REGULATORS & SWITCHES
Regulators are used
in a variety of ways. Most servos should be run on 6v. 2-cell
Li-Ion
batteries start at 8.4v and the "don't fly" voltage is 6.9v which is
well above the recommended voltage for most servos.
JR type connectors and 22 ga wire have some power loss (see the
servo extension page for test
data), so an adjustable regulator can be
useful so that you can set the voltage to 6.5v or so to accommodate the
voltage drop through all the connections to the servos. All
regulators have a heat sink for heavy duty operation. Most planes
can simply use a 6V inline (not adjustable) regulator. If you use an
isolator so that the receiver is run off of an independent battery
pack from the servos, then you can use the 5.4v regulator for the
receiver. You must use the 6v regulator for DA and C&H ignition systems, while
the new 3W and ZDZ ignitions should not use regulators with LiIon
batteries. Do not use the MPI 5.4V regulator for ignitions, either use the
MPI 6V regulator or the Smart-Fly 5.2V ignition regulator.
Regulators should be used on any type of battery
pack which can put out more than 6V. All servos can take 6V, but they
can't take much more voltage than that. Also, many receivers don't like
more voltage than that. Servos can start to jitter if the voltage is
too high. You must use a 6V (5 cell) NiCad or NiMh pack or a 7.2V Li Ion pack to
provide 6V to your servos. The regulator ensures that excessive voltage
doesn't get to the servos. The advantage of the regulators is how they
fail. Almost always the regulator will fail from excessive heat, so
don't wrap the regulator in foam!! If you have a 40%+ plane and do lots
of hard 3D flying, get the adjustable regulators with the large heat sinks and
large output capacitors made by
MPI, Fromeco or Smart-Fly and use a standard switch or use the Smart-Fly combo. These regulators also have
adjustable voltages over 6V so you can get even more power and speed
from your servos. There are a few ways regulators fail. One is that they continue to
regulate properly during the flight, and then when power is turned off,
they will not power up again once the power is turned on again. So when
you turn your switch on for the next flight, you will notice that a
pack is not working. Simply replace the regulator and you are flying
again. I have never had a regulator stop the flow of current to a Rx
during flight, and with the heat sink version there is little chance of
a regulator failure. Another failure mode is another fail safe method in that
if too much power goes through the reg, that the reg fails and goes to
8.4v rather than going to zero volts. This way you will at least have
power to your receiver or ignition, and while this is not recommended,
it is better than no current. A third failure is that the leads going into
the reg can simply fail from vibration, and then there is no current
output, so it is necessary to strap down
the wires exiting the regs so they don't flop around and break.
Plugs The typical JR/universal
type plugs are fine for 2-cell batteries on planes 100cc and smaller. Use
Deans plugs for 150cc planes using 4-cell batteries.
TBM Regulator Recommendations for a
Receiver
|
PLANE SIZE |
Avg Amp Draw |
Max Amp Draw |
Suggested Batteries |
Suggested Regulator |
|
50cc |
1 |
5 |
two - 2-cells |
2- MPI 6v* |
|
85cc |
1.6 |
8 |
two - 2-cells |
2- MPI 6v* |
|
100cc |
2 |
10 |
two - 2-cells |
2- MPI 6v* |
|
150cc |
4 |
20 |
two - 4-cells |
Any 2 adjustable
Regs**
|
* MPI 6v
regulator - We suggest the use of two 6v regulators coming from 2
batteries for 100cc planes and smaller. This regulator is available in 2
forms. One is the inline regulator and one is the MPI Miracle Switch.
Using an MPI Miracle switch is the easiest and least expensive set up.
However there are many options which offer equivalent performance at the
expense of cost and complexity. There are dozens of switch/regulator
combos which will work. You may prefer them because they look better or
have a perceived value to you such as a pin & flag system for the on/off
switch. TBM tested many different systems in 100cc planes, and
have found all to perform equally well in flight. While other
combinations of switches and regulators outperform the MPI Miracle
Switch using 4-cell battery packs, there is no performance increase
using 2-cell battery packs.
** Recommendations for 150cc planes
Adjustable Regs - the only Rx regs which are not adjustable are the
MPI 5.4v and 6v regulators, so this includes the SuperReg, TurboReg,
Fromeco adjustable regulator, MPI adjustable regulator, etc.
1) TBM's #1 suggestion for 150cc planes is the Smart Fly SuperReg with any
of the Smart Fly Power Expanders using the Smart Fly slider fail
safe switch.
2) A single Fromeco Wolverine switch (which connects to two batteries and
draws the batteries down equally), into any of the adjustable
regulators.
3) Two Smart Fly Super Switch HD's into any adjustable regulator.
4) Smart Fly adjustable voltage Regulator HD
Want to
get the most flights without charging? It's simple. Match
your regulators on one Rx! TBM testing has found that the output voltage
of the regulator, the harder the battery works. If you have 2 batteries on
one Rx, then typically the regulator with the highest voltage will make
its battery work the hardest. If they run down unevenly, you will have to
stop flying sooner, than if they run down together. TBM tested Fromeco,
Smart Fly, and MPI regulators, both the fixed output and the adjustable
output types. If you find that one battery is consistently lower than the
other, reduce its voltage output by 0.1 to 0.2 volts. This will work the
other battery harder. Repeat if necessary. We have found that you can get
the batteries to discharge within 1% of each other with some simple
changes. TBM offers pre-matched fixed output regulators for 100cc and
smaller planes.
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