets it's own switch. There is no pont in running 2 batteries on a Y harness and putting them both into the same switch. You just killed your redundancy. The batteries might be good--but if the switch fails--your done. Dead plane. So, run each batery on it's own switch.

The receiver (RX) can be powered by plugging into ANY port. So, all you need to do is plug in all your servos and then plug each switch/battery into the left over ports. You'll be using 2 switches, so you'll need 2 open ports on the RX to plug into for power.

That's a basic dual battery/switch setup. It will usually give extended flight times because we tend to use bigger batteries--or at least 2 of the same batteries that you would have used in the past. 6V systems drain down faster than 4.8V systems, but the 6V system also helps boost servo torque and speed. You also have a bit of safety factor built in because if one cell in a 6V pack drops out--you still have 4.8 to fly it back to the runway. If you loose a cell on a 4.8V pack, your down to 3.6V--your done. Dead plane.

If your building a BIG plane and your going to run lots of digital servos, it starts to get more complicated. Most guys flying 35% or bigger will at least consider some type of power distribution system. Powerboxes. Not every guy uses powerboxes or believes in them. It's just a choice you have to make. I've seen guys fly a 35% plane with a 100cc engine on 2 regular batteries and 2 switches, just as I described above. These planes are mostly intended for IMAC and aren't subjected to the harsh power demands that a 3D flyer will put on plane. Gentle flying with smooth inputs and low control surface movement is the norm in IMAC. 2 heavy duty bateries and switches will do the job. If your going to build a 3D monster then you probably want to look at a more robust power system.

highK

RCP - I realize that your imac experience is limited to Basic, but the "norm" in the IMAC upper classes includes positive and negative snap rolls, either one as violent as any 3d maneuver, or in some cases - like the blender, the entry is nothing more but a snap roll that transitions to a flat spin. look at a advanced or unlimited sequence and you will see pretty quickly that the airplanes are constantly being subjected to severe loads.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I am aware of that. But considering the question from jman12, I figured (assumed) that he was new to giant scale airplanes and wouldn't be competing at the unlimited level just yet. If he was an experienced pilot and competing in the upper levels of IMAC--he wouldn't be here asking questions about how to do a basic setup like running dual 6V batteries. He may not be interested in competing at all. Maybe he's just a sport flyer?

I do not disagree with your assessment of the loads on a big plane in the upper classes of competition.

gboulton

My Feedback: (15)

FWIW,

I have run, or do run, 5-cell 6V NiCd or NimH packs on 4 different airplanes, none with a regulator. Have never seen a single problem in either JR or HiTec servos in such a configuration. While the likelihood of a regulator failing may be quite low, it IS, by definition, an extra component in the system, and thus extra complexity...and I think nearly ALL of us (even the argumentative ones) can agree that simpler is better when it comes to our models.

As for the whole "you can't sense a voltage drop, oh yes I can" thing, I believe, personally, that the entire idea of "experience" or "flying enough" is TERRIBLY overstated here. It is ENTIRELY likely that ANY random person...even someone who's never flown an RC airplane...can tell a difference in as little as a fraction of a millimeter's movement of a stick. Just as some of us have better senses of vision, hearing, taste, or what have you, than others, some of us have better a proprioceptive sense than others (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proprioception if you're that curious, but essentially it's the body's sense of where its parts are, in relation to other parts, and to former positions).

Now, certainly, like any other sense, it will become more adept and useful with use...so, to be sure, experience and practice are DEFINITELY a factor...but it's quite possible that someone without an ounce of experience could detect a subtle difference that someone with years of flying time would never notice.

In other words, if you're like me and can't fly a rolling harrier to save your life, despite hours of practice...blame it on your parents for giving you lousy proprioception.

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Correction; Cermark MAKES JR heavy duty switches. In fact, the ones Cermark sells under their name are superior to the JR heavy duty switch.

highK

I haven't read the article, but there are definitely two sides to the regulator discussion...with both sides being right if by nothing than the vast number of pilots that do or don't. If I had one, I would install it, if I didn't I wouldn't, and I wouldn't think twice either way. even among the top pilots, there is no "right way" to install a radio - they all have their own preferences. the common denominator in big airplanes is redundancy, but how one accomplishes that is also a source of much discussion and debate. all in all, it makes for interesting reading but at some point you decide what you are going to do, and do it.

jman12

My Feedback: (13)

Guys,

Yes, I'm new to giant scale and just a novice flyer. I just wanted to get some advice on how to setup a standard giant scale pwer system that would keep my planes powered and safe for use. The method should be the same regardless whether I fly for competion or not. I threw in the regulator discussion because I saw the nicely witten atricle in RC Report and thought I might help out those who fly on the fringe.