Great Planes GPMM1860 User Manual

Brushless Electronic Speed Controls
ElectriFly’s Silver Series line of ESCs are designed for no-frill, quick plug-and-play convenience for controlling brushless motors. All feature the Safe-Start function, which prevents accidental propeller rotation until the ESC is deliberately “armed”. NiCd, NiMH, and LiPo compatibility is also included, plus a high-power battery eliminator circuit (BEC). A thermal protection system will automatically stop motor rotation if ESC temperatures reach extreme levels, and a brake function can be manually switched on or off. Radio, battery, and motor connectors are all factory installed.
IMPORTANT PRECAUTIONS
Read and follow these precautions carefully before use.
• NEVER use more than the specified voltage on the ESCs input.
• ALWAYS mount the ESC in a position where air can freely flow across it during operation.
• ALWAYS turn on the transmitter before connecting the battery to the ESC.
• ALWAYS disconnect the battery from the ESC when not in use.
• ALWAYS remove the propeller from the motor when working on the model!
• ALWAYS observe that a propeller might unexpectedly rotate anytime that power is applied to the ESC, which could cause severe injury! Never get near the propeller!!
• Make sure the input battery is fully charged before connecting to the ESC, so the low voltage cutoff feature can function properly.
• Do not attempt to use Silver Series ESC with brushed motors.
• Do not allow water, moisture or any foreign material onto the ESCs PC board.
• Use heat-shrink tubing to insulate any bare wires between the motor battery and ESC, and from the ESC to the motor to prevent a short circuit.
• Allow the ESC to cool before touching and between flights.
• Keep out of reach of children.
• ElectriFly is not responsible for incidental damage or personal injury as a result of misuse of this product.
BATTERY ELIMINATOR CIRCUIT (BEC)
The built-in Battery Eliminator Circuit allows the ESC’s battery to also supply power to the receiver and servos, eliminating the need for a separate receiver battery. Refer to the specification chart at the end of this manual for the BEC current ratings for each Silver Series ESC.
It’s very IMPORTANT to understand that BEC circuits are rated
to handle only a certain amount of current, power, and heat. If such limits are exceeded the ESC might reset itself, automatically returning throttle control back to minimum! This could happen if too many servos are used or if using servos which draw high current (high torque or digital servos), and is especially important to know when
flying extreme 3D maneuvers which require all servos to be activated very rapidly at the same time. If a BEC reset occurs, only
the throttle channel will be affected – control of all other surfaces will not be interrupted. By simply “re-arming” the throttle channel (see “STEP 6 - ESC SETUP”) while in flight you should be able to re-gain throttle control very quickly.
It might be hard to determine exactly how much current is being demanded through the BEC circuit. As a general guide, refer to the chart below to determine approximately how many servos can be used with the different size Silver Series ESCs. Remember, this is only an approximation! More extreme setups (with very high powered digital servos, for example) will be more demanding on the BEC circuit.
SS-8 & SS-12 Speed Controls
Micro or nano size analog servos
Micro or nano size high torque or digital servos
SS-25, SS-35, SS-45 & SS-45D Speed Controls
Standard size analog servos
Standard size high torque or digital servos
Micro or nano size servos
If you experience unwanted throttle resets, it may be necessary to (a) reduce the number of servos in your aircraft, (b) use less powerful servos, (c) disable the ESC’s built-in BEC circuit (described below), and instead power the receiver and servos with a separate receiver battery, or (d) disable the ESC’s built-in BEC circuit, and power the receiver with a stand-alone BEC circuit that is rated for high power.
Up to 8 NiCd/NiMH cells, or 7.4V LiPos
33 3
22 2
Up to 8 NiCd/NiMH cells, or 7.4V LiPos
44
33
9-10 NiCd/NiMH cells, or 11.1V LiPos
9-10 NiCd/NiMH cells, or 11.1V LiPos
12 NiCd/NiMH cells, or 14.8V LiPos
12 NiCd/NiMH cells, or 14.8V LiPos
3
Do not use BEC
455
DISABLING THE BEC:
(−)
ORANGE
RED (+)
BROWN (–)
LIFT PLASTIC TAB
1. Make sure that no battery is connected to the ESC’s power input.
2. Looking at the top side of the ESC’s receiver plug, using a tiny flat
bladed screwdriver, carefully raise the plastic tab in the middle which holds the pin for the RED (+) wire. Gently pull the red wire out of the receiver plug. Be sure to cover the bare pin with heat­shrink tubing or electrical tape so that it cannot short-circuit against other items.
