Glider Electronics

[Virtual Capybara]

I'm new-ish to RC planes.

I'm looking at building a glider (either for tow-release or slope soaring) but when putting the electronics together, I realized that the receiver runs on 5V, and if I don't have a motor (or ESC) then I don't have a decent way to generate 5V to power my receiver. Is there something else traditionally used in glider builds?

Thanks

 

[JasonK]

You can get a BEC/DC to DC converter that isn't part of an ESC. I in fact have one on order for my FPV ship because the servos were creating to much noise on the power rails.

 

[Michael9865]

You could use a stand alone BEC like this one. https://store.flitetest.com/eflite-ec1500-3-amp-5v-6v-bec-efla950/p1007634

 

[Virtual Capybara]

Awesome, thanks for the feedback. I couldn't find anywhere else that explained what was actually used. I'll probably try my hand at a 5V regulator circuit to try and save weight. I'll post again when I've got something more concrete.

 

[Virtual Capybara]

So, this won't quite hit 3 amps, but it should be close. I'm using two 5V 1.5A linear voltage regulators in parallel:

I did some trace calculations, servo current calcs, and this should be plenty for a 3-4 servo glider using 9g servos. Plus, this should cost less than 5$, and weigh less (I hope) than options above. Feedback is welcome.

 

[JasonK]

where are your input/output filtering? your going to want some line conditioning at least on the ouput as servos are rather noisy.

 

[Virtual Capybara]

This should, in theory, do something similar to the BECs above. I know I could add some caps to smooth the servo noise, but I think the regulators will handle the noise just fine. Could be wrong though, EE isn't really my background, but I've run a system like this before, hoping there isn't a problem.

Out of curiosity, what do you expect to happen with a lack of filtering?

 

[danskis]

@Virtual Capybara - I run my discuss launch glider with 4 servos from a 1S battery that generate 4V. Its common practice. I run a 6 channel FrSky receiver. Look and see how many volts your receiver needs or try to find one that you can use that will work on 1S. Look on the glider sites for batteries. Mines a 2ooomah about the size of a AA battery. I guess if you have room you could also use 2-3 AA batteries depending on the receiver. Without a motor you don't need a lot of amps or volts.

 

[mrjdstewart]

in a pinch i use the little 3 cell AAA battery pack from one of those cheap LED flashlights, then solder on a servo lead to power the Rx. if you have a Harbor Freight coupon you can do it for pretty much free.

good luck,

me

 

[Timmy]

in a pinch i use the little 3 cell AAA battery pack from one of those cheap LED flashlights, then solder on a servo lead to power the Rx. if you have a Harbor Freight coupon you can do it for pretty much free.

good luck,

me

I do that too.