Help needed planet 4ch reciever

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

Hi all could somebody please advise me regarding my installation of rc electrics in my boat.

I am intending to use a planet 4ch receiver, alongside an mtroniks viper marine speed controller. Now the reciever had a battery input terminal, which I intent to plug in a 6v 2500ah battery pack, but have gathered that the viper has a BEC circuit built in. I want to know does the reciever still need its own battery supply or can it just run off the viper.

What are the consequences of having a separate battery supply and the BEC working at the same time??

Many thanks for any advice . Chris

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Chris

Don't use a separate battery pack as well as the Viper's BEC. The consequences for your receiver and speed controller could range from irritating to plain disastrous, especially as you are presenting them with two very different voltages. A fully-charged 5-cell NiMH pack can be as much as 7v whereas the output from a Viper is a regulated 5.0v.

If you want the reassurance of a separate Rx battery then disable the Viper's BEC by removing the red wire from the 3-wire plug. It's described in the Viper's leaflet and there's a diagram here (Scroll down the list to Disabling BEC ESCs). **LINK**

There's also an article on BECs on the same website under "Articles" and some information in the article on this website **LINK**

That'll teach you to ask!

Dave M

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

Thanks again Dave for explaining things!

Does the same apply to the action electronics p94 unit? I have this in another of my boats, and I am using a separate power supply for the planet reciever in that boat too. I seem to suffer glitches with the unit, and also the recover power pack (6v 2500ah) seems to drain very quickly. Does the p94 have a BEC? 😀

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

No it doesn't.

Glitches are seldom caused by the speed controller. They are most often a result of RF interference from poorly-suppressed motors or a faulty battery pack which creates voltage spikes and brown-outs instead of supplying a steady voltage. This will often make the speed controller and motors perform erratically – which is why folk mistakenly believe these are the cause of the problem and not just a consequence of it.

In this case you might also like to read the P94 Instruction Manual which specifically warns you not to use a 5-cell (6 volt) battery pack. The microprocessor chip will likely fry above 5.5v………….. (See Page 1 of text – 1st Item under "Important!").

DM

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

😳thanks Dave

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

Ps sorry about the grammar in the posts, it's this bloody iPhone auto correcting my spelling of the words and making its own mind up! 😆

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Chris

From what you said earlier I think the problem is most likely a faulty cell in your battery pack, which is discharging the others to the extent that the pack's voltage is dropping on load to a level where the P94 thinks it's being re-set (that's called a Brown-out). It might also be triggering the receiver's fail-safe. In short, you have one big electronic mess. I would suggest you swap the pack for a known good 4-cell pack before you try anything else.

At least there is a good reason for your (barely noticeable) grammatical clangers. Some of the correspondents on other forums don't appear to have any punctuation marks or capital letters on their devices……or spell checkers!

Dave M

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

That sounds very plausible. The unit does demonstrate those characteristics. The battery pack in question is a component shop item which was purchased about 6 months ago, I have only had the boat on the water a couple of times since then due to work commitments. Is it possible the pack has had a dodgy cell from day 1?

I did originally have a 4.8 nimh for powering the reciever, I will pop that in and give it a try from now on 😐

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Is it possible the pack has had a dodgy cell from day 1?

CompShop sell very good-quality stuff but even so faulty items have occasionally crept through. When you buy batteries in the quantities they do it's almost bound to happen now and then – they can't check every one. If you send it back under warranty they will test it and replace it if it's found to be faulty.

Dave M

[Chris HoverdParticipant @chrishoverd48135]

😀ok Dave thanks again for your advise

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