Radio Control Electrics
THIS COLUMN LISTS two meets, describes some new products, updates the Slow Charger, and continues recent discussions intended for new Electric modelers. Michael Stewart (107 Taft Terr., Washington NJ 07882; Tel.: [908] 689-6981; E-mail: [email protected]) is the CD for the Twelfth Annual Lehigh Valley Radio Control Society (LVRCS) Electric Funfly scheduled for June 12-13 at the club field in Easton PA. This is always a great meet; a two-day affair early in the season, it always brings out lots of new Winter projects. The meet features open flying plus some optional simple events-something for everyone-on an enviable field. I always look forward to this weekend and encourage your attendance.
Radio Control Electrics
THIS COLUMN discusses two E-meets, a good parts source with examples, a current project, and continues with the ongoing discussion of beginning Electrics for already-modelers. The first announcement is sad-one that is most anguishing to me: The Keystone R/C Club (KRC) has announced the cancellation of the 1999 KRC Electric Fly. There are several reasons for this year's action, and as of this writing no club position has been established regarding future years. I know this affects many readers, and I will update the subject in future columns. In the meantime, you can access KRC's Web page (www.krc.org) for more information as it is posted.
Sport Speed Control
THIS TWO-PART FEATURE will describe how to build, test, and use an electronic Sport Speed Control (SSC). This motor controller is intended for Electric installations using six to 16 cells with sustained motor currents up to 35 amps and short-term currents up to 50 amps. The SSC uses classic analog circuitry-it is not one of the newer digital circuit types. It uses readily available parts (available to everyone from Radio Shack, Digi-Key, New Creations R/C, and the hobby shop) and requires no special or "programmed" components. All SSC parts are "leaded" devices using standard circuit-assembly techniques. This is much easier for most modelers than the newer smaller surface-mount techniques (SMT). A Digital Multi Meter (DMM) and some simple test accessories combined with the detailed checkout procedures will help assure top-notch performance.
Radio Control: Electrics
There is a growing interest in small, low-power, and/or slow Electric RC. The April 1999 issue of the Cloud Nine Micro RC Newsletter arrived as I was preparing to write this column. This publication is produced by John Worth, who runs the small business called Cloud Nine that caters to really tiny RC aeromodeling. John describes three categories of micro RC as Indoor Only, Indoor/Outdoor, and Outdoor Only. These are largely related to weight: a one-ounce model is typically suited to Indoor Only; a two- to three-ounce model may be suited to either In or Out; and a four-ounce model (and up) is most suited to Outdoor flying.
Sport Speed Control
POWER PLATE ASSEMBLY: Assembly of the Power Plate begins by accurately fabricating the aluminum heat sink. Use the full-size patterns in the Power Plate Assembly drawing to aid in the steps that follow. It's easier to saw the 1/32 aluminum if you first double-stick tape it to a scrap of 1/8 Lite Ply as a backing. Mark and drill the five 1/8 holes, deburr all holes and edges, and radius the four corners slightly. (Caution: It is very important that the component side of the aluminum plate is fully deburred and smooth before mounting any parts.) Be sure the aluminum stays flat, and confirm that the finished piece matches the full-size drawing. Cut the pc board to size. This simple pc board can be etched or lines can be scored with a #11 knife and the copper tracks peeled back. Be sure that the result closely matches the full-size drawing.
