[NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.

Mon Apr 27 22:32:18 AKDT 2009

Colin,

If you can find a person who has an EagleTree Micro-eLogger, it's easier to find the actual data.  Current on the ground has lots of differences up in the air that actual loading is there.  
I haven't had a chance to install on anything larger than 50 size electric planes and several electric & nitro cars, but will try this summer on 2m and several other large size planes.   

I've had a regulator quit on me once even it was installed in the open area.  It was hot, so I suggested adding a small heatsink just to be on safer side.

Ihncheol

________________________________
From: colin chariandy <cchariandy at yahoo.ca>
To: General pattern discussion <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>; glmiller3 at suddenlink.net; Ed Alt <ed_alt at hotmail.com>
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 8:22:21 PM
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.

Ok, although this is a 1 year old airplane with 150 flights I checked the current draw after the regulator with all servos energized and the engine off.

I used a "watts up" meter that logs peaks (but I'm not sure what the sampling fequency is).

Idle current - 0.16A.
Throttle servo movement max - 0.25A (doesnt seem like a problem but it's a little more noisy than a new one).
All other servos - 0.22-0.24 A max.
Moving all servos together rapidly - 1.72A max.
Regulator output min - 5.82V

I did this (moved all the servos rapidly for 1 min) and checked the little heat sink at the end of the regulator chip...quite warm, almost hot.

I may try this again with the engine running and compare the results.

Colin.

--- On Mon, 4/27/09, Ed Alt <ed_alt at hotmail.com> wrote:

From: Ed Alt <ed_alt at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.
To: "General pattern discussion" <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>, "colin chariandy " <cchariandy at yahoo.ca>, glmiller3 at suddenlink.net
Received: Monday, April 27, 2009, 6:24 PM

This is easy to resolve.  Nothing high tech is needed.  One by one, move your controls and carefully watch to see if it looks like the any of them are straining at the end of their maximum travel.  Check the throttle in particular.  I have seen digital servo cases melt from having the throw set up further than the linkage will allow.  If that's not it, disconnect the linkages at servo and work the control surface by hand.  If it does not move very freely, fix it.  If you don't find the problem there, work the servos around in a 10 minute mock flight on the ground, except exaggerate the movements considerably since there will be no air load and engine vibration to add to the load.  Listen to each servo.  If it sounds like it's having a problem, remove it and check it out on the bench.  If there's nothing obviously wrong by the sound of things, then feel the servo cases  to see if any of them are getting warm, or even try smelling them for that
 characteristic smell that hot electronics tend to have.  If there is a regulator that got so hot as to discolor it, and there is nothing at all wrong with the linkages or control surfaces, then this ought to find the culprit.

Ed
----- Original Message ----- From: "David Cotton " <davercotton at hotmail.com>
To: "colin chariandy " <cchariandy at yahoo.ca>; <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>; <glmiller3 at suddenlink.net>
Sent: Monday, April 27, 2009 6:09 PM
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.

You will need a very good meter to read the current, because a fully loaded digital setup takes the current in short spikes and most meters do not have a good enough frequency response. I have tried using a very good quality HP meter with over 20k frequency response and concluded it's not accurate, but it does give you a ball park number and will indicate if you have a serious problem. I have monitored my receiver voltage using a FDR data recorder and using two nimh batteries pack in parallel see at least one volt drop spikes at the receiver when the servos are heavily loaded.  I run 2 20amp  schottky diode connected packs in parallel for safety. You can be sure that these spikes are  5amps  or more. I placed a Castel reg in the circuit and it drops the spikes to a few hundred millivolts

The average current draw is around 250 mA for 2 masters sequences.

Hope this helps. Incidentally the regulator does not get hot.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

-----Original Message-----
From: colin chariandy <cchariandy at yahoo.ca>

Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:40:21
To: <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>; <glmiller3 at suddenlink.net>
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.

Yes.

I can't find by physical inspection any "wacked out servos" or other issues that might cause increased current load on the regulator. So....I'm trying to find the typical (or average) current that should be seen at any moment (instant) on a meter in-line with the regulator. Then I'll run my set-up and compare. If I'm in the ball park (less than 1A based on a couple of inputs so far) then the problem is not related to "wacked out" servos, binding etc.

