Help! wiring diagrams made easy

[Doug James]

I'm not even sure I should ask but what is "BEC and "ESC" This stuff is all new to me,
as I'm new to electric drive systems.

[Ghost 2501]

Originally Posted by Doug James

I'm not even sure I should ask but what is "BEC and "ESC" This stuff is all new to me,
as I'm new to electric drive systems.

yes!! the dumbest questions are the ones that dont get asked!


BEC battery eliminated circuit, (you have one power source for the motor AND the reciever, as the speed controller sends power to the reciever), a NON BEC system has one battery for the receiver and one set of batteries for the motor.
ESC - Electronic Speed Control.

[Doug James]

Thank you for the help.

[jdha]

Thank you for the great guides.

When fuses are fitted between battery and ESC, and ESC and motor, could you guide me on how to determine their ratings?

Best wishes,

James

[Ghost 2501]

ratings are simple, somewhere between the motor running current and esc rating.

eg:
motor runs at 10amp. and stalls at 16amp, and your esc is rated at 25amp, fit a 13 amp fuse or 15amp car fuse. this will mean that your esc is protected.

between the battery and esc, fit one at around the operating rating of your esc, thats there incase your esc develops a fault and dead shorts,

[lucidmonkey]

Hi Ghost,
here is a modified form of your diagram #2 (i had some spare time so i customised it, showing the components that i will be using eventually for my Nordkap build) I also want to put LEDs on the model.

So. what size fuses should i put in at the battery and the esc?

Also, where / how do i add the LEDs to the diagram / setup?

i would like to control them with the Tx eventually but as this is my first RC boat i think i should keep it simple and just have a couple of manual switches for the lights. (Navigation, Bridge and Spotlights)

thanks,
christophe

[Ghost 2501]

basically a fuse large enough to cope with motor surge load, (caused by start up or violent direction reversal, (such as emergency direction reverse) but small enough to be below the esc's upper limit, so on a motor that pulls 2A surge, 8 amp stalled, on a 15A esc, you would be safe with a 5amp.

for LED's you could use a seperate battery or two. wiring parrallel is probably best. I'll try and sort one for you over the next week or so.

[GILL RC]

On the Calypso thread I have the wiring for mine. In the diagram is the wiring for the LEDs, Ther are 18 in the cabin alone, 12 in the sub well, 2 in the nose, and 6 bi-color on the mast tree. All LEDs need a load resistor and each should be seperate. The 5mm in the cabin use 2 (take the load value and divid by 2) all others have 1 resistor, if the resitor is too low a value the LED will be very bright and will burn out. Too high and the LED will be dim. For the cabin lighting I selected some with the correct load and a few with a higher load for dimmer lighting. If you look at any ship or home the lighting IS NOT uniform.
You must use the corect load or higher for the type (manufactures spec's.)of LED that you get.
LEDs can be powered from receiver batteries, drive batteries or seperate. On the Calypso most are powered from the drive battery (12 volt), others through a 5 volt voltage regulater.
You can also find the wirring on my personal site at: www.jsgill.net in Photo gallery / construction
And yes I do have a degree in electronics.

[lucidmonkey]

thanks Ghost
Thanks Gill i will take a look

[laser110]

Ghost,

This is very helpful for a build I am getting ready to do. I have never done lights, but think I get a clear understanding how they fit in, with your diagram.

My question is what about a sound unit and smoke generator?

System I am thinking of running is a single motor, linked to a ESC, linked to a Batt ( size to be determined, but probably a 6V 4.5 Amp). RX will be connected to the ESC and steering servo. From RX will be plugged in a switched linked to a bus where my running lights, Port and Starboard, mast will be wired.

From the Rx I am thinking of plugging in another servo. The head will be modified with a connector so, when I push up or down on the steering stick, the connects will touch, sounding the horn. I have a similar set up now on my Happy Hunter to run the bow thruster. Up makes it go left, down makes it go right.

How do I do the smoke generator? Do you think the batt will give me enough "juice"?

Scott

[GILL RC]

Let me start with the smoke gen. Sieth makes some for use on 6 volts, most others need 12 or more. I have run the Aristo-craft train units as low as 8, but at this voltage they some times they will not start. As to the battery a 6 volt 4 amp hour battery is more than enough. My Calypso is running 2 in series, 12 volt 4 AH. Think of a battery as the fuel tank the amp rating is the size and the voltage fuel pressure. The higher the amp rating the bigger the tank, the higher the voltage the smaller the carburator is needed. I always try to estmate the run time of a model. I take the rating for the lights, add them to smoke unit, bow thruster and so on. I use an amp meter and check the model held static in a tub. This reading will always be higher then free running. But It will give a good estimte of the run time. battery amperage divided by the total boat draw (amp). The amp hour rating of a battery is usually 1 per hour ( 4ah battery = 1 amp draw per hour for 4 hours)
And I agree with Ghost
"the dumbest questions are the ones that dont get asked!"
NO one knows every thing, BUT everyone knows something.

[Ghost 2501]

i have never used a smoke gen, however i will have a word with some people who supply them to see how they would wire in and post them here

[GILL RC]

The smoke units are an easy hook up. I like a switch on mine. This can be manual or operated from the radio. On my Calypso I use a MCD switch 8, when I switch on the engine sound it also turns on the smoke unit. I have also added a flapper on the unit to regulate the amount of smoke from ideal to full speed. This is just a servo connected to the speed control on the receiver with a "Y" cable. ON all smoke units it is a 2 wire connection. Plus (+) to Plus and Neg (-) to neg. Just chose a unit that will suit your needs and voltage. I know the Sieth makes both 6 and 12 volt. The Aristo SD-45 is best on 12, I believe that the Mack uses 12. I like the SD-45 because it has a fan and auto-shut down when it run out of fluid. It is also a very compact unit.
I've attached a basic wiring digram and the one for my Calypso, plus a picture of my installation.