omawho

My Feedback: (12)

Hey fellas, Sure could use a little info here. I have just finished up a Hanger9 1/4 scale Super Cub. Put a Saito 150 on it and for the first time, I have installed onboard glow. My question is, when I turn on the radio and the receiver battery, the glow driver comes on. I have it set right now to go off at about 1/4 throttle. Should it always be on at low or closed throttle?? Does that affect stopping the engine?? Just want to make sure I have this right. Thanks in advance, Ed...

on pipe

The drivers that shut off above idle are the cats meow! If you set your carb to close
off with your throttle trim your engine should shut off with no problem. No fuel- No
run. You should have a seperate battery for the driver. A couple of higher MAH cells will do it. Will make your already reliable engine extra dependable! Ross

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

You can only set these things for when you want it to SHUT OFF.

It's always going to be on when your at idle. You turn the little screw on the pot to make it shut off when you get to 1/4 throttle or whatever you need.

Here's what I do:
Break in the engine and tune the high speed needle.

Tune the low speed needle for the absolute BEST performance you can get out of it. If the engine is inverted and loads up when idleing--don't give up and just set the glow driver. Keep tuning it untill you get it as best as you can get it.

THEN plug in your glow driver and set it to turn off as soon as you get 2 or 3 clocks off idle. If it works and transitions well--leave it alone.

If you still have transition problems--keep increasing the time that the glow driver stays on a little at a time. Eventually--you'll find the right combination of driver assistance and throttle response.

It's better for the battery life if you can rely on the driver only as little as possible.

To kill the engine:
Set the throttle trim tabs to shut off the fuel when everything is in the down position. Tabs ans stick down = engine dead.

Now--once it dies--simply advance the throttle to 1/2 throttle so that you turn out the glow. Then turn off your RX switch.

Next time you turn it on--the glow will not be lit and using the battery up.

You gotta be carefull with these glow drivers. If you forget about it--and you should happen to flip the prop when the throttle stick is at idle--it can start the engine or at the very least--you will get a WHAP on the fingers.

CAREFULL CAREFULL CAREFULL

(editd four speling)[:-]

omawho

My Feedback: (12)

Thanks to both of you. Looks like I got it right... As for batteries, I have a set of 3300 MAH sub c cells hooked up to it. Pack was professionally made by RadicalRC for just this purpose... Thanks again, Ed..

Rudeboy

Another thing to watch out for...:

The first of these things I bought didn't automatically shut off when I turned off the the receiver. If my throttle stick was at idle when I turned of the receiver, it stayed lit... And since it is pretty normal for me to have the throttle at idle at the end of a flight, it took some getting used to. Luckily the led on the device was powered by the glow battery and not the receiver battery, so I could see wether it was lit or not, even with no power to the reciever.

I'm glad I noticed it at home when setting up and testing the system... I hate to think about what could have happened if someone (a kid for instance) flipped the prop on my plane when I was not near it... those big four strokes can bite pretty hard...[]

So make sure you check this.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

Thats why I said to kill the engine and then advance the throttle back up to 1/2. That will turn off the glow system--even if the RX is not turned off.

IronCross

What is a good remote glow driver and where do you get them.. I have searced Tower etc and don't seem to come up with much..

Volfy

My Feedback: (23)

The glow current being on does not affect engine shut off at all. That is, if your engine shuts off normally when you close the throttle all the way, having the glow driver ON won't change that behavior.

What I do with my OBGD is to program my TX (Futaba 9C) such that the glow driver is controlled by a 3-posistion switch:

UP - glow current always OFF
CENTER - glow current ON setpoint variable by TX rotary knob
DOWN - glow current always ON

Hopefully you have a computer radio that you can program something similar.

I also wire in a ultra-bright LED to indicate when the glow current is ON. I position the LED so it points directly at my face when I start the engine. This system has worked very well for me over the years. I even have them on airplanes that don't really need OBGD just for the convenience of it.

omawho

My Feedback: (12)

OK, Lots of good info going here and it's appreciated. My onboard glow does turn off when the transmitter is powered off. So, that's good. I do have an LED that lets me know when the glow is on and it is powered by the glow battery.. Second, I do have a computer radio. (JR 8103) Since you mentioned that I did a bit of looking and found instructions to program it just as you said. That WILL be done. Lastly, I got my golw system at morrishobbies.com. It's an ERD-103 and cost $39.95.... Thanks to all......

khodges

My Feedback: (1)

The one I like is made by MPI, called Super Glow. The basic one sells for around $40; has three modes:
1-manual, you turn it on and off whenever you want with a Tx switch
2-automatic, turns on whenever throttle drops below a preset point (you set the point)
3- automatic with manual override, you can turn it back on at throttle settings higher than its automatic turn off point. It has a red LED that is on whenever there is current to the plug, and won't come on if the plug is bad, so it's a good check of plug condition.

You can order this direct from MPI at www.maxxprod.com

It's still like rcpilet says, it's still on at low throttle settings. I also use a three position switch like volfy, but I have mine set up differently.
Upper switch position---glow ON manual
middle switch position, glow AUTOMATIC, throttle cut RUN
bottom position, throttle cut ON (I also have the 9C Futaba)

This way, all my secondary throttle controls are on one switch. When I pull the stick back to idle, and flip the throttle cut, engine quits, then I advance throttle past the glow cutoff point until I shut off the glow battery power (I have the glow battery set up with its own power switch, as is recommended). My floatplane is set up this way, but my L-4 is just set up on manual, using the same switch method as above. Doing this, you can cut the glow on when you want, and turn it off when you want, regardless of throttle setting. On my L-4 I only use it for starting.

I use two "AA" size 1500 mAh NiMH batteries in parallel (total of 3000mAh at 1.2VDC) and I can fly with the glow on all the time and still do three or four 15 minute flights without recharging. The 3300 battery should do well, but might not last as long as the NiMH between charges

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

OH! [X(] Thats a GOOD idea!! I'm gonna go program my 8103 like that--right now. Thanks