RE: Article on adequate radio power
Well, a bit of time to kill waiting for my Hawk to arrive from Heathrow airport after clearing customs, so:
Yes there is a great deal to be said for simplicity if the individual compoenents are up to the job. For a long time my standard jet install has been :
2 batteries of 2000Mah plus regulators plus 2 heavy duty JR switches one into the batt port, the other y-leaded into a servo output, it all finishes up on the power bus. No problems at all.
For those concerned about regulators, and with Duralites/lipos they are essential, may wish to consider the Mini Hobby units as some time ago I read on the BVM web site that they are dual channel units therefore failure of one channel is no problem. That said I have never had a single reg problem using Mini Hobby or Duralite units.
However models are getting bigger and more complex and things like Powerboxes (Champion) and Weatronics allow programming of servos without matchboxes etc and also eliminate separate regs AND can deliver high currents if need such as on the 20 digital servos on my Mig 29. But what ARE those currents ?
On my Skymaster Hawk the peak current recorded is 2.7 amps on Mick Burrels MB339 its just on 3 amps, well within regs outputs, the big current draw being flap selection. I will soon find the total current on my AirWorld Hawk with its 7 8711/8511 servos plus many other smaller digital servos but I am certain it will be well with the Weatronics huge capability. The good thing is its data recording will TELL me exactly what is going on in the model and THAT is very reassuring.
I agree that NO system is 100% safe but a dual battery system, each capable of delivering, say, twice the max current is, within practical limits, pretty close to it, particularly if each pack is checked under load during refuelling for the next flight !
Regards, David Gladwin