Incompatible battery plug.

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

I'm sure this has been answered many times before, If so I'm sorry for asking it again. I have just bought a Viper 15 esc to replace my old worn out MFA s/c for my latest model. I am using a 6v 4a lead acid battery, but the esc has a Tamiya style plug. I have tried removing it but it wont budge. Is there any reason why I can't just cut the plug off in order to attach the leads to the battery terminals separately? I can't see any reason why not , but I would like confirmation. Cheers.

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

[Dave_PParticipant @dave_p]

You can do that but you may invalidate the warranty on the esc. Why not purchase a Tamiyar socket to match the plug and wire that to the battery?

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

Many thanks Dave. I didn't think of that. I shall do some online shopping. cheers.

[Dave_PParticipant @dave_p]

Try this

http://www.componentshop.co.uk/leads-and-connectors/leads/tamiya-lead

 

Edited By Dave_P on 01/11/2014 15:25:25

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

That sounds perfect, Dave. Thanks a lot.

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

The only real problem is that the SLA will have tabs, and great care must be taken to ensure correct connection. It is virtually impossible to connect a Tamiya connector reversed, surprisingly easy with a pair of leads. All the magic smoke comes out in one go, and there is deep disappointment in the air, along with a nasty smell.

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

Thanks, Malcolm. I'll be extra careful.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I have been going over to Deans or "T" connectors of late, as they seem to be more reliable than the Tamiya sort and handle more current. Not normally an issue but one or two boats I have take more current than normal and so as to ensure intereoperability (?) between parts I have been gradually changing connectors over.

There is of course an issue with warranty if converting new ESC`s straight away (for which I offer no suggestion!!) but the last bunch of craft produced and the latest project all use aircraft style ESC which do not come with connectors, so that is not an issue.

Ashley

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

Thanks Ashley. I've ordered a female lead which I hope will do the trick. This is the first boat I've built for some years, and I decided to get a Viper to replace my old MFA speed controller which is too bulky for the model I'm building. I also have to carefully solder the motor terminals to the 550s that I'm using which also has flat tabs. The leads on the Viper are strange shaped things. Why don't they leave the motor leads bare?

Regarding the warranty, I wonder how much it matters about cutting off the plug and motor leads anyway when we are talking about a £20 esc. Surely the performance is not affected…………is it?

Thanks for the tip about the Deans connectors. I shall look into them.

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Just like Ashley, I too am a fan of the Deans connectors, both the full-size and the mini models, and have successfully converted a Marine Viper ESC from Tamiyas to Deans.

A word of caution, though: make sure that you put the female Deans connector on the end of the battery leads, as the male connector prongs, unlike on a Tamiya type connector, are unprotected. With the battery unconnected at the Deans connector, if the male were at the battery side the prongs would only need to touch for example a piece of metal to create a beautiful short circuit …

Also, a very useful (but not essential, I hasten to add) gadget for soldering connectors is a soldering jig of some kind. Myself, I use a "Jigs-up" (**LINK**) but the one sold by for example Airtek Hobbies (**LINK**) also looks good (although I have no personal experience of it).

/Mattias

Edited By Banjoman on 02/11/2014 13:07:30

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

Thanks Mattias. I appreciate all the answers from you lads. This week will see how I get on. Hopefully there will not be too many rude words being uttered.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Mick,

I have exactly the same set up as you in mi sub. A Viper 15 and a 6v LA battery. Just cut the plug off and get rid. Go down to your local car accessory shop and buy some male and female insulated spade connectors. They will carry any amount of wollop (amps) you want to put through them. As Mattias says put the females on the battery so you can't short out. Match the wire colours so it's red to red, black to black etc. Make the wires different lengths so you can't make a wrong connection. Job done!

Len

[Mick Sargent 1Participant @micksargent1]

Cheers Len.

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Blimey! Them's is a bit exotic, not to say expensive! My connector-soldering jig looks like this. Just make sure that you have a plug and a socket pushed together while you solder the leads to either of them. This reduces the likelihood of the contacts moving within the plastic moulding under the influence of heat. The biggest problem is holding the cable very still while the solder joint cools – even with silicon insulation it can be almost unbearable!