3. Plug the ESC’s receiver plug into the throttle channel on the receiver.
4. Connect a fully charged receiver battery to a receiver switch
harness, and plug this into the battery slot on the receiver. In most small electric planes a 300-600mAh NiCd or NiMH battery will be adequate. A larger battery is recommended for larger airplanes, or for planes using more than 4 servos.
5. Turn on the transmitter, and then the receiver’s switch harness.
Then connect the motor battery to the ESC. Reverse this order to shut the receiver off.
STEP 1: CONNECTING THE RECEIVER
®
The best method to mount the ESC in the aircraft is with Velcro
. If the ESC will be mounted on wood, first saturate the wood with thin CA and allow it to dry. To mount the ESC on shrink covering, first clean the surface with rubbing alcohol. Then, cut a small piece 1/2” x 1/2” [12.7mm x 12.7mm] of Velcro (both hook and loop), and attach the hard hook material to the fuselage. Clean the side of the ESC with rubbing alcohol and attach the loop material.
If the wires are not long enough to make all necessary connections to the ESC yet achieve good balance in the aircraft, it’s best to extend the length of the wires to the motor (not to the battery).
STEP 4: NECESSARY TRANSMITTER SETTINGS
For proper ESC operation, it’s very important to set the transmitter’s throttle channel adjustments, as follows:
1. Set the throttle channel’s travel adjustment (ATV, EPA or ATL)
to 100%.
2. Set the throttle trim and sub-trim to neutral or zero.
3. Set the throttle channel’s reversing switch to reverse on Futaba
transmitters. Other transmitters might require you to set the throttle reversing switch to normal.
STEP 5: CONNECTING THE BATTERY
IMPORTANT! REMOVE THE PROPELLER FROM THE MOTOR
BEFORE CONNECTING THE BATTERY!
Firmly press the “receiver connector” into the receiver’s throttle slot (refer to your radio’s instruction manual). The orange “signal wire” should be in the same position as would the white wire on Futaba servos, the blue wire on Airtronics’ “Z” connector, the yellow wire on Hitec® servos, or the orange wire on JR® or Spektrum® servos. Caution: An Airtronics® Servo Adapter must be used when connecting to an old style Airtronics radio.
STEP 2: MOTOR CONNECTIONS
Silver Series ESCs have gold plated female bullet connectors installed on each motor output lead. These connections are not polarized, so there is no need to match the color of the ESC and motor wires. If the motor rotates backwards, simply switch any two of the ESCs motor connectors. Once connected, make sure all connections are insulated electrically. Failure to do so could result in permanent damage to the motor/ESC, and void all warranties.
STEP 3: MOUNTING THE ESC
Determine the best location for the ESC, inside or outside the fuselage.
IMPORTANT! It’s highly recommended to install the ESC so that air can freely flow across it during operation! This is especially important when using the maximum number of cells on the input, when ambient temperatures are very high, when using a lot of servos in the aircraft, or performing very active 3D maneuvers! If the airplane’s structure doesn’t naturally allow for air to flow into the fuselage, create vent holes fore and aft in the fuselage to allow air to pass through and across the ESC for cooling. Do NOT pack the ESC with foam padding as it will not allow the ESC to properly radiate heat and likely cause a thermal shutdown.
SS-8
ESC
TO BATTERY
AND SS-12
(−)
(+)
The SS-8 and SS-12 ESCs have a polarized micro connector installed, to connect the ESC to the battery (note the exposed terminal is negative polarity).
SS-25, SS-35
DEANS ULTRA
MALE CONNECTOR
AND SS-45
RED
(+)
ESC BATTERY LEAD
ESC
BLACK
All other Silver Series ESCs have a Deans® Ultra Plug® male battery connector like shown above.
Make sure the polarity of the battery’s connector matches the polarity of the ESC’s connector! Connect the red (+) leads together, and the black (-) leads. NEVER allow a battery’s red (+) and black (-) wires to touch as permanent damage will result and void all warranties.
LOW VOLTAGE CUTOFF: All Silver Series ESCs include a low-voltage cutoff feature that stops motor rotation if the battery’s voltage drops too low. This protects the battery from damage. If this activates, power will still be supplied to the receiver and all control surfaces except throttle, so you can maintain control of the aircraft.
It’s IMPORTANT that the battery is fully charged before being
connected to the ESC. The ESC will automatically set the low voltage cutoff point based on the voltage of the battery as soon as it is connected, multiplied by 0.67. For example, if the battery has only 50% full charge when connected, the ESC will set a low voltage cutoff that is too low. So make sure the battery is fully charged prior to every use.
Loading...
+ 2 hidden pages