Not my thread, Horseman can correct me if i'm wrong:
Sorry about the thread necromancy. I've started building a B-36 based off these plans but I'm new to the multi-engine wiring. I need to pull the trigger on buying ESC's very soon if there's any hope of it making a run at Flitefest 22 but hope I can get a little guidance before I spend the money. Here's a couple questions I currently have.
1. On the ESC/Receiver lead, would I pull the positive lead from all the ESC's except two of the connectors for the BEC redundancy? Not sure of the best way to handle this.
2. With 10 motors, would Y-harnesses degrade the signal from the receiver to ESC's too much? Is there another or better method I should use?
1.In terms of wiring, you should cut the positive wire for all the BECs except for one, or two if you are using something like this diode nightflyyer mentioned, you could use two and run through this. The rationale is that BECs are going to be calibrated slightly differently and "fight" each other, causing premature failures and potential damage to all involved BECs. You could alternatively cut all but one ESC and use a a battery with its own BEC.
2. Depends on size. On something like the 6' b-36, that isn't an issue, so long as you keep the receiver wires away from power distribution and ESC wires.. When you get bigger, you may consider having multiple receivers, e.g. one for the left and one for the right side of the aircraft. That way, you eliminate a single point of failure.
Funny this was just brought up in another thread not long ago...
Have you considered using escs that dont have a bec in them, like the "bullet's"? No need to waste the weight of 8 unnecessary becs when 2 or three independent ones would suffice.
That isn't a bad idea, but your weight savings wouldn't be that much. The weights they quote for those are typically excluding the wires IIRC. If you are looking to save hassle and money isn't as much of an issue, you may consider using one of the 4-in-one ESCS like many racing quads use. They're relatively small, so they could be stowed in the #3 and #4 bay for best airflow, typically come with a BEC, and significantly reduce your wiring.