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All Forums >> Radios, Batteries, Clubhouse and more >> RC Radios, Transmitters, Receivers, Servos, gyros >> Radio Manufacturer Direct Support >> Smart-Fly (Quest Engineering) Support Forum >> regulator question
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regulator question - 5/22/2005 1:23:50 PM   
jrjohn


 

Posts: 2279
Joined: 1/9/2002
From: stevens point, WI, USA
Status: offline 		does anybody know what voltage the SmartFly regulator is set at when it comes from the factory??

thank you
John

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RE: regulator question - 5/22/2005 3:12:51 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hi John,
The regulators are shipped out set at the lowest voltage which should be about 5.2V and 5.3V.


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Robert Ritchey
Owner, Smart-Fly

(in reply to jrjohn)
       Post #: 2

RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 12:10:07 PM   
Nickolas



Posts: 738
Joined: 6/21/2004
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Hi I have received my Smart-fly voltage regulator and I would like to adjust the output voltage. It is not very clear in the manual how this should be adjusted. Can you please describe the procedure of adjusting the output voltage from the factory setting 5.2-5.3V to 6V for example?

Will I have to short those pins when the battery is connected and how long for?

Thanks,

Nick

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RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 3:26:54 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hello Nick,
The preceedure is really easy. First you need some kind of load on the regulator, a receiver without servos is sufficient or using a meter that has a built in load. If you use a receiver for the load, hook one output of the regulator to the receiver and the other output to the meter. You need the battery connected so you can read the output voltage. To adjust the regulator up please look at the manual for the right pins to short. If you just touch the pins the regulator will just bump up one increment. If you keep the pins shorted for a second then the voltage will keep increasing until you remove the short. To go down just short the opposite pin and the center pin. That is it. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance.


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       Post #: 4

RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 3:50:14 PM   
Nickolas



Posts: 738
Joined: 6/21/2004
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Thanks for the quick answer. How do you define "one increment"? I will probably use an Astro Wattmeter for measuering voltage, will that be ok?

If I short the pins without the battery on and having not connected the regulator with anything, will this have any effect?

Thanks and regards,

Nick

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RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 3:54:23 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hello Nick,
One increment is about 0.05V roughly. I am not familiar with the Wattmeter but if you set it for between 250mA and 1A then it should be fine. If you short the pins without the battery connected nothing will change. The regulator has to have power to change the setting. Please let us know if we can be of any further help.


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Owner, Smart-Fly

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       Post #: 6

RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 6:48:07 PM   
Nickolas



Posts: 738
Joined: 6/21/2004
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Thanks Robert!

I checked the system as you wrote, I'm using a brand new LiIon battery but have not charged it, the battery provides a voltage of 7.5V, however according to the manual when is fully charged max voltage is supoosed to be 8.4V. The output voltage from the regulator is 4.9V lower than the min expected which should be 5.2V Do you think that lower voltage is due to the fact the battery is not fully charged? Do you also think that this slight voltage drop might be due to the cable resistance of the voltage meter?

Regards,

Nick

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RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 8:06:53 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hello Nick,
The output voltage from the regulator (at least how the meter reads because of voltage drops in the wire and connectors) will depend on how large a current you are pulling. The output of the regulator as stated in the manual is measured at the output of the regulator, before the wiring and connectors. You can expect to see a couple tenths of a volt drop if you are loading the regulator with 1A, more if you are loading it with more than 1A. I would determine what load you want the system to see 6.0V at and then set your Wattmeter to load the regulator with that load and set the voltage to 6.0V. With a lighter load your system is going to see a higher voltage so make sure you do not set the regulator with such a high load that the system gets a voltage higher than you wish at light loads. The dropout on this regulator is about 0.45V so if your battery is higher than 0.45V than your output voltage you are going to be fine, ignoring the voltage drops in the wiring and connectors. Please let us know if we can assist further.


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Owner, Smart-Fly

(in reply to Nickolas)
       Post #: 8

RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 8:27:16 PM   
Nickolas



Posts: 738
Joined: 6/21/2004
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Thanks for the answer.

