Please refer to previous post http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/Need...1504160/tm.htm

I connected the battery to the ESC and ESC to receiver and motor as diagramed in the instructions. When I do, the receiver does not get power (as evidenced by no green LED).

I connected an inline switch, as some do on glow planes to shut off the batt / receiver from outside the plane. When I do this, the ESC wire that is supposed to connect to batt is free. I have the elevator to ch2, rudder to ch1, then the ESC to ch3, and finally, the batt / shutoff switch to b/ch4. (This switch is connected between a second battery (4-cell AA 500mA) and the ch4/B slot on the receiver). Then I have the 9.6v connected to the ESC, the ESC to ch3, and then the single side to the motor.

I do get a light on the receiver with this. It took a minute or so to get the motor to spin. And it did slow / speed up with the slide switch from my Hitec Neon SS, but then it quit, and the ESC was quite warm to the touch.

I'm wondering if the ESC I bought locally is the wrong kind. It is a Great Planes 5Amp C-5 Nano ESC. It is not as described in the instructions (ICS-50, ICS-100 or 400).

Why would I not get receiver power from the battery when connected directly to the battery through the ESC?

Could I have a faulty ESC? The local hobby shop only had two. The 5amp I bought, and he also had a 20amp. But they were both kind of pricey. Would I do better by buying one online, both pricewise and reliability wise?

Is my 9.6v too big or too small for the 300-C motor, or should I up the motor for the 9.6v pack to a 350 or 400?

What ESC is good and reliable. Is the one I have compatible / recommended? How come I don't get receiver power from the battery through the ESC, but I do when I connect to receiver through a cut-off switch?

Please help. I'm almost finished except for this, and determining the CG.

Thanks again for your help, recommendations, and experience.

Robert

Everything should work if you follow Ken's earlier advice. Ditch the on/off switch - I don't quite understand how you have wired that in but I think that is screwing things up - and you don't need it anyway. Before you fly in earnest you will need to ditch the ESC as well because it is too small (5A) to cope with that motor (it'll draw 8-10A - get a Pixie 10P). But, in the meantime that GP ESC will work well enough for you to test the system.

Connect motor to ESC, connect ESC to Ch 3 on Rx, turn on Tx, with throttle lever at zero, THEN connect battery to ESC when, and only when, you are ready to test/fly.

I have a feeling those GP ESC's have a peculiar arming sequence - read through the instructions which came with it. You should have the throttle at zero position when you connect the battery. THEN you need to move the throttle to full and hold it there for a few seconds - you should hear a faint high frequency beep; move the throttle back to zero - and then you'll be ready to go.

Try that, and let us know the result.

Cheers, Phil

One other thought - are you sure you haven't got Channel 3 reversed? Check the servo reversing switch on the Tx.

Cheers, Phil

Hi Robert,
There are a couple of things about your setup.

First, a 7 cell battery pack is 8.4Volts ( each cell is 1.2Volts ).

Second, the 8.4V battery pack that you have might be a bit more than the Speed 300 motor can handle long term. If you're using the 6V version of that motor, it's only rated up to a 7.2V battery pack. Beyond that your going to burn the motor brushes up pretty quickly and will have to replace the entire motor. Consider returning this and getting a good 7.2V NiMH.

Third, Speed 300 motors can draw upwards of 8+ amps at full power. The actual amp draw will depend on which 300 you have, but I think there are only two different kinds (a 6V and a 7.2V), sold under a half dozen labels (GWS, Graupner, Simprop, etc). Regardless, the 5 amp ESC you have will go poof soon.

Fourth, if you have the battery connected to the ESC, the ESC connected to the motor, and the ESC connected to your receiver, the receiver should be getting power without arming the ESC. If it isn't then your ESC is already toast and should be returned / repaired. It sounds as if either you connected the battery to the motor out cable; or you had it connected the correct way and ran the motor up to full power which then overloaded it (see #3 above).

I haven't had the best luck with Great Planes ESC's. They use garbage wires and connectors have little if any documentation, and their support is lacking. You might consider purchasing either a Pixie-7P ($35) or a Pixie-20P ($40) from Castle Creations (http://www.castlerc.com). They are very light, have rock solid performance, and great support.

I'm somewhat surprised that the motor even started if you didn't have a battery connected directly to the ESC. This is another sign that there is something wrong with it.

Also, there are only two basic types of ESC's: Brushed and Brushless. The primary difference is what kind of motor you can connect to them. The Speed 280, 300, 400, xxx motors are all brushed. Brushless motors typically come from Himax, Astro Flight, Aveox, Jeti, and others and are quite expensive ($50++) Of course, this doesn't get into the various options that each ESC on the market has such as switching rate, BEC, brake, programmable LVC, etc.

Good luck to you,
chris.

