meloman408

So I am just getting into thisRCAirplane stuffand bought myself a Slow Stick GWS Slow Stick ARF w/EPS400C Yellow 46.3"from tower hobbies however I went astray when ordering the battery as I didn't purchase the recommended one for some reason and now I am even questionnng if I chose the right ESC and reciever I got both of the recommended one's but was told that they will not work with lipo. Anyway here's what I have

PLANE GWS Slow Stick ARF w/EPS400C Yellow 46.3"

ESCGWS ICS400/J Speed Control 15A 6-9.6V JR

BATTERY Venom LiPo 3S 1P 11.1V 1300mAh 20C Universal Plug

RECIEVER GWS Naro Receiver 6-Channel Standard Pin JR

TRANSMITTER Spectrum DX6i

CONNECTIONS W.S. Deans Micro 2R Plug, Hobbico 6" Extension Futaba J,Great Planes Gold Plate Bullet Connector Male 2mm (3)

And that is all, is there anyway I can make this work I do I need to find the recommended battery by Great Planes or I can I use another lipo instead from a retail hobby shop nearby. Oh and yeah I just found out I got the wrong servo extension DAMMIT!

Here's GWS pg on the slow stick
http://www.gwsus.com/english/product/product.htm

con244

Hi Meloman
I think you've got a couple of problems with your choices.
The esc you have chosen is for a nicad or nimh batteries instead of lipos. The 400 motor will work fine on lipos but you must use a lipo esc , something like this will be fine http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...ontroller.html or you can just use any esc that will handle 3s lipos batteries and around 15-20 amps.
The other problem is your choice of receiver. A Spectrum DX6i transmitter will need a Spectrum compatible receiver to work, otherwise its like trying to get a frenchman to do something by speaking chinese to him. It just won't work!
I started out with a SlowStick and in light or no winds it is a great plane. I think that you should devote a little time reading up on the basics of the electronics for electric flight otherwise you may be in for a very expensive time which could, in the end drive you away from this great hobby.

Cheers
Con244

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

You have now discovered why your Local Hobby Shop, LHS, is the best place to buy your RC stuff, especially when you don't know what you are doing. They would properly match things up for you. The few pennies you save on the internet go away fast when you buy the wrong stuff and it won't work or you burn it up.

Since you are new, you should get to know your hobby shop. Take what you purchased to them and ask for help.

The other thing you have learned is why people like to start on Ready to Fly, RTF packages. Everything is matched up. All this radio and electronics stuff is tricky when you are new, butyou will learn fast.


But since you made the purchases, let's see how we can help you. Tower is my most used on-line source for RCstuff. They will likely let you exchange the GWS receiver and ESCfor the right stuff.


GWS Slow Stick is an EXCELLENTfirst plane. Great choice!





You have a Spektrum 2.4 GHz radio but you bought a GWS 72 MHz receiver. they can't talk to each other. A Spektrum AR500, 600 or 6300 would work find for this plane. Tower does not sell Spektrum stuff. Go to your hobby shop or www.horizonhobby.com


Your ESCwill work BUT the low voltage cut-off may allow your battery to run down too far and could damage it. This would be a better choice:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXKZY9&P=7

Note that is says LiPo compatible. That has to do with the low voltage cut-off. The ESC doesn't really know what kind of battery you have.

Note that the ESCdoes not have a battery connector on it. This is common these days as battery connectors are not standardized. You would have to solder one on. Iprefer DEANs Ultra plugs for all my battery/ESC connections, but the Horizon Hobby EC3 connector is also popular and works well. You put the male side on the ESC
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKX39&P=ML


I have never seen the Venom universal plug. That is a pretty cool device that allows you to adapt to many different speed control connectors.

I HIGHLYrecommend you spend some time to read this e-book. It is free. It will explain a lot AND you can ask questions. I know the author. He likes helping new guys.

lorih

Let me add to the above answer. Your choice of esc WILL NOT work because it is only rated at 9.6 volts maximum and a 3 cell lipo will be well over that.

A nimh only esc will "work" with a lipo, but your low voltage cut off will be way too low. If you were to fly too long, your battery voltage could possibly drop to battery damaging levels.

The esc you will need must be able to be set for lipo battery cutoff voltages AND it must be a brushed motor esc since you are using it with a brushed motor.

You will find that with a 3 cell lipo, your 400 brushed motor will work very well with your Slow Stick.