So you're saying that 0.3V drop is normal at lower loads and there's no low battery voltage issue. Am I correct? I would like to set the regulator at 5.2V, should I leave like it is or raise it from 4.9V to 5.2V?

The problem I have with those tests is that I can not really set my wattmeter to emulate load. The only load I can use is the Rx one or by connecting the servos.

Let me clarify this for a minute according to the manual in this case Ic=12/(7.4-4.9)=4.8A that's a bit high isn't it?

Also what do you mean by "dropout" in the regulator?

Sorry for the questions but I want to verify that the system will work well and reilably. I would not rather to lose my model due to a voltage supply failure.

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RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 8:35:49 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hello Nick,
You are correct in what I said. With the battey at 7.5V this will not influence the output voltage.

I think you mis-interpreted the formula. The formula is how many AMPs the unit can supply constantly safely, based on what the output voltage is set at. This says that the regulator can supply 4.8A continuously, not that it is supplying that at the moment. As I said, I do not know much about the WattMeter. I thought you could set a load on the WattMeter and read the volage. If you are only reading the voltage when the unit is hooked up to your system the you should go ahead and set the regulator to your desired voltage, 5.2V in this case.

When we talk about voltage regulator "dropout" it is refering to the fact that all regulators introduce a minimum voltage drop. If you had the regulator set at 6.0V and the battery got below 6.45V then the output would start to follow the batter down, i.e. when the battery got to 6.0V the output would fall to 5.55V.

Let us know if we can answer any more questions.


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Owner, Smart-Fly

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       Post #: 10

RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 8:53:30 PM   
Nickolas



Posts: 738
Joined: 6/21/2004
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		Hi again,

Thanks for the info, I think I will become a regulator specialist soon . Well it is not very clear to why the system does not give 5.2V if has been set from the factory like that? I'm just wondering if I raise the voltage to 5.2V will this be real or in essence will be 5.5V?

The load supplied to system is 25mA and this is due to the Rx. Right? If the load current is so small why do I have this voltage drop? If it was 1A for example I would expected it but how is that possible with such a low current?



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RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 9:00:02 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hello Nick,
The output voltage of the regulators is set to their lowest setting at the factory. This varies a bit because of component tolerances. It can be anywhere from 5.1V to 5.3 in general. The regualtors are tested to be in a specific range, between 5.0 and 5.4 at the low end. Why you are reading 4.9V I do no know. Are you sure you only have 25mA of load? Have you tried more than one meter? You say the battery read 7.5V. Was this using the WattMeter also? If you think the battery was charged then you either have bad pack or the WattMeter is not reading correctly. The WattMeter could be reading bad. I would check with at least one other meter, a good quality meter, before you trust your WattMeter reading.
Please let us know if we can answer any further questions.


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Robert Ritchey
Owner, Smart-Fly

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       Post #: 12

RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 9:16:10 PM   
Nickolas



Posts: 738
Joined: 6/21/2004
From: Athens, GREECE
Status: offline 		The battery is brand new but has never been charged, Li Ions and Li Pos are supposed to be 40-50% charged when they leave the factory so I thought no charge would be essential for the initial tests.

7.5V is measured with the same meter. Here is the meter I'm talking about. It may not supply load but is considered by electric fliers a top notch product. I test my Li Po setups with this with no problem at all.

http://www.astroflight.com/e/env/0001ZXmvyflOX9YwzE67358/store/store-Chargers.html?link=/store/store-type-tem.html&item=products:af-101

Anyway your suggestion is to raise the voltage a bit right?

Thanks agaian,

Nick



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RE: regulator question - 9/22/2005 9:24:22 PM   
rrritchey


 

Posts: 627
Joined: 9/29/2004
From: Phoenix, AZ, USA
Status: offline 		Hello Nick,
I would say go ahead and raise the voltage.
Let us know if we can be of any further help.


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Owner, Smart-Fly

(in reply to Nickolas)
       Post #: 14

RE: regulator question - 9/26/2005 2:16:25 PM   
Nickolas