Hey Guys - I have an LP supercub with added ailerons using two HS-55 servos. The extra servos were causing brownouts so I bought this BEC.

http://www.dimensionengineering.com/SmartBEC.htm

I went to hook it up but am stumped. Since the black box doesn't have separate wires for the receiver and ESC I'm not sure what to do with the 2 connectors.

Anyone have any experience with this BEC or any suggestions?

Welcome to the forums NDS!

Ok, so here's the bad news about the black box.
It has a built in BEC.

SO. This means that you cannot use your BEC with the black box.

If you were to swap out the black box for your own reciever, and ESC, you would remove the center wire from the ESC plug, and connect the Red/Black wires of your BEC to the REd/Black Wires of your ESC, and plug the BEC into a free channel on the reciever.

Do you have your own RX and ESC? If not, I suggest getting them and replacing the stock electronics.

And for future reference---In this hobby, it is often easy to find products in an unreasonable price range that fit our application with minimal work.......In other words, Next time, I suggest spending more time in the planning phase before buying something......In other words, that BEC is not the best deal for the money, and in truth, might not be enough to power 5 servos, maybe the 4 that your using for ailerons, but not 5. (not that you said anything about five servos), 1.5Amps is not alot for $26, but you can still use it!---rantishthing, over...

--welcome to the world of RC electronix

Originally Posted by Legot

Welcome to the forums NDS!

Ok, so here's the bad news about the black box.
It has a built in BEC.

SO. This means that you cannot use your BEC with the black box.

If you were to swap out the black box for your own reciever, and ESC, you would remove the center wire from the ESC plug, and connect the Red/Black wires of your BEC to the REd/Black Wires of your ESC, and plug the BEC into a free channel on the reciever.

Do you have your own RX and ESC? If not, I suggest getting them and replacing the stock electronics.

And for future reference---In this hobby, it is often easy to find products in an unreasonable price range that fit our application with minimal work.......In other words, Next time, I suggest spending more time in the planning phase before buying something......In other words, that BEC is not the best deal for the money, and in truth, might not be enough to power 5 servos, maybe the 4 that your using for ailerons, but not 5. (not that you said anything about five servos), 1.5Amps is not alot for $26, but you can still use it!---rantishthing, over...

--welcome to the world of RC electronix

Hmmm. Company does say it supports up to 6 ea 4-9 gm servos. But it is not spec'd like most esc/besc's as to 15C, 20C, 30C, etc. Maybe that is implied in the spec data also? Just wondering.

1.5A max is very low. Most parkflyer BEC's are 3A (5A peak) minimum.

Even if you could add this to the BNF module, I doubt it would provide more power.

Legot's reply was a little harsh but unfortunately true. Next time ask for a recommendation and we can help


Toppers

I agree, jaksno. If you look at the installation guide PDF, it specifically states it will handle 6 HS-55's. But the amp draw isn't adding up. I found on the net that the HS-55's pull up to 500ma, I don't know what stock parkzone servos pull. Lets say they are 500ma as well. That's 2 amps. That's already more than the peak amp rating. So I'm confused about that as well.

Legot - I agree it wasn't the best purchase. I ordered it 2 months ago (before I found servo amp draw ratings) based on the install guide saying it will support 6 servos. It just arrived last week, which is a whole different story that I'm not going to get in to. I am planning on a full electronics upgrade and was going to use this with the stock black box until I get the parts together. Obviosly, that's not going to happen. I have everything I need for a refit except an ESC. I have a spare brushless 18amp ESC and spektrum receiver. If I use a brushless esc with a brushed motor it will always spin at zero throttle correct?

Toppers - The 3amp ratings most ESC's are spec'd at is for a linear BEC. Which from what I have read is a very optimistic rating. The external one I have is a switching BEC.

In the end, I guess I just need to try it with the new equipment and see what happens. Live and learn.