The battery pack is a 9.6v, my mistake originally! It is an 8 cell AAA GWS 730mA NiMH pack. Is this pack still to big for the 300 motor, or should I just upgrade the motor to a 350 or 400?

The motor is an EPS-300C 6R. What battery pack is best for this motor for adequate flight times, say >10-15mins? I've read that some are using 1000+mA packs and getting very long flight times. I realize that a beginner shouldn't be trying to fly for such long periods, but someone as myself, beginning again, can get discouraged if I can only fly for 10-15 mins before I have to charge batteries again, and this takes overnight.

I will take your advice on changing out the ESC to a higher amp.

Yes, getting the motor to turn over was kind of quirky. It didn't just turn over when I slid the switch. And yes, I heard a quick high-pitched tone before it kicked in. But then the motor was very sporatic with the throttle. Sometimes the motor would stop. I would back off on the throttle, and then increase and it would start again.

I don't believe I have the switch reversed, as it throttles up when I slide the switch the correct way.

But why don't I get a green light on the receiver if it gets it's power directly from the battery if connected directly? If I set it up this way, ch4/B is empty. Is this not the slot for receiving power to provide for the servos? Can power be provided for the ch1 and 2 servos if there is no battery connected to ch4/B?

I've got it balanced at 4.5" from leading edge, as one earlier reply suggested. That was right on the mark. And it is just slightly nose down as suggested.

So, as suggested, I will change out the ESC to a higher amperage.

Any more suggestions / ideas are appreciated to get me up and running.

Thanks,

Robert

Not an expert, but my input is as follows; the battery goes into my Throttle channel on my receiver (JR but I would think they are all similar), this is how the receiver powers up the other servos. You do not hook the battery to the normal battery slot in receiver unless you are not using an ESC with BEC(Battery Elimination Circuit ?). I do not run a switch, I just turn on transmitter, then plug battery into esc...when done flying remove battery from ESC before shutting off transmitter. I think the GWS 100 series ESC is also 5 Amps so I would not think that is your problem yet...I fly with 8.4 volts...9.6 is high for that motor but you can throttle back and fly just fine...just don't run WOT all the time. I do not know what implications 9.6 volts has on your ESC...Check the specs to make sure it can handle 8 cells. Again, not an expert but I would look at wiring of your set up first...

Hi Robert,
Okay, there are two reasons why the motor stops when you go to apply full throttle. Either the ESC is being overloaded due to the amp draw (most likely) or the battery is being drained to a voltage level which is causing the BEC to cut in. The way to tell which one is happening is whether or not you have to rearm the ESC once the motor cuts out. If you rearm, then the BEC is cutting in; if you just back off the throttle then it's the amp draw.

BTW, like Dr. Kiwi said, get rid of the on/off switch in the mix. It's a waste of time and weight on these machines. The standard procedure is to wait until you are ready to fly then 1) turn on the transmitter; 2) connect your flight battery; 3) Arm the ESC; 4) go fly.

Now, as to why you're not getting a green light on your receiver: I'm not too familiar with the Hitec receivers (which one do you have?) however I can clear up some things. If you are able to power up the motor and wiggle the servos without the green light coming on then I wouldn't be worried. I imagine the receiver light is simply connected directly to the 4/B port to monitor battery voltage and therefore doesn't see the voltage coming from the ESC.

FYI, Any port on the receiver can accept power and distribute it to your servos accordingly. Just ignore the 4/B markings, all receivers have them or something simliar. They are a hold over from the gas/glow powered flight terminology / set up diagrams.

Your ESC ( and most ESC's in this range) have a BEC (battery eliminator circuit) built into it. The purpose of the BEC is to provide power to the receiver, motor, and servos from a single source. When the battery is connected to the ESC and the ESC to the receiver, then any power draw by the servos / receiver will be met by this circuit. This saves weight and allows you to still have some level of control (servos) when the battery pack voltage falls below a certain level. It might not keep you from crashing, but it could keep you from crashing into someone.

Optionally, you can have two batteries. One plugged to the ESC to provide power to the motor, and one plugged directly to the receiver. However, you have to disable the BEC on the ESC first. Otherwise a short circuit situation would occur and the batteries would just fry each other and possibly everything else attached. Generally the only reason to have two batteries on an electric plane is if the amp draw by the servos goes beyond what your BEC can handle. This is an issue better reserved when you've mastered the slow stick and have some time to do a little research before moving on to another plane.

Chris.

One other thing, the 9.6V battery pack you have is too big for that motor. The specs on your motor say that the operating voltage should be limited to 8.4V. As far as getting 15+ minute flight times this is dependant on the amp rating (not the voltage) of your battery, how you fly, and the aircraft itself.

You might consider dumping the NiMH in favor of a 2S1P Kokam 1500HD pack; but that is going to li-po technology and has a whole other set of costs associated with it. Otherwise, just follow what the other slow stick guys recommend for either NiCad or NiMH cells.