Safety Switch
Specifications
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![[Product Image]](_borders/regswitchs.gif) |
The FlyteStrom Safety Switch is a necessary addition to any model aircraft, fixed wing or helicopter, using 5 cell receiver battery packs. The output of a freshly charged 5 cell battery pack can reach as high as 8V! This excessive voltage can result in receiver damage, unpredictable use characteristics due to servo jitter (hunting) and a reduction in the life of all onboard R/C equipment. The regulated output of 5.8V ensures that receivers and servos are operating at their best without exceeding their maximum rated input voltage. Eliminate the risk of electrical stress to your receiver and servo.
The unique circuit developed by FlyteStrom monitors the switch position and turns the receiver on when the contacts are open circuit (switched off). This means that even if the switch vibrates to pieces, as many receiver switches have been known to do, the circuit will continue to deliver power to your receiver and servos. Result? No lost models due to switch problems.
Standard receiver switches are rated at only 0.5A. As the FlyteStrom Safety Switch uses a mosfet rated at 16A for switching, the chance of switch burn out with the high current draw of large servos is eliminated.
The low battery indicator will warn you when the battery has reached 5.5V (1.1V per cell) and that it is time to recharge the battery. The FlyteStrom external access jack with sliding dust cover facilitates charging without dismantling your model.
Reduce the Risk – Install a FlyteStrom Safety Switch before problems occur
Pricing
Description |
SKU # |
Price ($AUD) |
|---|---|---|
Safety Switch |
switch-001 |
$78.00 |
A Note on the use of the Regulated Switch
Since the Regulated Switch went on the market in 1999, hundreds of units have been sold. Many of the switches have been installed in large scale aircraft and model helicopters.
In that same time the power supply requirements for these aircraft have increased, where as a few years ago a 800mAh pack was more than enough for most situations and in extreme cases the use of a 1200mAh AA NiCd packs were used, we now see 3000mAh Sub Cs being used as the power source for the receiver and servo loads.
This increase in power requirement has come about due to the proliferation of digital servos, these devices are faster and more powerful than their analogue counterparts. The larger servos can draw up to 1.9A when fully loaded hence the requirement for larger battery packs.
A large aircraft may have many of these servos in it, 1 for rudder, one for each elevator surface and one for each aileron surface. In many cases this amount may also be exceeded. It is safe to assume that with 5 servos a load of 9.5 amperes maybe experienced by the battery. Add to this the requirements of the receiver itself and servos for driving throttle and any other ancillary items and you can see that the load is quite substantial.
You may think that just rotating the joysticks on your radio, while the plane is not under flight load, would not draw much current and there is no way you would reach that load, this is not the case. A digital servo will try to maintain position as does its analogue cousin but there is a difference. The digital servo will turn on a motor to maximum current to get it to the requested position where as the analogue servo will output a voltage proportional to the distance away from the requested position it is.
Therefore the digital servo will be drawing maximum current, this is important when deciding on whether the Regulated switch is the correct product for your aircraft.
Do this simple calculation if you are not sure if this product is for you, add up the maximum load current of each servo that is in your aircraft, if that value is over the rated current for the switch (5A) then you should not use the Regulated Switch. When a unit with a higher capability comes out then you may re-evaluate whether that device is more suited.