Thread: Do I need A BEC if going Spektrum?

I have a DX6i and have just got myself a Mini Titan. I thought it would be a simple case of fitting an AR6100e or AR6200 receiver and Bob's your uncle. But reading the Mini Titan thread on RCGroups you'd think this is a fate worse than death! I have the ACE RC BLC-40 ESC and it seems that you must run a BEC with it on the Titan if going the Spektrum route. Looking on here I don't see the same kind of panic.

Can anyone advise me on what I shoud do here? Just leave the stock ESC and install a Spektrum receiver or fit a BEC?

Cheers.

Hi I have been running my Mini Titan with the ACE 40A ESC, the stock motor and an AR6100 for the last six months without problems. Will be interesting to see if anyone else has had problems and needed to use a seperate BEC, as I am about to cloak mine in an AH-1W coat. Already done the tail boom mod and it flew ok on Sunday (despite the wind). I thought BEC's were normally used on larger Nitro helicopters when the larger more powerful servo's needed more umph than the integral BEC in the ESC could give.

Barry

Originally Posted by Mikej

If you are using all digital servos then probably - other than that .... well if Thunder Tiger specify it without one I would assume that they know more than most "experts" on forums

Hi, I am planning to use 3 DS410m with DS520, would this be ok without a BEC? or with type of BEC do I need?

Many thanks

There is no simple answer. It depends on a lot of things. I assume you mean a UBEC or SBEC rather than a Linear BEC. Linear Becs are a really bad way of dropping the volts. If you start with 12v and take it down to 5v that's 7X whatever amps your servos, gyros and rx take in watts that the esc has to lose by getting hot. If the esc has a good heatsink and good airflow and the temperature is low, and the servos don't bind and they don't take too much current then it will work. Or you could spend about £10 and fit a 3A UBEC which will work and not get hot.

If you have faith in manufacturers then believe in them. If you don't know anything about physics then at least feel the heatsink and see how hot it gets. By the way, the hotter an ESC gets the sooner it will fail.

In my experience, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with helis. If you can reduce the risk at a reasonable cost then I would go for it.

Chris (BSc Electronic Engineering)

Originally Posted by cjcj1949

There is no simple answer. It depends on a lot of things. I assume you mean a UBEC or SBEC rather than a Linear BEC. Linear Becs are a really bad way of dropping the volts. If you start with 12v and take it down to 5v that's 7X whatever amps your servos, gyros and rx take in watts that the esc has to lose by getting hot. If the esc has a good heatsink and good airflow and the temperature is low, and the servos don't bind and they don't take too much current then it will work. Or you could spend about £10 and fit a 3A UBEC which will work and not get hot.

If you have faith in manufacturers then believe in them. If you don't know anything about physics then at least feel the heatsink and see how hot it gets. By the way, the hotter an ESC gets the sooner it will fail.

In my experience, there are a lot of things that can go wrong with helis. If you can reduce the risk at a reasonable cost then I would go for it.

Chris (BSc Electronic Engineering)

I have check my ESC, it has integrated BEC without put 5v and 2A, is this fine to run my setup?

Thanks

I've been flying my Mini Titan for two years without an issue.

Mini Titan SE
AR6100E
HS65MG on cyclic
Futaba GY401 Gyro
Futaba 9257 tail servo

If I was using digital servos that draw more power then I might be concerned.

I love my mini titan too, now I am thinking to convert it to flybarless.

Here is the interesting thread I found on internet:
Mini Titan/SK-360 set-up Thread with Pictures, and Video! It's Easy! - HeliFreak

I hope this would work.

Originally Posted by xalen

I've been flying my Mini Titan for two years without an issue.

Mini Titan SE
AR6100E
HS65MG on cyclic
Futaba GY401 Gyro
Futaba 9257 tail servo

If I was using digital servos that draw more power then I might be concerned.

Originally Posted by xalen

I've been flying my Mini Titan for two years without an issue.

Mini Titan SE
AR6100E
HS65MG on cyclic
Futaba GY401 Gyro
Futaba 9257 tail servo

If I was using digital servos that draw more power then I might be concerned.

(Edit) I forgot. I do have a digital on the tail, a DS520. I thought it was analogue mode at the time,and I thought that bigger servos were more efficient. Perhaps that made the difference.

How hot does the heat sink get when the heli is set in the lounge being adjusted. I did say there is no simple answer. I've got the same electronics and my esc was up at 60C. It then cut out in flight. Might have been the buggered bearing on the motor drawing extra power or the cunning placement of the Twister Storm esc under the canopy, or the hot weather. Fitting a SBEC dropped the standing temperature to ambient.

This increases the life of the esc as componet life drops rapidly with temperature and you will get a longer flight as the SBEC is more efficient at providing the rx current. Range will probably drop, but my 6100 works at 50 yds in range check.

Chris

3a Ubec ~ £6.50 its a no brainer.

Turnigy 3A UBEC With Noise Reduction - UK SELLER on eBay (end time 12-Feb-11 20:03:36 GMT)


I think my hobby shop charge around £8.

Three reasons to get one:
1) IF you EVER did have an esc failure you still have servo power and a fighting chance to land in one piece
2) If you want to fly back to back batteries (4 or more) then this keep the heat off the ESC
3) They are cheap as chips so why not