So today I converted my Delro E-Motion from a rx battery to a [link=http://www.castlecreations.com/products/ccbec.html]Castle Pro BEC[/link]. Honestly its a lazy mans solution with a tiny weight savings, but I'm excited. Sadly, the folks I look to for advice are all opposed. For me the added risk is so small as to be insignifcant, but I sense that is far from the accepted opinion, which brings me to my poll.





Would you consider using only a BEC in your plane?

Absolutely not! Too high step down voltage for my liking.

A good regulator, and failsafe switch, and a small lipo does not weigh enough to consider such a thing!

One of my freinds who I fly F3A with, will only fly with a BEC, he will usually fly between 5 to 10 flights every time he goes out to practice, and is very experienced with E-power. "Quote:- I just can't bring myself to putting in another battery for the reciever when I already have this big 10s pack in there." This is not to say it is fool proof, but he flew the wings off two Wind 110's, and now has a Wind S Pro, and all on a BEC. I have followed his set-up as I'm still new to E-power, I currently fly an Angle 50 on BEC, which is my practice model, the advantage is I only have to charge the flight packs, and not a seperate reciever battery.
When I update my Pinnacle YS powered model, I will be going to electric and plan to continue with the BEC option.
Out of interest, has anybody got a first hand account of a BEC failure in a 10s setup that they know about, as almost nobody over here flys with a BEC setup apart from my freind all I have heard from the local flyers is really only an opinion rather than lessons from experience? Matt.

A friend of mine has been using the Castle BEC for two years with no problems. I'm still using a 900 mAH Lipo on a Smart-Fly regulator.

My friend and pattern mentor, has been flying e power for a while now, explaned it to me when I went to E power in a way that made total sense, a 2s lipo for the receiver, a reg. and failsafe device adds so little weight that it is not smart to do without one. If you have a battery or motor problem in flight you can still get it down safely like IC and the failsafe plug keeps you from doing anything stupid with the motor/prop etc. on the ground. I personally like and probably need that safety factor.

Joe, I have been using the UBec setup for the past 2 years without any issues whatsoever. I only charge a 10s pack and go fly. Less hassle, less things to forget or remember to do.
I too have experienced the pros and cons of Bec use and have diligently considered them all. Although it's safe to walk in the shadow of giants, we take a chance on missing out on what could be the next progressive move of the future. Anyway, they too were pioneers at some point.
History and personal experience has gained my confidence and trust that Bec's will play a role in the future of what we do. Just a personal observation.[8D]

I'd consider using one as a backup to my battery/regulator. It is not only the reliability of the BEC that is potential problem but I have personally fried an ESC in flight and I have heard of many other power pack/ESC failures in flight that would have destroyed airplanes if they didn't have dedicated receiver/servo power supplies.

I nearly lost my Twister once when unfortunately during flight the main battery escaped from its seating and started to go around the inside of the fuse. First it went to the front (and unseated itself completely) and then to the back so both wires to the ESC were disconnected. I was able to bring her to the ground safely and decided I would always have a seperate battery for Rx.

Volkert

While I have never heard of a BEC failing I know of one case where the pilot had a bad main battery on a FA3 plane. If he had a bec it would of crashed so I am now of the thinking on larger planes and high number of cells that a separate rx battery is the safest. That said I have three smaller planes including a Pawnee that use a bec but the largest number of cells is six.

I believe a Castle Bec is only good for 6s cells unles you have the latest pro version which is good for 12 cells.

On my Passport I am being super cautious, and using two 2S Lipos running through a Fromeco Wolverine Dual switch, to two SmartFly regs.  This is the same type of redundant setup I run in all my 40% planes.  So far, never a failure, and the redundancy makes me feel better. 

However, on my 2 Meter EF Extra 300 I have decided to run the CC BEC Pro.  It was designed to handle the 10S setup, and after more than 100 flights has preformed flawlessly.  I have never seen a failure in a high quality BEC setup.  In the last month, I have witnessed three 2 meter planes lost to receiver battery failures in planes with a single RX pack.

I guess it comes down to, "you make your choice, and take your chances".

I plan to use the CC Pro BEC in my new Wind 110. I am using the 10 amp one in my little Vanquish and so far not a blip..........knock on wood. No matter what setup one uses ther e is always the chance of mechanical or electical failure. In my opinion (limited experience) simple is better. With a BEC I feel I have removed a couple of things that can go wrong (ie) regulator quitting, 2s lipo giving up the ghost, arming switch going west....etc. There comes a time when one must trust the technology at hand. As my old Dad used to say.........if you don't have it it can't go wrong! I feel the BEC simplifies things.

Cheers

MJ

A 3S 400 mAh lipo and regulator is not much more weight, say about 3-4 oz max. That is what I use on my Wind S 110 and it allows me to trim etc without the need to plug in the whole 10S pack set up. I like to use a seperate RX power for sure. So far I must say on my smaller set ups, like 5S and below, I have not had a single BEC failure even when using DualSky and Turnigy ESCs.

