RE: Power Expander or not -that's the question
I asked Smart Fly what it meant on their website when it says that their Power Expanders have "Long servo lead line matching". Here is the reply:
What that means is that we use a series resistor to help match the impedance
of the servo wires so that when the pulse is sent down the wire to
the servo there
is less ringing on the signal edge when it gets to the servo. This
reduces potential
interference from the servo wires.
So, here is yet another great feature of a Power Expander.
There is some compensation for long leads as far as the signal goes, but it does not compensate for voltage losses.
I had read somewhere else that Power Expanders did boost voltage in long leads, but it wasn't what I consider a reliable source, and I wasn't sure it was possible. Then I read that line on the Smart Fly website and got to wondering if it was somehow possible. It looks like it's not possible, but a Power Expander will help keep long lead voltage losses to a minimum by providing each servo with it's own power source (each servo plugs into it's own port on the Power Expander).
Jim