I am currently building a balsa airplane that will be powered by a glow engine. I need a lightweight battery pack to power my receiver and servos. I have plenty of lightweight LiPo batteries from my electrics so I plan to use those with a BEC. Instead of buying a BEC, I made my own in less than 15 minutes!
To make a simple BEC like mine, you only need three electronic components:
- a 7805 voltage regulator
- two 47uF capacitors
Along with the electronic components you will need a way of plugging the BEC into your receiver - I used a servo lead from a destroyed servo - and a connector for your battery - I used a JST connector because that is what my lipos have on them. One other part you probably want will be a heat sink. Although this isn't necessary to make the BEC work, it does help cool the BEC if you are pulling a lot of current.
To solder it up, just follow the schematic below. This BEC takes the supplied voltage and drops it down to a constant 5v for the receiver and servos. Like I said this is super easy and works well.
If you would like to see my other projects, be sure to check out my website www.backroomworkdesk.com
Just a clarification for those who may not be familiar with glow-power set ups (I remember back when....glow systems were the norm and electric was rare... man, am I that old already?)
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Now, I could be mistaken. I'm just beginning to learn all of this electronic stuff. So, anyone feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
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The model I will be using it on, and probably the most practical type of plane to use it on, will be a small glow engine. The plane is a 36" WS airplane (Minnie Mambo) powered by a Cox .049 and it will only have two servos on it. So I don't have an ESC, but I need a lightweight way of powering the receiver. A NiMH pack is too heavy and a small LiFe battery is a little pricey. This seems to be my best option for what I am doing.
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