jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

I’ve designed a plug and play onboard glow system, all you have to do is plug the “system” into your throttle channel like a normal servo, then plug your throttle servo into the onboard glow and connect the wires to your glow plug (system cuts the onboard glow above 1/3 throttle (or whatever you want me to program it at).

A few members of my club have seen how well mine work and want their own, which got me thinking if anyone else would be interested. As of now the price stands at 25 dollars with no battery included, 30 dollars sub/c nicd and 35 dollars with 1500 life or 5000 sub c nimh battery. Please keep in mind I will ship for free, and I am making these by hand in the USA to fund my probl…errrr hobby (size is 1''x1''x3'' with batt 1''x1''x1'' without)

I have been using my system on 2-3 airplanes and the number of dead sticks has gone down drastically ….plus the engine idles far smoother and lower with onboard glow. (and you can run those cheap/old plugs )

My question to you is would you pay 30 bucks for a plug and play onboard glow system? if not what would you pay? please be honest....if my idea sucks please let my know before i waste money buying parts for something that will never sell.

Thanks

p.s. i am also thinking of designing a plug and play onboard smoke system with internal battery.... same concept as the onboard glow but for smoke...cost of that would be around 60 dollars

freakingfast

My Feedback: (3)

Go for it. Your prices are very fair. Just be sure It doesn't make electrical noise on either 72mhz or 2.4G and blind/overload the receiver. That's where some others have failed (not opto isolated or filter). This usually happens at a point where the glow driver is intermittently energizing the plug (not really on or off).

RC_Fanatic

My Feedback: (1)

I've used a couple of the C-tronics on-board glow for years and love them but - they are no longer available. The nice thing about them is that they are truly plug-and-play. Turn on transmitter with throttle at zero and turn on receiver. No glow until you go to high throttle and back to zero. Glow full on at idle, pulsed up to 1/3. Go to idle, then cut-off and driver shuts off. No worry about reversed throttle.

If yours is like that, you have a winner and I want two!

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

Here is an update everyone
I just finished programming v 1.0, here is how it works.
When you turn on your receiver, device powers on and waits 5 seconds for tx to bind
After the 5 seconds it saves the throttle setting….so make sure tx is at idle….glow will then turn on (no arming)
then any value below idle it turns off the glow ignitor (for kill switch)…..
This model also includes easy to adjust cutoff (1/16 throttle…..1/2 throttle…ect) all you need is a screwdriver
Here are the “problems” as of now
There is no adjustable heat range for the plug …. Its either connected to the battery or it isn’t
also if you trim the throttle down too much it will turn off the glow (just turn the receiver off and back on and it will read the new…lower…tx value, however you can’t do that inflight)….this could be a problem if you are not aware if it….. However if you want a “kill switch” option which turns off the glow there is no way around it without using more channels…. This would only be a problem during initial setup….after that it wouldn’t be an issue
I also have a version where the glow stays on no matter how low the throttle goes…..use this one if you are confident closing the carb will kill the engine…if you have an air leak it may stay running…..however you don’t have to worry about lowering the throttle trim on this one.
Let me know which version you would want……I can program these however…. Any other ideas let me know.
Also I can make these for multi’s and as many cylinders as you need

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

How important is “arming” ??? I could program it to do


I made sure to take care of that in the circuitry (filter) and codeing, the cutoff (when throttling up) and turn on (when throttling down) are slightly different so it won’t "oscillate” back and forth between the two.


i will do a stress test tomorrow to ensure reliability then start shipping.
i have enough parts to sell 2 onboard glow starters (more parts on the way)

lazyace

My Feedback: (126)

what is the price on a twin

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

Multi engine price is $5 for each additional cylinder (this includes a slightly bigger battery)
So $35 for twin, $40 for tri, $45 for quad….ect

RC_Fanatic

My Feedback: (1)

I see it as a safety issue. If you turn the airplane on, then want to prime and forget to go to high throttle, it will start when you are not prepared for it, perhaps with your hand close to the prop as your finger is on the carb intake. As for a separate kill function, I don't see the need for it and it is one more thing to set up. I initially tune my engines to idle well with the glow driver disconnected to make sure it will run without it if the battery or driver fails.

