Something to watch out for on Align bec

[nightstalker]

Hi guys

Well sunday didn't go so well, first flight with me rexy i had just done a 360 stall turn so was at abit of speed but was in level flight and i lost all power to the servos and she wobbled like mad and went in from about 20ft and done the funky chicken dance.
Had to run over and pull the fuel line.


Any way got back to pitts and found that the red wire coming from the Align BEC had come away from the circuit board so there was no power to anything

Good thing is all servos was saved as no power to them.
Damage was not to bad

Spindle (have spares)
Blades (have spare)
Boom
Main shaft
Flybar
Undercart
1 Mixing arm


But thank god my nice canopy was undamaged
My first crash with her and shes been good for 6 months

rexy crash.jpg

[nightstalker]

This was a before pic

SP_A0053.jpg

[robgt]

I had this happen to me not so long back and wrote up an article on it.

http://www.50-tuning.com/articles/mi...-regulator.asp

Cheers,
Rob

[nightstalker]

Yeah thats what i have done, i still find it strange that the wires from the lipo are very thick but the wire thats soldered to the BEC is as thin as servo wire,

Wish i saw your report sometime back, thank you for your post link will help others i hope before it happens to them

[marktigere1]

In addition to the hot glue treatment, my Align reg. sits on a cushion of servo tape for added damping and a rubber band for belt and braces.

I'm not overly happy with the quality of the tiny switch either.

I also would suggest people add some hot glue to the 5.1 Volt step down as well. This has been known to fail.

Cheers

Mark

[robgt]

Like this:
http://50-tuning.com/articles/misc/f...1-stepdown.asp


Cheers,
Rob

[barney]

Sorry to here about your crash Steve..

As Rob said the poor wiring quality has been common knowlege since they first became available.

I was fortunate to recieve a 600N from the first batch that was released into the UK and opted for using the then new Align 6 amp item. As soon as I saw the regulator it set the alarm bells ringing.

I came up with the Hot Glue Gun Fix as the quickest /easiest method to prevent vibration failures as it was obvious the cabling was of dubious quality and unsupported at the PCB. Well some 800 flights on my two regulated 600N's the fix has stood the test of time.

I've not had any issues with the small switch but always assumed rightly or wrongly, it to be a failsafe item..i.e fail to the On position. Any taklers on that?

Couple things to keep an eye on. The wiring beside the little switch is constantly bumped during Switching On/Off so be generious with the glue and check regularly that the wiring is still properly held by the glue and supported. This is doubly important as the switch is constantly exposed to exhaust gasses/mess etc

Also as mentioned above minimising vibration to your electronics is extremely good practice for reliable flying.

Brian

[robgt]

I came up with the Hot Glue Gun Fix as the quickest /easiest method to prevent vibration failures as it was obvious the cabling was of dubious quality and unsupported at the PCB. Well some 800 flights on my two regulated 600N's the fix has stood the test of time.

I'm pleased to hear that Barney.

I'm not sure about the failsafe on the switch either, currently...

Cheers,
Rob

[heli-hurley]

After reading this post i decided to get my 2 in 1 and give it the hot glue gun treatment . . . so i cut off the shrink wrap and guess what i find, its already been done, the connections were covered in thick glue. It was brought new from a shop so I wonder if they started doing it at the factory this was brought back when the 600n's came out so its not a newer one. well strange i thought any ways

[raptorheli2]

same thing happened to me about 2 months ago. my advice is to completely rewire the align BEC. the wire used shouldn't be used to power a torch let alone a heli. it is terrible quality to say the least. if you have the tools and can solder a little then my advice is to just solder on new wires then glue it all up.

unfortunetely i learned the hard way on this one.

the picture below shows the old and new "proper" silicon wire...much much better.

cheers