Keep in mind that someone MAY tell you that you can't use a 3 cell lipo with a Slow Stick brushed motor. Well, that may be true with the 350 motor, but the 400 can provide a couple hundred flights or so with no problem using a 3 cell. I finally put a brushless motor on my Stick at over 200 flights and the old motor is still being used by a friend of mine on his Stick.

Cliff

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Good catch Cliff. Imissed that.

Handiman

My Feedback: (2)

Meloman, it sounds if you are new to Lipo batteries.
Real quick on some items that are a must to remember.

Lipo cells are 3.6v per cell, max voltage per cell is 4.2v and minimum voltage is 3.0v per cell.
DONOT forget this info. A good Lipo charger will hold you batteries to these limits when charging and a good Lipo Speed Control will shutoff at the lower voltage. Be sure it is set for the correct number of cells in the battery pack you are using. Trying to manage this your self is to difficult and risky.
If you get outside of these voltages it could result in a fire. The fire is like a flare, once it starts it will not stop until it is used up. And if one cell starts it will usually inginte another cell until all the cells are used up. The cells will usually show signs by swelling before a fire starts but in a plane at 200ft I don't think you will notice the battery swelling. You will notice the fire and if it is a war bird please get video of it. It may look realstic.
The newest Lipo cells are very good about being chemically structured to resist a fire but it cn happen.
Do not chage your batteries unattended and do it on concrete if possible.
Lipo's are great batteries, I will never go back to NiCads or others but they have limits to stay within.

Good Luck and have Fun ! ! !

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

A few comments here.

First, the per cell of a Lipo is 3.7, not 3.6. I think that was just a typo. So a 3 cell pack is nominally an 11.1V pack, 3 X 3.7V. When they are fully charged they are charged to 4.2 V/cell so a 3 cell lipo pack that has been fully charged is 12.6V.

Why do we call it a 3.7V cell when we charge it to 4.2? Not really sure but it probably has something to do with average voltage during discharge or something like that. Don't worry about it. This is just to help you be aware of these numbers. And, as stated above a good LIPO charger will handle the charge correctly. Never use a NiCd or NiMh charger to charge lipos or very bad things can happen.

As to the FIRE statements

Well they are true BUT highly unlikely. This is like saying that if you have an accident in your car it will blow up because there is gasoline in the tank. Well yes, the car could catch fire. And yes, if you abuse your lipos they could catch fire. And in both cases this is a bad thing. But neither is likely to happen under normal circumstances. The only LIPO fires Ihave ever seen were on a video where a guy inentionally overcharged it using a NiCd charger.

So, yes, bad things can happen with lipos, just like bad things can happen with gasoline if you handle it badly.

Use a proper charger
Use a balancing charger
Make sure it is properly set

Don't over discharge your lipos - use an ESCthat has a proper LVC for lipos

When charging your lipos, don't set them and leave. If something goes wrong you want to be there to deal with it. If something goes very very wrong (read car crash above) there could be a fire. So always put your lipos in a fire proof container when charging indoors or in your car.

Don't over burden your lipos.

For examplke,a 20C rated 1300 mah pack is rated to deliver up to 26 amps. A 10C rated 1300 mah pack is rated to deliver 13 amps max.

These maximums arethe absolute extreme limit whichmeans that the battery is working super hard and hanging on for dear life. (maybe a bit too dramatic) Battery packs run at or over their extreme limits tend to have short life spans. Usually best to not exceed 80% of the rated max amps in order to get good service and good life out of your lipos. Some will say 70%.

So, yes, respect your lipos and handle them properly and you will have no problems. Abuse them and they could bite you bad.

Swift427

Being that you are just getting started your relatively inexpensive lipo charger probably doesn’t have digital readouts that can monitor each cell of a 3S pack during charging. I'd recommend you buy a little E-flite cell checker via your LHS. It will get you more familiar/comfortable/confident with monitoring the individual cells and maximizing the life of your lipo batteries. Ideally it is better if you don’t discharge your 3S pack below 3.3v per cell or 9.9v for a 3S pack. You can carry the cell checker in your shirt pocket and monitor each cell after a full charge as well as checking each cells resting recovery voltage immediately after your expended flying time and in the event of the ESCs LVC (low voltage cutoff).
http://secure.hobbyzone.com/EFLA111.html

aeajr

My Feedback: (2)

Will that work with ANY balance plug or only certain ones?