Low battery power alert!!!
01-27-2006, 09:53 AM
#1
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Location: BrisbaneQueensland, AUSTRALIA
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Low battery power alert!!!
Hi guys, I am reasonably new to model flying and fly all electrics at moment. I was just wondering fi anyone knew of a gadget that mesures your battery power whilst the plane is in flight and transmits an alert of some kind when the battery/s are approaching thier the stage of being to flat to keep the motor flying the plane? Maybe some kind of beeping at the tx or a device that is with the pilot??
Let me know if something like this or similar is available on the market.
Cheers, Milan.
Let me know if something like this or similar is available on the market.
Cheers, Milan.
01-27-2006, 10:19 AM
#2
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RE: Low battery power alert!!!
milan,
most ESC's have such a thing built in to them, like my medusa's have 2 settings i can do 1st is a pulsing of the motor to let you know that the battery is getting low and you need to land and the 2nd option is for the motor speed to slowly go down and you lose pwer wich is noticable also while flying .
as far as something on the radio or for the pilot i have never seen as of yet but could be wrong. check your ESC's instructions and see what options you have for low battery cut-off and what warnings it gives. hope this helps.
bassman
most ESC's have such a thing built in to them, like my medusa's have 2 settings i can do 1st is a pulsing of the motor to let you know that the battery is getting low and you need to land and the 2nd option is for the motor speed to slowly go down and you lose pwer wich is noticable also while flying .
as far as something on the radio or for the pilot i have never seen as of yet but could be wrong. check your ESC's instructions and see what options you have for low battery cut-off and what warnings it gives. hope this helps.
bassman
01-27-2006, 10:48 AM
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RE: Low battery power alert!!!
I purchased a small, electronic, kitchen timer at Walmart. Can't remember how much I paid, but probably less than $10. You can set it to count down and gives you a 5-minute warning. You can also set it to measure time flying.
When I get a new battery, I turn the timer on and fly the plane the way I normally fly it until the battery almost runs out. This gives me the normal flying time on a battery (let's say 12 minutes for illustration purposes). From then on, I turn the timer on to count down from 11 minutes. It gives me an alarm after 6 minutes (5-minute-left alarm). When the timer goes off, I know I have another minute left to bring the plane in comfortably.
Also, most electrics have a ESC that allows you to restart the motor in flight after it cuts off. All my planes have this. That is, following above example, when I know I have 1 minute left, I go full throttle and get it up high until the motor cutts off. I turn the throttle to the off position and glide the plane in towards me until it gets about 20 to 30 feet of the ground. At this point you can turn the motor back on at 1/2 throttle or less and you will have another 30 to 60 seconds left of power at less than 1/2 throttle. Try with your plane to see if your ESC will allow this procedure.
Attached is a photo of the timer I use.
When I get a new battery, I turn the timer on and fly the plane the way I normally fly it until the battery almost runs out. This gives me the normal flying time on a battery (let's say 12 minutes for illustration purposes). From then on, I turn the timer on to count down from 11 minutes. It gives me an alarm after 6 minutes (5-minute-left alarm). When the timer goes off, I know I have another minute left to bring the plane in comfortably.
Also, most electrics have a ESC that allows you to restart the motor in flight after it cuts off. All my planes have this. That is, following above example, when I know I have 1 minute left, I go full throttle and get it up high until the motor cutts off. I turn the throttle to the off position and glide the plane in towards me until it gets about 20 to 30 feet of the ground. At this point you can turn the motor back on at 1/2 throttle or less and you will have another 30 to 60 seconds left of power at less than 1/2 throttle. Try with your plane to see if your ESC will allow this procedure.
Attached is a photo of the timer I use.