Clearly, I'm in agreement with you MJ, but I also know we are in the minority. As it stands right now I am working on building my own redundant system that incorporates a Dimensions Engineering VHVBEC + a Tech Aero regulator connected to a TP 250 mAh battery with an attached LED voltage indicator. The idea is the VHVBEC will supply the normal power, but in the event of a main pack "ejection" or a momentary surge which pulls the voltage down on the BEC the regulated Lipo will be there to save the day, but during normal operation I will be able to fly for months without worrying about charging or changing my RX pack. One key element is the use of the D.E. BEC which is only rated at 2.5 amps, but weighs a mere 16g. The consensus is that this is too little. However, I intend to show as well that in F3A we never draw more than 2 amps anyways, and that for only a momentary spike when the advanced folks do "snaps". In any case the presence of the battery to "pick-up" the slack makes the point moot. Watch for a future thread with pics



Joe

Joe ... all your talk takes me back to the 80's when I remember from a RC mag where they gave the circuit for a redundant system.

Once my drive battery decided he didn't like my flying style and bailed. I was rescued by the receiver-battery. However, about 3 months later my receiver battery managed to die in flight. Still don't know why. Cost me a fuse.

This poll stinks. There's no BEC option in there, only 'anti-bec' options.

I would say.. it doesn't matter. Either setup will work. Whatever suits you and your experiences best is what would be the best choice.

Hezik,

How many Grolsch's have you had? Option number 4 is my funny way to add the pro-BEC option . . .




And, have you seen my latest thread:



Solves both of your previous failures by backing each one up. Best of all worlds as I see it!




Joe

Castle Pro BEC failure.

Last week-end I was setting up a BEC system in a new EF 78" Extra 300. (OK, not a pattern model, but this is still relevant.)
The system was made up by: CC BEC Pro, CC ICE HV80 regulator, JR 10ch. SPCM receiver, 5x Hitec DS5955TG digital servos. 10s5ah li-po with a arming shunt to the ESC/regulator. Bec connected between the battery and the arming shunt to allow the radio to be operated without powering up the regulator.
I had connected/disconnected the system about 8-10 times already during the week-end, and it was working fine.
When connecting the battery to make some servo adjustments, there was a big spark (I mean BIG, not the tiny one you normally get when you install the arming shunt) After that, nothing worked. Testing later with a separate NiMH battery, the receiver is dead, 4 of the 5 servos are dead, one servo is working but the center is offset by about 20 deg. (??), regulator is not working. When powering up the regulator the motor beeps like normal, but there is no throttle response. Connecting the regulator to the Castle Link, the indicator ligh goes green when installing the link, but the "device connection status" indicator remains red when powering up the regulator.

I think the CC BEC Pro is a rather expensive experiment!!

(I have of course sent a mail to CC informing them about this incidence, but they have not replied.)

Magne

Magne,

I am very sorry to hear of your troubles and by no means do I question your setup, but I would simply point out to all that its a little like Toyota's problems with "sudden acceleration" Its very difficult after the fact to know where the electrical short occured. It could have been anywhere downline of the batteries even in a servo connection. One thing to consider with a high voltage BEC is that they are usually just "hopped up" lipo regulators so one need only connect a 2s rx battery when doing bench testing rather than a full on 10s pack.

Anyways, as I said sorry about your troubles []



Joe

Hehe, no loose floor mats in my plane!!

I did not measure the voltage out of the BEC after the incident. (Not sure what current will be drained, if any, when I connect the battery, but I may have a go.)
However, I don't see how a failure in a servo or any other "consumer" downline could create enough voltage to take out the reciver, five servos and the ESC. I think this voltage could only come from a faulty BEC.

Agreed. But I don't have any 2s packs with high current bullet connectors, so I just used the power pack. It really should have been no issues, and no need to use a "different" pack.
Actually, if this was going to happen anyway, than at home on the bench is the right time and place for it.

I am posting this only because somebody asked if anybody had experienced problems with BEC systems, and well yes I have.

Magne

Magne,

If Irecall correctly the CC Pro BECis adjustable on the output up to 12 volts. Are you sure it was set to output around 6 volts?

Keith B

It is adjustable to 12.5V, but default value is about 6V. But remember that I also wrote:

It had been working perfectly only a minute or two earlier, so the initial voltage is not the issue here.

Magne

Sorry to hear of the expensive problem that you had, I was the one that asked if anyone had problems. This is the first one I have heard about first time, I'm not familiar with that type of BEC, and it certainly give us something new to consider. Matt13

Magne,


Is it too late to get a picture of the components and especially any areas showing signs of shorting?


Joe

No, not too late, I still have all the components. I may return the ESC and BEC to CC for inspection, but they have not responded to my mail yet.
But there is nothing to take pictures of, no visible external damage to any components.

Magne