According to Dimension Engineering, "Many people don't realize
that their ESC's BEC rating is misleading. With the linear BEC built into most
speed controls, the current rating decreases as pack voltage increases. For
example, several popular 25A ESCs with "3A" BECs are only capable of supplying
0.5A when running from a 3s pack".

I know most people will say they never had a problem - the internal BEC has worked fine. Is this just marketing hype or a true "safety" feature?

I use Spektrum and feel safer having external UBEC's (switching ) in all 9 planes to avoid potential problems, especially the Spektrum RX low voltage brown out.

I've never seen the benefit of a linear BEC in a 2.4GHz world, so never bought or used a linear BEC....

Whether this is marketing hype or necesity is impossible to prove, as you say, most people fly ESC's with integral linear BEC with no problem. For me the small investment ($4) in a 3A switching BEC is worth the effort as a bit of insurance and reduce the load (temp) on the ESC. I've been using these HK UBEC's for 3 years now without issue.


Toppers

To bad i didnt see that one earlier Are you able to use it with the supercub black box?
How many servos and what type do you use it with?

Originally Posted by NDS777

To bad i didnt see that one earlier Are you able to use it with the supercub black box?
How many servos and what type do you use it with?

sorry, but you just cant use a bec with the black box.
And sorry if there were any harsh feelings earlier.

I suppose that you could try to find the black box's built in bec and disconnect it, replacing it with yours, but it is most likely much more trouble than its worth.

Anyone need a black box or controller?

I was cleaning out a drawer tonight and found some SC stuff... I have a channel 3 controller and matching receiver. All of the ACT and both servos are still attached. The only thing missing is one of the arms on a servo and the motor/gearbox. I remember buying a SC just for the fuselage at one point so I never even flew it with these electronics. I even have an old green nimh or nicd (can't remember which that it is) and charger...
Anyone have a need for any of this stuff? I figured I might try to get a few bucks out of it otherwise, I could hold on to it for some project that comes up with the kids in the next few years :-)

Originally Posted by NDS777

I agree, jaksno. If you look at the installation guide PDF, it specifically states it will handle 6 HS-55's. But the amp draw isn't adding up. I found on the net that the HS-55's pull up to 500ma, I don't know what stock parkzone servos pull. Lets say they are 500ma as well. That's 2 amps. That's already more than the peak amp rating. So I'm confused about that as well.

Legot - I agree it wasn't the best purchase. I ordered it 2 months ago (before I found servo amp draw ratings) based on the install guide saying it will support 6 servos. It just arrived last week, which is a whole different story that I'm not going to get in to. I am planning on a full electronics upgrade and was going to use this with the stock black box until I get the parts together. Obviosly, that's not going to happen. I have everything I need for a refit except an ESC. I have a spare brushless 18amp ESC and spektrum receiver. If I use a brushless esc with a brushed motor it will always spin at zero throttle correct?

Toppers - The 3amp ratings most ESC's are spec'd at is for a linear BEC. Which from what I have read is a very optimistic rating. The external one I have is a switching BEC.

In the end, I guess I just need to try it with the new equipment and see what happens. Live and learn.

I don't think it will spin at all.
Ron

Originally Posted by A Rdnek

I don't think it will spin at all.
Ron

and what would you do with that pesky 3rd wire?

Hey HC, did you get the HK 1.5m C-182 and the floats too?

the whole number of servos supported by the built-in bec has always bothered me. on one hand, it's obvious only so much voltage can be handled by it. on the other, there are many new RTF models out that have upwards of 9 servos or more! For instance, this plane on my "to buy" list-

http://www.bananahobby.com/2076.html

10x 9gram servos plus the gear drive retracts!

so, i dunno. i don't worry much about it unless i've paid a lot (several hundred) for something.

That thing looks awesome lowdive.

I want footage if you do purchase.

Originally Posted by A Rdnek

I don't think it will spin at all.
Ron

I think it would burn out both. Brushless tend to act like dead shorts on straight (+/-) current