ESC + BEC Vs. Dedicated Rx and Servo Pack
 

For sailplane applications what are the pros and cons of having an ESC+BEC or dedicated Rx and servo battery? I've heard of some sailplane pilots who are not fans of ESC having BEC. I want to understand this better.

Thanks!

RE: ESC or On Board Rx Pack
 

I think you mean BEC, as in battery eliminator circuit. it depends on the type of glider, if you are talking a "full house" ship with maybe 6 servos, you will need to consider a separate rx battery or a UBEC that's separate from the one in the ESC, if you talk about a thermal floater with only 2 servos for rudder and elevator, then you can certainly consider using the built in BEC in the ESC with no problems, you just have to pay close attention to the specs. for the ESC you are planning to use.
Pete

RE: ESC or On Board Rx Pack
 

Thanks pilotpete2 I correted my post, I meant ESC+BEC. I'm thinking of an electric sailplane with 4 servos. My experience is that when using NiMh packs when the ESC cuts out there's plenty of amps left to run the Rx and adequately power the servos. But I'm pretty green so please let me know what I'm missing.

RE: ESC or On Board Rx Pack
 

The issue you have to watch out for when using 4 servos on BEC is that many ESCs are only rated at 3 servos and that depends on the cell count being used, at higher cell counts the BEC has drop more voltage, say 12V down to 5V, so it produces more heat in doing so, this limits the number of servos you can use, most ESCs will give the number of servos that you can use at a given cell count/voltage. I hope this helps.
Pete

RE: ESC or On Board Rx Pack
 

i have run 4 servos for 6 years without a problem. i use jeti ESC's however as a safety fqactor,i limit myself to a max of 3 climbs on a charge...ken troxell