DM

Len
No fuse or switch then?

Edited By Dave Milbourn on 02/11/2014 16:06:54

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I also use those ordinary spade connectors, or more usually the bullet ones. As long as the wire is thick enough to more or less fill the terminal hole up.. I find the 3.2mm ones are a good plug fit into the Viper ESC motor connectors, I crimp them with a crimping plier and have very little trouble.

Ashley

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

I did say "not essential", didn't I … ?!

I do find the Jig's Up-thingummy rather useful, though, because it not only holds the connector firmly but also has enough weight not to move about on the worktop.

A further quite useful feature is the helping hand block-and-clip that comes with it, precisely because it allows one to hold the wire in the right spot both when applying the solder, and while it cools off …

Of course a similar rig could be achieved using whatever one has handy (e.g. a bulldog clip), so in that sense it certainly qualifies as luxury goods, but for my part I have not regretted the investment (which I further amortise by also using it for soldering connectors to microphone and instrument cables).

Edited By Banjoman on 02/11/2014 18:00:30

[Geoff SleathParticipant @geoffsleath41411]

I use 4mm bullet connectors almost exclusively but Deans connectors are very good, too. It's just that I've been using them for years and it would be a major resoldering job to change all my LiPo batteries and esc.

I use one of those cheap and cheerful gadgets with adjustable crocodile clips on a heavy base to hold the wires and connectors. As Dave says, the wires get a lot too hot to hold. I use a 120 watt Henley soldering iron I've had for about 60 years. I even used it to repair my Scott motor cycle petrol tank so it's more than enough for 4mm connectors.

That jig of Banjoman's looks really classy. Presumably, that back section is non-conducting of heat. If I actually saw one anywhere I might even be tempted. I'm a sucker for tools, which is part of the reason my workshop drawers won't shut

Geoff

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

Yeah – but thirty bucks plus shipping from USA? Now that I've sold ACTion and no longer remain chained to a soldering station 24/7 I'd have to think long and hard to justify that (it's more than a litre bottle of Jack Daniels!!). In the meantime I'll just be vaguely envious…………;o)
DM

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

Like Ashley and Mattias, I use Deans connectors exclusively, and have done so for a number of years now. I have set up my motors, batteries (SLA), and ESCs using the Deans plugs, so I can interchange any of them between models without having to change polarity. Most of my ESCs are Mtroniks, and it's an easy job to remove the Tamiya connector and replace it with a Deans.

Also like Mattias, I put the female plug on batteries to prevent accidental short circuits which, while quite spectacular, are not recommended.

My soldering jig is quite reminiscent of Dave M's

Peter.

Edited By Peter Fitness on 02/11/2014 22:36:19

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

I don't like telling porkies, and therefore will confess straight away to being a long time sufferer (and oh! how I suffer! ) from TAS, i.e. the wellknown and internationally recognised medical condition known as Tool Acquisition Syndrome … An affliction closely related, or so I believe, to BAS (Banjo Acquisition Syndrome) although my case of the latter illness is of a milder sort compared to my toolmania. I can be trusted with the family finances in any shopping centre you care to mention, but never let me wander unsupervised through the aisles of a good ironmonger's …

My decision to get the credit card out for the soldering jig, though, came after a particularly frustrating afternoon of soldering with the help of an improvised jig that mainly resulted in rather too few and rather too wonky joints and way too many blistered fingers …

Edited By Banjoman on 03/11/2014 07:35:50

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

I use a wooden peg to hold the bullets whislt soldering as the heat is not conducted away, peg can be weighted down with a suitable lump of something handy.

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Posted by Dave Milbourn on 02/11/2014 16:05:24:

Len
No fuse or switch then?

Dave,

O ye of little faith, I am cut to the bone! Check out my last post on RX Aerial Wires! You'll see a nice big fat insulated spade fuse holder velcroed to the upper deck (10 Amp fuse) and the slider switch from the ESC lying on top of the hydroplane servo, waiting for the reed switch that's going to replace it!

Len

[Dave MilbournParticipant @davemilbourn48782]

I am suitably chastised, and will now slope off to my workshop with my head hung in shame.
DM

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Arise and bless us all again with your knowledge!

Len

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