I wouldn't worry about the heat range. The usual igniters connect the battery right to the plug. What do you use for the plug connector? Make sure the wires are flexible and can take the heat from a wire touching the muffler. A fellow here made up a unit with house wires. They were so stiff you could not route them and the insulation melted where it touched the head.

How about a picture of one of the units?

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

pics and video (without enclosure)

http://youtu.be/36xQd6zgVtA

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

I use a small wheel collar with a plastic spacer between it and the plug, then a “washer crimp” (for lack of a better term) that connects to the case (look at pics)
The wire is plenty flexable/heat resistant I flew a prototype with a wire in between the cylinder fins on a 100 degree day…..did not melt and the engine was too hot to touch after landing, I will test the wire with a 4 stroke….those run much hotter
I did not have time to work on “arming” today but I will have that done by the weekend.
I plan on enclosing this thing in a box made of 1/32 ply (device encased in foam in the box), it will be far lighter than typical plastic enclosures but still very strong.

RC_Fanatic

My Feedback: (1)

Forget the box! takes up too much space and harder to fit in. Shrink wrap over the electronics is best. That was another thing I liked about the C-tronics. The electronics was a small package and I could put the battery where it helped the balance.

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

Not a bad idea, simple and effective.
How do you like the overall design/operation I assume you watched the video?

RC_Fanatic

My Feedback: (1)

Design and operation looks pretty good. I like the throttle feed through. Not sure about the glow plug connector though. I've had them vibrate loose over time and the thermal cycling seems to loosen the Loktite. I'm also worried about the pot. If they don't vibrate out of position, the vibration damages the element and the settings drift. I'd probably use it to set the on/off point, then replace with a fixed resistor (or two, depending on the circuit.

I'd have an option to mount the battery separately. I use a Deans connector on the battery so can disconnect to charge and have the option of a spare battery.

How do I order one to try out?

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

I will post them for sale on the rcu market this weekend, finishing up testing, so far everything has been holding up.

Everything will be customizable so just let me know what you want

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

Arming works
I also developed a simple version that does not include arming, or “ glow off for engine kill”
The simple version does not rely on the initial throttle position to initialize so it is less prone to human error. (Forgetting to put the throttle at idle causes the onboard glow system to behave erratically on the “AutoDetect” version)
I have five units ready to sell however setting up an ad/store has been far more complicated and expensive than I hoped. I found a site that will allow me to sell at the price point I promised (ebay would bump the price up to 40 dollars and rcumarket place to 35). Unless my life goes downhill I should have a store up and running by the weeks end

RC_Fanatic

My Feedback: (1)

One question that come to mind how does it handle reversed throttle? Seems like half of my planes need to have the throttle reversed. []

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

The “AutoDetect version” will…..AutoDetect it….This is why the throttle must be at idle when the plane is turned on

The “simple version” uses a switch to reverse it

I designed a “fixed version” this version is to be plugged into a spare channel and turned on with a switch or a throttle mix; it will be a few dollars cheaper because it uses the least amount of components.
I will post a video of all three versions shortly and post them for sale this weekend.

rcjetflyer0718-RCU

My Feedback: (1)

I purchased 2 of these http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/n...roduct_id=5014 onboard glows they will operate multiple plugs. I havent tried them yet. They cost $29.95 plus $6.00 shipping only took 3 days to receive them.

oldtyme

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

Hello everyone
This weekend I sold my stock of onboard glow systems locally, so no online postings yet, if you would like to reserve an onboard glow please email me at [email protected] . With the current demand I ordered enough parts to make 25 onboard glow systems. I started out with enough parts to make 10 and figured I would never sell them….but here I am…
The new onboard glow systems have a 3800mah ni-mh battery. The price is still at $30. This battery will give 2 hours of run time, more than enough to last a weekend.
I will have the parts by the weekend and will solder like crazy, if you would like one please shoot me a pm or an email, 25 onboard glow systems should be enough for the demand, but just in case.

jimmyjames213

My Feedback: (2)

Too bad they are more expensive (with shipping), probably aren’t made in the USA, and don’t come with a battery