Is BEC Really Necessary?
09-22-2003, 04:01 AM
#2
Junior Member
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: Longwood,
FL
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: Is BEC Really Necessary?
the advantage is you don't need a second battery to power the receiver, the disadvantage is, if the BEC fails, or the battery fails you loose all control and crash
09-22-2003, 06:22 PM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: Rochester,
NY
Posts: 1,373
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: Is BEC Really Necessary?
If the ESC has a BEC and no auto-cutoff feature you can drain the battery to a useless state with the motor and then your entire setup will fail.
09-22-2003, 09:37 PM
#4
RE: Is BEC Really Necessary?
I have been flying electrics for 6 years and I have never had a BEC fail causing a crash. I have built and flown everything from motor gliders to.60 sized warplanes. The nice thing about using a BEC with auto shut off is that your flight day is not limited by the charge in the RX battery like it is in a glo plane or an electric with a seperate battery pack on board and no BEC. This is my opinion..others may disagree.
09-23-2003, 06:35 AM
#5
My Feedback: (21)
Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Spencerport, NY
Posts: 7,350
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
RE: Is BEC Really Necessary?
I got two words for ya, Jim: Field charger 
On up to 10-cell ships, the built-in BEC is immesurably handy in that you can save a bunch of weight by not having to haul around a receiver battery, and you can save a bunch of headaches checking and charging a dedicated receiver pack.
Don't let 'em make you think that BECs are prone to fail, or that ESC don't come with cut-off circuits. BECs are usually the last things to fail in an ESC; I can't count the number of times I've read about someone smoking an ESC and saying, "but the servos still work."
On up to 10-cell ships, the built-in BEC is immesurably handy in that you can save a bunch of weight by not having to haul around a receiver battery, and you can save a bunch of headaches checking and charging a dedicated receiver pack.
Don't let 'em make you think that BECs are prone to fail, or that ESC don't come with cut-off circuits. BECs are usually the last things to fail in an ESC; I can't count the number of times I've read about someone smoking an ESC and saying, "but the servos still work."
10-11-2003, 03:20 AM
#6
Senior Member
RE: Is BEC Really Necessary?
Matt,
The subject of SECs and BECs reminded me of an Astro Flite plane I had way back in the "E days (Early not electric). I don't remember the name of the plane but it was a 3 channel high wing with an Astro 05 ferrite motor in it without throttle.
I rigged an On/Off switch and flew it that way until a friend gave me a Slot Car throttle controller from which we removed the wire-wound reostat and mated it to a servo for a throttle controller. We lengthened the servo control arm and rigged it as a a wiper with a contact point on the end. It moved up and down the length of the reostat in reponse to TX throttle stick input. The wiper was in turn wired to the motor battery pack. The power pack had a separate On/Off switch. The plane toted two battery packs around but it was no problem.
With the throttle stick at full down, I'd turn on both battery packs, then move the stick up a little at which point the prop would start ticking over. Moving the stick slowly upwards the plane would taxi out and then with more power take off.
My homemade throttle worked like a charm and gave me lots of extended flight times on during many, many late afternoon flights.
It was fun doing-it-myself, but I don't want to do it again, and thanks to today's SECs and BECs I don't have to. These are now the good old days of flying for sure! Grampaw
The subject of SECs and BECs reminded me of an Astro Flite plane I had way back in the "E days (Early not electric). I don't remember the name of the plane but it was a 3 channel high wing with an Astro 05 ferrite motor in it without throttle.
I rigged an On/Off switch and flew it that way until a friend gave me a Slot Car throttle controller from which we removed the wire-wound reostat and mated it to a servo for a throttle controller. We lengthened the servo control arm and rigged it as a a wiper with a contact point on the end. It moved up and down the length of the reostat in reponse to TX throttle stick input. The wiper was in turn wired to the motor battery pack. The power pack had a separate On/Off switch. The plane toted two battery packs around but it was no problem.
With the throttle stick at full down, I'd turn on both battery packs, then move the stick up a little at which point the prop would start ticking over. Moving the stick slowly upwards the plane would taxi out and then with more power take off.
My homemade throttle worked like a charm and gave me lots of extended flight times on during many, many late afternoon flights.
It was fun doing-it-myself, but I don't want to do it again, and thanks to today's SECs and BECs I don't have to. These are now the good old days of flying for sure! Grampaw
