cdub50

For my 'electric flight' pack, what type of connectors do I need to purchase. Is it simply going to be connected to my receiver, or is there another connection, and thus a special connector type? I will using a Futaba radio receiver.

Thanks,
Chris

jdetray

For a typical electric flight pack, you will have the following connections.

1. Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) to receiver. Your ESC will almost certainly come with a standard connector already attached and ready to plug into your receiver.

2. ESC to battery. This is a 2-wire connection. The battery may be supplied with a connector already attached. If so, you'll need the matching connector for your ESC. If the battery is supplied without a connector, you have to purchase both a connector for the battery and a matching connector for the ESC. Popular choices are Deans Ultras, polarized Deans Micros, and JSTs, depending on current requirements.

3. ESC to motor. This will be a 2-wire connection if you have a brushed motor or a 3-wire connection if you have a brushless motor. Many people use "bullet" connectors for this purpose, but Deans Micros and even JSTs can be used, again depending on current requirements.

4. Servos to receiver. Servos will almost certainly come with the proper connectors attached, ready to plug into your receiver.

I hope this helps.

- Jeff

cdub50

Some of my equipment is coming in today.....so maybe I will be able to learn from the instructions there. I am an avid gas hobbiest....just need to better understand the electric basics.

Will there be some soldering involved, or is attaching the connectors to bare wires solderless?

Chris

cobra26

cdub50,

I would strongly recommend swapping the battery connectors out for the female Deans two-pin Ultra Plug to your ESC (that plug on your ESC will need to be changed to a male two-pin Ultra Plug to match). Always use the female plug on the battery to prevent accidental shorting. The Deans Plugs have almost no current loss and they will not come apart accidentally on you. Good luck!

Aeromite

jdetray

Hi Chris-

Installing or changing connectors requires soldering. Don't worry -- it's not too difficult, and you can count on plenty of advice from this forum!

- Jeff

connolly

One bitt of advice when soldering. If you have to solder the end of a wire to a small connector end, You can put a little solder on the connector end and a little on the wire and just put them together and heat em up and they will stick right together.

jdetray

The Three Rules of Successful Soldering
1. Keep it clean
2. Make a good mechanical connection (where possible)
3. Heat the work, not the solder

Keep It Clean
Have a damp sponge or cloth handy, and wipe the hot tip on it before and after each and every soldering operation. Do this every time so that it becomes a habit. The result will be better, more reliable solder joints and a longer lifetime for your soldering iron tips.

Make a Good Mechanical Connection
Solder isn't really designed to hold parts together; it is designed to make a good electrical connection between them. So, whenever possible, make a good mechanical connection between the parts to be soldered (the work) before you actually solder them. For example, when soldering two wires together, twist the wires together first if you can. It's not always possible to do this, but if you can, it's a good idea.

Heat the Work, Not the Solder
Proper technique is to get the parts you are soldering (the work) hot enough that the solder will melt and flow over the parts without the soldering iron touching the solder. If you don't get the work hot enough, you can end up with a "cold" solder joint, one that is electrically poor and subject to failure. A proper solder joint will be smooth and shiny. If it is lumpy, dull, or grainy looking, it's a cold joint and may not be reliable.

Now some practical tips.

- A 25-40 watt pencil type iron is the right tool for our kind of soldering.

- Use rosin core solder designed for electronics work. The rosin core solder from Radio Shack is fine. Separate flux is not necessary.

- It is normal for the tip of the iron to discolor when it heats up.

- Accumulating a blob of solder on the tip of the iron and then touching it to the work is definitely NOT the right way to do it!

Your first step should be to tin the iron. Let the iron heat up, then apply a small amount of solder to the tip of the iron. It should melt very easily and coat the tip. Using a damp sponge or damp cloth, wipe the tip to remove excess solder, leaving a smooth, shiny coating of solder on the tip.

It can be helpful to tin the work before soldering. To do this, heat each piece of the work with the iron and melt a small amount of solder onto it. You don't want a big blob of solder, just a very thin coating. When tinning stranded wire, be sure the solder flows into the strands and doesn't form a blob on the surface.

Find a way to hold the work very steady so the parts are held together and do not move while you are soldering them. Spring-type wooden clothespins are useful for this. The parts (or wires) must not move while you are soldering them, or you risk cold joints.

To make the solder joint, first apply the iron to the work and let the work heat up. Keeping the iron on the work, touch the solder to the work. It should melt and flow over the work. In the case of wire, the solder should flow easily into the wire strands. If the solder does not flow when touched to the work, the work is not hot enough.

Even if you have tinned the work, you should still add more solder to assure a good joint. Just re-heating the tinned parts to stick them together without adding more solder may result in a cold joint.

Remember: Wipe the tip on your damp sponge or cloth before and after each joint. Never let solder accumulate on the tip.

- Jeff

Cfelton

Jeff,
Thanks for all your tips on soldering. I am currently switching over from gas engines to electric motors and your post answered many of my questions. I do have one further question. The female connectors appear to have about a 3 mm deep hole for the insertion of the wire to be soldered. Do you strip the wire insulation back that same 3 mm so that the insulation is right up against the connector or do you strip more so that there is no chance the insulation can get burned during the soldering process? Also, am I right in assuming it is always good to use the heat shrink tubing to improve the strength of the connection? Right now I am in the process of converting a control line model to electric to practice on. The photo shows my 74" wingspan Moth Minor trainer constructed primarily of 1/8" corrugated cardboard. It makes an inexpensive test bed model.

Chuck

jdetray

Hi Chuck-

I would strip the insulation a little bit more than the depth of the connector. The heat of the soldering operation is quite likely to melt the insulation anyway, so precision is not required. There are types of insulation that don't melt at the temperatures used in soldering, so as you do more soldering, you'll encounter different types of insulation.

There are two purposes for the heat shrink tubing. It provides some strain relief so that repeated flexing of the wire won't result in it breaking at the solder joint. And for certain types of connectors, heat shrink tubing also reduces the chances of inadvertant shorting.

- Jeff