Colin

--- On Mon, 4/27/09, Ed Alt <ed_alt at hotmail.com> wrote:

From: Ed Alt <ed_alt at hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org, glmiller3 at suddenlink.net
Received: Monday, April 27, 2009, 3:25 PM

Average current is not the same as instantaneous current, unless the only current being drawn was just for that single instant in time. Anyway, I will repeat, with an added quailifer, for the sake of understanding for where to look to help you solve the problem:

If you are using a JACCIO, Tech-Aero, or whatever regulator in a pattern setup, even with a YS CDI on a shared output, and if you find that you need a heat sink, then:

Something Else Is Wrong. Check your setup for binding linkages, stiff hinges, whacked out servos, whatever.

Seriously, check your setup, OK? Just trying to help here.

Regards
Ed

----------------
Date: Mon, 27 Apr 2009 10:32:54 -0700
From: cchariandy at yahoo.ca
To: nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org; glmiller3 at suddenlink.net
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.

Actually, if you consumed 200mAhr in 0.25hrs, then your average (instantaneous) current was 800mA.

Colin.

--- On Mon, 4/27/09, glmiller3 at suddenlink.net <glmiller3 at suddenlink.net> wrote:

From: glmiller3 at suddenlink.net <glmiller3 at suddenlink.net>
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.
To: "General pattern discussion" <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org>
Cc: "colin chariandy" <cchariandy at yahoo.ca>
Received: Monday, April 27, 2009, 12:34 PM

Colin,

I'm running a different ignition system, but total consumption radio and ignition) for an entire 15 minute flight is about 200 mah..200 X4 = 800 milliamps for an hour= 0.8 amps per hour . So the instantaneous current shouldn't be much.

G

---- colin chariandy <cchariandy at yahoo.ca <http://ca.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cchariandy@yahoo.ca> > wrote:

=============
Does anyone know what the current consumption should be at idle/run-up for a typical YS170/Hyde/all digital servos installation?

I'll stick a Watt's Up meter in there to see how much I'm pulling after the regulator.

Jim, what's the current limit for continuous operation and spike/inrush for your regulator?

Colin.

--- On Sun, 4/26/09, James Oddino <joddino at socal.rr.com <http://ca.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=joddino@socal.rr.com> > wrote:

From: James Oddino <joddino at socal.rr.com <http://ca.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=joddino@socal.rr.com> >
Subject: Re: [NSRCA-discussion] JR DSM glitch - trouble-shooting.
To: cchariandy at yahoo.ca <http://ca.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cchariandy@yahoo.ca> , "General discussion" <nsrca-discussion at lists.nsrca.org <http://ca.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=nsrca-discussion@lists.nsrca.org> >
Received: Sunday, April 26, 2009, 4:00 PM

I don't believe a bad battery could cause the engine to rev up unless your battery failsafe isn't set properly. Make sure it is.

The first thing I would look at is the possibility that the throttle servo is stalled at low speed. That could be pulling the battery/voltage regulator voltage down and it could recover after you started to throttle up and removed the heavy load.

Finally I would run a one amp discharge test on the battery after it is fully charged to see if the battery is near its original capacity. The best way to do this is to plot the voltage vs. time taking readings every 5 to 10 minutes.

Hope this helps. Let us know what you find.

Jim

On Apr 25, 2009, at 4:30 PM, cchariandy at yahoo.ca <http://ca.mc313.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=cchariandy@yahoo.ca>  wrote:

I had a close call today with my R921 Rx in an Integral.

I noticed on taxi out that the engine rev'd up and quickly back down without any command. At first I thought I must have bumped the stick by accident. Then just before take-off there was no responce from the throttle for a second or two then it was back. I thought the 170 may have loaded up a little and didnt respond. It did that one more time before I aborted the flight. However, I could'nt reproduce the problem in the pits.

Before powering down, I checked for holds or fades on the data logger - nil.

Battery voltage droped from 8.2V to 7.8V and 7.6 under 1A load. When I re-charged it took 350mA and I was only on for 3-4 mins.

Now...I did accidentally run the battery down to like 5V during winter but it did eventually recharge.

I'm using a Jaccio perfect switch/6V regulator, Jaccio 2000mAHr (1 season

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