sbec/ubec... whats the difference?

[crash-test-tomo]

Wondering if any of you guys can shed a little light on esc's and more so bec's for me?
Iv been looking to replace the esc in a 450x as cheaply as possible and the yep 40 being stupidly cheap might be about to take my money, I know some esc have a built in bec and others dont, sbec and ubec I dont think I understand lol but as my trex has a yep 100 AND and separate bec its making me wonder if Il need one with the 40amp for my 450x??
Thanks an advance to whoever can educate me

[SGD]

UBEC (Ultimate BEC) is/was the trade name of one of the first add on bec's that allowed you to use more servos at higher pack voltages and produced by Kool Flight (Jeff Myers, SEFF organizer) It now has seemed to morph into "Universal" bec because a bunch of the Chinese stand alone bec's are referred to as UBECs.

SBEC stand for Switching BEC vs the built in linear bec which was limited to 3 or 4 servos and 3 or 4 lipo cells. The new lines of Switching BEC speed controls basically incorporate a "UBEC" into the esc itself instead of having to use a stand alone system.

I've had a Trex 450 with a YEP 40 ESC using its BEC and it never caused any issues for me.

[crash-test-tomo]

Cheers dude, so basically its only when the esc has no sbec that you need a ubec? Lol I thought I knew but am I right in thinking the becs purpose is to keep the fbl/reciever powered in the event of the esc failing?

[crash-test-tomo]

I've had a Trex 450 with a YEP 40 ESC using its BEC and it never caused any issues for me.

Brilliant, just the esc it is then! Did you use a program card or is the setup via the sticks simple enough?

[tomatwalden]

... Lol I thought I knew but am I right in thinking the becs purpose is to keep the fbl/reciever powered in the event of the esc failing?

Nope. The ESC never powers the FBL/RX etc.

ESC = Electronic Speed Controller = controls power, therefore speed of the motor only. Provides no power at all to RX/FBL/servos etc.
BEC = Battery Eliminating Circuit = Eliminates the need for a second battery to power the servos/RX etc. by regulating the main flight pack voltage to a suitable level.

They are two different things, although some ESCs have built-in BECs to avoid wiring clutter.

HTH.

[crash-test-tomo]

Ah yes! So in reality all of my previous esc's have had built in becs having never given me reason to think otherwise lol
So would you ever use one if the esc has one anyway?

[tomatwalden]

Ah yes! So in reality all of my previous esc's have had built in becs having never given me reason to think otherwise lol
So would you ever use one if the esc has one anyway?

Yes. Some prefer to have the BEC separate in case of catastrophic ESC(+therefore built-in BEC) failure. Some prefer to not use a BEC and have a second battery just for the control electronics. Also, internal BECs tend to be limited in their output compared to external ones.

[crash-test-tomo]

Yes I had read that, although I think castle sound to be quite good built in becs?? So how would that apply to a 12s heli? Do both packs power the motor and a 3rd pack/bec for electronics or is it one for each?
Putting 2x 6s packs in per flight scares me, thats not a cheap 4mins lol

[SGD]

Brilliant, just the esc it is then! Did you use a program card or is the setup via the sticks simple enough?

I used the card it's much easier and quicker than messing the sticks and trying to count beeps. Cheap too, if HK have them in stock!

[tomatwalden]

Yes I had read that, although I think castle sound to be quite good built in becs?? So how would that apply to a 12s heli? Do both packs power the motor and a 3rd pack/bec for electronics or is it one for each?
Putting 2x 6s packs in per flight scares me, thats not a cheap 4mins lol

On a 12S config, there are a number of ways you can power the electronics. I have two 12S helis. The first is an HV setup and has a small 2S LIPO at the back which powers the FBL,servos etc. No BEC at all. The other has a CC BEC Pro (external BEC) which takes a feed from only one of the two flight packs and regulates the 22v down to 6v.

[crash-test-tomo]

Thats brilliant guys cheers. Only other question now is how reliable are hobby king for purchases /deliveries etc? I know the yep esc's are good but Iv seen HK on ebay and some of their feedback isnt great

[tomatwalden]

HK is what it is - cheap and cheerful. YEP ESCs are good only really because they're clones of YGE ESCs which are not so cheap.

That said, I have a YEP30 in my 300cfx and am very happy with it. I've bought plenty of stuff oh HK with no problems whatsoever. Delivery times if you choose the "UK warehouse" (in Essex I believe) are a day or two at most.

[crash-test-tomo]

Excellent, thanks dude! Is there just one program card for all esc's or do they differ in rating?
Cheers guys this has been a great help

[Grumpy]

Thats brilliant guys cheers. Only other question now is how reliable are hobby king for purchases /deliveries etc? I know the yep esc's are good but Iv seen HK on ebay and some of their feedback isnt great

A lot of the negative feedback you see for HK is due to the buyers unreasonable expectations or in many cases their plain stupidity.
For instance one of the main complaints you see is about slow delivery and expensive shipping. When you dig you usually find that the person complaining ordered stuff from the Hong Kong warehouse and is whining because it two two or three weeks to get here, or maybe got stuck for a week in customs or at the airport in Hong Kong (as if international shipping and Customs was somehow controlled by Hobbyking). As for shipping prices, they are clearly visible at checkout and international shipping of big or heavy stiff is never going to be cheap.
The poor customer service is another complaint and while that one has some validity service got significantly better recently. For me when you buy ultra-cheap you are being unreasonable to expect the ultimate in customer service, you cant have it all ways, HK keep their prices down by keeping costs down.
You also hear a fair few complaints about the web site. People often seem to struggle with the concept of having different global locations visible in one web site and get confused about where they are ordering from. Personally I don't know what the problem is, it seems to work just fine for me. The site used to be very slow but they have fixed that.

[Grumpy]

EIs there just one program card for all esc's or do they differ in rating?
Cheers guys this has been a great help

Sadly no, each brand has it's own method of programming. Some use USB links to computer, some use Tx stick 'wiggling, and some use special programming cards. The cards are brand specific although there are certain ESC brands that are the same under the skin, meaning programming cards can be (in a few cases) cross compatible. YGE and Hobbyking YEP is an example where cards are cross compatible but that's just because the YEP is an unauthorised copy of the YGE and uses a straight copy of it's firmware.